Below is a repost from another blog. Yes, it happens to be my mother’s blog. She gave me a heads-up about the content and actually finished the post before the day for the Spring Missions Project where I wore a sign which read- WOFF is UNSAFE. Word of Faith Fellowship is WOFF. In the previous post, I never really explained just how WOFF was/is UNSAFE. Obviously, I just assumed everyone knew especially if they were a reader of this blog for any length of time. In order to clear-up any lingering doubt, let me list a few things that were/are in danger while inside of WOFF. Danger is one synonym of unsafe. I used “unsafe” because it left more up to interpretation, but I have no problem saying that certain things were in DANGER, if you were/are a member of WOFF.
The number one thing in danger for a WOFF member was/is any true relationship with God they had before they went into the group. By her practices, Jane Whaley seeks to slide between her members and God. She “hears God” when they are wrong and when they are “right”, which is seldom. The later being when she helps them “clear-up a few things” and makes sure they are “hearing accurately”. Hearing God or walking with God without Jane’s input or control was/is not part of the practices of WOFF. She was “responsible” for your soul- so she said then and I presume still says now. Being “responsible” gave her a right to direct, impede, monitor, in WOFF-reality – overtake and replace your personal relationship with God. To me, that was/is dangerous.
Other relationships which may suffer greatly or be in true danger were/are your family relationships. That would include those inside and outside the group. The following repost deals with family relationships outside of WOFF. I will let my mother speak to the hurt and bewilderment. As for family relationships with those inside WOFF, they are always subject to Jane’s intervention as well as the level of blinding zeal one person in the relationship may have or want to acquire. Different levels of consuming zeal for WOFF-life and what that entails can strain marriage or parent-child relationship. That also should be obvious from the total number of “family” relationships which have been wrecked by the intervention of a “spiritual parent”. To allow a “spiritual parent” to be a guide or “someone you lock-in with” (translated – tell your heart issues to and submit to their directives) was seen as another level of WOFF-zeal called “submission”. This could have been Jane or it could have been someone else in leadership under Jane’s direction. Do you see the dangers here?
Other things in danger of being annihilated, replaced or redirected for faithful WOFF members would include but were/are not limited to careers, jobs, housing choices, friendships, choice of clothing, freedoms to access media- which would include reading material, cell phones, television, movies, radio, and your computer. Even your hairstyle and make-up for the women were/are subject to being re-directed. Don’t forget your choice of medical service providers could be directed by Jane. Even your choice of a pet- specifically a dog was under Jane’s direction. Who remembers the fad where all the leadership had to have a dog- because Jane got one or even two? Okay, to list everything would be overkill in some folk’s eyes. Let just say EVERYTHING was/is in danger of being redirected, changed or quashed when you become a member of WOFF. You were/are at the total discretion of Jane Whaley- if you wanted to fulfill your call and make it with God. Jane’s wishes may be cloaked and not applied to each member evenly, but there was/is always the understood recognized UNWRITTEN rule that the one thing you do, you buy, you say or want that was/is NOT God’s will according to Jane and whatever it was/is GONE! Welcome to WOFF.
Here is the post about family relationships outside of WOFF that were subject to the dangers of WOFF/Jane.
Family Members Outside the Cult-Part One – resource link- http://cultcasualties.blogspot.com/
“How many children do you have?” This is a common question in a tourist town where the majority of residents are from somewhere else. It’s usually a safe question to ‘break the ice.’ I would answer’ four’ and then the conversation goes something like this:
“Do they live nearby?”
“No, they are scattered over four states… Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and West Virginia.”
“I guess you don’t see them often? Or you put a lot of miles on your car.”
“We manage to see three of them on special occasions and they like coming here to the beach.”
“Three of them but didn’t you say you have four children?”
“Yes, you’re right..four. But you see, and here is where the tone and volume of my voice change, one is in a cult.”
Really? Where is this cult and what is is its name? Usually their expression goes from one of mild interest to incredulous. my son’s family traditions and religious practices are not approved by God.
Christmas became a dreaded ritual. We were diligent in not using wrapping paper with Santa’s and his elves, trying to keep the true spirit of Christ’s birth in the fore front Most of the time that didn’t work–because they were being told that to celebrate Christmas is to practice pagan customs. Most of us knew that some of these rites were incorporated into the Christian church to bring in those non-believers. But this was not the Christmas we have celebrated in our family for many years. We tried to make it one of love for family and friends. Presents, although they were the top priority of children, were not so with the adults. It was a time of doing for and giving to others. Even the thought of shopping for our family in a cult was not pleasant .It became an “ask them what they want for Christmas” and then some of the spirit of Christmas disappeared.(How were we to know that some items we purchased might contain a devil or evil spirit? Then we met in a neutral place to exchange gifts. We understood that the decorations in our homes were too much for them to overlook but the ironic thing about these meetings was that they usually took place in a mall the week after Christmas. The sounds and sights of the season were still present.integral part of our family and now they were lost to us. Lost in a strange place we didn’t understand– a controlling group miles away in the next state but they may as well have been on the other side of the world. Please don’t misunderstand and think that I meant they didn’t visit. They did, on rare occasions but those times were strained and sometimes unpleasant. And I feel that they we were an added burden to them because they even had to ask permission to come. At first I asked myself what did I do wrong? Why this complete change? Was there a trauma in their lives we didn’t know about? I asked but no credible answer. Most of the dialog was about how wrong we were to go to a main-line church, how duped we had been about the whole religious experience. It seemed that we did very little that was right. The alienation was depressing as well as a deep mystery why they had become strangers to us. The next post will talk about the widening of the gap between the family in and the one out.
I try with all that is in me to explain why an adult child, who is an extrovert and truly loves people, has chosen to forsake all he has treasured and loved in the past to follow a person who claims to hear a God who speaks only to that group. The leader twists the scriptures to prove that
Let’s move away from Christmas and other holidays–they only occupied a few days out of the whole year.
We missed our son and his family for they had been an intregal part of our family and now they were lost to us. Lost in a strange place we didn’t understand– a controlling group miles way in the next state but they may as well have been on the other side of the world. Please don’t misunderstand and think that I meant they didn’t visit. They did, on rare occasions but those times were strained and sometimes unpleasant. And I feel that they we were an added burden to them because they even had to ask permission to come. At first I asked myself what did I do wrong? Why this complete change? Was there a trauma in their lives we didn’t know about? I asked but no credible answer. Most of the dialog was about how wrong we were to go to a main-line church, how duped we had been about the whole religious experience. It seemed that we did very little that was right.The alienation was depressing as well as a deep mystery why they had become strangers to us. The next post will talk about the widening of the gap between the family in and the one out.
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I look forward to more in this series. Several of these issues and feelings, we have never discussed in detail. It will be good for us both to make this a part of our journey to recovery from my time in WOFF. — WOFF was/is UNSAFE. Do you agree?
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 293.