A Bunch of Idiots

Tape: Keep Your Dream

Speakers: Terry & Lori Taylor

Stock Number: BWW186 (4 Message CD)

Recording Type: ‘Basic Mix’

Brief Review:

This is a tape made at Winter Conference for the Miller Covington team. During this business conference (I think), he stops to talk about vertical alignment instead: God first, marriage second, country third, business forth. Lorri stresses how much you need to get it into your heart that the business is about bringing new people to the function.

Motivational Aspects:

Neither Terry nor Paul (Miller) has had a job in 22 years!

Seeing the success stories make you believe.

Cult-like aspects:

The Master of Ceremonies announces in the introduction how important it is to be a ‘wingman’ and totally stick with your upline. [This is keeping a one to one personal accountability with the upline for teaching or professing (in this case dreams that can be used to turn someone around if they announce they want to quit; I have experienced this personally) which is a common theme in cults.]

“One of the things Lorri and I did… we decided to make a commitment and we sold our couch for thirty-five bucks, we sold our TV for a hundred dollars and we went to Miami Florida to make a difference.” [The problems with this story are pretty evident.]

“If you are checking us out, you know that this is the right place to be. We’re doing the right things, it’s the right place to have your family.” [Appeals to the people who are looking for family association; draws people in by claiming to be making a difference, doing things right, etc.]

In the middle of a lengthy discussion about ‘vertical alignment’ (religious alignment) he talks about the importance of duplication. [It is important to always follow what the leads says to do. In fact, with this organization, duplication is one of the major rules; existing as one of the three ‘powers’ (Power of Unity (duplication), Power of Submission, and Power of the Spoken Word).]

Terry seems to worship Bill Britt quoting his teaching more than once in this short 13 minute presentation. [Bill Britt is set up as the all wise guru that knows all.]

“You learn about commitment in this business (he is talking, not about business in this business meeting, but about marriage); commitment for life. [Is this the ONLY place you can learn this? There are marriage counselors that might have a better edge to help here.]

Speaking again from Bill Britt about what one man or woman can do for the betterment of this country, “Go out into the living-rooms and dens and show this plan to people. Go out among people instead of sitting there watching your TV with nothing going on in your life, and complaining about things not happening, and complaining about this or that not happening in your life; go make things happen. Go give people a dream, give them hope and you do it one person al a time, does that mean you’re not going to run into a bunch of idiots…no; you’re going to run into them all the time. You are going to run into those people that are complacent and going nowhere with their life, but you know what? We went through a lot of people to find you, and we will go through more.” [I don’t think explanation is needed here, either.]

Lorri gets on for about 30 seconds at the end and announces that her three kids with a business are in the audience and tells how each of them have new legs, and then she starts to cry as she is saying that, “Isn’t that what this business should be about [apparently she is referring to bringing new legs to the function]…if it doesn’t mean that to you [big sniffle] then you need to find that in your heart so that you can grow to another level.”

BWW Tapespeak

Get a Check-Up from the Neck Up

Wonderful Faulty Theology:

Terry talks about how there were never lawyers back in ancient times and he stressed that was because people had an alignment right with God. This was his starting point about talking about the ‘vertical alignment’. [No, people were not more in alignment with God then, either. If people were in such great alignment with God, why did God destroy all mankind except Noah declaring the total evil of the world (Genesis 6), why did Moses need to set up so many judges over the people (Exodus 18)? If people were in such alignment with God, why did Paul feel it necessary to tell people how wicked mankind is (Romans 3:10-18)? The entire basis for Terry’s conversation is getting yourself to a place where you feel good about yourself so that you can build your Quixtar business. It is not about YOU; it is about God. It seems like he may have made this argument to say how bad the world is getting, and that they have the answer in this business. The answer is NOT in Quixtar, the answer is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you are sharing Quixtar with people, the Gospel is compromised because you can only share one thing at a time. Steve Schlissel made this point clear in an article here.]

Other Notes:

There is some controversy over what the functions are actually for. Many system IBO’s will say that this is about ‘teaching’ and ‘training’, but Terry even brings up in this tape the issue that they DON’T talk about such things (except that they will talk about it the next day for a bit). He emphasizes that they talk about the ‘why’ to build the business, i.e. motivation. So in effect, people are constantly buying into a system that gives them nothing new but new stories of motivation and very little else (I think I have 2 tapes on products, about 15 on basic mechanics, which all contain the same information, and about 500 tapes on basic motivation.)

After talking about God and how important he is, Terry moves into a list of things that the Miller and Covington team are, which he says is very good for all the people (including ‘your wife and children’) to be around. Here is the debatable list:

• You will see people that will do things right
• People that are of integrity
• People that are honest
• People that do not lie to you
• People that their word is their bond

Here is why this list is debatable.

The Adventures of the Extreme Freedom Team #3

Site: www.extremefreedomteam.com

Video: CATCH YOUR BREATH

Video Summary:

This video starts with the phrase, “Having fun???? You be the Judge.” I kid you not, this video is running clips of two things: Meaningless laughing and people stuffing their face with lots of food. There appears to be a little talking in the background, but you can not hear the subject of anything at hand. Mike Bundy is the only one with a speaking part in this video. He explains that you should come to Peter Island to learn to live like a king. The video ends with Larry on a boat singing a quick phrase (scene lasts for about 2 seconds) “I just wanna live!”

My Thoughts:

This video is utterly pointless. All I can say about it is that it speaks to the people who want to belong to something. For a person seeking fulfillment in companionship, this could be a powerful video to inspire in them the desire to simply want to hang out with a bunch of people and laugh, cut up, and have fun. Such a thing could keep a loyal person feeding a system like BWW for several months.

You Are Going to Bring a Mighty Herd

Tape: Do What it Takes

Speakers: Tom & Connie Cooper

Stock Number: BWW186 (4 Message CD)

Recording Type: ‘Basic Mix’

Motivational Aspects:

For the singles, Rocky Covington and Louise Phillips are examples of how to build the business.

Connie could not picture something that she wanted to do every single day for forty years. She wanted to be free!

