WHO TO!--PUSHERS OR PROBLEMS?             DFO 334A                  4/75
--The Disciple Standards of the New Do-It-Yourself Revolution!--Part V

GOT A CONTINUAL PROBLEM? GET RID OF IT!

         1. God comes to a point where "His Spirit will not always strive with Man." "He that being OFTEN REPROVED & HARDENETH his neck shall suddenly be DESTROYED!"--Gen.6:3; Pro.29:1.
         2. If they keep it up & won't get the victory, then you just have to get rid of them! They can act SO pitiful & they always feel SO sorry for themselves & feel SO abused & mistreated! They always go out & complain afterwards that THEY were mistreated & abused, & sometimes become your bitter enemy.

HALFHEARTS ARE THE DEVIL'S TOOL TO SLOW DOWN GOD'S WORK!

         3. The Devil sent them to cause trouble, & if they can't stay INSIDE to cause trouble then they go OUTSIDE & cause trouble. We've spent ENOUGH time on these cases & God has shown us enough about them that we should have learned our LESSON!
         4. The purpose for which God allows it no doubt is to teach us a lesson so that we won't let it happen AGAIN & waste MORE hours & days & weeks & months & years of leadership time all throughout the whole Revolution dealing with the SAME kind of PROBLEM CASES!
         5. There are enough good fish in the sea if you'll go out & hunt for them. You don't have to keep the SICK ones & the WEAK ones, & the DISEASED ones! You just can't DO it, that's all!

BLOBS: A GATHERING PLACE FOR THE WEAK!

         6. THE WEAK ONES GET TOGETHER & they sort of help drag each other down & sympathise with each other. I've seen it happen many times.
         7. THEY CAN LIVE IN THOSE BLOBS & BE HIDDEN so nobody ever knows the difference, it's never even brought out. As long as they're there & they're happy & enjoying life, the Devil's happy. But just get them out in a SMALL Home & put the PRESSURE on & you'll find out who the real SOLDIERS are & who the WEAK SISTERS & STRETCHER CASES are!

INVITE YOUR PROBLEMS TO LEAVE!

         8. I DIDN'T HAVE ANY TROUBLE GETTING RID OF THEM. Usually they're already a big problem, causing all kinds of trouble & other leaders are spending hours & hours dealing with them & praying with them & wasting God's time. I'd simply bring them in, smile at them & say,
         9. "I'M SO SORRY YOU'RE NOT HAPPY HERE. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE YOU TO PACK your bag? We're getting a car ready now to take you to the bus station. We'll pay your fare to the next town. It was nice, but you know if you can't make it, you just can't make it.
         10. "This kind of life is not for everybody & apparently it's not for you.--You're not happy, you're dissatisfied, & you're causing lots of trouble, & obviously you'd be happier somewhere else. We'll help you get out of here & you can go wherever you want."

MA & PA WILL GLADLY TAKE THEM BACK!

         11. USUALLY ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS GO STRAIGHT TO THE NEAREST PHONE & CALL MAMA & Papa & they'd wire them the money to come home immediately, no problem. That's what Mama & Papa had been wanting all the time.
         12. IT'S AWFULLY HARD TO KEEP THOSE PEOPLE AS FRIENDS. They always go back, & even if they don't become an outright enemy, they're always malcontent. They're almost always a witness against you--they usually HAVE to be.

WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR JUST ANY KIND OF DISCIPLES!

         13. BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE PROBLEMS YOU HAVE WHEN YOU TAKE SOMEBODY IN THAT'S NOT REALLY GENUINELY SAVED, born again, changed radically & really living a new life.--They're certainly not really the kind of material that's going to make a fighting soldier. If they're one of these long drawn-out cases where they've got to be given some long time-consuming kind of cure, we haven't got time for them.
         14. IF GOD CAN'T CURE THEM right on the spot, because they haven't got what it takes to get the real cure right this minute, boom!--Then forget it! We're not in the business of taking in guys who just want a free ride or a soft bed or a hospital cure.
         15. WE ARE AN ARMY! We're not only an army, but we're training the OFFICERS of the army! We're the toughest officer's training school there is, & that's what you've got to remember!
         16. WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR JUST ANY KIND OF DISCIPLES. We're looking for the RIGHT kind who are going to make good FIGHTERS & good OFFICERS, & the rest of them can go back to church or some other spiritual hospital.

