Tuesday was another busy day. This news piece was initiated, arranged, shot, edited and went live all in one day. Sure my part was easy, show-up, talk and go home. The WLOS reporter and the news team did the hard work. Thank you, to Ashlea Surles and the entire new staff for putting together a concise story about my time in Word of Faith Fellowship and my departure. Thank you, also to the McDowell County Library in Marion for allowing us space to shoot the video. At first, talking in a library seemed against the rules! But, we had permission.
From the text-
“When you’re inside the group, you don’t concentrate on what you’re giving up, you concentrate on what you think you’re gaining, which is a relationship with God and God’s people and salvation,” said Huddle. “A lot of the restraints are out of fear, fear that you will lose your family, fear that you will lose your job, fear that you will lose your house.”
There is hope. Anyone can wake up and take back their life.
Front cover- Locked in by John Huddle
The following is a brief description of the book and the special offer of a bonus book for ordering today. Share this post and please, write a review on Amazon.com after you read the book. Thank you… I will post more on the Fenner case later today..
For many years, residents of tri-city area of Rutherfordton, Spindale, and Forest City, NC have witnessed the unique appearances and behaviors of the members of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Now, one survivor tells his view of life inside this ever-smiling, well dressed, standoffish group. John Huddle’s book, “Locked in”, reveals the oppressive inner dynamics and resulting behaviors which have proven a lightning rod for stares and hushed questions from those who observe WOFF members. This account goes into detail about the signature practice of loud prayer and blasting deliverance. John includes details regarding the efficient fund raising techniques employed by the group to support the affluent lifestyle of the leader- Jane Whaley. Throughout the story, the personal account of his journey is intertwined with observations and details of the many unwritten rules and essential beliefs which control each member. You will learn which freedoms the regular members surrender in order to stay inside this cloistered subculture. “Locked in” answers many questions which onlookers have asked for years.
Take a few minutes to order this book on Monday, September 21st. Begin learning many of the secrets behind the lily white doors of WOFF. You will find it at Amazon.com searching- “Locked in-John Huddle.” After you order on Monday, return a copy of the receipt or your order number by email to author@religiouscultsinfo.com or john@johnhuddle.net and receive a link to a .pdf copy of the book which helped John see through the haze of WOFF. This second book is out of print; however the download of 253 pages is free. In addition, a portion of each sale of “Locked in” will be donated to the Faith Freedom Fund- a non-profit organization purposed to help survivors of high-demand groups. John Huddle serves as a member of the Faith Freedom Fund. Please, share this offer with your friends and neighbors. It is much appreciated.
Thank you—for supporting my efforts to tell my story! Tell a friend, share this post.
Learn more about the Faith Freedom Fund here- http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=1039
During the research for my soon to be released book, “Locked in”, I remembered my time within Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and the time shortly after my departure in July 2008. For days on end, the emotions washed over me as I recounted the anxieties, the drama and the choices made during those months. At least part of the struggle was discovering who I really was. It was a “spring thaw” from the many years of my “self” existing frozen in the deep recesses of my soul; put there by the many rules, dictates and practices of WOFF. Those first few months of freedom were full of apprehension, while many times overrun with the questions… what do I do here? How do I? When do I? What if I? I was living free and making choices for the first time in many years.
Through the years since 2008, I learned my struggles were new to me, but not unexpected for one leaving a religious cult or a high-demand group. The feelings and emotions of those days were predictable. There was no one close to me who had traveled the same road and could guide me. In a quest to learn more, I turned to resources- books and online sources. Many a night, I traded sleep for the time to read survivor stories or other resources and/or the freedom to write. Both reading and writing helped sort out the jumbled mess of my life from the years within WOFF.
One of the most valuable resources I found is the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). Their online resources are many. July of 2014, I attended their conference in Washington, DC. The people I met and the sessions I attended, deepened my understanding of the dangers and results of high-demand groups. One of the benefits of membership is receiving the publication, ICSA Today.
ICSA Today Magazine volume 5 number 3 2014 – contains an article titled “Thought Reform and the Psychology of Breaking Away from Totalism”, written by Ron Burks, PhD. This is my resource for this post. I will quote from it in order to explain my struggles and those of others leaving WOFF during these days. Continue reading Leaving Thought Reform – Spring Thaw and the Resulting Liberty (1)→
A few of the comments at the beginning of this review:
“You feel euphoric…”
“I was deeply convinced that we were going to save the world…”
“JAW – DROPPING”- New York Magazine
“They sell it all in the beginning as something quite logical..”
