The Way. It Was.

[John Lynn]

The Way. It was.By John A. LynnIn the interest of truth, both small “t” (the facts about The Way International) and capital “T” (the Word of God it taught), I am compelled to propose why I think The Way International was (past tense), from a certain perspective, one of the most significant movements in the history of the Christian Church. I do so for the benefit of any graduate of the “Power For Abundant Living” class who still wants to live for the Lord and who may have been unduly discouraged, either by his/her own experience in The Way or by the ensuing barrage of negatives from other ex-Way saints about what was wrong with The Way.Given that I was one of the top ministry leaders from 1967-1987, I speak with experiential knowledge. Furthermore, I have spent the past 21 years continuing to dig into the Word of God along with knowledgeable Christians, and, in the process, re-evaluating everything we were taught. I speak with great thankfulness for the truth I heard in The Way (hereinafter TWI), with no doubt that God led me to it, and then away from it. And though I left with some wounds, I also took with me the resources I had been given that enabled me to be healed from those wounds and help others do likewise.I speak so that you can know “the rest of the story,” as opposed to all the disparaging things that have been said about The Way through the years by the media (much of that false), other Christians (much of that false), and disgruntled former followers (much of that true, some of it false). My purpose is to set forth a much more redemptive view of The Way than what I have thus far read from others with “ex-Way vision.” In some ways, this is a sequel to my March, 1988 letter in which I blew the whistle about what was then going on in TWI. (http://www.swiftlynx.com/beyondTheWayInternational/)Yes, there was more doctrinal error than I ever realized while I was in TWI, and there was corresponding practical error that became more evil than most of us involved ever imagined. Yes, many precious people were terribly abused. Yes, there was dishonesty about Scripture, there was plagiarism, and there was rampant sexual sin, all of which contributed to many people choosing to turn away from God and His Word. And as I realized these things, I did speak out about them, both publicly and privately, from 1987 until about 2000, after which TWI had marginalized itself in Christendom.Perhaps worst of all, a golden opportunity to make known the Word of God, as it had not been known since the first century, was squandered. I will elaborate upon why that is true from a doctrinal standpoint, but when else in the history of the Christian Church has there ever been such a cadre of thousands of young, energetic, enthused, biblically knowledgeable, logistically equipped, organizationally backed, diverse, multi-lingual, mobile, available, and committed-to-“It-is-written” men and women with leadership qualities who were willing to go anywhere and spread the Word? Certainly not often in the past 2000 years. Thank God that many of these students of the Word became teachers themselves, and were thus able to recognize the errors that crept into TWI.The Way. It was. What was it? First and foremost, it was, from about 1955-1987, the only place I know of where anyone could hear the amount of truth of the Word of God that we heard. Why? In large part because God led Victor Paul Wierwille to the work of E.W. Bullinger, whose approach to Scripture was virtually unique. That is what allowed Wierwille, and thus TWI to an even greater degree, thanks to the quality men and women with research ability whom it attracted, to put the Word together like it had not been known since the first century Church.The sad thing was that I, and many others, became too proud of our knowledge, and failed to couple it with enough of a humble, heartfelt desire to obey God and become like Jesus Christ. We became too arrogant toward other Christians, thinking that our study of truth somehow made us more “approved before God” than they. To a degree, we became more like hearers of the Word than doers, and often deceived our selves. BUT, the antidote to that is not to throw out the baby with the bathwater, because without knowledge of truth there can be little practice of it.Why did God have a need for The Way International? Actually, He didn’t. But He did have a need for any group of people who would make known what, or close to what, the Apostle Paul taught once the whole of what we now read in the Church Epistles had been unfolded to him. Why was there such a need? Because true Christian doctrine had all but disappeared from the spectrum of Church history by the 4th century. It was then that the Roman Catholic Church began based upon a bunch of fables mixed with Christian verbiage, established a monolithic ecclesiastical hierarchy, and for more than a thousand years dominated the European religious landscape, killing countless dissenters and for the most part silencing the rest.When Martin Luther came along (1517 was when he nailed his 95 Theses on the church door at Wittenburg), thank God he did recognize justification by faith rather than by works, but what we today refer to as the “Reformation” of the Roman Catholic Church was very limited in scope. Much of the Roman Catholic doctrine was assimilated into Protestantism and is still being passed along as Christian groups continue to split off from one another. In a nutshell, that is why even the independent church in your neighborhood today most probably believes that there is a Trinity, dead people are alive, God is in control of everything that happens, the Four Gospels are written to Christians, water baptism is relevant, and maybe even that the Bible is not absolute truth.I don’t know where else we could have heard the “package” of biblical truth we heard in TWI. Admittedly, most of the major doctrinal components of that package were being taught by some Christians, with varying degrees of accuracy, but none that I know of put together as many into a package as TWI did. Let’s begin with what I mentioned about E.W. Bullinger’s contribution to TWI, which was HUGE, because his basic approach to Scripture is what facilitates one being able to discover its inherent keys and utilize them to derive the Author’s originally intended meaning.TWI taught us to approach the Word with the “It is written” conviction that it is what it says it is, and that it cannot contradict itself. That alone is enough to at least identify error about the Bible, and the keys to the Word’s interpretation we were taught enabled us to understand it, take its truth into our hearts, and apply it on a daily