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Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

“Prophetic Charisma” by Len Oakes (4)

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    This is the fourth post in a series which will highlight several insights found in the book by Dr. Len Oakes while comparing his observations and conclusions to my personal experience inside Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). This work by Len Oakes titled, “Prophetic Charisma” – The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities (copyright ©1997 by Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, NY, ISBN 0-8156-2700-9) has captured my attention. We closed the last post in this series by noting that instead of a vision to spread the WOFF gospel “To The Nations” as the lyrics of a WOFF-song of several years ago proclaimed; I suggested that Jane Whaley has become her own vision. From the previous post, “Has her vision turned inward in order to make her comfortable and let her have the good life? Is this a predictable course when “prophets” age and come to the fall or winter of their ministry? When considering all that is WOFF- could there any other strong or noticeable message besides –Jane?” As I reflect on that line of thought, has Jane retired  thereby limiting her vision or outreach and concentrating on her lifestyle here in Rutherford County? She never advocated allowing her members to “retire”, but, we have to assess her actions and not just here words or restrictions on others. Could the many fine clothes and jewelry be what she feels she deserves after all these years of “ministry”? Is that why she passes the offering plates until she gets what she needs?

    Oakes writes that about David “Moses” Berg as an example of other leaders of the type he studied. “Because of his vision, his followers have suffered greatly, yet he retains their loyalty through his inspirational rhetoric” (page 14) He noted that the followers of Berg suffered because of the vision. I suggest that regular WOFF members endure a suffering because of Jane’s vision however that is defined. Their suffering includes lost years, lost relationships with family and friends as well as not knowing a true one on one Christian relationship with God. In the WOFF design for relationships, Jane is between her members and their personal walk with God. In her zeal and dysfunctional control of them, she keeps them from exactly what she claims the Christian walk is- a walk of “holy righteous living in Jesus”.  

  Continue reading “Prophetic Charisma” by Len Oakes (4) →

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Protests in Dallas at Acquire the Fire Conference

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In February of this year, we shared some information about Teen Mania and their practices. The resource was http://www.recoveringalumni.com/ . The blog is sponsored by an alumnus of the Honors Academy program. Earlier this month, a post on that blog contained an account of a protest in Dallas at an Acquire the Fire conference. This is a recruiting “outreach” for participants in the other programs of Teen Mania including Honor Academy.
Here is the post from April 4, 2011: (used with permission)

Protesting the Dallas Acquire the Fire Posted by Recovering Alumni | Labels: protest
Note: If this is your first time here, click the ‘Allegations’ tab at the top or the ‘true stories’ category on the right to read about the abuse. (see the original blog for links)

On Saturday, some local alumni and I held a protest at the Dallas Acquire the Fire. We wanted to raise awareness about the dangers of the Honor Academy so we made signs and printed out flyers that had the blog address on them. Before the protest, I went online to make sure I understood my constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and free speech.    

Honor Academy is UNSAFE

According to the law, I have the right to protest and hand out leaflets on public property, such as a public street or sidewalk. Luckily, the Dallas Acquire the Fire event was held at the Gexa Energy Pavilion in Fair Park.

Fair Park is a 277-acre National Historic Landmark, owned by the City of Dallas and operated under the management of Fair Park Administration a division of the Park and Recreation Department.

Given the fact that Fair Park is publicly owned property, I did not anticipate any trouble from the police. That was naive.

When we first arrived around lunchtime, we stood just outside the entrance/exit of the arena, on what we believed was a public sidewalk. Within one minute, a uniformed police officer came and told us we had to move and that we were actually on private property. If you watch the video, you’ll notice that the officer refused to answer our questions about who owned this supposed “private property” and even more infuriatingly violated the free speech rights of the teens who wanted to speak with us. He ended by telling us that we had to keep moving, we were not allowed to stand still. I asked him if that was the law and he said it was. (I later discovered this was bull.)

Continue reading Protests in Dallas at Acquire the Fire Conference →

Books, Resources, Uncategorized

And What Made You Realize You Needed to Get Out?

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   This past Saturday evening, I was among friends. We were eating, talking and laughing a lot. One person was new to the group and had some questions for me. The questions took the conversation in a totally different direction as they asked about my involvement in the “religious cult”. The previous post explained my answer which was brief. In another venue, I will explain in more detail how I became involved in Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). My time either directly to indirectly affected by the teachings the leader of WOFF, Jane Whaley, totaled 16 years.  Later in the same conversation, this question came up, “And what made you realize you needed to get out?” I began be telling about certain events that happened April 9, 2008 and the meeting at the church in RF’s office. The pivotal understanding came to me when I saw that the others in the meeting considered what was happening as totally NORMAL. The events of the meeting and the display of Jane coming in a screaming at me and pointing her finger in my face were totally acceptable to the others in the room. They seemed to think the gesture was normal and in this case-needed. That one meeting was a catalyst that allowed me to consider that my time at WOFF was coming to close. It was not the total answer, but it did push me forward into unchartered waters of considering that WOFF was “un-normal”. While you are in WOFF, the thinking when a person considers WOFF as NOT God’s will is explained as they “want to keep their devils”. The exit from WOFF is explained in more detail in this post from April 20, 2010 – What Thoughts Helped Me Leave WOFF?? Part 1 – https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=1396  