THE SPIRITUALLY WEAK ARE SICK & HANDICAPPED!

         17. IN THE CASE OF COUPLES I DIDN'T HESITATE TO GIVE BOTH THE MAN & THE WOMAN A CHOICE, & it was usually the WOMAN who wanted to stay, believe it or not, with the KIDS, & the husband got angry & wanted to take off!
         18. THE WOMAN'S GOT HER FREE WILL & the choice to do what she wants to, & to prove it I'd call her husband right in & say to her, "What do you want to do?" And she'd say, "I want to stay." "You've got a free will & choice & you can go with your husband if you want to." "I don't want to, I want to stay."
         19. AND SHE WOULD STAY, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD TO GO, because we had given him enough chances & he had no choice anymore. I'd try to give him a nice little farewell talk & try to send him out as a friend.
         20. YOU'VE GOT TO JUST TREAT THEM LIKE YOU WOULD SOMEBODY WHO'S SICK , which is what they are. "So sorry you're sick, but you know this is a hard life for sick people, so you'd better go home where you can go to bed, & if you're spiritually sick you can go to the churches. They're just FULL of the spiritually sick, & they've got TIME for people like you--we DON'T!"

FIGHTING A WAR IS ONLY FOR THE TOUGH!

         21. WE'RE FIGHTING A WAR! We're in an ARMY & we're in a HURRY, & we haven't got time to fiddle around & hold their hand & let them cry on our shoulder.
         22. PAUL MADE IT PRETTY CLEAR THAT IT WAS A TOUGH FIGHT & only for soldiers, not for namby-pamby cry babies & sick & handicapped people. "Endure HARDNESS as a good SOLDIER of Christ Jesus. Entangle not yourself with the affairs of this World, that you may please Him Who has called you to be a SOLDIER!"--2Tim.2:3,4.
         23. WE TALK ABOUT REHABILITATION FROM DRUGS & CRIME, BUT WE SPECIALISE IN THE KIND WHO GET INSTANT DELIVERANCE through Jesus Christ right on the spot BEFORE they join!--NOT those we have to fiddle around with for years AFTER they join trying to get them to get the victory.
         24. THEY'VE GOT TO GET SAVED, CHANGED, DELIVERED & HEALED RIGHT THEN & THEN join, or for God's sake don't let them in! We have NOT got time for people who are going to always be a problem & drag us ALL down!

"REVOLUTIONARY RULES"--A MUST FOR DISCIPLES TODAY!

         25. WHAT DO YOU THINK I WROTE "THE REVOLUTIONARY RULES" FOR? (See No.S.) I tried to make it sound as tough as possible so nobody would even WANT to join unless they really meant BUSINESS!
         26. THOSE RULES HOLD TRUE TODAY JUST AS MUCH AS THEY EVER DID! They're just as right as they EVER were & they'd better stick to them just like they EVER did or they're going to have trouble!

VICTORY IS BY CHOICE!

         27. YOU CAN'T FORCE ANYBODY TO GET THE VICTORY. They either make the right choice & have the will to do it & GET it or they DON'T.
         28. THEY CAN GET THE VICTORY IF THEY CHOOSE TO, because God's GOT it for them, & there's OODLES of promises on it. So they have absolutely NO excuse for NOT getting the victory.
         29. IF THEY WILL DO THEIR PART & FORSAKE THEIR SINS & make the right choice to do God's Will, He'll give it to them.--If NOT, NOBODY can! I don't care how many hours of counselling you waste on them, they just become nothing but a drag & a hindrance & a terrible weight on the whole Revolution!
         30. I'LL TELL YOU, THE DEVIL IS MAD & he'll always try to throw the monkey wrench right in when & where he knows it will do the most harm. But he can't stop us, & we'll all go ahead in SPITE of him, thank God!

