In an earlier post titled “The Church at Rock Hill” found here.. http://religiouscultsinfo.com/2010/06/the-church-at-rock-hill/ we began reviewing the movement started by William Sowders. It was a brief review and only served as an introduction. The post included a couple of links for information on Sowders and a summary of a testimony from a former member of one church in this group in California. I listed aspects of that testimony that contained similarities to ones I had seen in my years in Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). The movement was brought to my attention through the free service from Google® called Google Alerts®.
This was my introduction to a movement begun in around 1914 and at its peak had about “75,000 believers in 300 congregations in 31 states.” (Source here– http://www.dmgac.org/about/leaders/ a church within group) The leader, William Sowders died in 1952. Recently, a book written by a survivor of this group, Shari Howerton, came to my attention- again through Google Alerts®. “Breaking the Chains” Overcoming the Spiritual Abuse of a False Gospel (Copyright © 2009 by Shari Howerton, ISBN- 978-0-9713499-4-0) –The author was born to a family in a church in that movement. She stayed in that group under the pastor, Cornelius Mears, for 43 years. Near the beginning of the book, she provides more background that helps understand the impact of the doctrines and practices on the lives of its members.
As I have been reading this book, I have seen several things to note. First there are some differences in the leadership of the church Howerton was a part of and WOFF. The leader(s) in the Sowder movement were men and at WOFF, the leader is a woman- Jane Whaley. There are some similarities on many levels between to the two groups. We will mention one likeness here and we will note more of both, in future of posts.
While recounting an incident where church funds were reportedly used to bail out an accused sexual offender, Howerton writes, “There was no such thing as public disclosure of church funds or assets, and we never questioned any financial decision Brother Mears (pastor) made. Asking for accountability would have implied distrust.” (page 86, emphasis added) The same attitude prevails at WOFF. We have posted about this aspect of WOFF in previous posts. Here is a link to a post on the lack of financial disclosure: http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=2080 .
The author’s insight helped me put words as to why I did not question the money flow at WOFF or two other churches, I had attended previously. In the church environment where the center of power, authority and decision making resides with one person, there is a trust in that leader, which can be abused. I did not see it then, but allowing one person to be the absolute authority in spending decisions is NOT wise arrangement in churches or in business. Regardless of the amount of displayed integrity, history proves the temptations with money are always strong and many people do falter and succumb to either self-serving interests and/or some sort of unwise money choices.
In business, I have seen it over and over through the years. In one form or another, I have worked in consumer finance for over 27 years. It is hard to count the number of situations I know of where a person entrusted with the decision making ability over money has made self-serving, compromising and at times, blatantly illegal choices. Handling other people’s money should have many guidelines and restraints for anyone and EVERYONE who has that responsibility. Why would trust in a religious leader excuse prudent financial restraints? Would it be wise to put any religious leader in a place to be faced with the temptation that unchecked money choices can bring? Why would any religious leader choose to put them self in the position to be tempted with absolute power over other people’s money? It is just NOT a wise choice to make. Why do many founders of religious groups and pastors make that mistake?
There are many other insights into life in a religious controlling group in this book by Howerton. We will review more of them in later posts. The book has been one that has forced me to consider my time inside of WOFF under the teachings of Jane Whaley and the effects of those teachings. Here is the link to the author’s website where the book can be purchased. http://www.sharihowerton.com/ I recommend the book for anyone seeking to learn about religious control in a cult or who has survived such a system.
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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. ) Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 243.