Yes...

Posted by Observer on November 26, 2011 at 04:28:44

In Reply to: Re: Thank you for that update posted by Coordinator on November 25, 2011 at 22:09:08:

...it was public. That's why I was there... :-) Officially billed as a fellowship for members and ex-members.

It was all part of a three months long PR blitz around the world by Peter, appearing during local fellowships, etc. From what I could see, he was mainly doing damage control and assessing the overall situation, after the Family virtually disintegrated after the reboot.

Joe's right in one thing, they're trying to re-invent & reposition TFI as a mainstream Christian fellowship, however futile that effort is going to be.

The latest headcount of TFI, including all fringe and would be members, is around 2000 folks world-wide - they basically ceased having any kind of relevance.

Anyone can be a member now, which means a password to their members only website. There's no minimum contribution and you don't have to send yours to WS, you can also just support any other member couple with your gift. So, basically, for just a buck or two, you can partake of their publications. If anyone is interested I can send you an invitation.

It's hardly worth that, let me tell you. Content is unbelievably boring, consisting of perhaps 10 different sections: The Director's Corner where Bonnie & Clyde publish their op-eds, a prayer section which is to 99% soliciting prayers for health and financial problems, some "mission" (new buzzword) related sections, witnessing tips, etc.

To reduce costs, no doubt, they've been reduced, basically, to an Internet publishing company. No more printed materials of any kind are available to members, except Activated, the magazine once touted as the world's most important publication. And, of course, you have to pay for it. It's been severely curtailed, though, and what once was a mag published in many languages, is now only available in English and Spanish on a regular basis. Some other languages are still being produced, but mostly only in online PDF format.

It is interesting that they are totally marginalizin Berg. You can hardly find any reference to him anymore on any of their GP websites. You really have to dig around sub menues to finally find a link which brings you to another, separat website: www.davidberg.org.

On the homepage it reads thus: "Founded in California during the late 1960s, the Family International has expanded into a worldwide organization with members in over 90 countries"

In the past they never missed a beat to push Berg right up front, like "Founded in California by charismatic preacher David Berg..."

In some ways the reboot could be interpreted as a bold and brave move by Bonnie & Clyde, shaking off the shackles of a controversial and disturbed past. However, it was forced upon them, self-admittedly. Peter in one of his publication post-reboot, mentioned himself that, if he hadn't made these changes, TFI would have totally ceased to exist and imploded.

Sorry, rambling again, but I hope it fills a vacuum for some.

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