MAKE IT SOUND TOUGH & HARD TO DISCOURAGE THE WEAK!

         31. You kids are going to have to strike a happy medium between the way you WERE doing it, almost shutting the door ENTIRELY on new disciples, & now throwing your doors WIDE OPEN.
         32. What we always did was to make it sound as black & as bad as we could. We didn't say, "Oh, come in! This is such a NICE life & you're going to be so warm & COZY & you won't have to WORK anymore & everything's going to be SO NICE!"
         33. You've got to paint the picture as black as you can & make it sound as hard as possible & as tough as possible & do almost everything you can to discourage them from joining, except putting them on weeks of probation.
         34. You just simply cannot have any formal two weeks probation period. You take them in ONE day & if they right away prove they haven't got it, then they're OUT the NEXT! Why PROMISE them TWO WEEKS?--I wouldn't put up with some of these people TWO MINUTES or TWO HOURS, much less two weeks!
         35. You can usually find out within the first day or two what people are really like. It didn't take us long to find out what people were like when we took them into our house & had to LIVE with them. If they expected to be treated like guests of honour & served everything & never turned a finger to hardly do anything, we found out real fast what they had in mind.
         36. Having them come in & live with you is even better than a probation period where they just come in every day & STUDY. You can never find out as much about what they're like then. It doesn't mean a thing just because they're good on paper with pencil & they can sit there in class singing, "la-di-da-di-da!" & shout "Hallelujah!" But if they come in & have to take part in the DUTIES & the ROUGH stuff, then you find out what they're like real fast!
         37. Just tell them in advance, "You're on probation: You to see if you like us, & us to see if we like you! And if you don't like US, there's the DOOR!--And if we don't like YOU, it's the same door!" We cannot fiddle around with people that we have to spend YEARS trying to LEARN to like, & they have to spend years trying to learn to like US!

IT'S INSTANT LOVE OR NOTHING!

         38. IT'S EITHER INSTANT LOVE OR IT'S NOTHING! These people that they have wanted to win so bad because they were somebody IMPORTANT or they thought they would make a nice TROPHY & provide a STAR in their crown, so they made it as EASY as they could & they did everything FOR them including going the 110th mile, more often than not they never came through!
         39. Jesus said, "Right here, right now! Forsake all! Come follow Me & I'll make you FISHERS of MEN!" And they dropped everything on the spot!--Boom!--Right then, that was it! No fiddling around.--Mat.4:19-20.
         40. They've gotta like what they see & go all out for it & burn their bridges behind them on the spot like Elisha did! He burned his bridges right behind him & made it impossible for him to go back!--1Ki.19:21.
         41. These problem people keep one hand in & one back somewhere else , always figuring out how they're going to go back in case they don't make it or can't take it.
         42. They always go back, because they didn't come in all the way in the first place with ALL their heart & ALL their soul. They were double-minded to begin with. I have no patience with those people! I never have had.

THE GIFT OF DISCERNMENT: BE SURE OF EVERY DISCIPLE

         43. WE SHOULD NEVER LET THESE GUYS IN THE DOOR TO MOVE IN UNTIL WE KNOW something about them & we've got a real conviction that they've really got the goods! It's a whole lot harder to get rid of them than it is to take them IN.
         44. How do you know what they're like if you accept them on the spot? Well, that's when you need a little DISCERNMENT, & in the absence of that you need to PRAY for it!
         45. Some of you guys need to get the gift of discernment , especially a Shepherd so that he can figure what kind of a guy or person this one or that one is! You can't just automatically accept every Tom, Dick & Harry a little disciple brings to the door!
         46. The Home Council has to get together & talk to the guy before they can even accept him. The Council has to set the standards & the rules & they've got to make the decision on who's accepted in the number.

NO OVERNIGHTERS: AN ABSOLUTE RULE!