Cult-like aspects:

Tom spends the first several minutes of the talk picking out specific people comprising the various represented uplines and edifying them.

Tom spends a whole lot of time talking about the revolutionary war, and then pulls up some statistics about the number of people who supported the war effort. He said that about 22% of the people did and that the other 78% did not want anything to do with it. He then says that it is the same when you show the plan to people. There are those who do not want anything to do with it and there are a select few who act. Of the 22% of the people who are interested, only about 8-9% of the people actually have the heart to do it. He says not to get discouraged about the low numbers. [Enforces the Us vs. Them mentality and has a subtle effect of getting people to work without results.]

“There are many people that you are going to show the business to that they come into this business, they don’t know what they are and what they can be, but that’s our job is to help teach them.” [This tells people that you don’t know who you are and the people here will help you realize your potential.]

“A lot of numbers were shifted through building width and building depth to find you. You ‘re precious, you know what? You are going to go out and make the next 75 days count [75 days until the next weekend function].” Tom says that in that time, all the fears are going to be gone, people are going to double, triple, etc. [The selection process has lead to YOU; since such divine providence has lead to YOU by the skin of your teeth, you are falsely led to believe that you have been divinely selected to succeed.]

“Dream God sized goals and set God sized dreams…Don’t go for mediocrity, don’t go for just getting by, don’t go for small goals.”

“What are you going to do for those 75 days? Are you going to talk success? Are you going to think success?”

BWW Tapespeak:

Get off of it, and get on with it!

Wonderful Faulty Theology:

“You got to realize that you are not a mistake, you’re not an accident, you are a creation of a God in heaven that knows every hair on your head, and who loves you, you’re a Xerox copy, if you will, of the original, the special one, the creator.” [Parts of this are true: You are not a mistake or an accident by God’s standards, and you are a creation of God (Psalms 139); the problem we have is that ‘Xerox copy’ comment. This is Word-Faith; the Word-Faith people believe that we have the same creative power that God does. That is not true. We are NOT a copy of God; otherwise, we would not be a fallen and sinful creation who is separated from God by our sin (Isaiah 59:2).]

“If your parents are normal, they want you to be productive, you want them to be healthy and happy, and prosperous, and you want them to do well, and be successful and have good friends, and have an exciting life. Well, you have a father in heaven, a heavenly father, in addition to your earthly father, that wants the very same for you. And, um, you got to realize that.” [I will submit that this may be ‘normal’, but it is not Godly, nor healthy. According to Chip Ingram, children have two primary needs: Significance and Security. The things that Tom suggests are all worldly things. I suggest reading 1 John 2:15. Following the passions that Tom calls for will certainly lead to neurotic children. God, that heavenly father, wants for us one thing: HOLINESS! Period.]

Tom quotes 3 John 2; “²Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” as a proof text that God wants you and me to be in a state of health and wealth. [This is a common Word-Faith text pulled out of context. The context of that is as such: This was a letter from John to Gaius. Gaius was a very spiritual person; the custom in letter writing at the time was to inquire of a persons health. Since Gaius was so healthy spiritually, John used this customary twist to address his financial and bodily concerns. With God, your health and your wealth are reduced to a non-issue. Bottom line is that this text does not teach that God wants everyone to be rich and healthy.]

Tom says that it has been written that there is a warehouse in heaven with all the things that you were meant for you whether fulfilled or unfulfilled. [I find it funny that he did not quote his source. For those curious, it is not in the bible, it is in Bruce Wilkinson’s book, “Prayer of Jabez” starting on page 25 with the story of Mr. Jones goes to Heaven. I would like to point out that this book has many elements that are not consistent with the Christian life. There are a few reviews that I would recommend reading. One is by Grace to You and one by Biblical Discernment Ministries.]

The Adventures of the Extreme Freedom Team #2

Site: www.extremefreedomteam.com

Video: ST. THOMAS, HERE WE COME!

Video Summary:

This video starts a narration by Amie Weir who explains that they are on the way to Peter Island, but first, they must stop at St. Thomas to spend money on ‘bling bling’. The way she says ‘spend money’ is very arrogant indeed. It was stated as a “I have some, you don’t” attitude. The video fades to Doug as a prelude to entering the stores where the rest of the video is shot. Larry explains that “Alan is looking for more bling blang [sic] to motivate you all.” Just as he says that, Alan holds up a gold watch and pulls his large gold necklace out of his shirt to expose it. It seems that every time the camera rolls past Larry, he gives a smile and a wave, one time even winking at the camera. The scariest part is when the camera rolls past Mike Bundy and he looks into it and says slowly in a low voice while shaking his head, “Money…Come join us…shopping”. Larry is talking to the cashier about a large ring for Pam and the cashier shows the camera the cost at $169,000, which Larry exclaims as “almost free”. Jake and Alan both flaunt to the camera their matching gold watches. The camera cuts to Amie again as she is wearing a very large diamond ring and arrogantly explains that this is something “to wear when you are with the kids in the playground…just an every day kind of ring.” The cashier is showing Pam’s jewelry piece by piece concluding over $1,000,000. The video ends with a rolling phrase, “We will be back next year.[space] Will YOU [Space] Join [space] us [space] ???”

My thoughts:

First of all, what they do with their money is their business. Why, then, do they post such flaunting uses for money on the internet? I would like to point out in keeping with duplication, the people in Joe’s downline (Doug and Alan), have the same large gold necklace as Joe. What makes it worse is that they wear it in such a way to show it off. Such displays of arrogant spending of money combined with the talk and speaking shows me that these people are worshiping money and the things they buy with it despite telling you that it is 'all about friendships and helping people'.

They Have Class, Honesty, and Integrity

Tape: Truth Pill

Speakers: Kevin & Beth Bell

Stock Number: BWW186 (4 message CD)

Recording Type: ‘Basic Mix’

Brief Review:

This is a brief speech from Winter Conference . Kevin and Beth speak from the heart about what the business has provided. They provide many references to being in an education business, and Beth even states that the core of the business is in changing buying habits. She sidesteps the heavy costs of the products. Kevin makes an analogy of this business to the people in the movie 'The Matrix' and suggests that BWW is offering a truth pill that many people choose not to take.

