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Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Grace? After WOFF?

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      During my time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, NC; the subject grace was often defined in its simplest terms as “God’s unmerited favor”. There is no way for me to recount how many times that definition was used. Like many subjects preached by Jane Whaley or one of her approved ministers on the inside, the subject matter was applied in a way to build up, reaffirm or confirm or whatever term you want to use, in order to paint the predetermined picture  of WOFF. What do I mean by that?

   No matter the subject, whether it was prayer, or love, or money or health or relationships or jobs or holidays or any Scripture or an attack from the outside – each interpretation or translation ended up with Jane being right and regular members yet to have attained her level of righteousness with God or her level of holiness or her sanctification or her knowledge of God’s will or her love or her peace. In addition, outsiders of any group always came up short in any area compared to those seeking God’s will at WOFF and especially to Jane – herself. She rarely admitted a mistake. If there were times she repented for anything- I cannot remember. She did apologize for mispronouncing names or other words. She never admitted that another minister had anything on her. She portrayed herself to WOFF members and I presume to outsiders as having things all together, arrived or shall we dare use the term – perfected? Has this changed since my time ended in 2008?

   Let me be clear, she would approve of different folks in the church as being the “authority” in a certain area. This was code for the regular members to know that they needed to inquire of or do business with that person. Why? Because Jane said so. She said that person was the authority in that area – whatever that may be. But, rest assured, that approval was subject to that person being locked-in and doing things as Jane approved or meant for them to be. Jane could withdraw her approval whenever she wanted to do so.

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Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Exclusive Brethren – Similar to WOFF?

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     This week, I was made aware of information about a group called the “Exclusive Brethren”. The information given about their practices sounded eerily familiar. Before I proceed and as a review, I spent 16 years either direct or indirectly under the teachings of Jane Whaley. She leads the Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) of Spindale, NC. In comparison, I have much more knowledge about WOFF than the Exclusive Brethren. That is almost too obvious to mention except that if a reader accuses me of an error in my comparison, then my deficiency would be in knowledge about the Exclusive Brethren. My intimate working knowledge is of WOFF. Does that seem plausible? Can that WOFF knowledge be easily disputed?

   In reality, I do not consider Wikipedia® to be the know all, tell all, rock solid source for information. However, the article was sourced and I did follow the links and read the sources for the information in this post. I found the correlations between the two groups amazing to say the least. In this post, I will list main points and encourage you to follow the links toward the end of this post for further reading.

   “The Exclusive Brethren are a subset of the Christian evangelical movement generally described as the Plymouth Brethren. They are distinguished from the Open Brethren from whom they separated in 1848, the Exclusive Brethren movement subsequently evolving into two main branches.” This is the opening line from Wikipedia.com found here.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusive_Brethren#cite_note-bbc.co.uk-6  Exclusive Brethren have been around for much longer than WOFF. I do not find that comforting knowing they have had many more years to treat people in the manner described in these source articles. The Wikipedia article goes on to explain the characteristics of the two main branches. The one which is described as the “Raven/Taylor/Hales group” have had the most criticism concerning “cult” like practices.

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Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Truth? After WOFF?

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    There are some things that are stressed at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). One thing is the subject of “Truth”. There is supposedly a constant search for the “truth – in the matter”. Or a search for the “truth” in what just happened. Or helping someone see “truth” in what they just gave to. Let us not forget that Jane Whaley has seen to it that she gives others outside of WOFF- “truth” on different subjects or on what happens at WOFF. When you are on the inside, it is evident that the final voice of “truth” always rests with Jane Whaley. Another person in leadership could offer their take on what “truth” is or was or should have been or will be next time. But, it does not take a new member long to learn that Jane Whaley settles the matter- any matter, always, no questions asked, for sure that is it- take it to the bank.

    If you doubt what I have written taken from my time at WOFF, just ask any member “who hears God’s voice” at WOFF? Who is the person who is the final say in everything? Who sets the rules and ultimately has the final say in everything? Well? What are the possibilities you will get the “truth” about that?

