Over the last few weeks, I have spoken to many different folks about Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). The reaction of every person who had never been inside a group such as WOFF was almost exactly the same. They would exclaim- How can the members stay? Or how can intelligent people submit to the rules and the control? The disbelief was obvious. I have had that reaction many times. After several attempts to explain that intelligence has no part in whether a person becomes a member of a cult or controlling group. I had come to an end of how I could explain the quandary. In order to help others understand WOFF, I had mentioned other groups that were obviously dysfunctional and had been labeled as cults. These groups also had members who were accomplished or held some revered position.
During the explanation, I mentioned that cult leaders seek to fulfill needs. Some of the needs were physical, some were emotional or spiritual. It was obvious during my time with WOFF that Jane Whaley helped meet needs in the lives of members. After all, don’t most churches “help” people? Isn’t that a basic premise of Christianity? Helping others is not unusual in a religious setting. Many churches help with financial, social and emotional needs. One key factor that differentiates controlling religious groups from legitimate ministries is this: what does the “free” help cost the recipient? If the person receiving help is required to listen to the gospel message and is not pressured to accept the message and join the group, then that could be a non-threatening environment for the person needing help. The power of free will and autonomous decision making remains with the person receiving the help.
However, if the process requires that the person accept the church “gospel” messages while employing methods of “guilt-loading” tactics, the environment could be unsafe. If with one hand the group gives and the other they intend or attempt to take away freedoms and choices, consider leaving the group and seeking help elsewhere.
How does this apply to WOFF? From my experience, I look back and see that the true price for staying in WOFF was not known at the time the “benefits” were being received. Jane did help folks with housing, food, money, jobs and relationships. Her message included parenting instruction and insight into social situations. Not all of the advice was bad; some things were beneficial if they were considered without the cost involved. But, what was the cost of staying at WOFF and participating in the religion and its practices? The effects were very similar to other controlling groups. You were required to cut-off relationships outside the group. You were required to conform to the dress standards, the grooming standards as well as many other practices. To reject some of the simplest rules and “revelations” caused great friction, emotional stress and damage. I suspect very few members could see the gradual erosion of personal freedoms during their stay in WOFF. The surrender of freedoms was labeled as “the way God’s people live”, the “narrow way”, “walking in the call of God” or some other phrase of the day. Was all of this truly necessary to walk with God?
After a long conversation with one individual, they simply asked, “What is your advice?” They wanted to know how to understand all that has been told them. They were having trouble understanding the extreme rules and restraints. My answer here includes more than I was able to give that person on that day.
The first thing I told them was not to try and understand WOFF with common sense thinking. At first, hold off attempting to understand WOFF-life with critical thinking. WOFF is a religious sub-culture and though it does not exist in a vacuum, it is so closed that to begin the comparison with what you have known in the past will not benefit you. This person had never been a member of a religious controlling group. So, I encouraged them to take what they were learning and in essence allow it to stand without comparison or assessment for now. Allow the information to build or paint the portrait of WOFF. Do not interpret the “painting” before it was done. Do not try to judge or assign value to the individual practices of WOFF. Life inside WOFF was full of conundrums and quandaries. If an outside person rejects the blasting without learning its function and how it was used inside the group, the ability to understand WOFF will be hindered. The same goes with the clothing rules, personal grooming or relationship rules or any other WOFF-ism. The dynamics of WOFF were/are all inter-related. Learn the dynamic nature and flow in order to understand and critique the sub-culture.
Another key to understanding WOFF is to get some understanding of the intense fear of Jane that is foundational to the group. Corrections and disciplines within the group flow from Jane and/or are approved by her. Jane makes the rules, Jane enforces the rules. Jane approves those who join; Jane approves those who are told to leave in order to “find a place of repentance”. Jane directs the taking of offerings, oversees the giving records and checks to know who is “tithing”. Jane spends the money and does not admit to being accountable to the people and gives no written financial accounting of her spending decisions. Does this sound like a healthy environment?
Once the WOFF construct begins to take shape, then gently peer over it and apply common sense. Does the sub-culture destroy or rob its members of freedoms and privileges found in other Christian churches? If so, why? What is the outcome or result of these practices? By understanding the relationship of different practices inside WOFF, then a better critique of the group as a whole can be done. A quick dismissal of WOFF by allowing the emotions of the obvious and frequently asked questions such as: “I just don’t understand… I can’t see why? Why do people stand for such oppression? How can people be so blind?” – succumbing to the emotions will hinder the learning and answering of the vital questions about WOFF-life.
Quote from Quivering Daughters gives insight…
“It is a grave disservice to the heart, soul, body and spirit of a woman when she is given the subtle message that the truth of her own pain is not as important as the reputation of the ones who inflict it.” Hillary McFarland- link : http://www.quiverindaughters.com/
A new friend shared this quote with me as I was pondering this post. Questions began to come as I applied this insight to my time at WOFF. First, WOFF is matriarchal. In WOFF, men and some women suffer “disservice”. Next, it is Jane’s reputation that was ALWAYS considered as of utmost importance. We have written about this before. From my interviews with recent survivors, this has not changed. How Jane is perceived in the County through the actions of her members still seems to occupy a high priority in Jane’s thinking. That was obvious while I was there and yet I did not understand how this concern brought “pain” or suffering to members. How could I not see the preoccupation of Jane with how others viewed her as being destructive?
This new friend answered with this, “Because you were responding to the emotion, to the immediate crisis….to the tree and not the forest…. And it becomes a habit or pattern of responding. Then one day, when you wake up from the coma, you realize you don’t have to live like it anymore. Then you get to clean up the train wreck.”
Certainly inside WOFF there was/is emotion and peer pressures to mold and conform to the group-think. There was drama or “crisis” most every day! Do others agree? Was life inside WOFF really a “coma”? I say in many ways- yes. The process of waking up from the “coma:” can be severe and very traumatic. Decisions made after waking up can be costly. Many lives become involved in “train wrecks” during WOFF days.
We close with this. In my opinion, a group is considered dangerous or cultish when the leader’s desires, “needs” and/or wants become more important than the God-given freedoms of the members. This whole process is more deceptive when/if the “subtle message” is justified with quotes from Scriptures.
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 367.