Motivational Aspects:

Beth explains that the “flush your stinking job” chant does not de-edify what you do, just the vehicle that you use. She says that the job is limited in money and takes too much time while the Quixtar business is the “unlimited well”. [though I seem to think it is the bottomless pit of cash flow]

Kevin pays the bills 6 months to a year in advance and gets a rise out the audience as he asks if they would like to do that, too.

Cult-like aspects:

“I just don’t understand anybody that can come in here and listen to Cleav McLeary, hear Henry and Sue’s kickoff talk, listen to Rocky Covington, Paul Miller…all these leaders over here and not get fired up about your future. I just don’t understand somebody like that. And you know what? I don’t want to understand anybody like that.” [Phobia about leaving indoctrination]

After giving some well due praise to the United State Army, Kevin makes the statement that this is also an army. “You are in an army, too…This is a very organized group of people whose mission is to change peoples lives. And our mission is to change your life in whatever way you would have that change. For some of you, it’s financially…” At the point, Kevin gets extremely vague about ‘changes’ that they had to make before the money would start coming in, I presume this refers to the aspect of religion (that I will not call Christianity because I believe there is more than enough evidence that is not what they are promoting). [An army of people that will change the world is often promoted in cults as a recruitment ploy. The reality is that you don’t need to be in a group to change the world, and further, much evidence points to far more destruction caused by cults than help is ever done.]

“We have a family here. We have a place that somebody can belong and be proud of what they believe in and stand up for, and they can gain courage, and they can change.” [This quote appeals to the desires of a person to be in a loving family, cast off past mistakes, and change to avoid future mistakes. This is used to hold people in the system.]

Beth starts her speech by pointing out the Eagles (sitting in the very front center) and requesting to give them applause. She says that they legitimize the system, which is why they get good seats up front. [The Eagle program is a program that holds up the ‘shining examples’ on the team for everyone to see. In fact, since its formation, it is the first thing that you are taught to do. The eagle program is to be totally core with a specific structure.]

Beth talks about learning how the money is made so that you can handle the objections and people do not get hung up on the “savings mentality” which she claims has nothing to do with how to build a large business. [The black and white reference to ‘prosumer vs. consumer, something most people in the audience would have heard of by now, is misleading. She basically says here that the prices are higher than other comparable items, but you must learn how the system works to understand that is not an issue, in effect, confusing people into following the system despite they are logically not making wise spending choices on products.]

Beth says that they are in the education business in that they are educating people about a business that no one really knows about. I do not believe that was a reference to tools over Quixtar, but she does state that people are in the education process learning new ways of making money.

Beth makes the statement that it takes two incomes now to provide the same as one income in her parents generation. She claims that jobs do not work, but the Quixtar business does. [This is more phobia of leaving indoctrination]

This is interesting. Kevin states that this is a business of education. He says that they are trying to get them to open up and think about things that they have never thought about. He uses the basis of the story from The Matrix and suggests that the business is offering a truth pill. Many people chose not to take it because the comfort in the known. He says that there is responsibility in taking the truth pill, however. He then says that when you have a job, you are just a battery feeding the corporation. They give you two days to recharge, and then a week once a year to recharge. When you wear out, they get rid of you and re-place you with another battery that is stronger. [There are a few problems. The first is that the BWW system more clearly demonstrates this. One would note that in the matrix, the people never get a time off to ‘recharge’, nor do the people in BWW as they give once a week for a tape, 2-4 times a month for opens, once a month for team trainings and books, etc, etc, etc. The people in BWW are feeding the kingpins who will pass some revenue down to the Emeralds and above. The people become the feeding chamber. Next, one would note that the employee has a lot of power. I can come and go from job to job seeking the best pay and benefit. I can minister at my work, move on. I can change professions and if I am living in line with God, I will be fine. I do not crave worldly things, nor will people of God’s kingdom. There is nothing wrong with having them, but in all honesty, the problem with finances in this country (USA) is not that people are not making enough money, but that they are foolishly spending more than they make on things they don’t need.]

Wonderful Faulty Theology:

This one is a complicated web, so I will try to explain it. Their son (5 yr old) asks if people that do not go to church are bad people. The response is that God does not make bad people, just that some people make bad choices. This comment is directly after she tells that the people in her upline took their potential and decided to use it for good and that everyone can do that. [While it is true that God did not make people bad, the orginal sin of Adam accomplished that. Going to church does not qualify someone as saved, the free gift of grace does that. In any case, it appears that the comment was made to motivate people to make good decisions, i.e. build their business.]

Beth gives credit to her needs and desires being met to her husband for building the business and ‘filling up that well’.

“Are you living your life how you want to? If not, change it.” [Living your life for you will not accomplish much; you need to live your live for Christ. We are sinful and are driven by sinful desires. That does not mean we can not do good, but it does mean that there is no part of us affected by the fall of Adam. Here is the Gospel of Jesus Christ if you are not familiar with it and you would like to learn more.]

Interesting side notes:

Kevin talks about starting in 1992, and then goes on to quote information about the Quixtar website. If he were being totally honest from stage, he would have qualified that it was Amway (or at least different model) then. I point this out because the way he states it almost seems that Quixtar was the same as the old Amway model. (They are actually one in the same; Amway USA became Quixtar, Inc in 2000, check out The Name Game for the details.

Beth says, and I quote: “It is so important that [ladies] are able to overcome the objections just like the men because …99% of the people that I am sitting down with and showing them how to change their buying habits, which is the [core] of what we do, it’s the women. And if they don’t understand how the money is made, they are going to get hung up on savings mentality.”(Emphasis mine)

The Adventures of the Extreme Freedom Team #1

Greetings all,

This is a new series to be posted on Tuesday night until the conclusion (12 weeks). Since this blog is to expose the teachings of the Britt World Wide system as well as explain the implications and results of the system, I figured that I would post some details about the extreme freedom team. I was originally going to appropriately call these posts “Extreme Lifestyle Flaunting”, but I finally settled on the current title. BTW, I did not forget about "Magic of Thinking Big", it is on my desk here. I will start posting from it again real soon, so keep checking back.