   In previous posts, I have used the book, “Recovery From Cults” – Help for Victims of Psychological and Spiritual Abuse– Edited by Michael Langone- (copyright © 1993 American Family Foundation – ISBN 0-393-31321-2) as a resource. The author explains in the Introduction some of the findings about those who leave cults. “Obviously, the control cult leaders achieve is not absolute because ultimately most people leave cultic groups (Barker 1984), although a sizeable number remain for many years. In one of the few studies that investigated why people leave cults, in structured interviews of 90 subjects, Wright (1983a, 1983b) identified four main reasons for defection. The first reason is a break with the cult’s social insulation. Only 4 of 12 persons separated from the group for three or more weeks (for example, on an extended visit to family) returned to the group.” (page 9) This makes sense, right? From 1992 until I left in 2008, I never spent time away from the Greenville church or WOFF – with family or any other reason for more than a long weekend. IF I missed a Sunday service, it was a big deal. In WOFF, they don’t use the term vacation. “Who would take a “vacation” from God, God’s will or God’s people?” The term is “time away” to rest or be with family; family in WOFF or who sympathize with WOFF. If there is a way to make the trip seem more spiritual, then that layer was added to excuse Jane and her crew to take a week away to the beach in the house they owned near Charleston, SC. Breaking from the “cult social insulation” was not acceptable at WOFF- for obvious reasons.

    Continue reading And What Made You Realize You Needed to Get Out? →

Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Uncategorized

How Did You? Why Did You Join a Cult?

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   Saturday evening, I was among friends for dinner and an evening of talking and laughter. Most of the people there knew at least part of my story and were not shocked when I would answer; No, I have not seen that movie or No, I have not done that or heard  of that — whatever “that” was… There was one person who was new to me and I made mention to them that the reason I had not seen very many movies was because I had spent several years in a religious cult. In that group we did not watch movies or television or do other similar stuff. This person took the answer in stride and we moved on. The cult involvement was the reason I had not done many things that others folks would consider normal or acceptable. A little later, this person asked to go back to my answer and wondered more about the “religious cult” thing.

    The question was sincere and I was a little taken aback. It had been several months or more since I had been asked directly- “How did you or why did you join a cult”? Immediately the last fifteen plus months of writing these posts flashed before me and I mentioned my blog. Then I began saying a person doesn’t join a cult. I mentioned Deborah Layton’s statements that people don’t join cults; they join groups of people they like and enjoy. No one wakes up suddenly with a desire to join a religious controlling cult. This person asked another question, “Did you go to church growing up?” I said yes, the local Methodist church. They really were taken back and said or inferred; did you not know the difference? It was at that point, I got off on a tangent and never really got back to answering the question. Growing up in a denominational church does not teach a person how to keep from being lured into a cult. After the evening was over, I remembered how I had dropped the ball and thus we have this post.

   Continue reading How Did You? Why Did You Join a Cult? →

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WOFF Bling?

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   A few days ago, I was speaking to a man who teaches classes in the North Carolina prison system. These classes are for those inmates who are within a year of being paroled or finishing their sentence. He teaches basic life skills like how to search for a job, interview for a job, and basic personal finance and budgeting skills. He shared his shock with me when his students wanted to include $1,000 a month in their budget for “bling”. He chuckled at the thought. At that time, I thought “bling” was only nice clothes and asked if him if he taught skills in washing clothes? $1000 a month for clothes? It sounded ludicrous.

    I pondered these things and researched the term. “Bling” is considered slang and as I give links for the definition, be warned; it is a street term in many regards, the definition will reflect that fact. But, I felt pushed forward to know more as I had spent many years at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). They taught their members how to wash clothes, iron clothes and fold and store clothes and even which dry cleaner to go to in town. But, looking back and remembering some things Jane Whaley said about her clothes and how she acted; I wondered if there was WOFF bling? Did/does Jane have a “bling budget”? Well, we know she did/does not tell her members what her budget was/is or how she spends the tithes and offerings. So, we can’t know for sure but, we can observe her actions and maybe know.

