Further consideration of the Word of Faith Fellowship ( WOFF) identity that members take on, in order to become and stay a member, reveals certain “dependent” traits. There are three main groups that all play their roles. At the top of the organizational pyramid is Jane Whaley. She is the supreme authority in charge of all. Next, coming down the structure is the “leadership” class. They get their ability to carry out Jane’s orders – from Jane. She keeps in touch with many folks through this leadership level of the structure. “If you are not willing to lay down your life and take hold of someone else, you will never fulfill your call- or be leadership in this church.” The last level of folks is what I call – “regular members”. They are the ones doing the field work. They hear from Jane or leadership what to do and then go do it. The regular members will tell you they are “learning to hear God’s voice” and “ministers in training”. If you ask how do you know? They will honestly have to say it was confirmed through Jane Whaley.

    A first glimpse into the WOFF identity, role and function may show that the regular members depend on Jane for all decisions. Certainly in religious cult mind control groups such as WOFF, the primary dependency consists of regular members’ being dependent on the supreme leader. This should not be a shock. But, also it must be noted that in the pyramid structure, those who are toward the top need those who are toward to bottom to support them! Without folks to lead, leadership and Jane Whaley would be without “subjects” to control. Also, without dependent subjects to tithe and give offerings, Jane Whaley would not be able to pay the church bills and get her “$600 a month” checks. She needs folks who continue to believe in her supremacy in order to keep paying the $20,000 a week needed to meet the church bills. (Sam first mentioned that figure in 2007 or early 2008) So, in reality, members need Jane and Jane needs willing members. It is co-dependency in a way. If folks just stopped believing in Jane as the great “Ya-Ya”**, then her importance in her own world would be in danger. 

** This was a pet name from one little girl for Grandma Jane. There was actually a wooden sign on Jane’s desk which said – “Ya-Ya”.

     The delicate balance between “leading” folks and “needing” folks is one Jane seems to handle well. There are on occasion, comments from Jane or leadership which reinforce and encourage the dependent identity: “We are growing as a church:, “we are letting Jesus have His way with us”, and “the sin is leaving this place”. These comments are giving “hope” so members will keep “fighting to get free from sin”. If members will just keep “fighting”, they will continue to see their need for Jane Whaley. If they give up, Jane’s worth slips, as the message seems not to work. (if it ever did!)

     For the WOFF faithful, the decision to obey the word from Jane has already been made. When Jane speaks, no independent reasoning comes into their thinking. When Jane says, “God spoke such and such to me…”, then the WOFF faithful are all set to believe it and carry it out. At times, it was hilarious; for instance with the toilet paper revelation. (see link http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=243   …) At other times, it had physical consequences. (see link about http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=1285 …) How could this absolute obedience to a person be so deeply ingrained? Some of that answer is explained in this post….( http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=261 ) In my opinion, members of WOFF have no definitive line of distinction in their thinking when they make the statements; “I love God” and “I love Jane Whaley”. To many WOFF members, those statements are equal. After all Jane teaches- “the love of God is the love of God…”.

   In some regards, I was like this when it came to the teaching of certain doctrines. I would read along when the scriptures were preached; but after a time, my decision to believe the teachings outran my decision to verify the teachings with my own reading and research. That became a dangerous place for me, as well as other members.  At that point, there comes a robotic type mental decision to believe first and keep any questions to myself. You could say, in that respect I had become a “WOFF-bot”.  It was a sad state and one I deeply regret. I had become “WOFF dependent” myself, at that point. It took a series of severe, emotionally traumatic events for me to even consider that things were not quite right and I should look around to compare WOFF to other situations. Once I realized that certain things were off and did not add up, leaving was a major deal. (leaving… http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=1396 )

    By that time, after 16 years of involvement, not only had I and my family become WOFF dependent, but so were my friends. The struggles do continue. If there is a term to describe WOFF and the relationship between Jane Whaley, leadership and regular members- it would be a “destructive symbiosis”. This term may be used in psychology as “destructive family symbiosis”, to which I would lengthen to apply here as “destructive spiritual family symbiosis”. A spiritual “family” relationship is claimed at WOFF and therefore, I have included “family” in the term. It purely is to recognize the absurd destructive nature of the entire religious mind control relationship.

    What else could be said of the relational dynamics found at WOFF or ANY OTHER religious mind control group? The leader needs the followers to need her. The followers are needed for what they provide the leader- adulation, praise and tithes and offerings. The followers believe they need the “spiritual direction” from their leader. There is feigned talk of the sacrificial nature of Jane Whaley as laying down her life for the members of WOFF. In my opinion, the whole façade leaves folks empty and worse off than when they started. Shall we forget the lives that have been emotionally wrecked by their time at WOFF? That would have to include here in the US and other countries, like Brazil.

       Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.

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      (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. ) This is post number 120.