The Team

The Extreme Freedom Team is a name applied to the core group of Larry Winters BWW business, who is downline from Paul Miller, downline from Bill Britt. The group at the time of this writing is the Diamond and above qualifiers which consists of Larry & Pam Winters, Joe & Marybeth Markiewicz, Danny & Renate Snipes, Alan & Michele Leininger, Mike & Susan Bundy, Jake & Jackie Baker, and Doug & Amie Weir.

The Website

This website is a series of videos from the groups various activities. For a general overview, the videos tend to flaunt material goods and display a rebellious attitude toward society. As you read through these, remember that the BWW system operates as a mind control cult designed to promote a ‘foolproof’ system that followers are encouraged to follow and they, too, will enjoy the lifestyles herein. The sad reality is that BWW costs the average follower an excess of $2000 per year if they are truly following the system while the average income from Quixtar is $115. An analysis of the Quixtar plan by Robert FitzPatrick of Pyramid Scheme Alert, out of 300,000 people, 297,285 people will make an average of $1060.11 per year (page 35). Sadly, the money used to purchase the lifestyles in these videos comes mostly from the sale of tools, functions, and tapes.

Money and the Bible

I would like to point out the Biblical basis for wealth as it will be important while reading this series. The money is neutral. I am not using this post to preach a poverty Gospel, however, it is clear from the teachings of the BWW system that they are teaching a prosperity Gospel. To set it straight, here is SOME of what the bible says about money (there is a lot, I will pull out the relevant points here).

First, read Matthew 19:16-22. This passage does NOT mean that a person must give everything away to be saved (yes, there have been apostic theologies called ‘poverty Gospels’ that teach this). In this verse, Jesus is testing just how well this young man kept the commandments. In fact, he failed the first one. This man loved his money more than God, which is why he went away grieving. For him, his property was worth more than his soul. POINT NUMBER 1: Money is a problem when you put it before God.

Next, read 1 Timothy 6:3-6. In this verse, we see the problem with using the platform of Godliness to gain material goods. In the last part (vs. 6), we see that contentment, not dreams, is the way to gain. Contentment and dreams are two opposing sides of the spectrum. POINT NUMBER 2: Contentment is the path to sound living.

Next, read 1 Timothy 6:9-10. It is clear from watching these videos that a total all consuming love for money is the motivation behind the actions. POINT NUMBER 3: When your focus is earning money, you are subjecting yourself to great temptations for practicing evil.

With these points in mind, I want you to know that having money is not a sin. Going on a good vacation, having a nice car, a nice house, etc, are not sins. The problem arises when you use a deceptive system of mind control to fleece people out of hard earned money so that you can buy a whole lot of things, make videos about it, and post them to motivate people to do more of the same.

Now to get into the actual post:

Site: www.extremefreedomteam.com

Video: 1st ANNUAL PETER ISLAND WHIFFLE-BALL

Video Summary:

Doug Weir opens the video with his face close in the camera and explains that they are playing whiffle-ball on the tennis courts at Peter Island. He introduces the rest of the people, which consists of the Freedom Team men except for Larry Winters. Doug is wearing a very large gold necklace, as are some of the other people. Doug explains that this is a ‘covert operation’. The video simply consists of a group of men hitting a ball in turns. One thing that I notice is that the guys are acting very childish. At the end of the video, Markiewicz stuffs the ball in his mouth.

My thoughts:

Why on earth they recorded this video is beyond me, further, why would they post it online? The substance is a little lacking and for motivation? I don’t see what is motivating about seeing a bunch of guys sweating and taking off their shirts, unless their motive was to expose their gold necklaces.

Work Our System 7 Nights per Week

Tape: The Price of Victory

Speakers: Henry & Sue Skaggs

Stock Number: BWW186 (4 message CD)

Recording Type: ‘Basic Mix’

Brief Review:

Kick off speech at ‘Dream Night’, a.k.a. Winter Conference. Henry uses several analogies to get the audience to dream a dream that will keep them out 7 nights a week working the system.

Motivational Aspects:

Free since 1995. Henry has not had a job since he left the military.

“Diamond is done THIS YEAR.”

Sue tells that you don’t need the college background, money, or personality in the business. She says that you can work on everything it takes to build the business.

“What is your dream here at Dream Night? What’s gonna keep you out there 7 nights a week?”

Cult-like aspects:

They were waiting in front of the doors for a few hours before the functions opened and ran to get the front seats. This was before the time of Eagle, which have the front rows reserved for them since they are the ‘truly committed people’. [This hints to the dependency of the system, though it does not prove it.]

Doing anything to get around the upline. [Same as above.]

Sue says that there is a proven system to follow. [Don’t make up your own way, we have the answers.]

Henry teaches that you need to have a dream that is big enough to keep you out 5 and 6 nights every week to show the plan. He tells that he could not look at his wife and new child and say that they are worth 4 nights a week and ‘I will get you free in about 5 years’ [This is a form of Cult of Confession. The ‘dreams’ are used by the upline and the person to keep them working the system even though the working is not paying off. I submit that it is better to be at home with the family than to use that justification to leave them every night because the statistics show that the majority of the people make $115 a month.]

The Christmas presents came after counseling with the upline. [This emphasizes the need to talk things over with the upper level people before making a decision.]

Henry compares going to war in Iraq with showing the plan and suggests that you need to think about the fact that you are not in Iraq and are home and says that will motivated you to go out and show the plan. He then says that if you are not financially free, you are ‘still on the plantation’. He concludes that thought by saying “If you have a JOB, you are a slave.” [This is just disturbing. Henry seems to be pulling out all stops to get people working and plugged into the system 6-7 nights a week. He suggests that working is equivalent to slavery.]

