Jeremy: I hesitate because everything I say is potential fodder for you RA people. But I will say something here that I feel is okay to share. My issue is with Ron (Luce) specifically. Everyone is a tool, a pawn in his militant attempt to get his vision accomplished. He is militant about the vision, Dave (Hasz) is militant about the vision, and so is anyone who sticks around for any length of time. And, when you fail to dance “good enough” for the king, he just decides you are “not a good fit.” My issue with Ron is that he seems to discard people like toilet paper when they don’t please him—his arrogance knows no bounds (he is right no matter what, and you better fall in line) and he had the compassion of a European dictator. But he’s sociopathic, so he can win anyone over to his side of things… and those that don’t aren’t a “good fit.” I mean, people give up so much to come serve Ron’s vision—lives, careers, friends, income, houses, etc., etc., etc… and when Ron is done with you, you’re out on your butt. I can name multiple people whom this is happened to. Ron is a very bad man in my eyes.
Everything flows from the top. I witnessed a lot of things and was privy to a lot of things that made me never (ever) want to advocate for the leadership of TM… or, by extension, the organization as a whole. Everyone is constantly in survival mode, while they frequently throw each other under the bus just to save their skin, and they fight for resources like hungry Africans fight for UN rice—aggressively shoving and maiming along the way. I did not handle this toxic environment well and I too got sucked into it, and it brought out the worst in me that I’ve ever seen; it’s about survival on the inside. The entire time I was there, it was toxic to my spirit, my family, and my health. It would take me two hours a night to decompress after my day at TM. No exaggeration.
But, at the same time, I don’t want to be part of bringing down an organization that has a mouthpiece as big as TM does. Ninety-nine percent of people who engage with TM will never see or experience these things… all they will see and experience is a special move of God on their lives, where many of them will surrender to His salvation. I’ve seen the Lord move too many times in the midst of things that TM has facilitated (be it HA, GE trips or ATF events)… and I don’t want to be a part of limiting that reach that no other organization in the country has at this time. This is why people give up so much and work for so little to serve TM.
TMM will fall on its own. It will fall in the court of public opinion as it continually gets more and more extreme and continues to create enemies through its militant nature and its works-based vision of holiness. Every ministry they have is declining in attendance, and attendance equals dollars, and dollars equal their ability to continue their operations. If they cannot win in the court of public opinion, they will cease to be.
To me, this is a tragedy.