“Honor Shunning” at WOFF?

    No doubt, the most common subject of emails that I receive is about the division in families where one or more member has gone in to Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and others have not. The details may change, but the main points of grief and bewilderment remain constant. It is a fact, joining WOFF causes divisions. Yes, I know I have been inside and seen the division that caused my immediate family. And now, outside, I am feeling the division in a very personal way.

    With all this in my mind, I began reading and listening to news reports of “honor killings” in some places in the United States. Before I continue, let me say, I have not read extensively on the subject and do not intend to be an expert. I will just repeat what little bit I know and how it relates to the subject as it develops. In certain cultures, parents have considered themselves “honor bound” to take the life of a daughter who may have become too Westernized or expressed desires to marry outside of the culture. In order to preserve the purity of the culture, the parents have extinguished the life of the one bringing dishonor to their name and way of life. Thus the term “honor killing”.  There is even debate as to whether or not this has occurred in America.

   All that being said; I can attest with rock solid assurance, that members of WOFF practice “honor shunning” with fervent regularity. The practice begins from within the group as members who may be questioning authority or “in rebellion” are separated into the “discipleship” room. Others are expected to not talk to them or fellowship with them as “God is dealing with their heart”.  If the member repents to Jane Whaley then they are restored and allowed “back into fellowship”. As long as the punishable offense is not repeated, they can be around others. I practiced the shunning of others on church discipline while at WOFF. It is the thing to do unless you want to end up being in the same boat. Those who do not shun will be shunned until they either agree to “walk in God’s ways” or leave… You could/should say this practice is a mainstay at WOFF.

  

     The term “honor-shunning” applies in this regard. It is taught that in order to keep the “honor of God” or “sanctify God before the people” you must do that which honors Him. WOFF members are told that those who oppose God and His ways are “attackers” and not to be associated with in any regard. For the “honor of God” you cut ties with those folks. What is it in reality? It is for the “honor of god” you are taught to cut ties with those folks who are not agreeable with WOFF, WOFF Don’ts, along with Jane Whaley and her position of self-appointed authority. It is to keep the purity of the WOFF cult-ture. The practice also allows Jane to keep her hold on folks since she is the highest authority as to when someone has committed an offense worthy of being shunned or booted out altogether. I witnessed this in full force during my time at WOFF.   

   This is the practice inside of WOFF. It all morphs well into the practice of cutting off outside family members who do not follow WOFF ways or at least can’t keep their doubts to themselves. When an outside family member expresses their doubt of Jane Whaley or WOFF life, they are subject to immediate “honor shunning”. In order to save Jane’s honor, keep her happy and avoid the wrath of Jane, you cut off family members and do not associate with them. This keeps WOFF members out of hot-water or at least the discipleship room. I was deceived while on the inside into thinking this was the price to pay “in order to serve God”. Now, I see it as the price to pay in order to serve Jane Whaley.  

   So, when a new person joins WOFF and is required to break ties with family members that are not WOFF compliant, why should we expect different? This is WOFF-life and in order to stay in WOFF-land, you must do as WOFF members do and live in WOFFness. One of the sad parts is that in this American culture of protecting the consumer and having disclosures for every financial transaction for every reason; Jane Whaley and her crew fail to disclose the true nature of their group to prospective new members or to outsiders. I will expound on that in a future post.  Please, read the previous post for other topics by selecting from the “Recent Posts” block in the top right.

    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 169.