I hear a cry for help. This was raised to me as a peaceful attempt to have the community discuss matters of concern in a mature way. I don't know the answers to these questions. I would like to and I think all the elder members of the community should. I don't know what caused each point, but I trust we can work through them. The bible says if there is conflict with a person go to them and resolve it. If they won't listen, take someone else with you. If they still won't listen, then take the issue to the church. This is how I see this. We are the "church" at large as the community. Having been out most of last year to take care of me, I'm not as looped into the daily workings as I once was when I was in the room more often and also on the Board. This list is, regrettably, much like the checklist we started with 7 yrs ago. Much of the progress that had been made, sounds like, may have been reverted. The comm-unity is just that. One part communication and a central set of core values and another part unity in spirit. To be a healthy environment for the community, people must be able to ask hard questions and get real, consistent, transparent answers. Granted, some issues are private matters, and need to stay that way. However, some of the seemingly private matters require more public communication so that the community is well informed. My heart breaks for these disconnects and also for the good people who are no longer involved in the community. People have removed their energy from Pathways, a cause they deeply loved and were passionate about. That concerns me. Division has defined Pathways far too long. The bylaws were written to give the community the ownership so no one person or entity is too powerful, and so egos didn't run the training (as it's never about the "suits" but about the trainees). The Board worked methodically for the 6 years I was on it to intentionally decentralize the power and create checks and balances and encourage community involvement. Mo
P
Penny Fell
9 years ago
At this time, I cannot sign this petition. While I have my own experience of sensitive information being brushed aside and accountability not being taken, I do not have the full story on many of the issues discussed in this petition. I know one side of most of it, and I have heard rumors; however, if Pathways has taught me anything, it is that there are two sides to every story. I feel it would be unchristian to sign something before the other side to all of this has had a chance to share their perspective so that I can weigh it carefully. I do recognize there are issues, and my prayer is the other party to this will be willing to call an open meeting to discuss the concerns.
A
Anonymus WSM
9 years ago
Many of our lives have been transformed, if not saved, by Pathways and no one doubts our love for the program. There is obviously a great deal of unresolved hurt in a number of our community to cause this petition. However, it is also so broad and so vague, it is hard to sign for someone who doesn’t understand the particulars.
I have served as a TA and been in W/W, P1 & P2 several times in the past couple of years as well as sponsored recently. (Which is why I am writing – for the benefit of my sponsoree and anyone else confused by this petition). I have loved (and hated) Pathways. I take offense to a couple of the passages and feel a couple more are immature personal attacks.
Specifically, it is an insult to claim “God is no longer in the Room” when some of us serve solely for His purpose. I have never felt God has been left out, if anything, I have been made stronger by always acknowledging God and asking for Him to step in.
I am also disturbed by the sanctity of the room being questioned. If the incident I have heard about is behind the confidentiality being broken, I am disappointed in the authors putting fear in everybody’s minds. If I am wrong, I apologize, but the authors are to vague on this point and with a sponsoree at stake, I am going to put what I heard, out here. Gossip or not.
I was told the incident stemmed from a comment from a seasoned “trainer” to a newer “trainer” that was NOT heart to heart communication. No trainee involved – not part of the training. The comment was interpreted as degrading. The seasoned trainer, as I heard it, is an employee, which in today’s time means it’s even more complicated and the undersigned attorneys know that is now an employer problem and way way outside the confines of the Room.
And again for the less informed readers January’s training was on the Friday “ice” day? This waters down everything else in the petition.
I have absolutely no doubt there are things to be addressed and I hope and pray t
M
Margret Mowry
9 years ago
I don't blame you for being concerned. The leadership of this organization is aware of who is signing this petition. Which gives validity to the petition in case anyone needed that. Many of the people on this petition have held this training near and dear to our hearts for decades. If you add up the volunteer time and energy that the people who are on this list dedicated to Pathways, we could light this training back up. Rather than negate how powerful the alumni are by how long we have or have not been actively involved, give us credit for still caring about this training. Historically January has the largest number of trainees for the year and sets the precedence for the next months. 35 trainees is an alarming low number for January and if history repeats itself, sets this training up to fail in the next year or two. Not one person on this lists wants that. In order to prevent that, you have to look at what's not working. One of the first questions we ask in the weekend. The leadership has to take some accountability for where this training is today. You can take away our blue badges or volunteer badges but you can't take away our heart for this training.
B
Betty Henika
9 years ago
Featured
It's sad that things have gone in this direction. I quit doing registration because I disagreed with how the new management was going about business.