         47. I used to refuse to even take them in down at the Club. I said, "Nothing doing unless they really get SAVED & want to JOIN! They either have to want to join the ARMY or forget it! They can go sleep on the beach or in jail or go home or something. There's plenty of other places they can sleep."
         48. There was one guy they disobeyed me about & took in--"Well, Dad said we shouldn't do this, but I feel so sorry for this poor guy we'll sleep on each side of him like guards to make sure nothing happens." The guards went sound to sleep & the guy was smarter than they were.
         49. He woke up nice & bright & early & took off with all their money! I said, "That's just what you deserve! That's a good lesson you'll never forget! That's NOT the kind of people we want, & you'd better not take just ANYBODY overnight!"
         50. No mere overnighters, that was our absolute rule , no overnighters! They either JOINED or nothing doing!

TEST'M BUT DON'T LOAD'M DOWN!

         51. Neither do we believe in loading them down with the heavy stuff while you're talking to them trying to get them to join, like, "Would you be willing to give up or share your wife or husband?" You don't ask a baby before it's born if he's going to be willing to do something!
         52. You just can't dump everything on a babe! You simply warn them that it's going to be HARD. You don't tell them EVERYTHING about how hard it's going to be.
         53. One of the first things to tell them is they're going to have to wash dishes & clean toilets, sweep floors & peel potatoes, & you'll be amazed how well that weeds out a lot of the people! "It's HARD WORK! Everybody here WORKS & works HARD! You'll probably work harder HERE than you worked out in the SYSTEM & have LESS free time, & MORE work & LESS comfort!"
         54. I just believe in being honest & fair with the people & letting them know how hard it's going to be so they have a choice to get out of it BEFORE they get into it. I never even went THAT far with someone that wasn't even saved & filled with the Spirit & ENTHUSIASTIC about joining.

NOT ONLY SAVED BUT FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT BEFORE JOINING!

         55. I used to tell them that we didn't even want them to join unless they got filled with the Spirit & the POWER to be a witness. I had my doubts about any of these guys who got SAVED & didn't get filled with the HOLY SPIRIT TOO!
         56. I don't think anybody ought to join unless they're really filled with the Holy Spirit, because they're not going to have the POWER or the GRACE to take it. Anybody that's not filled with the Holy Spirit is going to be a PROBLEM case & a CARNAL case & a REAL baby, nothing but PROBLEMS!
         57. If they're not yielded while they're wanting to get in, they're never going to be yielded! They're never going to want it any more than right that minute! If there was EVER a time they should have the incentive to want to be filled with the Holy Spirit it's right THEN when they're first saved & they're really softest & tenderest & most yielded & surrendered.
         58. They've got to be saved & filled with the Holy Ghost & absolutely desperately wanting to SERVE the Lord, just DYING to serve God & willing to absolutely FORSAKE ALL to do it.

FORSAKING ALL!--ANOTHER TEST!

         59. Forsaking all is another test to see if they really mean business by giving up everything they have. Make it clear that they give it up FOREVER & even if they don't want to stay, they've GIVEN it & can't get it BACK. That's one of the acid tests. They've got to forsake all, PERIOD!
         60. But it's a terrible thing for shepherds to take them in when they know they're weak sheep & take everything they've got & THEN throw them out! That's a CON-GAME, that's a real criminal act as far as I'm concerned! I think it's terrible to take a little sick sheep in, shear it & then throw it back out in the cold, because then they're worse off than they were before!

ALMOST ALL HANDICAPS INTERFERE WITH DISCIPLESHIP!

         61. I just don't believe in taking in the physically or mentally handicapped. There may be some possibility for the physically handicapped if they're only crippled or something so that they can still serve the Lord. What I used to make as a rule was, if they've got a handicap: Paul had a thorn in the flesh.--But as long as it doesn't keep them from SERVING God any more than it kept PAUL from serving the Lord, then it's all right.
         62. If your handicap does not interfere whatsoever in any way with your service & your work, duties, litnessing & witnessing, studies & classes etc., then fine!--All the more credit to you! But if you think we're going to take you in as a handicapped person & ease off on you on the duties & on the litnessing & on everything else, so you're just going to be a PARTIAL disciple, nothing doing! We can't do it.

