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On Easter weekend 2000, there was an "unconvention" for ex2x2s held in Canberra Australia. Following is an overview of each speaker. The proceedings were taped and are available for $3 AUD each + postage. The three tapes do not capture the talks in their absolute entirety, but do capture most of it.
The overviews I will give are mostly derived from the actual words of the speakers, but edited in some cases by myself for both brevity and ease of reading. Where I have changed a speaker's words slightly, every effort has been made to preserve both the intent and meaning of the speaker. Note that each overview is an overview only - as each talk was at least 90mins long I cannot reproduce it all here!
The unconvention attendees greatly enjoyed each other's company. There was a restaurant dinner on the Saturday night which further enabled us to cement friendships and share experiences.
We were greatly blessed by Doug and Helen's presence on the Easter weekend. They commenced with a group discussion in which Doug put up a number of questions for us to think about together.
Some comments to why there is so much deception/the mysteries of the group:
The group is based on a false premise. Ongoing effects of the "big lie" introduced in 1928. There is supposed to be something else (that we have to do), more than the finished work of Christ. There is enough of the truth to confuse people.
After group discussions, Doug spoke on the gospel of Christ and the TRUE WAY of Christ rather than "the way" we had been taught. His emphasis was on the prayer of Christ that we might come to KNOW God, not just know of Him.
After morning tea, Doug spoke at length on his personal recollections. His own experiences, history of the group, present happenings and possible future directions. Also the events that led him to write "The Secret Sect". Needless to say, we were all fascinated and could have listened for hours! (Well, it probably was a few hours!)
What impressed us most about Doug was his very gentle demeanour and humble character. This is a godly man who simply radiates love with a constant smile and twinkling eye. Those attending felt hugely blessed to have met this man who has made such a great impact on many of our lives.
Jan spent a fair amount of time acquainting us with her long and very colourful history of her attempts to find the "one true church". Her first stop was the Worldwide Church of God which gave radio talks in the early/mid 60s in Australia. Then the 7th Day Adventists came knocking on the door and offering a free Bible for those who attended their lectures. Jan went (and got that free Bible!). Then the Mormons came along. They too were claiming the One True Way. So why not check it out? Still studying the WWCoG and Adventists, the Mormons also got their foot in the door and confusion reigned.
For awhile the Mormons won out with their friendliness, kindness, hospitality and considerate behaviour. Jan became a baptised member. She recounts the painful days after the death of her first child which led her to question the Mormon beliefs. Into the middle of this came two door-knocking Jehovah's Witness women. They turned up in '68, just a few years before (their prediction of) Armageddon was due in '75. Jan joined and began to see the inside of the group. It is not until you convert that you really see the workings of these groups, because you are treated with kid gloves until you begin to think like the rest of them!
Through a series of events she discovered a number of prophecies made in the JWs that had not come true in years past, and the cover-ups that had taken place to suppress these false prophecies. The last JW meeting she ever sat in was when the leaders held a meeting in late '75 to explain why Armageddon did not take place that year. She recounts the incredibly deep anger and grief she experienced at that time, waking up to being deceived so badly, and realising she had allowed herself to be deceived. Realising she would lose all her friends by leaving the JWs. Everything came crashing down.
Jan then talked about coming to grips with her disappointments and finally discovering God for herself through the pages of the Bible. She advertised in a newspaper for ex-members of religious groups to contact her, and the phone rang off the hook. She told us how her present ministry got started through finding more and more ex-members of exclusive groups and putting them in contact with each other to share their pain and realise that their stories were all very similar.
Jan also spoked about the commonalities of exclusive groups - their methods of control and elitist mindsets.
We give thanks to Jan for her very heartfelt talks - at times excruciately sad and at times excruciately funny. We received an amazing glimpse into other exclusive worlds through Jan's eyes to discover that her experiences reflected our own in many instances.
Peter is an ex2x2 who is now a pastor and counselor in Melbourne. He has been called by God to minister to the hurt and wounded from many walks of life and varied experiences. He ministered to us about the effects and emotional wounding of belonging to a spiritually abusive church and working towards recovery. He spoke on Sunday afternoon. Here is an overview of his presentation:
Peter started his talk by pointing out that in the past many 2x2s left the group for various reasons of their own, but these days information abounds regarding the history and structure of the group, and people now leaving are often armed with this information, as are we who have already left. He suggested that this new dimension requires great wisdom on our part. We can't neccessarily just bowl in and throw information around. We can go with our own agenda, but it is better to go gently with the grace of God, and show them the true heart of our Father God.
He spoke about our value as a 2x2 - how it was constantly rising and falling depending on how well we performed (unlocking the meeting hall, putting out chairs or playing the hymns, driving workers around, etc). But our quality of life doesn't rise and fall on what others think of us, it rises and falls on our relationship with God the Father.
We were bought with a price that we cannot put a worth on. The precious blood of Jesus. Each of us are priceless in the sight of God. No man, sect, religion or organisation can devalue your worth. The bloodline of Christ is a currency that cannot be bought or sold. If someone tells us we don't measure up, that is not the voice of God. We should never let anyone devalue our position in Christ. We are bought with a price, children of the King, free, born again of the spirit, and no-one can take this away from us.
Peter also spoke of the heartache and grief we suffered as 2x2s because we belonged to a belief system that wasn't of God. The more we strived to be accepted, the higher the bar was lifted. He spoke of the hunger and desire we have to be loved and accepted for who we are. But our self worth and security was defined by belonging to the 2x2 group. When we left we had to cope with leaving our long established sense of purpose.
Peter's talk stirred some very deep emotions within all of us as we came to terms with accepting that we have a big task in building a new and very different life for ourselves outside of the 2x2 structure. We need to accept that the relationships we once had with friends and family inside the group have been irreversibly changed forever. But he also emphasized that the most important thing in defining ourselves outside of the 2x2s is defining ourselves in relation to God and Christ. We give thanks to Peter for his challenging message to us, and his great desire to reveal to us the love and Father-heart of God towards us, His creation and children.
Regards,
Elizabeth.
May 21, 2000