In the previous post, we looked at the work of Dr. Steven Lambert. He gave some insight into the shepherding movement. We compared a few of his insights into what I witnessed at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) from 1992 until 2008. The resource material for that post can be found here: Chapter 2 of “Charismatic Captivation” by Steve Lambert, ThD. (Publisher: Real Truth Publications, ISBN 1-887915-00-1 / 308pp.) Chapter 2 can be found here: http://www.slm.org/pubs/samples/ccbook2.html . Again, by using material form Dr. Lambert’s website, I am not giving a blanket endorsement to all his work. I have not read all his work and caution each reader to judge for themselves what he writes.

   That being said, I did find an article from Dr. Lambert in which he lists signs of abuse within a church. This is the link to the article titled, “33 Signs of Spiritual Abuse”. I will quote several of these signs here and tell whether or not I found them to be in WOFF.  The article begins, “There are at least thirty-three readily identifiable signs of spiritual abuse, or hyper-authoritarianism, practiced by many Charismatic churches. Being able to readily identify the signs and symptoms of authoritarian abuse and psychological enslavement that is rampant among church groups today is absolutely essential for every believer in their quest to know and be personally related to the Great Shepherd, who is the Prince of Peace and the true “Guardian of our souls”.  Lambert implies that these abusive practices will hinder a person from knowing “the Great Shepherd”. I most wholeheartedly agree. It is not possible to review the entire text from Lambert here. I recommend each reader to review the article on their own by clicking the title above. We move on.

–  Apotheosis of the leadership — exalting them to God-like status in and over the group.  Well, have we covered that before on this blog? When I left WOFF, one of the thoughts that helped was seeing that the members were more afraid of Jane Whaley than God. So, is she “God-like”?

 

–  Multi-level authority/government hierarchy; – What can be said about this? There was Jane, then her family in leadership, then others who came from Oklahoma in leadership. then there were regular members. Does this sound multi-level?

 – Absolute authority of the leadership. Okay, did WOFF members last long if they constantly questioned or rebelled against Jane or others who were “in authority”? No.

–  No real accountability of the leadership to the corporate body. So, who does Jane take counsel from other than the “Yes” folks around her? Who is she accountable to with the finances of the church?

–  Pervasive abuse and misuse of authority in personal dealings with members. Now, who has ever been abused on a personal level at WOFF? Jane can and does take her rebukes public. She doesn’t just abuse on a personal level.

–  Abuse, misuse, and inordinate incidence of “church discipline;” WOFF uses “church discipline” on a VERY regular basis. Some folks have stayed on “church discipline” and separated from others for months or off and on for years. You have to ask – What is the real purpose for “church discipline” at WOFF?

 – Personal materialism, covetousness, and self-aggrandizement by the leaders; Do I have to even comment? Do we have to mention Jane’s endless wardrobe which in her words, “if laid out would cover two city blocks”. I am not sure if that included purses and shoes. Do we need another picture of her “modest” home on 40+ acres?

–  Financial exploitation and enslavement of the members.  Well, how many times does Jane pass the offering plates in a service? “Until what we need comes in.” So “hear God and give it all the first time, don’t hold back”… or so they say. Count the offering and come back to see if we need to pass the plates again. Let’s sing while JC and OC count the money. Yea, another fund raiser at WOFF! Is it another yard sale or car wash- or both? Really? Do we have to sell doughnuts- again? Yea, RF went to FL to get plants again for a PLANT SALE! Is there ANOTHER wedding coming up? Did you get your envelopes to put your “gift” in? Wow- there is a fund raiser snack sale after church, yummy!

 – Inordinate attention to maintaining the public “image” of the ministry. So, how many times do we practice that song? What Scriptures are you going to share? Let’s coordinate who is wearing what dress? If you have the same dress as so and so, then one of you needs to take it back! What are the children wearing to the service? What are they wearing to school? Does anyone remember the time Jane felt threatened because Brooke had a dress that was more shiny and glittery? Did Jane come unglued or what? She did not think Brooke should have worn that dress- after all “God didn’t tell her to wear it.” Does her grandson still wear the little knickers and jump suits made of “silk”? Are Jane’s dogs just pets or are they decorations? Is Jane concerned with the public “image” of WOFF in the community? Did you “show yourself friendly”? Who can forget the seminar when Jane screamed at DD and said, “Your sin affects me!” over grocery store sale papers?