COUNT ALL THE COST FOR THEM!

         63. THE BIBLE SAYS TO SIT DOWN & COUNT THE COST (LK.14:28), & YOU'VE GOT TO COUNT IT FOR THEM if they don't know what it is. Then, in view of all that, forsake all & bring everything you've got, being warned that you might get tossed out tomorrow because you can't make it or can't take it or you're not what we want. Then you've been FAIR to them & you've told them the WHOLE story.

A LITTLE POISON CAN KILL A WHOLE BODY!

         64. YOU'VE GOT TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO SERVE THE LORD, BUT NOT TOO EASY. Then you'll get the GOOD kind of material that you NEED & that won't be a constant source of TROUBLE & PROBLEMS. We don't need somebody that's mentally, spiritually or physically SICK, because they're just a DRAG on EVERYBODY!
         65. Why let one problem case drag down a whole dozen, or God knows HOW many, good physically able-bodied healthy soldiers? You'd be better off with one LESS member than to have a DISEASED member that's going to cause you nothing but TROUBLE! It's like having a GANGRENED arm!
         66. Why let it poison the whole body so the whole body dies? It's a lot better to just chop it OFF & get RID of it so at least the OTHER members of the body can survive & go ahead & do their job! The idea of trying to nurse it along to try to save ONE MEMBER while he's killing the WHOLE BODY is ridiculous!

A PROBLEM CASE IN A FAMILY--ONLY THE PROBLEM HAS TO LEAVE!

         67. In the case of families, if even any one of them proves to be a problem, you have to get rid of that one & the rest of them have to be willing to get rid of them too. If they're not willing to "forsake husband or wife, mother or father, brother or sister, or children for My sake & the Gospel's," as Jesus said, then they ought to go too, because they're ANOTHER weak one.
         68. In some cases you may have to take them home & get them settled & try to see that they're taken care of before returning. You have to judge every case on its own merits & its own situation.
         69. It might be a good test for them too if you give them adequate opportunity to leave & go home with their mate & they wind up finding they are royally received at home & given the red carpet treatment & that lovely apartment of their own, money to live on & everything else! It can be a great temptation!
         70. If they're weak they'll stick together, just like many have done. If they really mean business & really want to come back, they'll come back no matter what!--And if they DON'T, you don't WANT them!

QUALITY!--NOT QUANTITY!

         71. FOR GOD'S SAKE, WE'RE NOT SO HARD UP FOR DISCIPLES & want disciples so bad that we're just willing to take ANYBODY in!
         72. We need to look for good material, good disciples, real fibre, real timber, real soldiers, real workers! That's what the ARMY does, the WORLD does it.
         73. Employers don't pick just anybody who applies for the job--they're SELECTIVE. And that's the way WE ought to be with NEW DISCIPLES. Have them make out their application & then say, "Now leave this with us & we'll let you know tonight, tomorrow or in a few minutes."
         74. Call the council together & look him over, & make a decision. Right at that moment when they make out their application they should have time to write out their life story & testimony.

A TESTIMONY IS A TELLING TOOL!

         75. I've been amazed at some of the people we've taken in & had working with us for YEARS, yet when I read their life story I knew right away what was causing them to be a problem all the time!
         76. You can tell a lot by a person's life history & testimony. That's exactly what a psychiatrist does: He says, "Lie down on the couch!--Now tell me EVERYTHING."--And in the multitude of words there lacketh not an opportunity to find out what their sin or weakness really is!--Pro.10:19. They'll tell you right there.

DON'T GUARANTEE TOMORROW!