B
Benay Sifford
9 years ago
I am a confident fabulous godly vivacious woman!
A
Anonymous
9 years ago
Featured
Unfortunately my signing this petition I fear will cause retaliation toward me. Ive been involved for almost a decade and sponsored dozens into the training. I pray God be restored to His rightful place governing this organization. I pray the leaders listen and step aside if necessary to allow the core values to guide everyone. I pray this is seen as a cry from the community for help.
J
Jeff White
9 years ago
Really disappointing to see how the leadership has taken on the role of being bigger than the training.
M
Micah Myrick
9 years ago
Class 340
S
Sally Phillips
9 years ago
I was trained by Dr. Phil McGraw and know first hand what this training used to be. It worked extremely well using the syllabus that was originally written. I TA'd for many years and have sponsored and supported the organization. I cannot and will no longer do that under current leadership, and that breaks my heart. As LGL of Class 184 I am heartbroken and angry to see the dictatorship mentality that is in control now of Pathways future. I will use my tools to try to understand how we got here, and to forgive. In my opinion Pathways is in a terrible downward spiral and that is an unnecessary shame.
A
Anna Cortes-Watkins
9 years ago
This organization needs changes made in their leadership.
A
Anonymous
9 years ago
I do not fully understand what is taking place, but I trust the people who shared this petition with me completely. It does sound like changes need to be made.
B
Becky Gervers Pennartz
9 years ago
I'm behind this 100%. I raised these questions 5-6 years ago when I stepped away from the training and it fell on deaf ears. Thank you!!!!!
K
Kathleen Toms
9 years ago
This is Kathleen Toms I forgot to leave my comment on my vote so I'm leaving my comments here. Pathways was never meant to be a for profit company. It was built for hurting people and people seeking a better life. When making a profit trumps mending lives we've lost our focus. My prayer is the leadership will live the training and take the many comments expressed here to heart and receive them with the same sincere heart felt concerns that they are written. Take a look at the class numbers represented.
208 the Loud and Proud
M
Mark Toms
9 years ago
Featured
Live the training you provide. Mistakes are expected, and will be forgiven. But you cannot change what you will not acknowledge...
D
Darlene Mowry
9 years ago
Class 208 -- The Loud & Proud
D
Dominic Cavallero
9 years ago
The sacredness of the room, what develops in it during training, and what is left behind after training, should NEVER be compromised for any reason, or benifit to anyone or anything.
It is a spiritual experience not to be bought, sold or exploited for the benifit of any chosen few.
N
Nan Partridge
9 years ago
Featured
I am deeply sadden to read how this organization is currently being run.
As a former TA this disturbs me the trust and God is no longer in the training room.
I back this petition 100%.
I hear a cry for help. This was raised to me as a peaceful attempt to have the community discuss matters of concern in a mature way. I don't know the answers to these questions. I would like to and I think all the elder members of the community should. I don't know what caused each point, but I trust we can work through them. The bible says if there is conflict with a person go to them and resolve it. If they won't listen, take someone else with you. If they still won't listen, then take the issue to the church. This is how I see this. We are the "church" at large as the community. Having been out most of last year to take care of me, I'm not as looped into the daily workings as I once was when I was in the room more often and also on the Board. This list is, regrettably, much like the checklist we started with 7 yrs ago. Much of the progress that had been made, sounds like, may have been reverted. The comm-unity is just that. One part communication and a central set of core values and another part unity in spirit. To be a healthy environment for the community, people must be able to ask hard questions and get real, consistent, transparent answers. Granted, some issues are private matters, and need to stay that way. However, some of the seemingly private matters require more public communication so that the community is well informed. My heart breaks for these disconnects and also for the good people who are no longer involved in the community. People have removed their energy from Pathways, a cause they deeply loved and were passionate about. That concerns me. Division has defined Pathways far too long. The bylaws were written to give the community the ownership so no one person or entity is too powerful, and so egos didn't run the training (as it's never about the "suits" but about the trainees). The Board worked methodically for the 6 years I was on it to intentionally decentralize the power and create checks and balances and encourage community involvement. Mo
At this time, I cannot sign this petition. While I have my own experience of sensitive information being brushed aside and accountability not being taken, I do not have the full story on many of the issues discussed in this petition. I know one side of most of it, and I have heard rumors; however, if Pathways has taught me anything, it is that there are two sides to every story. I feel it would be unchristian to sign something before the other side to all of this has had a chance to share their perspective so that I can weigh it carefully. I do recognize there are issues, and my prayer is the other party to this will be willing to call an open meeting to discuss the concerns.