basis.Given that the identity of Jesus Christ is the world’s biggest deal, I would have to say that chief among the wonderful biblical truths we heard in TWI was that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (not God), the Man who mediates between God and men, and that the Trinity is a pagan fable. Some ex-Way saints now say this distinction is not that important, but I assert that God thinks differently, given what He says in His Word (e.g., 2 Cor. 4:3 and 4). Yes, TWI failed to teach us that we can have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus, but there were not too many other places where we could have heard that Jesus is not the “eternally begotten” Second Person of the Trinity.I’d have to say that the next most important biblical truth we heard in TWI was what we then called the “Mystery,” and, correspondingly, what parts of Scripture are written to Jews, to Gentiles, or to Christians regarding either the past, the present, or the future. For the record, we have since learned that “Sacred Secret” is a more accurate way of rendering the Greek, musterion.Ephesians is the apex of the Church Epistles (the primary curriculum for Christian living), and it clearly shows that the Body of Christ (the “one new man” of Chapter 2, verse 15) is the most unique group of people who have ever lived, chiefly because of the permanence of our salvation and our holy spirit equipping. 1 Corinthians 2:8 chimes in with the monumental (and generally overlooked) truth that had Satan known the Sacred Secret, he would not have crucified Jesus!In terms of biblical error that is practically debilitating to one’s quality of life, I see nothing more important than knowing what Scripture is written to whom, when, and in particular what is written to us as Christians today. The Church’s failure to understand this central truth has led to its trying to live in accordance with directives pertaining to other people at other times. It is only in the Church Epistles that a Christian finds his true identity “in Christ,” as well as his true Hope. Simply put, the Word of God will never fit together without contradiction if one does not understand the “administrations” therein, and in particular this current “administration of the Sacred Secret” (Eph. 3:9).Yes, there are quite a few Christians who have a “Dispensational” view of Scripture, but the vast majority of them fail to grasp that Jesus is not God and that he did not know the Sacred Secret. Most think that parts of the Four Gospels and the book of Revelation speak of the Christian Church, but that is not the case. The Gospels record the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about Christ’s first coming to the earth to Israel (his suffering), and Revelation records the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about his second coming to the earth to Israel (his glory).Another major truth we learned in TWI, which is unknown to most Christians, is that of the Giver and the gift, and, correspondingly, that speaking in tongues is available to all Christians because it is a manifestation of holy spirit, not a gift. We also learned the indispensable truth that speaking in tongues is the only absolute proof that one is saved. How many tens of thousands of people did those truths alone set free?TWI also taught us that death is, in fact, the end of life, and that our true Hope for new life in the coming age is to be raised from the dead and meet the Lord Jesus in the air prior to the Tribulation (the “time of Jacob’s trouble” – Jer.30:7). What percentage of Christians do you think know this? Although TWI failed to teach us that Paradise (the new earth), not heaven, will be our everlasting home, thank God we learned that resurrection is much more than an incorporeal “soul” once again getting a body.And TWI pointed us toward an understanding of the figures of speech in the Bible (thanks to Bullinger), of which little is known in theological circles. This included the figurative language in the Old Testament that helped us see that God is not responsible for evil or suffering, nor is He in control of everything that happens.Like I, you may know of some ministries that do teach some of these truths, but I submit that until 1987 there was nowhere other than TWI to find all of them taught as accurately as they were there. That is why The Way International stands out on the spectrum of Church history as an amazingly significant Christian movement.As far as I can see, TWI was also about the most disparate dichotomy of good and evil in the history of Christianity. Like the wheat and the tares growing up together, tremendous truth and egregious evil shared the ministry platform. Many people look back on their TWI experience with nothing but thankfulness, while others rue their free will choice to stay involved as long as they did because of the abuse they suffered. Some have been stymied by self-condemnation due to the abuses they themselves committed. No doubt there are also many who recognize that they heard the Word like they never had, who have allowed the Lord Jesus to heal any wounds they suffered in TWI, and who have since experienced spiritual growth far beyond what they ever imagined back in “the good old days.”I hope you are in that last category, and if you’re not, you can be. Even if people badly abused and disappointed you, you can turn to the Lord Jesus, he who is The Way to wholeness in all categories of heart and life. His love and truth will heal your heart and help you forgive and move forward with him toward the same goal you once had. You have a ministry in the Body of Christ, and he who is the Head longs to help you fulfill that calling. It was neither your heavenly Father nor your Lord who hurt you, nor does whatever happened to you change anything the Word says. God’s promises are still true, and they are yours for the believing.The Way, we were. If you once sat through PFAL, you heard the Word of God taught more accurately than the vast majority of Christians who have ever drawn breath. As a fellow PFAL grad, I identify with you, and have an affinity for you and a desire to encourage you to take advantage of the truth you once heard, if you are not already doing so. Along with me, you will one day stand before our precious Lord Jesus Christ, who will reward you according to how you have lived your life as a Christian. In essence, he will ask each of us something like this: “What did you do with what you knew?”[For a detailed list of biblical subjects I think TWI mishandled, see the following link: http://www.christianeducational.org/25diffTWI.htmIf you would like to discuss with me about what I have written, please contact me at [e-mail]]

