There are moments of reflection after coming out of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Okay, there are hours of reflection after coming out of that group. I was under the influence for about sixteen years. The story is one that many faithful readers of this blog have already heard. But, after a very long day, the hours slip away and the night runs away from me- so to speak. I get to asking myself “What was I thinking during those years in WOFF?” If you are on the outside looking in you might be wondering what do members of WOFF think about and how do they reason away many of the obviously strange or un-normal characteristics of life inside WOFF?

   That is a fair question to ask. After all how many other churches in Western North Carolina practice communal living? How many other churches have a closed culture and only allow church members to attend their “Christian” school? There may be a few. How many other churches in North Carolina have been investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI)? How many churches get an undercover member to film their services and broadcast them over national television? How many other churches in North Carolina or in the Southern United States practice load prayer, blasting and deliverance from demons? Are there other churches in America that have such a control over their members that they tell them how to dress, where to live, where to work, where to go to college, who to have relationships with and who to marry? Do other churches forbid their members from accessing newspapers, television, magazines, “unauthorized” books and literature? Do others churches instruct the husbands and wives on the approved birth control method and approved sexual technique- in detail? If there are deviations from the set and ordered life within the kitchen, living room, bathroom or bedroom; do other churches require the family members to report these “sins” to church leadership and bring all to church for “correction”? If there are other churches that practice this kind of control over their members- do you want to join that church? Does your church already “flow” this way?

    So, after learning about life inside WOFF, it would be a natural question to ask- What do the members think of all these controls and how do they rationalize and tell themselves that all of this is acceptable and necessary in order to please God? I can only answer from my experience. There is no way to know for sure what other members were/are thinking. We can only observe how they act and what they say. But, as hard as Jane Whaley would try, she cannot absolutely control what her faithful members think ALL the time. Yes, there was/is strong mind control measures used at WOFF. But, as it is evident from the fact that some folks do leave; Jane Whaley cannot stop people from thinking their own thoughts ALL of the time. At some point, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem WOFF members can have a thought of their own. It may shock them, it may scare them, and it may cause them to think they are going to hell. That is how they are conditioned. “Stray thoughts” are labeled as the devils thoughts coming into you – the faithful WOFF member.

   How tormenting must that be? How confusing must that be to think a thought that may be contain the slightest hint that Jane is not perfect and God just may not have built a special gate for WOFF members to come into heaven; all of this could throw a faithful WOFF member into a tizzy. There would be the compunction to go confess it and get it dealt with! But, the questions still remain for those on the outside looking in. How can a group of people who call themselves Christian resolve the requirements to wall themselves off from others as being kosher or required to make heaven? For sure, these WOFF members are not the first group to do this and certainly will not be the last. There are Bible references to Christians being encouraged to be in the world but, not of it. And there is some merit to the teaching when taken in light of other Bible directives and life lessons. But, if “Christians” wall themselves off from relatives, friends or co-workers that don’t agree with them or their practices- how will “the lost” hear their message? If children within WOFF are taught that those who don’t agree with WOFF-life or Jane Whaley are ALL evil and going to hell – does that reflect more on Jane’s desire to control her members or her unbelief that God loves all people and wants to reach the unreached? By having a list of former members that her present members are not allowed to speak to or be around, does that practice speak to Jane’s fear of the devil or fear of the Truth? If Jane believed in God’s love and protection, why would she be afraid of former members talking to present members or visa versa? Is it possible that former members may have figured out the truth about WOFF-life and WOFF practices?

   Back to the question raised in the title of this post- What Was I Thinking- during my years at WOFF? Concerning the strangeness of WOFF-life? It was a gradual slide into the total package of strangeness that WOFF is now. Remember this WOFFness developed over several years. At least as far as I was concerned, the list of don’ts and sins grew over the years. Seldom, if ever did I stop and even consider how long the list of rules had become. The pace of life is fast and full, you don’t have time to consider the whole effect of the life you are living. When you are on the inside looking out, you don’t see how odd and strange the life you are living appears to others. I was being conditioned to think that it was not what you were giving up (TV, newspapers, radio, jeans, family and friend relationships outside WOFF) that mattered, but, it was what you were gaining! “True relationships” the Truth, the true ways of God, you were learning God’s ways, you were told you were in the move of God and God’s chosen people. You were told that the devil was waiting for those who left the move of God and that others were just not walking where “we” were walking with God!

    If you had thoughts that were “not of God” and “attacked Jane and the move of God”- you were dealt with – sometimes severely. How would you know if your thoughts were not of God– Jane would tell you. Since you had to ask permission to go see family and friends outside the group, many times it was easier just not to go or even ask. If you asked too many times, you were told that you still had common ground with those outside the group and you needed prayer and to open your heart. The “tax” to pay to keep seeing relatives who were not “in the move of God” became too great. What –“too great”? Yes, it was less static and you drew less of Jane’s wrath if you let the opportunities to gather with family outside the group pass and not even mention it. It went better for you if you ignored your desires to see your family and just stayed inside the group.

   There comes a point where the religious fog settles over the lives of members who have been in for a while and unless there is an earthquake in their lives, the years can pass and they forget what it was like to live outside of “Jane’s loving touch”. During WOFF days, I reasoned to myself that I was not under the control of Jane, as I saw others. Looking back, I was so deceived. How do I know? Though I was not in the inner circle or one who made frequent trips into Jane’s office; Jane still controlled me by her edicts and by her control over my family. She controlled the ones I loved and that in turn was a way to control me. Jane would openly scoff at the notion that she was able to control her members as outsiders had accused her. Oddly enough, I took a false comfort in that scoffing and tried to confirm my delusion with it. Right, Jane control over 400 folks? How could that be, after all I still do this and I still do that; I still think for myself. All the while my life was being frittered away under the banner of WOFFness. When I began to wake up, Jane showed just how much control she had. She easily divided my family in two as she had done countless others before. It was all subtle, I feel sure. Nowhere did my family members see that they were being controlled. I would say they still don’t see it. Members of WOFF who begin to see who much they are being controlled either have to ignore it, reason it away or leave the group.  

   From my perspective of being in and now being out, I have a hard time understanding how I went all those years and discounted and ignored the growing numbers of lives destroyed as a result of Jane’s teachings. While inside, I remember thinking that the ones who leave are throwing away the best thing in the world. Really? Did I go that far? At times, yes I did. See when inside, there were still tender moments of family love that were genuine. When did it turn? It began to turn when I first expressed doubt that “coming back to God” required coming back to WOFF. My immediate family members became very upset that I would even consider that life inside of WOFF was not essential to walking with God. During those explosive exchanges, I became very emotional and just had to leave the house in order to not say or do something I would regret. My family was falling apart before my very eyes. It was predicted by Brooke and at first I could not see the true cause. The foundation of our family had actually been built on loyalty to Jane and not the true bonds of family love that God had intended. The teachings of WOFF include replacing the “perverted soul ties” with “true godly love” which is built on being in the move of God (at WOFF) or more accurately – believing only what Jane hears from God.  

  And so, the sham of WOFF continued. My family was destroyed and added to the long list of destroyed relationships as a result of Jane hearing her god. As long as Jane continues to speak, lives will be ruined, families will be destroyed, confusion will come and emotions will be very intense. The net effect of Jane’s ministry has been turmoil in the lives of her members, their families and friends. Please, God help us all.

I enjoyed this video and hope you do, too.

    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, 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 357.