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Russ's Story
On September 3rd 1997 my wife and I stopped a near
17 year relationship with The Way International
(TWI). No longer able to keep trying to be
"the best," to be really what Rev. L.C. Martindale
(LCM) was teaching that we should be had become
impossible. We tried relentlessly to satisfy TWI
leadership, but could never quite attain the
"perfection" required (but many times acting as if
we had, some call this "the renewed mind") knowing
we were living a lie, we walked away. It was not
just a matter of us not being able to do what was
required so much as it was the requirements kept
changing. The turn over of TWI leadership at
Twig, Branch and Limb levels is awful because it
is so frequent and each time there is a change in
personality there is a change in how to do most
everything. We were Twig coordinators. I became
involved in TWI December of 1980 and my wife a
year before I. We were not "neophytes" when it
came to the "things of the ministry." I was a
coordinator my second year in TWI and have ran
many Twigs, done many large meetings over the
years, oversaw military outreach on local and
state level. My wife and I both were WOW
ambassadors, and being military, we have lived in
eight different Limbs so we have been exposed to a
tremendous variety of TWI leadership and people
involved with TWI. I also had the opportunity to
work with other Limbs and other countries because
I traveled, months at a time, because of the
nature of my job. Once I was assigned to a unit
in Florida for three months and while there, ran
three Power for Abundant Living (PFAL) classes,
one being onboard ship while at sea. Later, a
small group of us military were invited to New
Knoxville to meet with Dr. Wierwille and others
to talk about military outreach and I was one of
the few that attended. This meeting took place in
1981. I had been in TWI for about a year and was
"hot" moving "the word" where ever I went. We
took every class that became available including
"Living Victoriously" in 1982. To date my wife
and I have taken all of the new classes, Way of
Abundance and Power (WOAP) foundational and
intermediate and LCM's advance class. The
believer's family class and the Defeating the
Adversary class. Our son is a graduate of the WOAP
class as well. We just wanted to be our best for
God and to help people. Dr., in the class PFAL,
talked about how people in the "church" (what he
called organized religion) did not have power to
help people and that seemed really true to me.
The Pastor of my childhood church died at the age
of 32. There were many poor people in my church
and it all seemed pretty dull. Dr. taught us that
the so called church of today had lost the power
because they had lost The Word of God and Dr. was
giving it back to us in PFAL. I wanted this
"true" power to help people, as does everybody
involved with TWI. TWI teaches you that TWI is
the only place teaching true doctrine and the only
place the true God moves. If you want to operate
the power of God, you have to take their classes
and stand with LCM to do so. Any power operated
outside of TWI is absolutely from the devil and
his devil spirits and purely counterfeit. This
doctrine is taught in every class TWI offers along
with the requirement to wholly accept LCM as THE
man of God and only man of God for our times you
also are to obey all the TWI leadership without
hesitation or question (this is refereed to as
loving obedience). These years in TWI, what I
thought was the "real deal" has turned out to be
lie after lie. The nightmare of all nightmares is
slowly coming to an end, I am thankful now to be
out from under the never ending torment of TWI
leadership. The doctrine of TWI is, and I did
believe that, TWI is the only real and right
ministry available, God only hears and listens to
those people in TWI and LCM is the only real man
of God today (like Moses or Jesus Christ himself),
getting revelation directly from God for the
benefit of only TWI its followers.
Two years we began to get frustrated when TWI
began making the transition to LCM's WOAP classes.
Slowly we had been given the task to
systematically study the Advanced Class syllabus
and write to LCM personally and tell him when we
were done and describe basically what you had
gotten out of reviewing the material (today I
believe this was to feed his own ego). At one
point LCM requested through the "chain of command"
(Way Tree) to find out were all Advanced Class
grads were in their progress of finishing this
task. What happened was an uproar because many
people were not even half complete or had not
started at all since completing the class. As the
Twig coordinator, I handled fears of retribution
from higher level TWI leadership for about two
weeks after this request came from TWI leadership.
