In the last post, we stated questions that have been asked about Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Some questions were about Jane Whaley, the leader. Some were about daily life at WOFF. “Why” was/is a common question and well as “how”? We shared some questions that new members have to face. Those answers would be very interesting as each new member would face them first in the church and then in their private lives. The main point being that their private life morphs/merges into their life at church. For sure, new members learn that there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed – to Jane. When a new member joins WOFF, at whatever degree or stage that is or becomes, he or she will face the realization at some point that privacy is a dwindling commodity. All facets of life merge into the realm of the church’s/Jane’s purview.

     Life at WOFF becomes all consuming- why? Why did/does membership at WOFF require ALL of a member? What other churches which claim to be “Protestant, non-denominational church…( as defined by classical Christianity) with traditional, evangelical doctrines” require so much of their members? I am not saying there are no others; I just want to know who they are… We shared about this type of group in a post from August 1, 2010- “Know the Marks of Cults” Part 6 found here: http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=2896 .

   

    During my time at WOFF, there was a series of messages preached by another person other than Jane, which was titled “Living Segmented Lives”. The gist of the series was to warn folks about living one way at church, another way at home and another way at work. Now, the premise of the message was a sound warning, in my opinion. We should be comfortable with who we are to be the same no matter where we go. However, the conclusion of the series, as far as I can remember, was that the way we were at church and “living for God” (the WOFF-way) should be our life — everywhere. This led to some members attempting to share WOFF-ways while at work on jobs at companies not run by WOFF church members. It just did not work. Why? Would that be because the members were not truly comfortable with WOFF-ways? Could that be that WOFF-ways are perceived as something other than “normal, accepted” Christian traditions or behaviors? Some folks claimed to pull off the task of living for God the WOFF-way while at work. After I left, I learned that in some places of employment, that just was not the true. Some employees came resent their fellow employees – WOFFness. It may be that the WOFF members who worked those jobs were so caught up in their own struggle to live WOFFness, that they were totally unaware how offended and put off their fellow workers had become. I have heard that false religion can do that to a person. Do you think this could happen?

     The “how” on WOFF-life becomes so all consuming is in some ways complicated. It can be gradual and certainly below the radar in many cases. Conforming to WOFF-life was/is furthered by questions such as “Don’t you want the will of God?”, “What part of your finances do you keep from God?”, “What part of your day do you think God does not see?”, “What thoughts are you hiding?”, “What did you do while you were in the car by yourself?”, What were you thinking in the bathroom?”, “You took too long in the shower- why?”, “What did you read in your Bible last night?”, “What was preached in the service?”, “Did you submit that to God?”, “Is that under authority?”, “Have you checked that out with Jane?”, “Why would you want to do anything out from under the authority that loves and cares for you?” “Did you not feel conviction when that thought came? You should have, I did as soon as I heard about it.”, “Are you tithing AND giving offerings? If you are not, then that is why you are not being blessed.”, “Why would you want to eat from the demon’s table?”(Concerning celebrating holidays…). “Do you want your marriage bed to be defiled?”, “Did you realize you were profaning God?”, “Will you repent and make things right with God and God’s people?”, “Why was that newspaper found in your car?”.

    All of these questions were meant to modify behavior and test the commitment of the members. I cannot judge the actual motives of each individual that used these questions to help someone “walk closer to God” and “submit to God’s will.” And it could be that for some, they were simply repeating the questions that were used on them and were not fully aware of the purpose, intent and power of the questions. However, I was a witness to the results. The above list of questions and MORE were used to bring a member into WOFFness and full submission to the structure of WOFF. The questions were repeated enough so that for most, the intended answer was obvious. Whatever answer showed you, the regular member, as wrong and “authority” (Jane and leadership) as right- was the correct or best answer to offer, even if you did not agree. Exceptions were rare. It was plain to see what happened to folks who did not submit the expected answer(s).

   For those who dared ask the wrong questions, I quote a comment that a reader submitted. This example of someone who dared to ask about the church finances…

    “I remember JW asking who wanted to know about the finances. It was in her usual demonic tone. The only one to raise a hand was _____. Well since one raised a hand, I guess she figured she needed to address everyone using ______ as a pawn. I tell you she tried to put the fear of god in everyone at that point. I used lower case out of respect for the one true God which JW does not know. He (the one who raised his hand) was on church discipline and I was sitting next to him, I have much respect for that man. He has much more courage than Sam.”

