As I begin to write this series of posts, it strikes me as odd that it has taken me so long to come to some conclusion or feasible answer to the question: How does Jane Whaley exercise control over her members of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF)? This is a question I have had to face many times since leaving the group. Well meaning folks have posed it in many different forms. Jane Whaley herself had openly scoffed at the notion while I was inside the group. She would sarcastically mock those who accused her of controlling over 400 members. How could she do that? She was only one person. And over the years, at different points while writing this blog, I have experienced sentinel moments of epiphany that moved me closer to a satisfactory answer. This series of posts is meant to explain the next step of my understanding of this complex subject.

This part of the answer will not come from directly comparing Jane to leaders of other groups that exhibit the same or similar practices. That part of the foundation of my answer has been well documented.  Next, let me address the scoffing that I have witnessed Jane herself exhibit at the above question. It would be difficult for the patient to accurately diagnose this disease. Would anyone really expect her to layout with any understanding the reason why or methods she employs to work her deeds over so many? Does a cat know it is a cat? Does a dog know it is a dog? Does a person who exhibits such pathological behaviors really understand the deviousness and destructiveness of their own behaviors? I see no evidence that she does. So, even though Jane will be made aware of these posts, I don’t expect her to call and thank me.

Some may ask why I would care to even answer a question such as this. Let me just say that the answer to this question will help me understand the methods and maneuvers used to murder my marriage and destroy my family. Hopefully, as I lay out my thoughts and understanding on the subject, it will help others to reach satisfactory conclusions on the question of how Jane works her control on so many folks. Over a month’s time, I get emails from people with varied interests in WOFF; this series is for them, as well as me.

A few weeks ago, I was reading a post on my mother’s blog titled “Discerning the Truth”.  The post quoted a book titled, “Your God is Too Small” by J. B. Phillips ( Copyright©1961, Macmillan Publishing Company, ISBN-0-02-088510-5) My effort here is not to repost her ideas but, just to give you some idea of where her writing helped me. She gave a paraphrased synopsis of the material in part of the book. It struck a chord with me and I ordered the book. The idea the author put forth was that many folks have confused the voice of their conscience with the voice of God.

In the first chapter titled “Unreal Gods” the author writes, “To many people conscience is almost all they have in the way of the knowledge of God. This still small voice which makes them feel guilty or unhappy before, during, or after wrong-doing, is God speaking to them. It is this which, to some extent at least, controls their conduct. It is this which impels them to shoulder the irksome duty and choose the harder path.” (page 15)

As I read this my mind began to immediately race forward as to how this notion applies to life inside WOFF. From this beginning, my answers began to form concerning the question about the control exerted over WOFF members.

Phillips goes on, “Now no serious advocate of a real adult religion would deny the function of conscience, or deny that its voice may at least give some inkling of the moral order that lies behind the obvious world in which we live. Yet to make conscience God is a highly dangerous thing to do. For one thing, as we shall see in a moment, conscience is by no means an infallible guide; and for another it is extremely unlikely that we shall ever be moved to worship, love and serve a nagging inner voice that at worst spoils our pleasure and at  best keeps us rather negatively on the path of virtue.” (page 15)

So, the author is not making the case to ignore our conscience. He is making the case that to trust this voice as our only source or lighthouse to entirely guide us is a big mistake. Why? For the simple reason that though each of us (hopefully) has some beginnings of a moral compass, it can be trained or ignored and stunt us or lead us astray in our moral direction.

“Conscience can be easily perverted or morbidly developed in a sensitive person, and so easily ignored and silenced by the insensitive, that it makes for a very unsatisfactory god. For while is probably true that every normal person has an embryo moral sense by which he can distinguish right from wrong, the development, non-development, or perversion of that sense Is largely a question of upbringing, training and propaganda.” (page 15-16)

Do you agree? Can well meaning normal folks or even Christian folks confuse their inner conscience with the voice of God – when it may be the voice of their god? As long as the consequences are not immediately known then the deception can continue. And even if the consequences of an action are contrary to the confidence in the voice that was acted upon, aren’t folks good at rationalizing their own guilt or need for responsibility?

The author concludes chapter one with this, “Surely neither the hectically over-developed not the falsely trained, not the moribund conscience can ever be regarded as God, or even part of Him. For if it is, God can be made to appear to the sensitive as an over-exacting tyrant, and to the insensitive a comfortable accommodating “Voice Within” which would never interfere with a man’s pleasure.”  (page 18)

The conclusions of the author in this book may be for another day. For certain, I took away from this reading the understanding and recognition of the struggle to know when our conscience was speaking and when we were feeling the nudging or leading of God or god. The confusion and trap to assign our own conscience as a high enough moral compass has been the fault of many – I fear. After all, “I am doing the best I can…”

While I was contemplating these ideas, I remembered the book I read and reviewed here on this blog, “Why is it Always About You? The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism” (Copyright©2002, 2003 by Sandy Hotchkiss, LCSW, published by FREE PRESS, ISBN-13:978-0-7432-1428-5). The first in the series is found here:  Religion Used as Narcissist’s Tool of Control (1)- . That post was written in August of 2011. In the series, I outline my conclusions from the material in the book and the observations of how Jane Whaley uses her religion to carry out her narcissistic life. The members of WOFF, at many different levels, help create and carry out Jane life’s dreams, desires and fantasies born of the narcissist she has become.

