Life as a Member of Solid Rock Vista - #5

Throughout the years, James will occassionally withdraw from people. Typically, something happens and the cohesion of the group is threatened. He starts complaining about not being their teacher anymore; talks about moving away; starting a new group elsewhere; saying he’s not appreciated; saying how misunderstood he is; talking about the abuse of teachers and how badly abused he is; saying he is going to “work” with or without them; and generally retreating for a period of time. In recent years this includes taking down his online presence.

He would often conduct one of his public polls during these times, and the reaction from group members is predictable. These “retreats” are a test of members’ loyalty and always served as a catalyst for renewed commitment to him. I hope you can tell that I am using the word “retreat” to indicate a withdrawal, a pulling back.Whenever it happened, we all gathered around him (quite literally) to console him. We would tell him how much we appreciated him, how wonderful he is, how much we would miss him, how much we want him to be our teacher, etc.

If there is an obvious person who is the cause of all this (it’s usually not a current member but it can be), we would disown that person in various ways to show our loyalty to James such as gossiping about the person, and lots of discussion about how unconscious the person is, how unaware the person is of how wonderful he and the group are.

We were quite incredulous, “How could the person be so asleep? They just don’t understand. What a shame.” The member, whether ex or current, knows they are being gossiped about. Gossip is a huge component of the group’s dynamic. They don’t call it gossip, of course. It’s just a discussion about the person in order to learn more about “the work.” In other words, they use the person’s supposed “weakness” as an example of what not to do.

Gathering at James’ and Connie’s home for hours and hours at a time during one of these “retreats” was quite common. Current members sitting at home during one of these retreat/withdrawal periods were obviously not serious about “the work” were not considered part of the core of the group. (Jockying to be part of the core of the group is favorite pasttime.) Many times throughout the years, but especially during these times, we would quote John 6:68 in showing what good students we are and how much we need him as a teacher: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

After a period of time, he would receive a message from God telling him something “new.” (For example, I remember that after one of these “retreats” of his, God told him about a Fifth Way.) After he hears from God and receives this new message, during one of the meetings there will be a group “snapping” experience (described elsewhere on this blog - there’s also a book by the same name that describes this experience).

After they’ve all had the confirmation that he’s still supposed to be their teacher (aka snapping), the cycle begins again. He is now the renewed teacher, and the students feel reaffirmed in their commitment to him.