September, 1977: 18 years old. Hickory, NC. My first Twig Fellowship with The Way.
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Over the summer Gretta and I had been on a spiritual quest, checking out various spiritual paths. I'd been looking into yoga, TM, Charismatic movement, Ram Dass, The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ. Gretta and I had even had our auras balanced together. That was a trip.
It was now the end of summer. Surely God had brought Dan and Bill to Hickory, just to meet Gretta and me. It had to be God. I had to check out Twig; to not do it meant not going where God might be leading.
That's what the fellowships were called, Twigs. I liked that label, Twig. It reminded me of nature. The analogy resonated with me. A twig is only part of a tree; without the other parts of the tree, that twig won't bear fruit or be healthy. It has to be nourished. Psalm 1 spoke of a tree planted by a river.
A number of Twigs together made up a Branch. The Branches formed a Limb, which was the state. All the US Limbs (states) formed the Trunk. The Root was The Way Headquarters. The Root was what fed the Way Tree, so it had the proper nourishment to grow. Each believer was a Leaf on the The Way Tree. In fact that was The Way emblem, a tree with an open Bible as the tree's crown.
The motto of The Way was "The Word of God is the Will of God." My heart thrilled. My specific prayer over and over had been, God, what is your will? How do I know your will? After all I was going to Bible college to get as close as I could to the 'original' biblical texts, so I could know, without a doubt, God's will.
I think it was the evening of the day I met Dan and Bill that I attended Twig at their house. If it wasn't that evening, it was within the next day or so. But I'm pretty sure it was that evening. I don't think Gretta came that night; I think I was the only new person. I think David, a Hickory local, was also there.
Their newly rented house was an older home near the railroad tracks, not far from quaint downtown Hickory. It had a front porch and wood siding. The home was orderly. I recall a couch against a wall and at least one upholstered chair in the fellowship room. There was a window. It seems the room was in earth tone colors.
Bill and Dan did not know that I had heard that The Way was a cult. But even with having heard that, I was curious and attracted. When I had spoken with Bill and Dan at the health food store our conversation had been so genuine and tangible. I felt it was like when Jesus had talked with the two men on the road to Emmaus. The two had stated, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?"
My heart had burned within me when Dan and Bill had spoken with me.
I entered with spiritual caution. Bill greeted me with a smile, a gentle embrace, and a holy kiss. Wow, a holy kiss...just like it states in Corinthians.
I don't recall the exact order of the meeting. Yet I will always remember the manifestations. (I learned later that speaking in tongues wasn't a gift, but a manifestation.) That first Twig I was a bit uncomfortable with how speaking in tongues and the interpretations were 'controlled'. I was used to Charismatic and Pentecostal type gatherings, where many people spoke in tongues at the same time. I mostly attended the Charismatic meetings because they felt calmer than the Pentecostal groups. There was more of a gentle flow to the rhythm of the Charismatic meetings; the Pentecostal ones could get too intense with a chaotic feel to them, like the devil was trying to get into the meeting and somehow the heightened emotions kept him at bay.
Twig was different though, not at all like the Charismatic gatherings where everyone spoke in tongues or sang in tongues or quietly whispered in tongues together. (I was a whisperer; my tongue language felt very private to me.) At Twig, the leader of the meeting called on people to speak in tongues and interpret. I tensed when I heard Bill tell David or Dan to, "Please speak and tongues and interpret."
How can a person control the spirit moving like that? No man can direct the Holy Spirit! The members need to be open and just simply move as they feel led. But not in The Way meeting; everything is decent and in order and overseen spiritually by the Twig leader. This caused me discomfort at first, but I didn't let on. I just sat and listened and thought it strange.
But I also recognized that Twig was run "decently and in order." I'd read that in Corinthians ("let all things be done decently and in order"), and had wondered about it. How could the Charismatics go against that scripture? But here in Twig, they practiced it. Wow....
After prayer and the manifestations I think Dan played his guitar and sang. Maybe it was Bill; one of them did. I really liked their music.
I had heard other Christian music that I liked: The Second Chapter of Acts, Honeytree, Andre Crouch and all those new Christian rock and folk groups. Dan and Bill didn't have that music; they had music by the Christian rock groups from The Way.
I think it was Bill that taught the Bible that evening. I keenly listened, keeping my spiritual ears alert at all times. I don't recall what was taught, but I do recall that my heart thrilled and that I spiritually began to relax. The teaching was taught with such confidence and love. God was REAL, really REAL. I felt like I had been embraced into the beautiful, loving womb of God's heart. God loved me; I felt it in that room. I knew it must be real.
These people weren't demons. They weren't a cult. All they did was teach The Word, the Word, the Word. They loved Jesus Christ; he was their savior. I was enthralled and enraptured. I had found the way; I had found it! This must be it; it felt so right. I felt protected and that I had a guide. Yet I had felt God move before; so why did I feel this was different?
After the teaching I opened my heart and shared about my cautiousness and that I had been told The Way was a cult. But all I had heard was the Word, the Word, the Word. All I felt in that room was the greatness of God's love. I was dumbfounded why anyone would call it a cult.
Dan and Bill explained to me that Jesus was also called a cult leader and that the first century church was first called 'followers of the way' and were of the 'sect of the Nazarene.' Yes, I was aware of some of that.
That first Twig, I hung around as long as they let me. I sat in an upholstered chair with headphones on. I closed my eyes as I listened to the music. It pulled me in; I was basking in the love of Christ.
Round and round the album played.
"...Open your heart and just give Christ a try...He's in love with you, he arose, to set you on high....You'll never know 'til you know that you've tried....His warm and tender love, always thinking of God's Son inside..."
It was beautiful.
"...And O God how we love you....loving everything you do, you do, you do....O God how we love you....we love you....we love you-oo-ooo..."
"...We are sons of God with power; raise your head and say it loud. The righteousness of God is ours; of our sonship we are proud..."
I didn't understand why folks called this love and this Word of God at the Twig a cult.
Dan and Bill told me about 'the class.' I thought, I can just do this research on my own and learn the same stuff. Just as I was thinking that thought Bill said, "You know Carol, you could do all this research on your own, but why not take a short cut? It's only 15 sessions." Wow, it's like he can read my thoughts. God must be guiding him.
The green sign-up card for 'the class' stated I would learn how to discern truth from error. I wanted that more than anything in my life. I had to be at every session on time. How could I ever do that? The class was 1-1/2 hours away from college. The Class costs $100.00. I didn't have $100.00.
Yet I felt like this was it; this was what I had been seeking. If God wanted me there, He'd supply the means to get me there. I prayed hard to see Him open the doors so I could take the class.
Sometime in the next few weeks at one of my visits, Bill or Dan gave me a Way Magazine. On the front was a photo of "Uncle Harry Awaiting the Return." Awaiting the return, I thought, what great words of hope. I returned to college with The Way Magazine in hand. I couldn't wait to tell my friends. At the same time I was a bit apprehensive.
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