Catalog of covetousness for those materialistic people:

Sue is wearing a $6,000 dress from Nordstrom in San Francisco, CA

Brand new CL500 Mercedes

Wonderful Faulty Theology:

Henry is very well influenced by the Word-Faith movement from the get go. He announces early in the message that he always can “speak things into existence.”

This answer is from a previous post:

[The charge often replied by Word-Faith proponents is that this verse indicates the ‘needle gate’, which they suggest is a small hole in the wall for a traveler to get through at night after the main gates are closed. There is no biblical or extra-biblical account for this. Further, if you read the next verse (Matthew 19:25), you have to wonder, if this was a well known ‘needle gate’, why were the disciples so astonished at the answer and question ‘who can get in?’. The text is literal. Jesus is talking about a needle. We must read one more verse (Matthew 19:26) to get the explanation and answer. Without God, no one can get in, with God, people can get in. This discussion was prompted by the question of the Rich Young Ruler, when Jesus told him to sell all his belongings and follow Him. This does NOT mean that we need to get rid of everything we have, it was a test because Jesus knew that the rich man placed love for his belongings over love for God (thus a violation of the first commandment). Point stands, money does not grant you acceptance to heaven, in fact, it just makes things a little harder because you are tempted to place faith and security in money instead of God.]

Henry states that he does not want his son to have to answer to another person. [Little Henry is going to have to deal with Authority in his life. He will just have to get used to it. The Fifth Commandment is “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. (Exodus 20:12)” This command is there so that you learn to obey and submit to authority. In the case of children, that means parents, teachers, and God. But the implications are far larger as they teach how to submit to all authorities, including a boss, police, and still God. It appears that Henry is teaching his son that submission to authority is a bad thing. The irony here is the total submission and loyalty to the team that Henry belongs to.]

God is so good [for giving Henry his material possessions]. [I don’t even think I have to tackle that one.]

The Extreme Freedom Team Link

Greetings all,

Just a short little post here. For about a week, there was a link across the 'critics' of Quixtar websites linking to a site called www.extremefreedomteam.com. The link is now dead, so I wanted to detail what was there so that people understand. In my opinion, this is yet another attempt by this organization to control information, similar to what Alticor Corp has been doing to Wikipedia.

It was a link to some video footage created by Heroic Inspirations, Inc. which is somewhere related to the Quixtar / BWW associated business of Larry & Pam Winters. The link featured a picture of a Ferrari and videos. The site was designed for people to get motivated by what they see.

The BWW system is a costly system which the leaders claim will lead to success if only you follow it. The costs of following the system are as follows:

Standing Order Tape - $7.50 per week
Book of the Month - $1.95 - $25 per month
Communikate - $21.95 per month
One Domain - $14.95 per month + 87.95 per year
Functions:

Open Meetings - $3-4 per week or every two weeks
Team Trainings - $4 per month
Weekend Conference - $100 + Travel every three months
Rally / Seminar - $10 every three months

Average annual cost (assuming book cost of $12 and $150 travel / lodging which is generous for a conference): $2176.75

The people leading the BWW organization profit off this money. Here is some more info from AmQuix info site.

For more information about the details of the recordings, click Here; for Function details, click Here; and for System cost details, click Here.

For details about what is actually being taught, please read through the materials on this site (www.bwwsot.blogspot.com), or click Here for the Site Index.

Thank You,
Xanadustc

UPDATE: The link is back up, so click on the little "Extreme Team Linking" button to the right to see all this material!

Types of BWW 'Tools'

Greetings all,

First, I want to draw your attention to the new links bar on the side which separates links into blogs, information, Christian refutations of MLM, and cult materials. I also added a ‘site resources’ section where you can access this page, the Site Index, and a few other resources. I also recently spent several hours in the store doing a price comparison of Quixtar prices to the local store. I will be posting these by category in the future, so keep checking back.

Next, I wanted to add to the series of ‘types of’, this will probably be the last one unless I think of anything I forgot about. The previous have been Types of Recordings and Types of Functions. This is the Types of Tools. Tools are defined by BWW as Business Support Materials, or BSM’s for short. I hope that this final post in this series helps you to understand why:

1. BWW operates as a dangerous cult
2. So much money is lost into the system
3. People get so lost in the system

I hope that I don’t forget anything. These items can be viewed at www.bww.com, however, the site is password protected so the average Joe can’t go in there and see. If you know someone who is involved or has been involved, I hear that old passwords still work. Let us move right into it. Like I did with the function post, I will put the cost next to the name in parenthesis.

First, check out the Functions page, as these are considered tools.

Tapes / CD’s (Tapes are $7.50 for a single and $15.00 for a double. Many teams add a 4% shipping fee, even though the tapes are not shipped to them.)

These are the staple of the business. The core IBO will listen to tapes on any down time, such as driving, preparing dinner, doing chores, etc. While it is true that some people are not as ‘plugged in’, Steve Hassan in ‘Releasing the bonds’ says, “I look at the core membership of an organization, nit its fringe members, in my evaluation.” I take the same view. I was totally plugged in listening to 6-8 tapes daily (hence my detailed knowledge of the teaching system of BWW). Ed & Elise Vicinanza (I think the tape was “Sell Out”, AN97, but I am not exactly sure) made the comment you need to be listening to tapes all the time. Steve Hassan mentions on page 58 of RtB, that changing the mind in mind control requires creation of a new identity actively through indoctrination sessions or informally by other members, tapes, or books. Indeed, these tapes are designed to get you motivated to build your business and fire you up.

Tapes are delivered on a Standing Order Tape (SOT) program where each person on SOT receives a tape every week. As you can see, at only one tape a week, that is $30 a month plus any extra fees attached.

There is a special tape pack in BWW called “Britt School” (BBS4) which is $60. I ordered this a few times, but it never came. They also have the special series designed to create more volume through retailing called “Turn it Up: Creating and Maximizing Volume” (BL100) for $32.50, and for the new people, the “Getting Started Pack” (GSP) for $32.50 [This is not to be confused with the full kit which will be detailed below].

The tapes will not really contain any new or critical information, they are a bunch of motivation. See the “Types of Recordings” post for more details on tapes.

