Today, we will consider the question, “How Unique is Jane Whaley?” My first thought would be that it depends on who you ask. If you ask her family – she is one of a kind. For sure we are all unique in that regard. Biologically, Jane is unique and has her own qualities as none other. She is wife, mother, aunt, grandmother and “Mom” to her immediate relatives. Certainly, there is none other in that regard. With those relationships, she carries out her duties and no one can replace her or should they try.

    What if you ask the members of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF)? How would they respond? Since I have been a member of that group in years past, I can offer insight. While I was in WOFF, I would have said there was no one quite like Jane. No one commanded the authority or the presence that she did when she entered a room. Why? Well, as a member of WOFF my association with her affected several areas of my life. Over the years, the areas affected where many and varied. Twice, she had direct input as to the job I worked. She had a say so in where I lived, she had a say in where my wife worked in the school or if she worked in the school. She determined how many times I was required to attend services. She openly rebuked my wife and me for our choice of toys for our son on one occasion. She had/has input into which dress my wife could wear for a special meeting or service. She determined what color of shirts I could wear in a church service. For that matter, she even determined what was appropriate to wear at work. Yes, no doubt, her decisions affected me and my family on several levels and in several areas.

    Was my experience different from other WOFF members? Not really. Jane expressed herself in everyone’s life in many ways. Faithful WOFF members would have to say that they were under Jane’s “absolute direction” in many areas of their life. So, to them was/is Jane unique? I would say certainly so. How many directors could one person have in their life? There is only room for one. So, Jane is unique to her family and to faithful WOFF members.

   

  What about members of the community? Is Jane unique to Rutherford County? Well, as far as I know, there is only one church and church leader that has a place such as Jane occupies in Rutherford County. She is well known and she is well respected in some circles. Maybe she is unique, but in some circles her “gift” is just not as appreciated in other circles. But, for sure in Rutherford County- there is only one Jane Whaley. To that we say?

   What about the great state of North Carolina or this country as a whole? Is she unique compared to others that lead controlling religious groups? Who would deny that WOFF members are under that unique control from Jane? So, how does she compare to other controlling religious leaders in this country? First off let’s look at the numbers of reported religious controlling groups of cults. I have read estimates of anywhere between three to five thousand religious cults in America. Here is one source that makes a distinction between the group and “messiah” leaders.

 There are a great number of cults today; in fact, some say there are about five thousand cults and three thousand ‘messiahs’ in America today. Found here- http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7075

    Certainly it is hard to put an exact figure on the number of religious cults or cult leaders in America or for that matter in the world. For certain there are more folks who lead religious controlling groups in America than there are members of WOFF! So, in that regard Jane is NOT unique. She is NOT alone in her actions or claims of special insight or knowing God’s will for her members. In fact, if you ask experts who study the subject or read their material, you can see that Jane does many things that would group her with several other cult leaders. The doings of Jane Whaley are not unique. Here is a list of things we have noted in previous posts that are common between WOFF and other religious cults…

1. Strict control or access to outside information sources. (newspapers, radio, television, Internet)

2. Strict control over all relationships, especially those with outsiders.

3. Strict control over dress and in many cases they dress uniformly.

4. Strict control over words and their usage within the group. This is called “loaded language” by many experts.

5. Strict control over music, songs and the use of any music.

6. Strong belief that their group is the only one to make it heaven or who can be pleasing to God.

7. Strict and inordinate control of husband-wife relationships.

8. Use of forced confessions to subordinate an individual to the will of the group or group leader.

9. Claims to special revelation or mystical insight that enhances or validates the group’s special unique existence.

10. Non-disclosure of finances and/or spending decisions made by the group’s leader.  

   There are at least hundreds and some say thousands of groups in America that have some or all of these characteristics. This is not a complete list of what classifies a group as emotionally harmful or dangerous or a cult. WOFF has these characteristics. Because of this, it is my opinion that WOFF is an unsafe environment for any one- young or old. In answer to our question, NO: Jane is not unique in her actions as leader of WOFF. WOFF as a group and Jane Whaley as a group leader are NOT unique when considering the country as a whole. In rural Western North Carolina, yes, in some ways WOFF and Jane Whaley are unique. Certainly, while I was in WOFF, I believed that Jane and her teaching were unique and merited attention. As the group dynamics, rituals and behaviors through individuals began to affect me negatively, I stepped away and have since learned that WOFF is the same flavor as many other religious cults in America.

  Recently, in a conversation with my next door neighbor, they asked how does someone join a cult. Their inference was – don’t you know the difference? I told them that the answer is- you don’t know the group is a cult when you join. So, if you don’t know the signs of religious mind control or other negative behaviors, you can join a cult very easily. Please, be aware and tell others to be watchful. If the number of three to five thousand religious cults in America is credible, then millions of folks have lost or are losing their freedoms on a daily basis.

   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 251.