         77. We're not signing any life contracts with anybody! Their place is NOT GUARANTEED! The Lord guarantees SALVATION but He doesn't guarantee REWARDS, places of service or anything else. You're not guaranteed very much, but He says, "Having FOOD & CLOTHING, therewith be content!"--1Tim.6:8.
         78. Nearly everything in "The Revolutionary Rules" is based on Scripture or quoting Scripture all the way through, & it's all right there. It's still just as good today as it ever was, & it ought to be applied as a STANDARD RULE to each NEW DISCIPLE just like it always was.
         79. Stick a copy of it in their hand & say, "Sit down & read this & beware! This is a hard life & not for everybody. You may not even like it, & we may not like you!" When they get through & they have read the whole thing & you've warned them & everything else, they may still insist that they want to make it & they can take it.
         80. We found out we didn't have to have any probation period. It just almost invariably proved that nearly all of our backsliders went back within the first two weeks. It usually only takes about two weeks for them to really know the situation & you to really know them!
         81. I don't believe in making it too hard for them or too easy. You can go to either extreme. You have to learn to hit the happy MEDIUM when you're fishing with your net. Jesus said He'd pull out all kinds of fish, but then you sit down on the ground & you sort out the GOOD ones from the BAD ones, & throw the bad ones back where they came from!
         82. When we caught a kind of fish that we didn't want we just threw it right back in again. You don't have to KEEP him just because you CAUGHT him. That ought to be a good lesson for everyone to remember.

ONLY TAKE THOSE YOU CAN'T DO WITHOUT!

         83. YOU CAN ONLY AFFORD TO HAVE THE ONES THAT ARE REALLY GOING TO BE A HELP. Our attitude should not be: "Well, we hate to turn this poor guy out with no place to go. I feel sorry for him, HE needs HELP." Maybe he DOES need help, but there are oodles of OTHER places that'll help him--all kinds of charitable organisations & churches & missions & whatnot.
         84. The criterion is supposed to be kind of like my Mother used to say about marriage, "Son, don't marry the woman you think you can live WITH, but marry the girl you cannot live WITHOUT!" That is the attitude they should have toward their new disciples.
         85. "HOW CAN WE GET ALONG WITHOUT THIS GUY? Look at the TALENTS he's got, look at the DRIVE he's got! Look at the SPIRIT he's got! Boy, what a SOLDIER he'd make, what a LITNESSER, what a WITNESSER! Man, we can't do WITHOUT this fellow!--We NEED him!"
         86. If they don't have the Spirit & they're not absolutely convinced of the righteousness of our cause & have the spirit to want to do or die & die daily to LOVE people, we don't WANT them! If they haven't got the PHYSICAL stamina to be able to TAKE it & the MENTAL capability & capacity to be able to MAKE it, we don't want them! So my God, if they've got physical handicaps & they're mentally retarded or demon-possessed, I don't see how WE can use them! They just cause more TROUBLE than they're WORTH!

SMALL TEAMS: EVERY MEMBER IS ESSENTIAL!

         87. In these small Homes every member counts & you know every one of them like a book, & if anybody fails in their job, the whole Home feels it!
         88. Nobody's going to get away with anything in these Homes! EVERYBODY'S going to know what EVERYBODY else is doing, & EVERYBODY is going to have something to do that is absolutely ESSENTIAL & that nobody ELSE is doing FOR them!
         89. THEY'RE GOING TO KNOW IF THE JOB'S GETTING DONE BECAUSE THERE'S NOBODY ELSE TO DO IT! So they're not going to get away with these weak sisters. I'll tell you right now, we're not going to be able to put up with people who can't carry their own weight!
         90. They can't just keep on riding along on everybody else's coat-tails like they could in a big Blob of several hundred people where you wouldn't even know the difference whether they're there or not!
         91. EVERY ONE OF THESE SMALL HOMES HAS GOT TO BE JUST LIKE A LITTLE SQUAD OF SOLDIERS ON THE FIELD--every single ONE is essential! If you've got a SMALL patrol, let me tell you, you can't do without ANY of them! They've ALL got to do their job or the mission is DEFEATED! So Lord help us to get the RIGHT kind of material & the RIGHT kind of disciples.

