During my time inside Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), I witnessed many things. I heard Jane Whaley preach many “strange and wonderful things”- or so I thought.  During my last few months there and especially after I left I began to experience some of the things Jane had taught and encouraged her members to believe and act upon. One of those things was the shunning of friends and family. As the months have passed and I have written about WOFF practices, none has been so devastating to me and the many other folks who find themselves on the receiving end of such behaviors. I have been contacted by many fathers as well as brothers, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and other relatives who recount the same or very similar stories. They have been cut-off from contact either gradually over time or over one incident. It could have been as simple as the television or as drastic as wearing shorts or jeans. But, in every case at least that I am aware of the cut-off and shunning of a relative was in order for the WOFF member to show loyalty to and love for Jane Whaley and her rules. The WOFF-spin was that the person who left did not “love God” or was “attacking Jane” by leaving or how they acted or what they had said. For those who live in the surrounding community and see the well groomed WOFF-life being lived before them, let me give more details. For all that shines is not gold.

    The WOFF-dramas that tear apart families are not hashed out in the view of public – well, except those child custody cases seen in the courts. Those follow a script and for the most part end up in the parent that leaves getting very little actual visitation with children still in WOFF. A few WOFF-children have chosen the non-WOFF parent and have left. But, they did so facing the cost of losing WOFF friends, WOFF School, and regular contact with the WOFF-parent that stayed inside the supposed “Christian” church known as WOFF.

   The scenario I am more familiar with both from being inside and now being outside for three years, includes the family members who stay, refusing any contact with those who have left WOFF. This part of the WOFF-drama is hard to explain even to one who has seen it from both sides. Why? I believe that many that see the glitter and glamour of WOFF-life do not actually see the trauma and drama for those inside and those that make their way out.  So, for those in the community, appearances can be deceiving. The price to pay to stay and play is high for sure. I saw it in other lives before it came to be a part of mine. I saw other families being torn apart but, not one day before it began to happen to me, did I think I would be a victim of Jane-love. 

  

   For sure, I don’t know all of the family dramas played out because of this radicalized passion for Jane Whaley. And certainly, I don’t know each circumstances- but, safe to say the scenes all follow the same or similar script- insiders shunning outsiders in order to keep receiving their fix of Jane-love and showing their Jane-love, all the while in their minds thinking they are honoring God and fulfilling their call and standing for righteousness and keeping the faith and keeping their children from being attacked and so on and so forth.

    Jane-love lived out does not appear as God’s love when you get right down to it- but, WOFF members need it, have to show it and must reflect it in their lives- or they are OUT. This is the supreme test for regular members. They will from time to time be required to sacrifice for the cause– which is supporting Jane with Jane-love. Do you doubt this?  

   As I have considered the direction of this post for days, it originally carried the title: “I love you; I love you, Oh, NOW I can’t talk to you!!!!” I began considering this as after certain events unfolded. A former member was ending their conversation on the phone with me one day and said – “I love you… well, not as we said in WOFF…. That was not real love.” You could tell this person was feeling awkward and did not know how to express what they were feeling. Truthfully, I remembered the same feeling after I had left WOFF. It was normal to end the conversations or visits at WOFF with “love you…” or some derivative. It was reflex, but, very acceptable. When you leave WOFF, you have to decide how much of this was true and how much was show. When a person leaves the group; any contact with WOFF members at all is not concluded with the same words… or was it for you? Former members, do WOFF members keep espousing their deep love and affection for you—since you have left?  So, what this former member was coming to grips with was the fact that what they had heard was a show and was all part of the sham. They were expressing their regret for being deceived. They had believed what they had heard, that those at WOFF had actually loved them, when in reality- that love was based on WOFF allegiance and more specifically — the love of and for Jane Whaley. Thus, the term “Jane-love” was coined.  

    While inside WOFF, a member does not see the love being expressed as “Jane-love”. It is covered over and euphemistically called the Love of God or God’s love. But, Jane-love has several dynamics which I will attempt to explain. First, there is the love of members for Jane. This is characterized by undying faith and unquestioned belief in all that Jane says or does. Those members who express Jane-love must show no doubt that Jane hears God perfectly and that anything she does is holy, righteous and beyond question. Another former member told me quite emphatically, she believed WOFF members would kill for Jane. Next, there is the “love” that Jane shows towards her members. Huh? Yes, Jane shows her members “love” by telling them the Word of the Lord, by “correcting, rebuking and blasting them” either with words or the shrill cry she makes when she is “hitting the heavens” on their behalf. Why? So, “the devil will leave them”. Shall we forget that Jane also gives either directly or indirectly many members jobs, houses, clothes, money, direction, counsel on who to marry and other such things. She creates for many a dependency that is labeled as “love”. Another way Jane shows her “love” toward her members was/is feeding them the ideas that only through her will they fulfill their call, become holy and righteous and make it to heaven. Does that sound like “love” or something else? All of it creates in WOFF members an emotionally charged, intense dependency. This dependency is deceptive, for as much as it gives, it takes away much more… There is a high price to pay to stay and play….in WOFF.  