There are 1074 tapes on the search command of BWW at the time of this recording. Some tapes are phased out as others are added.

Books (Price is variable; as low as $1.95 for one book and up to $25 for another. The shipping fee is added to these are well)

The book list has 77 books on it at the time of this writing. It is very difficult to categorize them. There are authors such as Charles Capps, Robert Schuller, Norman Vincent Peale, Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie to name a few. Some of the books are to teach people skills, some to motivate people, others to remove fear. Most are highly influenced by the Word-Faith movement.

The IBO’s are told to read at least one book a month. The hard core people will go for more. There was a period of time that I went through 16 books in one month! I was preparing to go diamond after all. There are 77 books on the booklist at this time.

Videos [VHS] ($6.00 for the ‘Meet Kate’ video, the rest are $12.00 or $15.00; the shipping fee is applied)

Some videos are used as prospecting tools such as The Buzz, Net Gain 3.0, Profiles of Success. Others are for the eyes of IBO’s only who are seeking motivation. These are the Lifestyles videos, videos of the Peter Island trips that the Diamonds and above get to attend for having a successful business, Diamond Club videos, etc. The former of these are more explanatory and talk about opportunity, the latter show of materialistic goodies, most of which are paid for by the sale of tools (There is money in Quixtar, but not as much as tools). To see some of these, just check out the Extreme Freedom Team site.

Videos [DVD] ($15.00 plus shipping)

These are similar to the VHS videos, but multi-tracked in most cases. There is a new series called “Aspire”, which will detail the lives of the Diamonds including portions of their New Diamond Speech, the material rewards from the business, etc.

Multimedia CD’s ($18.00 plus shipping)

There are two of these on the list at this time; one being an audio book, and the other is the “Smart Living” video which details how to get the most from your products by showing what is available for where (designed for IBO’s, Prospects, or clients and members).

Starter Pack ($95.00 plus shipping)

This pack contains everything needed to get started. It contains the Getting Started Pack CD’s mentioned above, The Bill Quain book, ‘The Quixtar Price is Right’, notes for the tapes, the BWW basics book (Detailed below), the “Maximizing Your Volume” set, Quixtar Brochure, Eagle Brochure, A Potential Network Associates sheet, a flipchart, and a coupon for a discount on Communikate (detailed below).

Flip Chart ($20 full size Flipchart, $12 Mini-Flipchart plus shipping)

This is the presentation that IBO’s will use to show the plan. Back in the good old days of Amway, people memorized the plan, and they do even today, but the drive of Quixtar is duplication which is really easy to do with a nice professional presentation. They prefer you use this because it has all the legal information on it including the average income of $115 for IBO’s.

Brochures to numerous to count (These hover around the $6 range)

These are professional pages for anything from retailing, wholesaling, or other purposes you might devise for your business.

BWW Basics Manual ($9)

This is the book which covers all the basics of building the business. I will eventually place a post detailing the teaching of this. Please be patient and remind me if I don’t.

Literature Packs ($10)

These are given to prospects after they have seen the plan. The contain the details of how the plan works, an overview of BWW, the Eagle program, etc. IBO’s are instructed to have several of these because they should be showing the plan a lot. To move these, there is a video they play at the BWW conferences frequently which shows two people having a guest, one leaves with a Literature Pack, the other does not and it ends with the two prospects driving away, one listening to the CD included in the pack and the other the radio. The question is asked, “Which one is more likely to get started?”

BWW planner / Calendar ($12 for large, $3 for small)

These are not just calendars, these have a spot on each month for your PV goals, as well as the basics of the business abbreviated. The Nine Core Steps are in there as well as a place for prospects contact info. It is a full fledged business machine.

Profiles of Success ($25)

This is a book of all the people who have made the Diamond and above level. IBO’s should have these handy to show the new prospects a Diamond that relates to some aspect of there background.

Various SAM paraphernalia ($6 for brochures, up to $65 for the carrying case)

SAM is the “Skin Analyzer Magnifier” and it is used to show how well the Artistry line is. The story goes (I can not verify this, this is what we were told through the trainings) that the makers of the machine took it to Mary Kay (At that time number 1 in cosmetics), but the machine showed that those cosmetics truly did not do what they claimed to, so Mary Kay did not want the machine in the public view. The people, wanting to profit from their experiment, took it Artistry and it worked, so now there are SAM clinics everywhere to promote Artistry products. I can’t find the price for the machine, but I do know it is not cheap.

Communikate ($21.95-31.95 a month depending on usage)

This is the unified communication system that BWW and WWDB used to replace the old AmVox system. Kate has email, a toll free system and is voice compatible. It features scheduling as well as specialized programming to forward calls, hold calls, etc. For the busy executive, a very useful unified communication system, but in BWW, it is mostly used to pass more motivational speeches down line. There is also a small drive to market ‘Kate’ to the public retail. At this time, the IBO gets paid $5 per month for every retail account he sells (this is paid quarterly).

One Domain ($14.95 per month plus 87.95 per year)

This is a website that you can use to send prospects to, your clients and members can shop from it, and you can reroute BWW.com, Quixtar.com, and your online Kate access all though it. It allows for a domain name, which is far superior to the old BWW websites which held the address bww.com/username. You also get your own professional email address which adds credibility. These sites are template based and password protected. To see one of these sites, check out http://www.hognastyrich.com/

I forget who’s site this is, but I do have John Crowe telling it on a tape somewhere.

Conclusions

Do the math and you will see the flaw in being a hard core BWW IBO, especially when the average income from Quixtar is $115 a month.

P.S. Please let me know if I forgot anything, I will gladly update this post.

X

Types of Functions

For my readers finding details about the Britt World Wide (BWW) aspect of Quixtar that do not know anything about it, it thought it might merit an explanation of all the types of meetings your loved ones may be attending. Here is a detailed list, of course, if anyone has anything that I missed, please let me know. I limited this topic for the rank and file people; I intentionally excluded Go Diamond, Diamond Club, etc.

