He was reading in I Corinthians, about the holy spirit field. His eyes and soft voice thrilled with excitement as he shared with me. I began to share in his enthusiasm and showed him how the word "gifts" in I Cor. 12:1 is in italics in the King James Version. I don't recall now if he knew or didn't know that italicized words in the KJV meant that those words were added, at least most of them. There are a few typos from time to time.
I had him read the verse in I Corinthians 12:1 leaving out the word "gifts." I told him the word "spiritual" is translated from the Greek word pneumatikos which means "spiritual matters." We continued reading the following verses in chapter 12. I shared about the manifestations, that these so-called "gifts" were "manifestations," or evidences, of holy spirit. All were part of the package when a person confessed Jesus as Lord and believed God raised him from the dead; it was available for every born again believer to operate all nine manifestations. Surprise and delight sparkled in his eyes. He was curious and a bit skeptical, but he could see what I was sharing.
It felt good to witness to him, to find someone who was genuinely hungry for spiritual truth. We must have talked for an hour or so. He asked where I went to church. He was in the process of searching for a spiritual home.
"I'm involved with some home fellowships. My husband and I are part of an international ministry that meets in the home."
"What's the name of the ministry?" he asked with anticipation.
"The Way International. Have you heard of it?" I responded knowing full well that mainstream Christianity considered us a cult. We were non-Trinitarian, which seemed to me the main reason churches didn't like us. There were rumors about brainwashing and eating out of trashcans; stuff I'd first read and heard when I had gotten involved back in the late 70's. I wasn't brainwashed, didn't believe in such a thing. Eating out of trashcans? That was crazy; I'd never eaten out of a trashcan.
Then there was the founder, Dr. Wierwille's sexcapades. I had heard some of the tapes that circulated in the latter 80's after Doctor died. At the time, my husband and I had to consider the accusations against Dr Wierwille. Were they true? My thinking was that yes some were probably true. Doctor was a man; he wasn't perfect. There were a lot of hippies that got involved in The Way in the 70's. It was on the heels of the free love movement. As a man, he probably had girls approach him, perhaps even seduce him. But I couldn't believe all of what was on those tapes. It seems the tapes stated or alluded that Doctor had even approached young boys? I think that's when I quit listening to them; such a suspicion was ludicrous. My husband had wanted to throw all the tapes in the trash. I told him we couldn't; they weren't our tapes.
John and Ralph and other top leaders were the outspoken accusers of Doctor. They were just power hungry; it happens after founders of a movement die. Then there was Chris. When I heard a conversation between he and Rev. Martindale on a tape I almost got sick to my stomach, the way he was manipulating Craig. I loved Craig; Craig sounded like a broken man on those tapes. It made me think of that Rock of Ages Festival when Craig read his teachings; after Chris had read "Passing of the Patriarch" which was supposedly about Doctor's final weeks of life and the private directives that Chris says Doctor gave Chris, about the Ministry and its future.
Ralph had been the country coordinator and a region leader for The Way. I liked Ralph; he was funny, down to earth, and dynamic; an ex-hippie. Someone told me that Ralph used to have long black hair, wear a black cape, and had a big black dog. Ralph used to call me "hambone," a take off of my maiden name "Hamby." I had baby sat Ralph's daughter at some leader's meetings in Wisconsin. Ralph had been the Trunk leader when I had gotten pregnant on the Word Over the World Ambassador field and had the abortion. I had a spiritual and brotherly fondness for Ralph, but when I heard the tapes I thought Ralph had been deceived. I thought the same of the other insurgent leaders.
In the first century the same had happened to the Apostle Paul when he was coming to the end of his life; hardly anyone except Timothy stood with Paul. Craig, whom Doctor had chosen to succeed Doctor, was like Timothy.
~*~
Missing Pieces I
Missing Pieces II: Grotto Journaling
Missing Pieces III: We All Stand Together (Part 1)
Missing Pieces III: We All Stand Together (Part 2)
~*~
No comments:
Post a Comment