This series of posts will be my personal experiences and reflections on my involvement with “loud prayer”, “blasting” and “deliverance”. These practices of loud prayer, blasting and deliverance are no doubt considered the signature practices of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). This group has received more public scrutiny because of “loud prayer”, “blasting” and “deliverance” than any other activity. Though a person could pray loud and receive deliverance if praying by themselves; most every time this activity involved other folks in small or large groups. My desire is not impugn or attack in anyway other members who participated alongside me in these activities and prayer meetings. I will not suppose to assess the sincerity or insincerity of others as I do share my personal reflections in a very sincere manner. WOFF members who read this or have it read to them, may no doubt at first feel shocked and maybe offended with the observations I will share. That is not my intent. I desire to answer the questions of many who have never been a part of loud prayer or deliverance by sharing my unique perspective. By holding back, keeping secrets or not sharing the details, I would do a disservice to my readers.
The practice of hiding what went on in WOFF services or closed door meetings is the very thing that allows Jane Whaley to keep much of her power over members. The hiding of what went on at WOFF also furthers the deceptive facade that keeps the surrounding community ignorant and feeding on the pablum put out by Jane and her leadership.
What is “loud prayer” or “blasting”? What is “deliverance”? How did it start at WOFF? Is it practiced other places? What scriptures are used as the basis for these practices- if any? Why would one submit themselves to these activities? Who would participate? How long were the meetings of prayer and deliverance? Did the children participate? These are some of the questions I will attempt to answer. Remember also, my perspective is one of attending meetings for 10 years from an hour away and then being inside the group for six years until July 2008. I do not practice loud prayer or deliverance now, nor do I know of any ex-WOFF members that do. One ex-member expressed his hesitation in telling others that he participated in this kind of prayer. It brought many questions he was not comfortable in answering. I welcome the questions. As I write these words, I also face the risk of further separating myself from some that I love dearly. To them, I ask for grace in hopes that one day understanding will come.
A fellow from Inside Edition® came into WOFF and taped some of the prayer meetings. Here is a link to watch what he filmed… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPpbmDDRm8M The prayer groups depicted in this video were actual folks in loud prayer or “blasting” sessions. I recognize many of them. I will not comment on the young lady in the video, at this time. Needless to say this caused no smal stir at WOFF.
Another video surfaced on YouTube.com® from years ago of Jane Whaley at a church in Sweden. This is from a time in the late 80’s… Jane is talking about deliverance, groanings and “getting devils out of you”… Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mipon05dGks
In future posts in this series, I will explain more about the terms “blasting”, “deliverance” and “loud prayer”. Also, I will answer the questions listed above while sharing some of the reasonings presented and my personal account of what happened to me during these sessions. I will share my thoughts and the physical effects felt during these sessions. Before I finish, I will give observations made of others who were in these groups and the group behavior dynamics that appeared to be working during these sessions. My experience is no more special or unique than others who have been at WOFF. But, they are my experiences and I believe by sharing them, it will be a help to others.
Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. It could very well save their life. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from present or former members.
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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. )
Here is a picture that hopefully will remind us all that we live in the best country in the world…