   Bling – Bling (or bling-bling) is a slang term popularized in hip hop culture, referring to flashy, ostentatious or elaborate jewelry and ornamented accessories that are carried, worn or installed, such as cell phones or tooth caps. The concept is mostly associated with rappers, but recently has expanded to include tacky “white trash” types. (resource link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bling-bling )

    Well, honestly, I could not say that Jane and her crew wore “flashy ostentatious or elaborate jewelry” and I have never seen a flashy cell phone or a tooth cap on Jane. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of jewelry on the leadership women and some others, but, I can’t say it is flashy. But, I searched on.

Continue reading WOFF Bling? →

Cult Leader News, Uncategorized

Search for Missing Members of Black Hebrews Cult in Durham, NC

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Update posted here April 16, 2011:

Police check computers, phones in search for Durham boy, woman

Posted: 4:13 p.m. yesterday  (April 15, 2011)
Updated: 7:03 p.m. yesterday –  link: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9449518/

 Durham, N.C. — Police are examining laptop computers and cellphones for evidence in the disappearances of a Durham boy and woman, according to search warrants released Friday. Jadon Higganbothan, 5, hasn’t been seen since October, and Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy, 28, has been missing since December. Investigators said in a previous search warrant that Jadon’s mother, Vania Rae Sisk, and her boyfriend, Peter Lucas Moses, were “directly involved” in their deaths.

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Ex-Springs residents arrested in N.C.  – by Jaryd Wilson– Posted: 04.13.2011 at 9:15 AM

 “DURHAM, N.C. — Two people who were arrested in connection with a murder in Durham, N.C. Tuesday night are former residents of Colorado Springs. Durham Police officers arrested 25-year-old Vania Sisk and her 27-year-old boyfriend Peter Moses Jr. Tuesday night in connection with the death of a woman and a 5-year-old boy. Authorities said they have not filed murder charges but were able to arrest the two on other charges. They are charging Sisk with failure to appear in court and an earlier misdemeanor marijuana possession charge, and Moses Jr. faces second degree kidnapping and assault on a female charges.”

resource link: http://www.coloradoconnection.com/news/story.aspx?id=604965

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While in Durham, NC today, (April 12, 2011)  this story came to my attention. It took me a few minutes to realize just what I was seeing and hearing. The word “cult” grabbed my attention.

 From abc11.com– here is the latest report filed this evening. I saw a report around noon today that included some of this footage. My hopes are that Peter Moses and/or whoever is responsible for the crimes will be brought to justice – quickly.

Continue reading Search for Missing Members of Black Hebrews Cult in Durham, NC →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

The Illusion(s)

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   Before we turn to our subject of “Illusion(s)”, I must share some thoughts. Today is April 9, 2011. In looking back, April 9, 2008 was a pivotal day in my time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). That Wednesday evening after a church service, I was summoned into a meeting in a small office on WOFF property. That meeting lasted from just after 9:00PM until around midnight. In attendance were GS, LS, RF, JF, BC, AK, my wife and myself. It also included a cameo appearance from Jane Whaley. Her part was screaming and pointing her finger at me as she proclaimed that I was “full of the unclean”! She then turned to my wife and declared that she “allow(ed) him to be so…” On that cue, my wife turned and took up the screaming fit toward me. At that moment, she took on a piece of the WOFF modus operandi. Results of that meeting included, but, were not limited to me losing my job and the accessories that went along with the position. The relationship with my wife also took a fatal turn that night. It was coincidentally our 20th wedding anniversary. WOFF members do not celebrate that, so it was not on the discussion list for the evening. One of the biggest shocks of the whole evening was that those in attendance other than me considered the events that transpired as NORMAL! That is what jolted me into doubting that WOFF-ways were God’s ways.

    At this time, my life is in yet another transition. Life issues have come and gone, battles not related to WOFF have come and been won. Some battles have been lost. Other battles are ongoing. (Jane talks a lot about “battles”…) The tone of this blog is in transition, as well. The main subjects have moved from retelling only my experiences to including resource material that helps explain what I went through and how WOFF compares to other groups labeled as cults. I have begun to read material written by cult experts and survivors of other groups. I have found that my experiences are not abnormal compared to other survivors or other groups. Several survivors of other cult groups have contacted me to confirm that their experiences have been very similar. Readers have come, consumed several posts and then moved on to other concerns in their life. Some only read enough to confirm their own suspensions that Jane and her group are “bad” and should be avoided. Others continue to read to learn just why things were/are not healthy.  

  Admittedly, the subject matter of cults has lasting appeal for only a certain group of folks who have been touched in some way by the behaviors, methods and outcomes of either their own involvement or a loved one’s involvement. I would like to think that it is forever settled in my mind and heart that Jane Whaley and her WOFF-ways were/are dangerous. There is nothing else to prove in my thinking. WOFF is what it is and the years I lived in that group cannot be changed or restored. Lives have been forever altered as me and others have lost pieces of our beings to the group called Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, NC. How could all this take place? One tool used to accomplish these things was/is by illusions.   Continue reading The Illusion(s) →