This is a clip from the first post explaining the first trait of narcissist- shamelessness, and why it is so.

Hotchkiss writes about the first “Deadly Sin”- shamelessness. “Shame is among the most unbearable of human feelings, regardless of our age or station in life. Unlike guilt, it speaks not to the misdeed but to the misery of a pervasive personal flaw.” (page 4) “In the Narcissist, shame is so intolerable that means have been developed not to experience it at all. What psychologists call “bypassed shame” looks like shamelessness or absence of a conscience, hiding behind a protective barrier of denial, coldness, blame, or rage. Since there are no healthy internal mechanisms available to process the painful feeling, shame is directed outward, away from the Self. It can never be ‘my fault’.” (emphasis added, pages 5-6)

Again, my purpose here is not rewrite that series, but, to simply state that with Jane- it is never ‘my fault’, there is always a way to divert any guilt or shame away from her- within her WOFF-world. The WOFF-universe revolves around her – do you agree? Could this be possible? I think it explains in very real terms the denial, coldness, blaming of others and rage in her life. How else could she mentally or emotionally process or non-process into a state of absolute denial the destroyed lives of members and families of her members? It touches her not, because she is a narcissist. Please, read the series to get a clearer picture of how I reached my conclusions.

As I ponder the first part of the answer with the second, I get the picture of faithful WOFF members- some new, some having been there for years- all coming to some level of distrust of their own conscience as the voice of God – for whatever reason. It could be failed marriages, drug-use, wayward children, and failed financial dealings… whatever. Their own moral compass failed them – even if it may have been covered or clouded with layer upon layer of Scripture and Bible learning.  Maybe this understanding is conscious or maybe not- it does not matter. The end result is very nearly the same, they end up at Jane’s feet waiting for her to “hear God” and help them find the answers to the questions of life. (Sometimes they did not even know the questions before Jane spoke.)

In the course of life and normal events, how many folks would Jane come across who have been disillusioned with their own religion? I propose it just a matter of time and Jane will cross paths with someone in distress looking for answers. I also would say that is how all aggressive control groups grow, it is in the numbers. If they knock on enough doors, they will find enough people in distress looking for answers.

Now, with her narcissistic orientation, confusing her own conscience with the voice of God, how will the questions be answered as a general rule? If Jane’s universe revolves around her, then her answers will in some way edify or build up or confirm her perception of herself. They will edify the source of her understanding and knowledge- her conscience. One November seminar, we were all treated with a fit of rage from Jane as she rebuked a member for gathering and passing out grocery fliers. As she left the sanctuary, she turned and screamed at a shaking elderly member, “Your sin affects me!” If it was not clear before then, it was clear after that, Jane was concerned with how we acted – because of her reputation. Would her counsel have the same orientation as her screaming fit? I think so. It was clear we were living in her County, in her World. Her perception of herself was paramount and obviously if affected her way of life, her counsel; she needed the stroke of having folks look up to her. This fed her ego and affirmed her rightness in hearing God.

So, when counseling members, how could Jane Whaley have been expected to divorce herself from herself? She was Jane Whaley and will always be the one and ONLY Jane Whaley. Eager seeking members would be given counsel from a narcissist. Do you suppose that the counsel would have a tendency to be controlling and self-serving? You tell me, is it likely?

You may be saying John; it can’t be that simple, Eager seeking members listening to a narcissist as she pours out deceptive, self-serving counsel…? And I would answer- you are right.  Jane has to have some supporting doctrines and practices to help her carry out her wishes and her desires. For now, I will summarize the answer that has been developed so far and close this post. Another day, I will list the supporting Jane originated WOFF truisms which have been used to support this practice of control. Certainly, I don’t pretend that my answer to the thesis question is all inclusive to this point, but, I firmly believe it is enough of a start to give a viable direction for better understanding.

From Phillips’ work, we learn that many people have and will confuse the voice of their conscience with the voice of God. He says that the conscience is not a reliable source of guidance because even though some would argue it is our final moral guide; the conscience can be trained with wrong perspectives from our environment and/or the people around us from whom we take counsel. In our desperation for answers to life’s important issues, we often seek answers from our peers or ones we respect. In my opinion, Jane Whaley’s narcissism colors her perspectives and when seekers come to her, the counsel given is ultimately oriented to serve her and the voice of her conscience which she claims is the voice of God Himself.

Please, return for the rest of this series as I believe learning the answer to this question has proven a great benefit for me personally. Hopefully, others will benefit the same.

“It is never too late to wake up and leave and reclaim your life!” Steve Hassan

Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog. 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. Jane told me. 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, for posts written by John Huddle, any information about WOFF is from his 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 437.