Who besides faithful WOFF members has not seen the cute commercials that advertise the CARFAX® service? While a customer is looking over a potential used car for purchase, the “Car-Fox” somehow catches the eyes of the prospective car buyer and prompts then to ask the unwilling car salesman to “Show me the CARFAX®.” To which the car salesman replies with a statement meant to divert the customer to another great “feature” of the car. The advertising is effective. I have used the service in my line of work and for myself when considering the purchase of a used car. The reports include many things such as service records, any reported accidents and mileage verifications. The data is supposed to provide some level of comfort and knowledge about the used car or truck being considered. The reports can be found here www.carfax.com .

   This week, it occurred to me, wouldn’t it be helpful to centralize in one place the facts about a church or group that one may be considering joining? Would it have been helpful to know the facts about Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) before I slipped among them in 1992? I had heard a vague report from someone who had heard from someone else… but, that did not catch my attention as it should have. What is there was a central location to keep the facts about churches or groups that one could or would join? What would be included?

    Okay, there are some websites out there like www.freedomofmind.com and www.factnet.org that would be helpful for ANYONE to check out before joining a church or group. But, who knows about these sites before they or one of their friends ends up getting burned by one of the groups listed? I did not know about these websites, were they even around in 1992? Now that the tool of the Internet is available, what would be or should be included in a report on a church? What would be in the “Church-Facts”?

    Yes, I recognize that because of the high regard for separation of church and state in this country, there would be difficulty in requiring any church to submit information to a clearing house data bank type of service. But, if there was NOTHING TO HIDE, what is the big concern? My goal would be to make others aware of the basic information about a church and any history of problems or suspicious activities during the life of that church. So, now that we know it would be difficult to organize and keep free from politics, yes, POLITICS; let’s speculate about what the report could contain.

    There would be the basics like when the group was founded, who founded it, what is their background, what do they espouse as their main doctrine or emphasis? What are the qualifications of the person running the church? Where did they study? Where did they receive their ordination- if any? Who sits on any of the ruling Boards or oversight committees? What is the structure of the church? Does the church have any affiliations or regular contact with other groups? Does the leader of the church have anyone or any group of folks that they submit to? Is the founder the leader and main decision maker? How does the church or leader account for the money raised by offerings and fund raising projects? What are the main sources of income for the church? Does the church leader account to the church members on how the money given into the church budget is spent? If not, why? If it is against the rules of the church to be honest with where the money goes, then do they tell the members before they join that no financial accounting is available at this church? Are members badgered to give and give until the “budget” is met and never given a copy of that budget?

  One of the main benefits of the CARFAX® report is to educate the consumer as to the history of the car and help them make an informed buying decision. The fact is not all car salesmen are honest enough to tell everything they know about a car or they may not know themselves what the true facts are about a certain car. So, in some cases, the willingly ignorant car salesman can divert or deflect sincere questions. This scenario can repeat itself when people are considering joining WOFF or groups like them. Before I became a part of WOFF, I was not given the answers to these questions. In my opinion, the less you knew about the “drama” surrounding WOFF, the better the chances you had of just going with the flow and becoming a faithful WOFFer.  I repeat, if there is NOTHING TO HIDE then what is the big concern to divulge the inner workings of WOFF, the money decisions and the leadership structure and the church practices?

     On with more questions that could be answered in a “Church-Facts” report. Does the leader or church involve themselves in political activity? Do they participate in voter education or “get out the vote” campaigns? Does the church leader or leadership keep regular acquaintance with civic leaders and attempt in any way to influence the decisions of the local, state or national governments? Does the church run a school? Is the school open to anyone or only to children of faithful church members? Is the school accredited? Is there any censorship involved of the curriculum? Are the students free to choose their own course of study once they leave the church school? Are graduates or church members free to join the armed services?

    What court cases of any type has the church leader, the leadership team or the regular members been involved in? Were these cases related to civil or criminal activities? Were any of the cases child custody cases? If so, what were the outcomes? If there are divorces within the church, what is the main cause? If it is “church doctrine” or “church practice” was there any marriage counseling offered to the couple having marital issues?  Is there a verifiable background check available on the church leader and the ones in leadership at the church? Are there any registered sex offenders as members of the church? If so, do they have contact with children? I never thought to check on this while at WOFF, why? I think I was too gullible to even consider that anyone at WOFF could be “dangerous”. Yes, I think differently now.

   What is the perception of the church in the community around them? Do non-church members consider the church a “safe” environment? Is the church growing in numbers? If so, are the new members local or folks moving to the area to become a part of the church from other collapsed or defunct groups? Who owns the land where any church buildings are located? Is there communal living practiced inside the group? If so, then how are people integrated into that and who makes the decision where a member lives? Do church members work mainly for the church or companies owned by church members? How much freedom do members have to access outside sources of information? Does the church leader dictate life-choices among the members including but not limited to jobs, housing, education, relationships, marital behaviors behind “closed” doors, clothing choices, hairstyles and the like? Is there a dress code in the church? Does the church teach or practice the idea that they are the ONLY group that will obtain blessings in the afterlife? If so, what do they base that teaching on? Does the church leader share the pulpit with any speakers outside the group or is it a self-contained doctrinal environment? How are dissenting opinions of church members handled inside the group? Is there free expression of alternate views on Scripture?

   Is there free entrance and unhindered free exit of the group? Do former members report a pleasant emotionally uplifting experience while inside the group? Are former members of the group castigated and demeaned by the church leader after they leave? Is a person who is considering leaving the group told that they will lose their salvation and/or end up in hell, if they leave? Is there an environment of physical discipline or forced confessions of sins inside the group? Is there ever a free open invitation of former members to come back and fellowship with the group? If not, why? If so, is this a pleasant experience for all involved?

   There are these questions and much more to determine the emotional and spiritual health of a group. Not all of these questions would pertain to every church, but, these types of questions are necessary when considering the joining of a church or group. Soon, in another post, I will give answers to these questions as well as others in an attempt to prepare a “Church-Facts” report on Word of Faith Fellowship and its leader Jane Whaley. I will draw on my experience while inside the group as well as what I have learned since leaving WOFF in July 2008. Comments welcome. What questions do you have that I have missed?

   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 300.