WE HAVE ONLY ONE CLASS OF DISCIPLES!

         92. WE'RE GOING TO DITCH ALL THESE "FIRST CLASS" PASSENGERS! We're not going to CARRY them! It reminds me of the little story about the bus with the first-class passengers, second-class passengers & third-class passengers: A guy went to buy a ticket on the bus & asked,
         93. "What's the difference in the classes?" The ticket agent said, "Oh, not very much." "Do we all sit in the same part of the bus?" "Yes, all the accommodations are the same." "Well," he said, "then I guess I'll just buy a THIRD-class ticket.--Why should I pay for a FIRST-class ticket?" But he soon found out! They came to this big hill & the bus couldn't make it, so the driver said, "FIRST-class passengers stay in & RIDE, SECOND-class passengers get out & WALK, THIRD-class passengers get out & PUSH!"
         94. We're not going to have anything left but third-class passengers, real pushers! The only ones left'll be the guys on the BOTTOM that are really willing to PUSH their way up & PUSH that bus to the TOP of the mountain!

GIVE A LITTLE TIME & A FEW WARNINGS FIRST!

         95. WHAT DO YOU DO ONCE THEY'RE IN & YOU FIND OUT THAT THEY CAN'T MAKE IT?--You give them a few little warnings & you give them a little time to straighten out.
         96. Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has a few problems, including you & me, & God's merciful & He gives us a little probationary time. But "he that having been OFTEN REPROVED" & STILL doesn't improve "is suddenly DESTROYED, & that without remedy!"--Pro.29:1.

THE FINAL WARNING: THEY'LL OFTEN LEAVE BEFORE THEY'RE KICKED OUT!

         97. When you put the screws on them, if they're a problem case they're either going to get the VICTORY & get RID of it & come THROUGH with flying colours with the REAL STUFF, or they're going to get WORSE, one or the other.
         98. You precipitate a crisis & they're going to go UP or DOWN. They're going to get BETTER or WORSE--they're not going to be able to just roll along.
         99. Then you finally give them one last warning & just say, "Now this is your last chance. Either you do thus & so & show you can TAKE & MAKE it & are a BLESSING & an ASSET & a HELP & not cause any more TROUBLE or PROBLEMS, or we're THROUGH with you! The NEXT time you do it, you've HAD it--that's it!"
         100. When they see they're going to get kicked out, they often decide they're going to quit. They say, "YOU'RE not firing ME--I QUIT!"--And so THEY themselves save you the trouble.--You kind of PRAY them out. My Mother used to say, "I never FIRED anybody YET--I PRAYED them out!"

PART IN PEACE--NOT IN PIECES!

         101. NOW THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST TIRED & they just don't like it here & they just want to go home. They're really not so much enemies, they just can't TAKE it.
         102. They still love you. We've got people who still love us & still want our Letters & even distribute them & so on at home, but they just couldn't stand OUR life, it wasn't for THEM.
         103. So it's better to send them away as a friend & try to part in PEACE & in FRIENDSHIP & tell them you're SORRY. Let them take their Certificate of Fellowship home, & give them a fistful of MO Letters, let them keep their Revolutionary Handbook & a few other signs that they had been with us.

GRADUATES AFTER THE FIRST 3 MONTHS GET A DIPLOMA!
         104. We ought to even start giving them a little diploma or something if they've stood us for THREE MONTHS! We used to do that at the Soul Clinic schools. Then if we decided they weren't the kind of material we wanted to USE & be in our SCHOOL & teach & BE on our STAFF, we just sent them HOME. But they didn't feel like a FAILURE, & we didn't try to MAKE them feel like a failure.
         105. We tried to part in peace & say, "Well, you finished your course & here's your DIPLOMA! I'm sorry we don't have room for you on the staff so that you can stay, but you can go home now & be a good witness, & here are some tracts." They parted happily, most of them, & went home, & we gained a friend instead of making an enemy.
         106. Instead of kicking them out stripped of everything & sending them home with their tail between their legs & licking their wounds, you give them a DIPLOMA, you give them CREDIT for having passed all the tests THAT far & having survived at least THREE MONTHS! Of course some of them will have a whole STRING of diplomas, & that's why we need some kind of a way to keep TRACK of "graduating" personnel.