[Dan Haas]

Hope, people can anticipate what a president-elect will do in office based upon his conduct, promises, and published platform during the campaign. I was a strong supporter of McCain/Palin, due to the ideological differences with Obama/Biden. Liberal Democrats are far more likely to think the government is capable of solving things by taking (or borrowing) more money from the people (or their children, or children's children) and spending on good-idea programs. i.e. Lyndon Johnson's "war on poverty." It is disheartening to conservatives who believe in smaller government and more freedoms to hear things like Obama said to Joe the Plumber (i.e. I don't want to penalize you for your success, but spreading the wealth around is good for everybody.)

I'm hopeful, as I've said elsewhere, that the Obama presidency will have many positive outcomes, but I'm worried about the trillions of dollars already committed to incredibly undefined programs (700 billion plus) and now they're talking about ANOTHER billion TRILLION-dollar "economic stimulus package."

Obama has a lot on the ball, and as both candidates said, we have an amazing country with an amazing foundation. We will weather this storm by the grace of God and good old fashioned hard work, freedom of speech and religion and the press, etc. I'm quite sure Obama will be able to do positive things that would have been difficult for my candidate to have gotten done.

He will be my President, and he's a good man.... just as GWB is right now (quite a class act in regard to the transfer of power in contrast to the Clinton folks) I had no illusions that McCain was perfect, and I'm quite sure Obama will make some grave mistakes, but I pray he doesn't.

I heartily agree with your citation from the teaching of Jesus. I too was shocked by John's "bullet" statement.