“Going Clear should certainly rattle the walls, if not shake them to their very foundation… Variety
“You take on a matrix of thought that is not your own…”
This documentary is written and directed by Academy Award winner, Alex Gibney. The video is a review of the documentary and interview with Mr. Gibney by Chris Hayes on ALL IN- MSNBC. The documentary will debut March 29th. It is based on the book- “Going Clear”, by Lawrence Wright.
The alleged allegations of abuse carried out in the name of Scientology were shocking to me.
The Church of Scientology denies the claims with their statement including these words:
“This bigoted propaganda by Alex Gibney and Lawrence Wright is built on falsehoods by admitted liars.”
Yesterday, I spent about an hour talking on the phone to some new readers. In answering their questions, I found myself referencing certain posts. Unfortunately, I also realized these posts were in essence buried among hundreds of other posts and not easy to find. The solution has been to set up a page for vital links to previous posts of interest. The “Quick Links” page header at the top will take you to a page of links to previous posts grouped by subject. We start with survivor stores and at the bottom of the list are posts about the WOFF obsession with the Holocaust.
Today, I realized I had left off the post about the Mind Control Forum last year and have added that link. In the future, I may add other links or pages with certain themes. The Matthew Fenner case may one day have its own page. The story is about to explode again in the media on April 1st. Revisit this blog in the near future for other exciting news about the drama of destruction called Word of Faith Fellowship. Continue reading New Page Added- Quick Links to Posts→
Over the years, I have been through definitive phases while writing this blog. In the beginning, the purpose was to tell my experiences inside Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). The more I wrote, the more I needed to write. The process helped me sort the surreal and the confusions which came as a result of involvement in WOFF. The cathartic effects were priceless. The process did not stop there. As the months turned into years and the drive to share evolved into the desire to learn about other religious control groups; I made comparisons between WOFF and groups such as FLDS, Exclusive Brethren, Strong City, NTCC and others. Survivors of others groups read my posts and confirmed the likeness of their own experiences.
This phase led into reading and reviewing different resources that helped me understand my experience as well as the experience of others. For those readers who have visited over the years, you have seen these transitions. I have also chronicled the struggles of other survivors of WOFF. Helping them has been an honor and a privilege.
In the last few months, the pace of my postings has slowed, but the interest has not. My time has been spent compiling my experiences into a different format. It has been humbling and another type of struggle putting my thoughts, opinions and recollections into a book format. The process is near completion and I will share more about the finished product in the near future.
Earlier this month, I spent about ninety minutes sharing my experiences and what I have learned with two young college students. They had a beginner’s understanding about religious cults and were full of very good questions. They found me through a simple Internet search. After this experience, I realized that at least a portion of my readers are not searching for information about WOFF. Also, I know that a certain portion of my readers consists of those affected by WOFF and groups like them while never actually being a member of such a group.
It is with these background thoughts that I share the resource of the YouTube channel for the International Cultic Studies Association. I trust the source and actually met several of the presenters during the conference in July of 2014. The main channel link is here.
The first video I recommend has K. Gordon Neufeld as the presenter. I met Mr. Neufeld this past July and enjoyed his humorous reading from his book- “Cult Stories.” In this video he explains his time in The Unification Church (Moonies). He also goes into detail about his struggles with the questions about leaving the Moonies and reconciling the decision after he did leave the group. A note of irony, his initial exposure to the Unification Church came at a time when he was searching for answers about something totally different- Primal Scream Therapy. When I first read that in his book, I cackled.
“Writing Down the Pain: A Case Study for the Benefits of Writing for Cult Survivors”
Over the years, different individuals have asked me about my time in Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). At times, I have been overwhelmed and stumbled for a concise answer to the question. Why? Simply put, I spent many years involved in the group dynamics and to condense that experience into a short summary proves difficult. That is one reason I am still writing this blog. Just telling my story has not been enough to capture the entire experience. Thus, I have shared stories of other survivors. Not one person’s experience captures the full scope of the dangers of life inside that group. Members involved at different levels have varied levels of drama and trauma levied against them.
In recent posts, I have shared about physical abuses. In my mind, there is no doubt physical abuse has been a part of WOFF-life. No doubt. For this post, I want to focus on another aspect of abuse- emotional and psychological abuse in children and adults alike. This type of abuse is hard to detect, but it is no less real or insidious. This abuse involves the continual state of hyperarousal. Continue reading The Dangers of Groups like Word of Faith Fellowship…→