Many of our lives have been transformed, if not saved, by Pathways and no one doubts our love for the program. There is obviously a great deal of unresolved hurt in a number of our community to cause this petition. However, it is also so broad and so vague, it is hard to sign for someone who doesn’t understand the particulars. I have served as a TA and been in W/W, P1 & P2 several times in the past couple of years as well as sponsored recently. (Which is why I am writing – for the benefit of my sponsoree and anyone else confused by this petition). I have loved (and hated) Pathways. I take offense to a couple of the passages and feel a couple more are immature personal attacks. Specifically, it is an insult to claim “God is no longer in the Room” when some of us serve solely for His purpose. I have never felt God has been left out, if anything, I have been made stronger by always acknowledging God and asking for Him to step in. I am also disturbed by the sanctity of the room being questioned. If the incident I have heard about is behind the confidentiality being broken, I am disappointed in the authors putting fear in everybody’s minds. If I am wrong, I apologize, but the authors are to vague on this point and with a sponsoree at stake, I am going to put what I heard, out here. Gossip or not. I was told the incident stemmed from a comment from a seasoned “trainer” to a newer “trainer” that was NOT heart to heart communication. No trainee involved – not part of the training. The comment was interpreted as degrading. The seasoned trainer, as I heard it, is an employee, which in today’s time means it’s even more complicated and the undersigned attorneys know that is now an employer problem and way way outside the confines of the Room. And again for the less informed readers January’s training was on the Friday “ice” day? This waters down everything else in the petition. I have absolutely no doubt there are things to be addressed and I hope and pray t
I don't blame you for being concerned. The leadership of this organization is aware of who is signing this petition. Which gives validity to the petition in case anyone needed that. Many of the people on this petition have held this training near and dear to our hearts for decades. If you add up the volunteer time and energy that the people who are on this list dedicated to Pathways, we could light this training back up. Rather than negate how powerful the alumni are by how long we have or have not been actively involved, give us credit for still caring about this training. Historically January has the largest number of trainees for the year and sets the precedence for the next months. 35 trainees is an alarming low number for January and if history repeats itself, sets this training up to fail in the next year or two. Not one person on this lists wants that. In order to prevent that, you have to look at what's not working. One of the first questions we ask in the weekend. The leadership has to take some accountability for where this training is today. You can take away our blue badges or volunteer badges but you can't take away our heart for this training.
It's sad that things have gone in this direction. I quit doing registration because I disagreed with how the new management was going about business.
I am a confident fabulous godly vivacious woman!
Unfortunately my signing this petition I fear will cause retaliation toward me. Ive been involved for almost a decade and sponsored dozens into the training. I pray God be restored to His rightful place governing this organization. I pray the leaders listen and step aside if necessary to allow the core values to guide everyone. I pray this is seen as a cry from the community for help.
Really disappointing to see how the leadership has taken on the role of being bigger than the training.
Class 340
I was trained by Dr. Phil McGraw and know first hand what this training used to be. It worked extremely well using the syllabus that was originally written. I TA'd for many years and have sponsored and supported the organization. I cannot and will no longer do that under current leadership, and that breaks my heart. As LGL of Class 184 I am heartbroken and angry to see the dictatorship mentality that is in control now of Pathways future. I will use my tools to try to understand how we got here, and to forgive. In my opinion Pathways is in a terrible downward spiral and that is an unnecessary shame.
This organization needs changes made in their leadership.
I do not fully understand what is taking place, but I trust the people who shared this petition with me completely. It does sound like changes need to be made.
I'm behind this 100%. I raised these questions 5-6 years ago when I stepped away from the training and it fell on deaf ears. Thank you!!!!!
This is Kathleen Toms I forgot to leave my comment on my vote so I'm leaving my comments here. Pathways was never meant to be a for profit company. It was built for hurting people and people seeking a better life. When making a profit trumps mending lives we've lost our focus. My prayer is the leadership will live the training and take the many comments expressed here to heart and receive them with the same sincere heart felt concerns that they are written. Take a look at the class numbers represented. 208 the Loud and Proud
Live the training you provide. Mistakes are expected, and will be forgiven. But you cannot change what you will not acknowledge...
Class 208 -- The Loud & Proud
The sacredness of the room, what develops in it during training, and what is left behind after training, should NEVER be compromised for any reason, or benifit to anyone or anything. It is a spiritual experience not to be bought, sold or exploited for the benifit of any chosen few.
I am deeply sadden to read how this organization is currently being run. As a former TA this disturbs me the trust and God is no longer in the training room. I back this petition 100%.
Concerned
Signed!!!!