[Frank Abissi]

Well, Lets see, so far "It Is Written" What I have based my life on for the past 30+ years has been attacked. God does not mean what he says was just knocked out a few posts back for favor of an "Inferred" idea of the Bible, (If it smells like private interpretation, sounds like it, I am not swallowing it)

The church fathers never supplied the sperm that made me so I don't give much weight to what they have to say. and the Whitfield-Wesley debate has never distracted me. I have to bend and twist the Word to make the triune god fit. then I have to go so far as to say it's inferred. In my profession whenever something is inferred someone gets seriously hurt. Looks like the credibility of the Word and the God who authored it is starting to get hurt here.

This morning i taught on "Why Four Gospels" the trinity was never "inferred or even mentioned in any of the passages read (or what was spoken in between). If there are 4 gospels How come we supposedly have a three part god? Is he incomplete?

Personally I think the most scholastic reasoning for the existence of the Trinity is pure rubbish. Perhaps it might serve everyone well to go back and reread this entire blog and be sure to read what you have written? does it line up with God's Word?

And how about them Lions..

[Michael Schiano]

john, after reading your obama comment, i'm glad we didn't get into politics over lunch--and stuck to the nice, safe subject of the bible!

but don't you mean Bush's assault on freedom (the patriot act, etc.) and prosperity (everyone's 401k!)? ;p

[Stephen Kingsley]

Wolfgang,

It's simple. The Bible says "But unto the Son he says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever (Hebrews 1:8)." A JCING teacher would of necessity say of this, "But that's not what it means ..." I don't want to do that. I'd rather say there's more to Jesus than his mere humanity. The Bible says of the women who ran from the tomb Easter morning that when they saw Jesus "they came and held him by the feet, and worshiped him (Mt. 28:9)." A JCING teacher would say, "But that's not what it means ..." I don't want to do that. I don't see a need to. I don't see what is gained.

A paradox is something that appears contradictory, but in fact isn't. The Bible is full of them. For instance God told Adam that he would surely die in the day he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Did he? Yes and no. He died spiritually, but went on to live 930 years in the flesh. It's not an "either he died or he didn't" proposition. It's a paradox, one with a both/and resolution: a combination of natural and spiritual realities. Jesus hit Nicodemus with a paradox when He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)." Thinking only of natural things, Nic didn't get it at first. Jesus went on to resolve the issue for him by adding the spiritual dimension: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (Jn. 3:6)." Again, a paradox with a both/and resolution: both natural and spiritual. Jesus once said to his disciples "I have meat to eat that ye know not of (Jn. 4:32)." The disciples were disturbed by this wondering who had brought Him something to eat. But again, Jesus wasn't referring to something natural, but spiritual: He was being spiritually strengthened because of His passion for the revival that was about to break out in Samaria. The Bible continually provokes us beyond the natural understanding of the mind to receive God's spiritual understanding in our hearts. We can enjoy such spiritual things and benefit from them, but we can not explain them or how they work.

With such paradoxes, there is the natural which is what it is (or isn't), but then there's the addition of the spiritual understanding which resolves the matter. It's like in the classic Whitfield-Wesley debate which has been such a distraction in recent history. Is salvation the sovereign work of God or by man's freewill choice to receive Christ and obey God? You can make it an issue that divides men by demanding it's either this way or the other, but again, it's paradoxical. Somehow it's both the predetermined work of our sovereign God and the will of man to accept and receive God's grace.

The godhead issue is just this kind of a thing. It's a multidimensional problem, one that can not really be parsed into finite definitions. There's nothing to be gained by demanding this be an either/or thing. To me (and the vast majority of Christians) it's much bigger than that--bigger than we can presently know.

[Wolfgang Schneider]

Hi Stephen,

at least you noted above that the trinitarian position is an inferred and not purely scriptural position ....just as you claim that the non-trinitarian position (or as John L. describes it in part with "Jesus Christ is not God") is inferred.