GRADUATE PICTURE SHEET RECOMMENDED!

         107. They sometimes leave one Home & go to another & just cause more trouble there. Of course, it's pretty hard to tell if they've ever been a disciple before unless somebody happens to spot them or knows them. They're sure not going to TELL anybody if they just got thrown out of ANOTHER Home!
         108. So it would be good to publish a list of the people that have been kicked out. I even advocated THAT once upon a long time ago clear back at TSC when we began having our FIRST real backsliders & troublemakers. But now you'd have to do like the Federal Government: Publish a ROGUES gallery & say, "Here are the CRIMINALS, the top most UNwanted men in the Revolution!"

A ONE-TIME FAILURE ISN'T FINAL!

         109. SOMETIMES THEY GET KICKED OUT WITHOUT A VERY GOOD EXCUSE by the local Shepherd. I don't know how many people have said, "Oh, this guy was lifted up in pride because he wanted to play his guitar!" Or somebody would just ask a QUESTION & the leader would snap, "Is that a MURMUR?"
         110. A lot of times it's not even the kids' fault!--It's the SHEPHERD'S fault or the fault of some STAFF member. So I hope some of THOSE poor kids DO find another Home & have another chance because they didn't have a very good opportunity at the FIRST one, & I think maybe sometimes they OUGHT to leave & go someplace else.
         111. I wouldn't say just a one-time failure is necessarily a sure thing. I'd say if they're a TWO-time failure, well, I'd start keeping an EYE on them. But certainly if they're a THREE-time failure you don't have to take a chance on'm AGAIN!

GET THEIR PIC & TESTIMONY THEIR FIRST DAY WITH YOU!

         112. IT SHOULD BE A RULE THAT WHEN YOU ACCEPT THEM THE FIRST DAY YOU TAKE THEIR PICTURE & stick it on their CARD, because some people may run off the next day, like that other guy did with the MONEY--& we didn't even have a picture to show to the police or ANYTHING!
         113. We ought to take their picture & get their testimony the first day in case we want to FIND them again or in case we want to warn OTHER Homes against them.
         114. SO IT'S QUITE AN INTERESTING & DANGEROUS BUSINESS TO RECRUIT NEW SOLDIERS FOR AN ARMY! You're BOUND to have SOME failures & washouts, but we don't have to have as MANY if we're careful & prayerful & really seek for the GOOD material & not just let ANYTHING walk through the door!


JESUS DIDN'T VILIFY THE WEAK!

         115. THOSE DISCIPLES THAT COULDN'T MAKE IT WITH JESUS, HE DIDN'T VILIFY them, not even the rich young ruler that went back. He practically WEPT over him & said it's very HARD for guys like that.
         116. HE JUST WARNED HIS OWN DISCIPLES ABOUT THEM, but He didn't give them a big bawling out & a horrible lecture & curse them & literally kick them out & send them back a bitter ENEMY, He just let them GO. The fact of the matter is He never took them IN in the FIRST place! He gave them a test right off the bat BEFORE He took them in, & they FLUNKED it!--Mk.10:17-23.

IF YOU'VE GOT THEM, TRY TO PULL THEM THROUGH!

         117. SO IT'S REALLY PITIFUL HOW SOME HAVE HANDLED THE SITUATION OF NEW DISCIPLES without proper discrimination & discernment!--And it's VERY pitiful how some of them have handled those problem cases AFTER they've gotten them! Some of them might have reclaimed them & been able to pull them through.
         118. Once you've got them you ought to try to pull them through, because it's as much YOUR fault as THEIR fault! But then if they just can't make it, you ought to try to send them out as a FRIEND!--Amen?--God bless you & help you to know the DIFFERENCE!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family