 – Spiritualism, mysticism, and unproven doctrines. Have you ever been in a service where there was loud prayer, blasting and deliverance? How did you feel? For those who have left WOFF, do you still use this signature practice of WOFF? Do you know of another church in NC or the United States that practices WOFF prayer? Could this be an “unproven doctrine” or mystical practice?

 –Abuse and misuse of prophetic giftings as a means to dominate and intimidate. Former members or visitors, ever feel intimidated when Jane would rebuke you or other members in a church service? How did that make you feel to be screamed at by Jane or one of her “ministers in training”? Do you want others to go through what you did?

– De facto legalism, or works mentality, and its resulting loss of the “joy of salvation,” though “freedom” is forever preached from the pulpit and the church is constantly touted as being a “safe church” by the leadership. As far as I know, Dr. Lambert has never been to WOFF. But, he seems to be describing it pretty well. Is there any legalism at WOFF? What do others say? Have you read the WOFF “Don’t List”? It may be time for an update. Did Jane ever claim to be a “safe church” after she saw my sign saying WOFF is UNSAFE?

– Isolationism — corporate and individual, especially with respect to exposure to outside ministry sources. And which church does WOFF fellowship with that Jane has not tried to take over?

– Performance-based approval and promotion system of members predicated on “proven” “loyalty” (i.e., submission) to the leadership. This “flows” with the legalism real well at WOFF. If you doubt Jane’s authority, your membership in the group will be short lived

– Requiring members to perform menial tasks, such as cleaning toilets, setting up chairs, and acting as the leader’s personal valet or slave, as a supposed means to humble them and teach them to “obey their leaders. Several young folks who were “ministers in training” cleaned Jane’s house. How do I know? Jane preached about it. I was never asked to clean Jane’s house, but, I cleaned a many a toilet in the church and school. Who has had the pleasure of weeding-eating with the boys at Jane’s house? Me. Can anyone forget the years Dr. Jerry Gross spent sweeping floors at the construction sites for Carlson Farmer? How do I know? He preached about “the work of humility it did in him.”

 – Members are psychologically traumatized and indoctrinated with numerous improper fears and phobias aimed at keeping them reeling in diffidence and an over-dependence or co-dependence on their leaders and the corporate group. All I can say here is that regular members are constantly put in fear and then dependence on Jane for everything from housing to jobs to transportation and so on. “Over-dependence” on Jane is an understatement for many at WOFF.  

– Members are required to obtain the approval or “witness” of their leader(s) for decisions regarding personal matters. This practice is cloaked in many terms at WOFF, but, for sure this is the standard way things operate for regular members.

– Frequent preaching from the pulpit regarding not getting out from under the “spiritual covering” of the leadership. For those who have been there, is this true? Are you out from under authority? Are you out from under God’s protection? How would you know? Jane would tell you. If you leave WOFF, you may not make it. Right? Anyone else ever hear that?  

– Members departing without the prior permission and blessing of the leadership leave the group under a cloud of manufactured suspicion, shame, and slander. Well, who remembers the wedding pictures of a former member being passed around and the warning coming- If you leave, you will get fat, drink beer and wear short dresses? I personally saw Robin tell a member in the discipleship room that she would be like that if she ever left. I heard it. But, it was common place. Who can forget the way Jane talked about the man who owned the construction company after he and his family left? She felt free to talk about all those who left.  

– Horror stories frequently told by leaders about individuals or families who left the group without the prior permission and blessing of the leadership, and the terrible consequences and curses they suffered as a result. There is the same thing here.

– Departing members often suffer from various psychological problems and display the classic symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Lambert wrote it, I didn’t. I would have to say from what I have observed, this is true also.

  That is twenty-one of the thirty-three listed signs of abuse. I did not review them all for various reasons. Read them all yourself. Make up your own mind whether WOFF was/is an abusive environment. If you don’t think these are signs of abuse, and then tell me which ones are acceptable for your church? Which ones would you ignore and allow to exist where you attend church? If you have never been a member of WOFF then you need to talk to former members and observe present members in order to get the full picture. We will use more of Dr. Lambert’s work for future posts. I have ordered his book and plan learn more along these lines.

    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”.

       (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 309.