You proceed to accuse John L. to "bend, twist and explain away numerous w-o-r-d-s in the written Word" ... but somehow you do not seem to notice that the Trinity position bends, twists and explains away not just some words in the written Word but in fact one of the basic fundamental concepts of truth, namely that only ONE "Being /Person" is "true God" (cp. Jesus' very own words!) by claiming that there are THREE Beings/Persons who are "somehow mysteriously" all true God (for which there is not one statement in Scripture). What is influencing you to act like that?

John L. mentioned that "Muslims know that God the Father, God the Son, and God the H.S. are three gods, no matter how much Christians try to say they are one." .... You claim that such is "a misrepresentation" of Trinitarian Christianiy .... well, indeed, Trinitarian Christianity makes the claim that these Three (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit) are one God .... so who is twisting words and their meaning here? If you have three who each are "God ...", then by plain logic and application of simple linguistic considerations, you have "three Gods", no matter how much one wants to jump up, scream and yell, that they are only ONE God ...IF that were true, then the claim that they each individually are also "God". How is it that you do not notice this kind of bending, twisting and explaining away of words and logic that is done by Trinitarian Christians??

Perhaps it is because you believe "Jesus was a paradox, not God and God at the same time" ?? Why not permit others the liberty to believe that Jesus was not a paradox? Why do you want to accuse those who hold to the plain truth of "the man Christ Jesus" -- which are words that are written in the Word !! -- of being "divisive" while not noticing that it may well be those who hold to non-biblical, non-logical, paradoxical ideas who should take a closer look at themselves whether or not they perhaps are the ones who are "divisive"??

As I have mentioned before, I have been thrown out by trinitarian Christians (that is, they divided me out from themselves in rather clear and drastic measures) while I have not been thrown out by non-trinitarian Christians .... I have not made big deals nor demonized trinitarians ....even participated in activities organized by trinitarian churches (and actively tried to do so over the years), but some head elders, priests, etc. of a number of trinitarian churches made very quickly a big deal of me because I believe that "Jesus is not God".

Cheers,
Wolfgang

[Stephen Kingsley]

John;

Again bro, you keep knocking down the Trinitarian position, but so what? It's an inferred position, not a purely scriptural one. Then, to make you look even more superior (apparently) you call it polytheistic (a misrepresentation) and knock it down again. Just because you can trash the Trinity does not prove that your own inferred position is any better. Your "Jesus Christ is Not God" teaching is not an "It Is Written" position. In fact, to make your case you have bend and twist and explain away numerous w-o-r-d-s in the written Word to wire it all together. You're sure you're right in doing so. I'm not so sure.

Does this extra knowledge make you a better Christian? A better servant of Christ? Do you walk in a greater anointing? Are you more saved? More Spirit-filled? Closer to God? Do you really have special knowledge of God and what He can and can not do?
I believe that Jesus was a paradox, not God and God at the same time and I don't know where to draw the lines to explain where God ended and the man Jesus began. And my both/and position is more "It is Written" than yours because I don't have to bend a single Scripture to suit my purpose. I simply have to bow to a God greater than I can understand and humbly admit that I don't know (and can't know) it all. The Bible is filled with many such mysteries and paradoxes. I believe it, obey it, I'm held by it, but it's full of many things I don't (yet) understand (fully) and God is not holding a gun (or hell) to my head demanding I come up with answers to everything. As I said in an earlier post, my love for God and fear of His judgment has brought me to what seems to be a safer, more inclusive, historic, and respectful position. It's very possible that you, John, and Mark are smarter than I am and really can grasp all this and hold it together. Honestly, I've tried and can not. I'm not alone in this either. Many ex-Way folk who used to demonize trinitarians as evil are now willing to embrace the obvious element of mystery in the godhead and enjoy fellowship with the rest of Christianity. It is nowhere nearly as big a deal as Wierwille made it out to be.

