Jeff VanVonderen | Religious Cults Info ~ Resources, Answers and Hope

A few days ago, I had this link forwarded to me from a blog I subscribe to. The blog is http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com . Their tagline- BREAKING FREE from The Word of Faith Movement,,, and telling the World about it! TELL US YOUR STORY. This is a group blog sharing their perspective on the Word of Faith Movement founded by Kenneth Hagin. This is the ministry that Jane and Sam Whaley came out of as they started Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, NC. I have not read everything on this other blog. However, when I saw the link to an interview with Jeff VanVonderen, it caught my eye. In this interview, he gives some keys to detect spiritual abuse. I will give a couple of excerpts and allow you to decide for yourself if you want to click the link (above) to the whole article. The post is dated August 13, 2010 on the above mentioned site. You will have to scroll down to find that post. Below these excerpts is a direct link to the article on another site. In my opinion, it is a good read, very insightful and worth the time.

STEPS: Talk some more about spiritual abuse in the Bible. What did it look like then?

Jeff: It looked essentially the same then as it does now. Spiritual leaders exploited people for their own gain. Authority was misused in order to get things done in the name of God that weren’t really about God at all.

Later on:

STEPS: You have already talked a bit about the role of authority in spiritually abusive relationships. In your book you list “power posturing” as one of the key features of spiritual abuse. What is that about?

Jeff: Spiritual abuse is always a power issue. In order for abuse to happen, by definition, it has to come from a place of higher power to a place of lesser power. People in low-power positions can’t abuse people in highpower positions….

As with most every reference book I use, this book “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse” can be found at Amazon.com. A little research finds the original interview with Mr. VanVonderen here: http://www.spiritualabuse.com/?page_id=58 I have yet to explore this second website, but it looks like it may hold some valuable tools. Again, links referenced here are selected at your own risk. I have not viewed all material on all sites listed on this blog.

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.

Look on the right side of any post for the option to subscribe by email for notifications or RSS feeds notifying of new postings. It is a great feature. Also, find more posts by selecting “Categories”.

(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 182.

The program, “Intervention^TM” is described on their website as follows:

“Intervention™ is a powerful and gripping television series in which people confront their darkest demons and seek a route to redemption. The Intervention Television series profiles people whose dependencies on drugs and alcohol or other compulsive behavior has brought them to a point of personal crisis and estranged them from their friends and loved ones.”

The link is here to learn more… http://www.aetv.com/intervention/index.jsp

Since leaving Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), a group led by Jane Whaley; I have had an interest in people in crisis; what gets them there, how do they get out of crisis and how are others in their life affected? This show depicts people in crisis and how their friends and relatives struggle to help them accept help. Jeff VanVonderen is listed on the website for this show as one of the Interventionists. The link with his bio is here… http://www.aetv.com/intervention/interventionists/ . One evening, I turned to this program and he was helping a family with a member who had an addiction of some type. It surprised me because I had read his book “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse” years ago. I do not remember what happened to that book. I read it somewhere around 1991. It is now on my purchase list as well as the newer version which was printed in 2005. When I first found the show, I watched Mr. VanVonderen skillfully and forcefully deal with an individual who had an addiction. This person decided to get help and left for a treatment center immediately. There was an update about the individual, but I can’t remember if they stayed with the program.

On occasion, I have watched other episodes as families are torn apart by a member in some sort of chemical addiction. It is not always young folks or always single individuals. Some people affected by addictions are ones with responsibilities for children that go unmet. It is truly sad to see how others can and are affected by these addictions.

Recently, I tuned in to an episode that was almost over. The scene showed a family reading their letters to the person in their family who had the addiction. These letters told how the addiction had affected them personally. The brother of the person addicted was reading his letter. This is not a quote, but it is close to what was said, — your addiction has kept you from being with me and my family as we share our special family moments. We cannot have you around because of your behavior when you are drinking. (it may have been drugs…) We have missed so many special times when you were to have been a part. Please, accept help so we can begin having the family times as we were meant to have.

Continue reading Intervention -The Series →

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Link to Interview with Jeff VanVonderen on Spiritual Abuse

Intervention -The Series