One person, whom was extremely busy and on call
constantly complained to me about how can you
possibly do everything they (TWI) wants you to do?
I have finally came to the same conclusion after
all these years. For example: we ran Twig in our
home three times a week, and attended Twig
Coordinators (TC) meetings weekly (at 75 miles
away, one way), we held a "research" or "fun"
night once or twice a month, opposite Twig night.
Each person is required to study the WOAP
foundational and intermediate syllabus, the
Advanced Class syllabus, Defeating the Adversary
syllabus, read the five collateral books that
compliment these classes plus several other books
that had been written over the years, study LCM's
book, study (not just listen to) the weekly Sunday
Service tapes, study the Way Magazine articles and
teach them in your Twig, study the word to make
all this stuff your own, read the word daily, pray
for your people daily, prepare for teaching and/or
leading Twigs, set detailed plans with maps and
tracking methods of weekly witnessing sites,
turn-in reports on how many people you spoke to
how many contacts were made (phone number
attained) who got them (you had to ensure
contacts were contacted within 24 hours), keep
track of who is tithing and who is not, report
all this to leadership at the weekly TC meetings.
We also have a family to take care of, we both
work and I attend college at night and on
week-ends. No matter how much we gave, it was
never enough. It was a thankless job with plenty
of "butt chewings" in between. (they call it
confronting). We began to notice that if
leadership had a problem it was because it they
were doing the word and the adversary was
attacking them for their "brilliant" stand on
God's word and hurting the adversary's realm by
their almost unbelievable godly believing and
effort. On the other hand, If we had a problem
it was because we were not doing the word or
believing the word big enough and therefore by our
stupidity or lack of meekness to leadership or
some other bogus reason, we were failures and let
the adversary into our lives and he was hurting
our realm. We also realized that almost every
person in a leadership position that my wife and I
have had in all these years has been fired,
demoted, marked to avoid (kicked out) or they too
have left on their own (we can count those that
have not on one hand). LCM says, over and over
again, on Sunday Service tapes that "they (I never
knew who they were until now) say we are unloving"
I understand this now. I've seen marriages
destroyed, peoples lives ripped to shreds (of
which I have been a part of in many instances) by
TWI leadership and TWI teach it is out of love.
This is really a new doctrine of LCM's. To love
someone with the love of God is means to be as
tough on people as you can be, discipline, no
mistakes but if one is made you correct it
immediately and if you can't immediately, you do
it within a 24 hour period. This is taught this
way because to love God you have to keep his
commandments and those commandments in TWI are
what LCM says they are or what current leadership
say they are in particular situations. This new
doctrine used over and over again by most people
to mean to correct people constantly, according to
what that person thinks is wrong or correct
anything that does not agree with what you think.
I have seen TWI leadership make terrible
misjudgments about situations and people and treat
people like animals. Recently a husband was
separated from his wife and kids for about one
year because he confided in leadership about a
sexual incident that had happened when he was a
young child. He had to maintain separate two
homes and was not allowed to see his wife or kids
or anyone in TWI until he cleaned himself up
mentally. I too have been vicious with people in
the past because I "loved" them so much. On
several occasions I have sat with several
leadership and gone through confrontation
sessions that lasted tormentingly long, yelling
and screaming at people trying to get them to
reveal to us what is in depths of their "real
sin". One done to me lasted for almost two hours
and I was not allowed to leave the room. I was
made to listen to a tape and had some letters read
to me. My family and I recently went to a family
reunion that is held each year and to attend
requires us to travel about 300 miles. The
reunion was during a week when LCM wanted everyone
to have R&R, what he called rest and readiness, no
meetings of any kind were to be done on the field.
I was cautioned about going out of town,
traveling, when we were supposed to be resting, it
felt like I was being disobedient to God himself.
We went anyway since it done annually and we had
reported to leadership well before this R&R was
announced that we would be going, I know that if
something negative would have happened to us on
the trip, it would have been met with, "you walked
out from the protection of the household." It is
like the leadership (or anyone) in the
"household" of TWI believe for and actually desire
for bad things to happen so they can use that
against you and/or use it to make accusations.