   Another dynamic of this “Jane-love” is that it becomes the means for members to relate to and judge others in the group. Jane-love replaces the healthy, normal bonds of familial love and affection. What does that look like? When a member expresses doubts or some other great “sin”, they are put in “discipleship”. This includes being cut-off from contact with many, if not all family members and friends. This is supposed to help that person “get their heart right”. Where is the breach? Some where they have failed to express Jane-love. Because of that, regular members can have no contact with them unless “Jane has ahold of it…” Now for those inside, this is all spun to that person’s detriment. The person in discipleship has not “walked in the love of God” or is in sin in some area… Therefore, simple expressions of support and kindness toward that person have been suspended. Many times Jane will not talk to them until they repent and express the proper amount of contrition. This is labeled as repenting to God, when in essence it is repenting to Jane.      

    If Jane-love was a great model to follow and truly the “Love of God”, shouldn’t other churches exhibit this among their members and towards their leader? What other church in Rutherford county has such requirements? Do any other Pastors in the county receive such “love” from their members?  What other churches in the state have such “love” present including the same results as the destruction of family bonds as WOFF? The question is rhetorical, as I know there are others. The others that have such results are ALSO religious cults! The results of Jane-love are no different than the emotional destruction found in Strong City, FLDS, Exclusive Brethren or the other thousands of religious cults across the world. Strong City in New Mexico had the “Michael-love”… FLDS continues to show undying “Warren-love”…

   The characteristic of “Jane-love” is not special only to WOFF. This type of allegiance, loyalty and perversion of the true love of God makes it clear what type of group WOFF really has become. We can use this as one measure to define WOFF as a religious cult. Steven Hassan is a nationally known cult expert. He was in the Moonies for over two years and after he got out, studied to become a leading expert in the mind control used by cults of all types all over the world. In his book, “Releasing the Bonds” (Copyright© by Steven Hassan 2000, A Freedom of Mind Press Book, ISBN: 0-9670688-0-0) Hassan is answering the question, “What is a Destructive Cult?” Under the heading “Authoritative Leadership” he writes, “In essence, a destructive cult is an authoritarian group that is headed by a person or group of people that has near-complete control. Charismatic cult leaders often make extreme claims of divine or “otherworldly” power to exercise influence over their members….Being a powerful leader is not inherently wrong, though it carries a high potential for abuse. A group becomes destructive when its leader actively uses such power to deceive members and to rob them of their individuality and free will…” (page 4, emphasis added)

    Later in the book, “Although most cult leaders claim to be of the “spiritual realm”, we can see their true colors when we examine how much emphasis leaders place on the material world—their luxurious lifestyles, millions of dollars in real estate, extensive business enterprises, and so on.” (page 6, emphasis added) In my opinion, Jane-love is the electricity that carries Jane’s power to her and from her… It results in the controlled lives of WOFF members and when examined- sheds light on the true nature of WOFF-life…

  We will close with this. In Steven Hassan’s first book, “Combatting Mind Control” (Copyright©1988, 1990 by Steven Hassan, Park Street Press, ISBN: 0-89281-311-3) he had a section titled, “Asking Questions: The Key to Protecting Yourself From Destructive Cults”. “…These questions work best if you ask them in a very direct yet friendly manner and demand very specific answers.” (page 106) In this section, Hassan has many great questions, too many to list in this post. One group of questions did catch my eye and it applies to one of the subjects of this post.

   He recommends asking these questions of a recruiter for a group. So, the next time a WOFF member tries to defend WOFF-life, consider asking the following. “How do you feel about former members of your group? Have you ever sat down to speak with a former member to find out why he left the group? If not, why not? Does your group impose restrictions on communicating with former members?” (page 109, emphasis added)

    While inside WOFF, I would not have been able to answer these questions with confidence, especially the last one. Does WOFF place restrictions on communicating with former members? Has any present regular member ever sat down with a former member and asked them why they left the group- without other WOFF members present?

   And who can ignore this last question in Hassan’s list? “What are three things you like least about the group (WOFF) and the leader?… If you get an opportunity to catch a cult member off guard and ask that question, I suggest you watch their face very carefully. The pupils in his (or her) eyes will dilate and he will act momentarily stunned. When he (or she) does answer he will very likely say there is nothing he can think of that he doesn’t like. Cult members will generally give some variation on that reply because they are simply not permitted to talk critically… (of their group or of their leader) (page 110) Why? It is because of “Jane-love”. Asking questions is the best way to come out from under the spell of “Jane-love”.

    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”.

     Guest posts reflect the opinions of the writers. Their opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of John Huddle or any other persons affiliated with this blog.

       Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, for posts written by John Huddle, any information about WOFF is from his 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 341.