While listening to former FBI agent, Joe Navarro, explain the shift required as a criminal profiler, moving from thinking as an FBI agent to thinking like a predator, I suddenly understood.
Navarro, “You stop asking “Why does a person do that?” knowing the answer is “because I can, or I must… That is the ‘predator’ thinking.” You then look for methodology. “It is a totally different mindset. You don’t have the moral or legal barrier.” (Link 58 min mark)
Immediately, I knew the answer to many of the questions which continue to surface around “Broken Faith” specifically and the subject of cults in general. So many get stuck on “why” folks get swept into groups like Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) or “why” does the leader do or say certain things. Many who have never been a part of a high-demand group (cult) cannot relate or comprehend the “predatory thinking” exhibited by Jane Whaley and other leaders of similar groups.
When describing activities of dangerous cults, the word “recruiting” is used to explain the gathering of new members. Now, I believe a more accurate description is “hunting.” We may not fully understand why a leader or their leaders “hunt”, we need to accept that they “can” and they “must.” The nature of a predator is to hunt for victims.
The recently published “Broken Faith- Inside the Word of Faith Fellowship, One of America’s Most Dangerous Cults” by Mitch Weiss and Holbrook Mohr recounts the struggle of the Cooper family. Just what exactly draws a person into range to be hunted and captured by the cult-predator is subject to debate. Asking why a group leader draws others into their group can get you hung up on the moral barrier. This question could lead you to project your benevolent motives onto others and assume high-demand groups members have your motivations. Sad mistake. Cult leaders do not exhibit the same morals or motivations as many other folks. Cult-leader- PREDATOR thinking is “I can… I must…”
Predator: a person or group that ruthlessly exploits others
Recently, this account showed on my social media:
“I purchased this book (Broken Faith) the day it came out. I couldn’t put it down! Jane Whaley was my Algebra teacher at Coulwood Jr. High in 1968. She was also my cheerleading advisor. She and Sam attended my church, Pleasant Grove Methodist, while she taught at Coulwood. Jane moved to Wilmington, NC, at the end of the school year, in 1968.
I, and 2 friends, visited Jane and Sam in their home for a week the summer of 1970.
In 1971, Jane took me, and a few friends to Myrtle Beach for graduation. She was a totally different person. We had always seen the temper side. She was tough. While those things were there, she wanted to be our friend. We could call her anytime…day or night. On that beach trip…we saw a side of Jane that we had never seen before.
She and Sam had started going to a church that was meeting in someone’s house. She was very radical. On Sunday morning, while at the beach, she took us to church at a campground. I was sitting next to her. In the middle of the sermon, she said in a loud voice….this man has Satan inside him. He is not a Christ follower. He had said nothing to make one think that. She said she had a gift to decern that about someone. I thought…what the heck?
We got back to the room, and she took chairs from the kitchen, and put them in rows. It was the year of our graduation. A lot of our classmates were there. Jane brought the ones she could find and knew in the room. She began to preach. It was crazy! I listened for about 30 minutes, and realized how nuts she was, and told her I was going down to the beach.
She threw a fit! When I came back in, she told me that I was full of demons, and was going to hell. We left the next day. I never saw her again or talked to her. That was the beginning of her craziness. This book makes me sad, and angry! Jane and Sam need to be held accountable for the lives they have destroyed! God bless you all for what you went through and bringing this to light! (emphasis added)
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This story reveals the WOFF leader has been hunting for many years and surely, her methodology has evolved. If you want to give her the benefit of the doubt, the presumption of moral motives and call it “recruiting” – go ahead and ignore the obvious. The result of hundreds of folks – maybe thousands who were drawn into Jane’s aura and clutch, proves her actions have been predatory. Once you join WOFF, you become the pawn and prey of her desires masked as “God’s will.”
Yes, WOFF is not the only dangerous group one could fall prey to. Recent news accounts are full of cult-predators and the results of their hunting. The methodologies are strikingly similar.
Have you been approached recently by a predator masked as a prophet, guru or saint? How would you know? Do the followers retain their autonomy free of guilt and shame – if they decide to leave? Can ex-members freely associate with present members? Are there measures in place to discredit alternate sources of information about the group?
Acknowledging that there is evil in the world and it may have reached you is frightening on one hand and on the other hand, necessary to protect yourself.
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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 and Josh confirmed it.
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Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation) This is post number 672.