A.D.
While all of the ‘recommendations’ of the Guest at FactNet certainly hold merit, he/she seems to be referencing a time period shortly after the G&M transition, when ideological and power consolidation were in full swing. As you referenced yourself in your trip to L.A., those ‘my way or the highway’ meetings were just the beginning of something that took many years to eventually unfold.
One need only look at the back of any This Week from the late ‘70s, when the number of member churches took 2-3 pages to list, to what TLW has devolved to today, and you see a movement that has gone from a more flexible association to what is now a highly stratified and controlled organization.
As to why this has taken a half century to devolve to what it is, one need only remember back to the days of deep insanity when yelling and screaming for hours, praying for death, forsaking everything we owned, and working long hours for free, were considered ‘normal’. That was some heavily spiked Kool-Aid, and the only ration available. This forum has provided our own version of psychological AA.
As you pointed out, coming from an outlying church provided for you with some insularity and a perspective that many caught up in the thick of things did not have. By the time JRS passed, much of the hardline 2nd generation had already invested a decade of service in the prime of their lives. Since Marilyn was a direct link to the former regime, a lot us took it on faith that things would basically continue the same. It took quite a long time for many to admit that was not the case.
As pointed out in many previous posts, the overall direction of TLW is complete devolution from days gone by. This leadership transition will further weaken the spell it has held over people’s lives, and hopefully open the door for an exodus we can all celebrate.
While all of the ‘recommendations’ of the Guest at FactNet certainly hold merit, he/she seems to be referencing a time period shortly after the G&M transition, when ideological and power consolidation were in full swing. As you referenced yourself in your trip to L.A., those ‘my way or the highway’ meetings were just the beginning of something that took many years to eventually unfold.
One need only look at the back of any This Week from the late ‘70s, when the number of member churches took 2-3 pages to list, to what TLW has devolved to today, and you see a movement that has gone from a more flexible association to what is now a highly stratified and controlled organization.
As to why this has taken a half century to devolve to what it is, one need only remember back to the days of deep insanity when yelling and screaming for hours, praying for death, forsaking everything we owned, and working long hours for free, were considered ‘normal’. That was some heavily spiked Kool-Aid, and the only ration available. This forum has provided our own version of psychological AA.
As you pointed out, coming from an outlying church provided for you with some insularity and a perspective that many caught up in the thick of things did not have. By the time JRS passed, much of the hardline 2nd generation had already invested a decade of service in the prime of their lives. Since Marilyn was a direct link to the former regime, a lot us took it on faith that things would basically continue the same. It took quite a long time for many to admit that was not the case.
As pointed out in many previous posts, the overall direction of TLW is complete devolution from days gone by. This leadership transition will further weaken the spell it has held over people’s lives, and hopefully open the door for an exodus we can all celebrate.