During my time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, NC; the subject grace was often defined in its simplest terms as “God’s unmerited favor”. There is no way for me to recount how many times that definition was used. Like many subjects preached by Jane Whaley or one of her approved ministers on the inside, the subject matter was applied in a way to build up, reaffirm or confirm or whatever term you want to use, in order to paint the predetermined picture  of WOFF. What do I mean by that?

   No matter the subject, whether it was prayer, or love, or money or health or relationships or jobs or holidays or any Scripture or an attack from the outside – each interpretation or translation ended up with Jane being right and regular members yet to have attained her level of righteousness with God or her level of holiness or her sanctification or her knowledge of God’s will or her love or her peace. In addition, outsiders of any group always came up short in any area compared to those seeking God’s will at WOFF and especially to Jane – herself. She rarely admitted a mistake. If there were times she repented for anything- I cannot remember. She did apologize for mispronouncing names or other words. She never admitted that another minister had anything on her. She portrayed herself to WOFF members and I presume to outsiders as having things all together, arrived or shall we dare use the term – perfected? Has this changed since my time ended in 2008?

   Let me be clear, she would approve of different folks in the church as being the “authority” in a certain area. This was code for the regular members to know that they needed to inquire of or do business with that person. Why? Because Jane said so. She said that person was the authority in that area – whatever that may be. But, rest assured, that approval was subject to that person being locked-in and doing things as Jane approved or meant for them to be. Jane could withdraw her approval whenever she wanted to do so.

     So for a person with Jane’s level of righteousness, where would she even need grace? Why would a person of Jane’s stature even need grace from God? Could that be the reason that everyone else at WOFF was always beholding to “grace” as it came through Jane? In WOFF-land, since Jane held/holds all the power, any mercy or grace was acknowledged as so, when it fit Jane’s purpose. What does that mean? If a member of WOFF had evidence of God’s unmerited favor on their life in a certain area, then it was not recognized as such until Jane recognized it and declared it so. If Jane made no declaration one way or the other; the matter was always in doubt. Why? Because Jane had to approve of and designate blessings as blessings and conversely- curses as curses. That is how much WOFF members depended/depend on Jane. Is it still that way?

   When a member was offered a new job working at a company owned by church members, Jane knew about it ahead of time and gave her blessings. How do I know? That happened with me. Literally, the “grace” of God flowed through Jane and approval was given in 2002 to offer me a job at a company owned by church members. I know I heard it spoken when I was called into Jane’s office and introduced to the owner of the company and offered a job on the spot. Jane was right there giving her approval. This job offer was labeled as “God’s provision”. His grace- shall we say. So would that grace be labeled a conforming grace? Yes, when God’s unmerited favor flowed at WOFF- it would help conform or reform members to the approved WOFF-lifestyle. (Regardless of the size of the loan payment or mortgage…!)  Was that truly grace?

   Now, when WOFF members leave and join the ranks of ex-WOFF members; what happens to that supply of Grace then? Are they then cut-off from God’s grace because they no longer are around Jane? Do people who leave WOFF and no longer fit into “God’s plan” for WOFF then become unfit for God’s grace? Do people who leave then not deserve the “unmerited favor of God”? Or should we reckon that those who leave are in line for even more grace since they definitely don’t deserve it now that they have left WOFF and joined the ranks of the Judases, the attackers, the betrayers? Where does God’s grace flow freely or unhindered? Would that be inside of WOFF where grace is shall we say- filtered through Jane? Or would that be outside of WOFF where a person would certainly need help in many ways? Why? Well, a person would need help or provisional grace because they were no longer where so many needs were taken care of through Jane Whaley and WOFF. Truly, can a person dole out the “grace of God” for their own purposes?

    Is it silly to even ask if people deserve more grace by being in one place or another? Yes, in some measures it is. But, when considering how former members of religious control groups like WOFF are treated, one could get the idea that folks inside WOFF deserve grace and those outside do not. When former members are shunned by present WOFF members- is it saying – you are not even deserving of God’s grace.

   Today, the message at church included a message about grace. The minister pointed out something I had not noticed before. In Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem is described as having twelve gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. (verse 12) Those tribes named after the sons of Jacob who were the same ones to conspire to sell Joseph into slavery. Why remember them? Was this God’s mercy and grace? Also, the description goes on to say that there were twelve foundations and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (verse 14) What reason would there be to remember Peter? He denied Jesus! Also, the others scattered when Jesus was taken by the Roman soldiers! Is this more evidence of God’s grace and His mercy? No one has a perfect record with God, but His grace continues- because it is who He is. He is merciful and full of grace. It does not depend on our performance or whether we are a part of WOFF or not. Does this make sense?

^“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”^–  Galatians 2:21 – (New International Version)

    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 191.