Those of you who think you are in the only right
thing in this world are greatly mistaken.
I find it interesting that LCM accuses the 4/5ths
of leadership that left TWI in the late 1980's
and the ones that have left since as being the
false ministers of our day, that they "stole" from
TWI, taking DR.'s material and using it as their
own and so on. Dr. himself "stole" plenty of
information for his ministry and plagiarized (see
John Juedes research on this subject) from others
to write "his" books. How many people in TWI do
not know about E.W. Bullinger and his work and how
much of Bullinger's work and not DR.'s is TWI
doctrine? It was not original work done in TWI
nor received by revelation from God, but rather
taken from Bullinger's work and made to be seem if
it all came from God only for TWI because some guy
begged God to know his word or he was going to
quit the ministry!? Much of what has been taught
over the years and even today is Bullinger's work
(or someone else's outside of TWI). It is also
interesting to me that LCM teaches today about
screwed up you have to believe in the trinity and
that no good can come from anyone who does. TWI
teaches you cannot be born again if you believe
the trinity, if you are not born again then you do
not have holy spirit and certainly cannot receive
anything from God without holy spirit, because
those spiritual things are spiritually discerned,
then how did Bullinger get all his research done
as a staunch Trinitarian and why is TWI entrenched
in so much of his doctrine? Because of TWI
basically stole most of it's original material
from someone else, TWI then logically would have
to be a false ministry and LCM a false minister.
LCM has become the most ego driven individual I
have ever seen in my life (that gets away with
it). He rants about articles against TWI in their
local New Knoxville area news papers and him not
being asked to give an answer and yet the staff at
that paper say he refused comment, someone has got
to be a liar. He says TWI has never been in debt,
Howard Allen has stated it has, (but I am sure
this story of how Dr. wanted to pay off debt on
the The Way College has changed since you are not
allowed to have any debt) someone has to be
mistaken (I am sure it is Howard Allen). LCM
constantly compliments himself, his greatness, his
great book, his "clean" household and on and on.
I cannot believe I allowed myself and my family to
be put in so many negative situations over the
years thinking that I would be a "grease spot" by
mid-night (a common LCM phrase) if I did not do
what was required of me by TWI. I wasted much
time, effort and life to be the best for an idol
that I worshipped so diligently even having been
treated so badly the majority of time. Not
everyone is a lunatic in TWI, there are plenty of
people who are honest and trying their best to be
great for God. They do not yet realize TWI
leadership keeps them in bondage, making them
slaves in their own mind, no matter how they try
to "renew it " to the ever-changing doctrines of
LCM. It seems impossible to leave TWI since it is
the only "right" ministry and if you leave you put
yourself in dire straights. Since you leave the
protection of the household you are basically
being used by and are in control of the adversary,
the devil. They teach you this stuff. I have
made many career harming decisions over the years
because of my stand with TWI. I put TWI over all
my other interest and even over my family many
times. Being required to put God first in
everything you do becomes elusive goal because
depending on who is interpreting the idea, what
this really means is putting TWI first in
everything you do.