[Frank Abissi]

John, it's good to see you back here. I agree, the standard is "It Is Written" I don't agree with the standard that I have read in this blog "It Is Debated" I have never had a problem with the simple premise that Jesus is not God, Never was, will be, nor does he want the job, He is content I absolutely believe sitting at the right hand of the Father. I never thought I would see a discussion like this amongst those who have at least been exposed to the teaching we have (No, I am not trying to put a target on my back).
I have read your book and I find that I agree with it. There was no place I felt that I could break it.
This is not my absolute area of expertise, I don't spend my days studying this subject of JCING but i do know enough to be very dangerous. Thanks for blogging

[John Lynn]

Hi there, Blog People. I have finally gotten back to this and read the many comments. How wonderful to see old friends on here. Davis, I still have the three hardbound copies of my TWI books that you graciously provided long ago. George, I miss seeing you. Steve, I'm praying for the Suns, but I'm afraid that after a shining run, they are now setting. Michael S., Elizabeth and I loved seeing you in NY. John and Janet, wow, lots of fond memories of times with you here and there.

At the risk of whatever, I must encourage us not to drift from the standard of IT IS WRITTEN. Either The Book is what it claims to be--the God-breathed revelation of the Creator that does contain all things that pertain to life and godliness--or it is not. If it is not, life is a crapshoot. If it is, then it is not up to us to pontificate about how things in it are not clearly spelled out. Can not the Creator communicate in such a way that we can both understand and apply His words? I say yes, because that is what He says in the Word.

Who are we to say that it really makes no difference whether or not one believes Jesus is God, especially when both God and Jesus say it is the world's biggest deal, as in "Who do you say that I am?" If we adhere at all to the inherent linguistic principles God set in His Word, and thus take words like "son" at face value, the fallacious idea of a Trinity, with Jesus being "God the Son," evaporates under the light of logic and common sense, as well it should. So do non-sensical conjectures like God being in control, dead people being alive, et al. Believing those, and other, error requires one to ignore or abandon the laws of language that God invented. Why does truth matter? Because only a knowledge of the truth makes us free and, conversely, believing error puts us in some degree of bondage, whether we know it or not.

Hey, I'm all for loving one another--that is the point of The Book, to be like The Man, but it is truth that defines love, and truth from God comes in w-o-r-d-s, which He originally arranged so as to make known to us His heart, will, and purposes.

Please do not throw out a phrase like "knowledge puffs up" without addressing it in its immediate context, and that of the whole Word. Proverbs 2, et al, tells us to get as much knowledge of God as we possibly can, so that cannot be a bad thing. Here is a link to a brief article on that very verse--1 Cor. 8:1, and I urge you to read it. http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?name=News&file=arti...

The truth that TWI taught WAS, and in that sense, The Way WAS the only place we could have heard that truth in that package. Of course people came away with a wide variety of perspectives and opinions about their particular experience, but none of those, good or bad, negate the truth of the Word that TWI taught us.

George, I appreciate your thoughts about helping our country (which I think is in pitiful shape and going to get much worse under Obama's assault on freedom and prosperity), and I am all for believers following the Lord's leading them into politics, etc. As for the Islam issue, it is noteworthy that the Church, with its Trinitarian and thus polytheistic gospel, has a pitiful record of reaching Muslims. I attended a debate b/t a Christian and a Muslim, mostly about the Trinity, and afterward went to the Muslim, who was at least open to dialogue with me when I told him that there are some Christians who do not believe this pagan fable. Muslims know that God the Father, God the Son, and God the H.S. are three gods, no matter how much Christians try to say they are one. IMO, there are only two things that will stop a true Muslim from trying to kill or enslave everyone who refuses Islam. One is a bullet, and the other is the truth of God's Word that would change his heart.
Thanks for considering my thoughts. As per Gene Hackman in "Hoosiers" (which I know each of you owns), "I love you guys."
John

[Frank Abissi]

Davis,
I am thinking of moving to So Ill just so I can vote for you.
Now what is part two of what John (Lynn I think was the one who started this blog) had to say?

[John Richeson]

"It was, what it was"........ John R.

That made me laugh outloud....you have a way with words. Keep writing please.