     The subjects of the questions would vary. I have witnessed the same reply and tactic used by Jane on other occasions. Why would this be necessary in a “Protestant, non-denominational church…( as defined by classical Christianity) with traditional, evangelical doctrines”?? Why would it be necessary for any leader of a Christian church to set such boundaries around the church finances as well as other areas like the pastor’s benefits? Why would the answer to such questions have to come to “put the fear of god” in the people who dare ask such questions? This was a good example of the one who asks the question can become the problem. Do you see the problem in this scenario? What goes through a church leader’s mind AFTER they have answered a question in such a manner? That would be good to know. Do you think these would be warm, loving and kind thoughts about the person asking the question?

    I have been asked by several folks if I believe that Jane Whaley believes what she says about herself and to her WOFF members. As hard as it is to rationalize or reason out, I would have to say that I have no evidence to prove that Jane is not fully taken in by her own confessions about herself and her importance.  There is nothing that I know of that would suggest that Jane believes anything other than who she portrays herself to be. She believes in essence that she is as close to God as any human being on the face of the earth. In many ways, she acts like she is closer to God than anyone could be. From her behavior and her words, it appears she believes she is “sinless”. Does this shock anyone? Is there any danger in a person thinking they are “sinless”? When this happens to an individual, where does it lead? Are others around them hurt or helped by this notion? If you believed you were sinless, how would you treat others who were obviously not? If you were sinless, would you treat others with the utmost care and concern or would you use them to confirm your belief about yourself by showing them how full of sin they were? From the Scriptures, did Jesus use this tactic? In my opinion, from what I read, he exposed sin; but did not use the act of exposing other’s sin to point out how sinless he was. He did not use their sin as a ladder to get him closer to God. He was God. Is Jane – God?  Or does she need/use the ladder built by pointing out the sin of others in her quest to be god?

   We move on to other questions on what may seem like totally unrelated subjects, but these are questions none the less. Are all the politicians who are pictures are featured on the WOFF website fully aware of life INSIDE of WOFF? My opinion is NO. I have talked personally to one of them and their defense and answers were obviously weak. They had no idea what went on inside of WOFF and in some ways appeared afraid to know. What a shame.

     Why does Jane apparently have an appetite to be seen with certain political figures? Does she believe that this lends her and her group some credibility? Why? Does she need others in high places to be around her to help fend off some of the criticism from those who know the truth about WOFF-life? Did the group “Christians United For Israel” (CUFI) do their homework BEFORE aligning themselves with WOFF? If so, who did the investigating or “vetting” of Jane Whaley and her leadership team? It would be interesting to know. How much time was spent getting to know Jane and her cohorts before the conference earlier this year at WOFF? How deep did the probe go before allowing them to set-up their exhibit in Washington?

    Is Congressman Heath Shuler enamored with Jane Whaley and WOFF? Did his team do any vetting before allowing his presence to be captured in such a glowing presentation with WOFF at the CUFI conference in Washington? It would be interesting to know. What do these events say about WOFF?  

    Do any of the readers remember who else courted political favor in the 70’s? Do any readers remember seeing Rosalyn Carter in pictures with Jim Jones? Jim Jones not only supported certain politicians with his church members; he went after political favors. He was appointed to a position on the Housing Authority for San Francisco after helping George Muscone win the election. See more of that info here… http://www.spirituallysmart.com/jonestown.html   (I have not been through whole website, but, near the top is a video link showing Jones with Mrs. Carter. I do not adhere to the CIA infiltration theories about Waco and Jonestown. The unedited news clips are the best resources of this site.)  Do religion and politics make a good mix? I am not sure at this point. A politician can have faith, but, when an activist oriented religious group takes in a politician, it often leads things awry. Read this link about the Peoples Temple involvement in politics in San Francisco- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoples_Temple_in_San_Francisco

   We have asked some questions. Some of these questions will be tough to answer for now. For certain, I do not have answers to all of these questions or know why the answers are so hard to come by. But, I will continue asking and hopefully learn the answers in the months and years to come. Honest questions hopefully will lead to honest answers. Has that been true so far in the case of WOFF? We have also listed questions used by WOFF to mold behavior. What questions have I missed? What questions do the readers have? Please, use the comment feature and list your questions that you would like answered about Jane Whaley, WOFF-life and WOFF-doings.

    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. 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. ) Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 210.