During the years spent at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, NC; there were some memories around the November seminars that need to be shared. The build-up to each seminar was intense, but for some reason the November seminar was unique on many occasions. These seminars were always held the week of Thanksgiving. My memories of these times may not be in time order and/or I may confuse something from a May seminar with this time of year. But, here goes…
Can any previous or present members relate to the feeling you first get when you tell your family outside of WOFF that you will not be seeing them during Thanksgiving week? The question comes- Why? Then the answer- Well, the church is having a seminar and we really need to be there… or the church is having a week long seminar and we all need to be there…. Whatever your answer ended up being, did it feel awkward? Maybe as a new WOFF member it was real easy to tell your family that Jane said I needed to be there… or maybe you told them that you would come see them another time. Were you so sure you would be allowed to go see them another time? As best I can remember, it was awkward for me.
But, since I was so excited about learning WOFFness and hearing what would be preached, I went to my first November Seminar in 1992. The meetings were longer back then and there were three meetings a day on most days. If I remember right; the meetings were 9:00AM, 2:00PM and 6:00PM? Does that sound right? The evening meetings could last until after midnight. There was much more blasting, deliverance prayer back then. There would be teaching most meetings, followed by long prayer sessions of folks- well you know- getting devils out. It never occurred to me to wonder why so many folks would get prayer for the same thing over and over again. I never stopped to ask- “Is this stuff really working or is there something else going on here?” Those would have been the logical questions to ask.
Okay, so the meetings were longer and we did not have Friday night fellowship meetings at the end of seminars as there are now. There were ministers’ meetings before services for a while. I viewed that as kind of a practice sessions to know what may be preached to the regular folks. Often times, sin would be exposed at the ministers meetings (not in Jane…) and Jane would carry the inquiry over to the meetings with the regular folks. Now, those could be some long meetings! New rules and new doctrines could be created at EVERY meeting, so who would want to miss them??? When sin was exposed and it was quite a bit, there may be people getting deliverance prayer for two or three hours! We went through the paper towels, facial tissue and toilet paper then! Oh, the blue or pinks pans would get full- quick!! At that time, Jane had not heard from God how to place the toilet paper on the roll, so it was no big deal. Just grab it and go! After those meetings were over, I can still remember the ringing in the ears for several minutes to an hour after the prayer had stopped. Do those levels of noise affect adults and children who are in those meetings day after day after day? My doctor warned me later to wear ear plugs!
The most telling practices around Thanksgiving were about the traditional turkey being served. For several years, Jane and others would tell church members where to get the best deal on frozen turkeys. Of course, WOFF members do NOT eat turkey on Thanksgiving. That would be too much like the world. But, for sure, WOFF members go get turkeys this time of year and cook them at another time. Does that seem fake or what? Some memorable meals on Thanksgiving or Christmas include spaghetti and then one year it was meatloaf. YUMMY! Are you salivating over the thought of meatloaf when you bought a turkey the week before that is in the freezer? Well, in order to complete the WOFF experience, you must say something like, “I sure love this meatloaf” or “Not eating turkey on Thanksgiving is no big deal”. We don’t want to be caught up in the pagan feast! The power of WOFF members to rationalize when submitting to WOFF rules was great. Ask me, I know. I could rationalize with the best of them. But, did it really make us more holy and righteous than the Baptists or Methodists who enjoyed their turkey and dressing and pumpkin pies on Thanksgiving?
A Scripture comes to mind here…
17For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Rom. 14:17 (King James Version)
Of course to Jane Whaley and to a faithful WOFFer, the outside ritual made one acceptable and righteous to God (god). How do we know? Because of the emphasis placed on the many rules along with the outward appearance while at WOFF. It really became a burden to wash the outside of the cup and ignore the inside, or at best, attempt a half-hearted swipe at the inside of the cup? But, when in WOFF do as you are told. Keep washing the outside. Oh, where is the real joy in WOFF-life? And for those who wonder; NO, faithful WOFF members did not watch TV on Thanksgiving! There were no TVs in regular member’s homes! Now, at Jane’s house, that was a different story.
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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 216.