Thanks,

X

Weekend conferences ($90-100 + travel expenses)

There are four of these each year, each with its own invitation and purpose. In all of these, the sessions usually start about 8:00 on Friday night (doors always open an hour before session officially starts) and go to 12:00. There may be a band, typically the Goads; that will play for about 45 minutes at the start. (Not long ago the IRS deemed contributions for this ‘Christian’ group as not tax deductible. Here is the Ministry Watch Donor Alert.) People dismiss at midnight and often have unofficial (though sometimes official) ‘Night Owl’ meetings where they get to talk in a close quarters with an Emerald of Diamond. The Saturday morning session usually starts at 9-10:00 and runs to 2:00 with a 5-6 hour break. The doors open at 7:00 and the meeting starts at 8:00 until midnight. This time is the ‘prime time’ where the speakers start to get ‘serious’ and mostly get religious and promote the Sunday morning worship service as their ‘secret’ to how to build the business. There used to be night owls, but about 2003 or so, they requested that people no longer hold them due to safety concerns in driving home the next day. The Sunday morning worship service features preaching from the biggest Diamond in the meeting so as to ensure a lot of people get there. The Goads will be back to do praise and worship, and an ‘alter call’ will be made. An offering is collected that goes to the Goads, though some people have made accusations of people getting paid for speaking from this money; I do not know the truth of these claims. All this starts at 9:00 in the morning and runs to about 11:00. The afternoon session starts at anywhere from 12:00-2:00 and runs to 5:00. This tight schedule has cult analysts concerned that these functions are most likely indoctrination sessions. That is added to the fact that many people are told that “It can’t explained”, “It will change your life”, etc. Statements such as these are Red Flags indicating Cult-like activity. The attire for these conferences is Business.

1. Winter Conference (Dream Weekend) – This was originally known as Dream Weekend, but was changed to Winter Conference to maintain a more professional appeal. This is in the wintertime obviously. The invitation to this is on a per team basis, each attending the conference the Upline has organized. These are typically done in a large hotel conference rooms and about 500-2000 people would be the max present. The Winter Conference is primarily to get people focused on what they want out of the business. The speakers will be the Emeralds and based on the team you are on, a few Diamonds. The Saturday night (and possible Friday night, late), the ‘Big Pins’ at the organization are present. Typically, the person who is running the organization will have their Upline Diamond there as the power speakers. Example, Dave Taylor’s WC, Rex Renfrow will come in and be the power speaker; Rex is also the power speaker for Nardone conferences, etc.
2. Spring Leadership – This conference is a step larger than the WC. Spring Leadership will be organized from a higher pin level, there will be anywhere from 2000-15000 people in attendance. These are most often done in arenas. The speakers will be Diamonds from that team. The primary purpose of this function is to update people on products and additions to the system, as well as teach the basics. Since there is such a flux of people in the business, they need to keep teaching how to contact, build a list, etc. The people are getting all this from trainings and counseling, but it gives more credibility to the system to hear the Diamonds teach it.
3. Summer Conference (Family Reunion) – Like WC, this function is small and comprised of the same size and group as WC. It was also ‘professionalized’ with the ‘Summer Conference’ term. The primary function of this is to introduce people to the Line of Sponsorship and to bring together people who may have moved out of the area.
4. Free Enterprise Day – This is normally regional, i.e. you go to the nearest one, though many teams often promote to go to the one in the upline’s area. This conference is designed to show the new pin winners and introduce the new Diamonds. It is very large, often 5,000 – 15,000 people from all sorts of Lines of Sponsorship. Very large pins from all over come to speak, as well as some international Bigpins. The emphasis is to get people to commit to ‘doing what it takes this year’. This conference is right at the start of the new fiscal year, so it is a ‘new beginning’. These are in coliseums.

Rally/Seminar ($10)

These functions are 4 times a year, once every quarter on a Saturday night from 7:00-10:00. This is when an Emerald or up comes in and tells their story about how they started the business, how they built it, etc, and then the second part, is to do a teaching seminar which focuses on teaching the 4 basics of building the business (Build a list, Invite, Show the Plan (new terminology wants to use the term ‘Share the Presentation’, and Follow up / Getting Started). In between these two parts is pin recognition for all the people have changed pins since the last Rally/Seminar. These are held in any size place that will hold the number of people; they range in size from small test rallies with a few hundred people up to thousands in convention centers. The attire is Business

Team Training (variable, often about $5-6)

This is held by the Emerald or above locally. They are once a month and the purpose is to teach the new people about the basics of building the business, and to motivate the people to take it to the next step. They will often have a tool table set up here to buy books, tapes, or other miscellaneous BWW materials. The speakers are the Platinum’s and above plus whoever is really driving miles and showing the plan. The attire is Business Casual.

Open Opportunity Meeting ($3-4)

These are held in hotel rooms and are open for IBO’s to bring prospects to see the plan in a professional setting. Depending on the team, there will be 2-4 of these per month. The guests are free. The plan is shown by a person who is Platinum or above and for each team, once every few months they will run a ‘Diamond Open’ where a Diamond comes to show the plan. The attire is Business.

Attitude Meeting ($3-5)

This is a meeting that is very infrequent, used on an ‘as needed’ basis. The Upline Diamond or even above that person will come in and speak. These meetings tend to be totally motivational in nature. They are very cult-like as the speaker ‘pours out his heart’ (a phrase used often) about how much this business means and why. The attire is Business.

Nuts and Bolts (Often free, on our team it was ‘bring an ice-cream topping’)

These are meetings done by an Emerald (or rarely a Platinum) done in the home of the lowest person in the leg for a fast moving group. The reason it is done in the lowest person is that it gets all the people from the Platinum to the lowest person there. This is done when a team grows too fast for teaching, so the basics and some motivation is provided.

Night Owl (Free, the cost of a meal, etc.)

These are often held after other meetings (Opens, Rally/Seminars, Team Trainings, etc). Sometimes they are open for all in attendance at the preceding meetings, while other times, it is for the ‘top performers’. It is purely motivational in nature and especially for the qualifying meetings, it seems like you are becoming part of a group that is going to change the world. Often these have an open floor for people to share what is on their heart. These are held in restaurants.