TWI says it is a research ministry. They teach
you, the individual "how to" let the bible
interpret itself and how to rightly divide the
word and God never meant for an individual not
being able to read and comprehend for himself the
written word. Yet you are not allowed to do any
of that. They keep so busy learning everything
LCM is teaching you never have the time to do
anything on your own. If you do come up with any
original work it is quickly squashed with
criticism and reproof and correction. I know this
because it has happened to me several times. LCM
teaches that you had better listen to him and his
reproof and correction because it is much easier
and a lot less harsh than what Jesus Christ is
going to give at his return to those who do not do
not do what LCM says is right. It is a fear trip
all the way: do as I say and you won't get hurt,
don't do what I say and Jesus Christ is going to
get you. TWI teaches that at the return of Christ
a new administration will begin and we will have
totally renewed mind. Then why in the world would
Jesus Christ need to reprove (correct practical
error) when the doctrine concerning an
administration is complete and the mind is already
completely renewed? There is error in there
somewhere because logically it does not make
sense. It is used to put fear in people to stay
with TWI and obey LCM and his leadership. LCM
boasts that the Way Corps training is best
training in the world and yet the graduates fail
the majority of the time in maintaining leadership
positions and adhering to what LCM is teaching and
requiring them to do. I do not understand how I
or anyone can think they are in control of there
own life and can stand on what LCM teaches when
his own trained "elite" fail constantly. If they
can't possibly do what he requires, how is it a
regular Joe will be able to do it? There seems to
a pattern of those who have been in TWI awhile to
be the most targeted as being offenders, not being
meek, submitting whole heartily to LCM and letting
DR.'s doctrines die. LCM is consumed with
replacing everything Dr. taught and every program
he set up. You are not even mention any of the
old phrases that Dr. used to give to motivate. It
is all right for Mrs. W to write a book about Dr.
or for LCM to talk of his memories but God forbid
if I mention a memory or personal incident that
happened with Dr. At the last TC meeting I
attended I brought up something that is in one of
DR.'s books and was reproved because it is also in
LCM's book and I should have reference the latter.
It seems the more you know the worse it is for
you in TWI. Knowledge is dangerous...to yourself
and the probability to being marked to avoid is
higher. Many Way Corps graduates end up marked to
avoid. It is amazing to me, those who have
received the greatest training in the world,
having worked with "the man of God" and the top
leadership can be so screwed up.
It is OK for LCM to tear down people, programs and
other institutions because everyone outside TWI is
off "The Word" and most are directly from the
devil or controlled by the adversary and all his
devil spirits according to him. In TWI debt of
any sort is not allowed including debt to TWI. In
a "rif" with Way Corps leadership just a year ago
had me so upset that I decided we would not stand
with TWI. After about ten days we ended up back
in TWI and the very first Twig we went to, Way
Corps leadership being present at that meeting
confronted us with the TC and his wife on our
error of not having a check covering the "back"
tithing that we owed God. I asked what tithing
was being referenced and it was the ten days we
did not stand with TWI! I could not believe they
checked to see if we "paid our tithing debt" for
the period we were not standing and to do it as
soon as twig was over and even have confronted us
with it before we left that day blew my mind.
Here we were, just coming back into a fellowship
at the end of it my wife and I are being
questioned by four people as to why we did not
tithe for those days we were absent. We were also
confronted for having more than two families over
for dinner (a birthday celebration of sorts) in
fact we were corrected on this doctrine: that
anytime we had more that two families over it
constituted a "Way" function and we needed prior
approval from the branch level before we had such
an event. No words can describe how I feel now.
We tried our very best to be the best for TWI. We
could never get it right, no matter what it was we
did not measure up somehow. Every time leadership
changes, there is a sort of reproving time that
you are worthy of their leadership. It is
absolutely ridiculous! I am thankful now to be
out from under the bondage and to be in control of
my life after all theses years. How truly
wonderful it is see life afresh without the
tarnished rose colored glasses of TWI doctrine. I
very much like the name of this web sight "NO WAY
OUT" because when you are in TWI and trying your
best to adhere to the doctrines of TWI, to be
valiant for LCM's truth, there truly is no way out
of the torment and relentless heartbreaks and
failures. I am thankful to have had the
opportunity to read other letters and insights
available on the web, to find I was not the only
one going through what I was and thinking I just
was not renewing my mind. If you are in doubt
about what you may be involved in when it comes to
TWI, surf the web and you will find out for
yourself other views and insights you will not
find at TWI. My wife and I working together to
over come all the harmful effects that TWI has had
in our way of thinking and doing things. We to
have begun making friends and getting
re-aquatinted with our families, something we have
not done or had since becoming involved with TWI.
Russ Mahan
rmahan@erols.com
Copyright 1998, the author
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