Eagle Team (Free, Cost of a meal, etc)

These are also held in restaurants and are performed by the nearest Emerald or above upline. This is a qualifying meeting for those that are Eagles, doing the Eagle steps, or those who are brand new to the business. The desire to go to these meetings just to get around the upline is a drive to get to work. These meetings are motivational in nature and are more like a ‘fellowship’ time than a meeting.

1000+, 2500+ Leadership ($3-5 per session for some groups and up to $40 for others, a few sessions a weekend; Travel and lodging)

These are weekend retreats for the people who have reached whatever level it is they are holding the leadership for. These are very laid back and relaxing. The meeting is in the evening for about 3 hours a day and the rest of the day is for fun time. You could swim, play golf, tennis, walk, run, or whatever. There will often be a Big Pin from the top of the organization present who is very friendly the whole time and open to talking to whoever is present.

You Are the Brokest You Will Ever Be!!!

Tape: What Are You Capable Of?

Speakers: Alan & Michele Leininger

Stock Number: JM42 (2 message recording)

Recording Type: ‘Basic Mix’

Brief Review:

This was recorded at ‘Family Reunion’. Michele talks about the life of a diamond, the kids, and what it took to build the business: Speak what they wanted, not what they had; You have to go out and ‘give yourself away’; Develop wealth mentality. Alan asks the question: ‘What are you capable of?’ and then explains we can do anything we set our mind to, but we simply have to be told what we can accomplish.

Motivational Aspects:

They started at 24 as ‘DINK’s’ and now boasts “Lots of money, lots of kids.”

Alan explains that relative to Larry, he needs to apply for food stamps, but relative to everyone in the audience, the audience needs to apply for them.

Alan gives an analogy of learning to walk and building this business. He explains that we didn’t quit trying to learn to walk, and we all walk, so everyone can build the business.

“We are the brokest we will ever be…it will only get better from here”

“I went Emerald on my B list, but I went Diamond on my C list.”

Cult-like aspects:

The association with the people in the business made them what they are. Alan says that he doesn’t know where they would be if it were not for the team.

Alan talks a lot about your ‘box of thinking’ and that you become a diamond by changing your thinking through the tapes, books, meetings, etc. [To make it, you need to apply the ‘proven’ system which is nothing but indoctrination to encourage further use of the system and dependence on the leaders.]

Michele describes the ‘inner circle’ of leaders for Larry Winters team. [The circle of leadership where it is exclusive only to the high performers is a trademark of a dangerous cult.]

“It doesn’t take a long time to build the business, it is just the decision to go out and do the work.”

Speak what you want to have, not what you currently do have. [Thought control]

Michele explains that you just have to go out and ‘give yourself away’. You need to step out and speak the goals you want no matter what people think about them. [Behavior control]

Alan explains that we are capable of making a difference in the world, and that you simply have not been told you can do it. [The implication is that this system is the vehicle to turn you into a difference maker. He says that a mentor will give you these things.]

Alan tells a story about his son, Aaron, at the track and tells him that he is capable of making a jump. Aaron was a little nervous about it, but Alan told him that he can do it, but he has to make up his mind to do it. Aaron successfully jumps and then Alan tells him that he was capable of doing it but had to have someone tell him he was capable of doing it. Then, Alan uses this story to tell everyone that they are capable of going Diamond. He goes on to say that everyone is already doing what they need to do, but they need to keep doing it. This thing that they are doing is reading the books, listening to the tapes, and attending the functions. [Thought control, behavior control]

“It’s OK to fail, folks, but it’s not OK to quit.”

Catalog of covetousness for those materialistic people:

In 9 months he spent $80,000 on motor cross for the kids.

“It seems like every other day I was writing 3 or 4 or 5 to 6 thousand dollar check to somebody.” About $120,000 total paid as cash.

Their daughter, Kristen, has 63 pairs of shoes. She is 9 years old.

Wonderful Faulty Theology:

She explains that we need to develop a ‘wealth mentality’ and criticizes a girl at a Christian school for suggesting that they buy the cheapest shoes for the team because there was no specific redeeming quality of any of them. [We are called to be stewards of our resources, and that is exactly what this girl was doing. There was no reason to spend the resources the school had on expensive shoes when the cheaper ones would suffice. Michele states that ‘God owns it all, so we should have the best’. God does not use the ‘best’, he uses the faithful.]

Michele explains that God owns everything and He wants you to have the best. [Read John Foxes ‘Book of the Martyrs’ to see the ‘best’ that people received historically. In America today, there is a soft ‘make me happy’ form of Christianity that is sickening to the extreme. If God wants us to have the best, Jesus would have lived in a mansion and entertained the sinners there, but Jesus had no place to even call home. If ‘I want best for you’ attitude from God were true, Paul would not have written a quarter of the New Testament in prison, Paul would further not have written about the suffering Christian will endure. That being said, God is a loving God, but this life is all about Him and the advancement of His kingdom, not about our worldly success and comfort. He will supply all our needs through His riches and Glory for the advancement of His kingdom, not to go Diamond. Note that the context of this passage is supplication given to a sacrificing heart to the kingdom.]

“Our God says that we will provide for us, too. And all we have to do is just ask Him for it, and go out and KNOW that we deserve it.” [This is solid apostasy! We ‘deserve’ it? Not, we deserve death and eternal punishment for our sins, but it is only through His love, His grace, and His power that all of us do not succumb to that end! 1. God is not our magic genie in a bottle waiting to fulfill our desires. 2. He will only provide us with the needs we have when we are living a sacrificial life to the kingdom. 3. We are not deserving of anything, but in His love, we do receive.]

Other Notes:

This one is based on total speculation, but Michele is telling stories about her kids and how each one seems to fit a certain role. I was reminded of the ‘roles’ people get cast into in a dysfunctional family. A healthy family ‘splits’ roles; no one person fulfills the role of the ‘comedian’ or ‘mediator’, but in a dysfunctional home, those roles are split and cast onto each person. This is similar to what Michele described.