    That set-up caused several things to happen while inside WOFF and it led to several things happening when my time there was over. When you are inside, it is taught either directly or sometimes indirectly that you know nothing. There is a favorite WOFF scripture to prove you know nothing. John 5:30– 30I am able to do nothing from Myself [independently, of My own accord–but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me.

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Books, Resources, Uncategorized

Dietrich Bonhoeffer- Voice of Dissent

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    Periodically over the last twenty years or so, I have heard about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. But, I have not until recently taken time to learn about his life. Oddly, on the “pre-WOFF” bookshelf, I found two of his works. “Letters & Papers From Prison” published by Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc; this edition is the fourth printing in 1975 and was edited by Eberhard Bethage, a very good friend of Dietrich. The second book I found was “The Cost of Discipleship”, written by Bonhoeffer and first published in 1949 as a translation from a work titled “NACHFOLGE” in 1937. This paperback edition was published in 1963 by Macmillan Publishing Company of New York. Honestly, I have not read either book. It was not until I recently viewed a documentary film released in 2003 by Journey Films titled “Bonhoeffer” that I learned more about his life. The documentary contained interviews with relatives of Bonhoeffer as well as some of his students, historians of the time and leaders in the church. It outlined the major events preceding the end of Bonhoeffer’s life in 1945. This film is the resource for this post unless otherwise noted.   

     Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born February 4, 1906 in Breslau, Germany. His father was a university professor and his mother had aristocracy in her family history. He had a twin sister and six other siblings in total. He was the youngest boy in the family. His oldest brother Walter, at 18 years old joined the German army to fight in World War I. He was killed within two weeks of joining. This event seemed to have a profound effect on Dietrich and some would say this helped him decide to join the ministry and later be a pacifist.

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Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Prayer? After WOFF?

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    There is no doubt that no matter what I write on this subject, members of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) will take it personally and may even call it an “attack”. It is not my intention to “attack” with this subject. Is it possible that WOFF members see this blog as an attack because I am doing what they are forbidden to do? I can express doubt while trying to work things out. Do WOFF members want to express their doubts but know that in doing so they would be chided, berated or attacked themselves? At WOFF, expressing doubt as to the validity of WOFF-life is not allowed.

    I will endeavor to share my observations on the subject of prayer from my time inside WOFF and my time since leaving WOFF in 2008. After 16 years of being indirectly or directly under the teachings of Jane Whaley, it must be obvious that much of the teaching centered on prayer. Loud prayer, blasting and deliverance prayer are signature practices of WOFF as discussed previously on this blog. I have shared on this subject in the past. (here is a link from March 21, 2010- https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=599 )

    After leaving WOFF, how did the previous teachings and activities affect my view and practice of prayer? First, let me make it clear that participating in forms of WOFF-prayer does not assure that a member believes in the WOFF prayer 100% – day and night. Yes, it is hard to conceive, but, as powerful as Jane Whaley is with her persuasion and control; deep inside, every individual has to decide if WOFFness and WOFF-prayer are as critical to salvation as is portrayed during WOFF-days. That is up to each individual. Certainly, it is close to impossible to remain at WOFF for any length of time and not participate in loud prayer, blasting and deliverance. So, a WOFF member will participate. But, is it vital to pray the WOFF-way in order to be saved, born again or know Jesus or make it to heaven? When put in that context, the answer should be obvious. Is it?

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Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Trust? After WOFF?

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     A reader of this blog, who is a survivor of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) recently made this statement in a comment, “We are still a little unsure of becoming “totally committed” to another church, just yet. But, that may come.” The observation addresses the issue of trust. We have not been able to trust the leadership and members of another church, but we might one day. After my time at WOFF and being under the teachings of Jane Whaley, I completely understand. It took several months to enter a church of any sorts. Even then there were walls of immense proportions between me and anybody in church or even in other areas of life.

   Let me explain. Upon leaving WOFF, there is not only the trust issues with other people in churches, there is also trust issues with the people who were not to be trusted while you were inside WOFF. As a member of WOFF, there were certain folks and groups that were not trusted unless the approval came from Jane Whaley to trust them. For example, DSS workers were never to be trusted. Government officials were to be at least doubted unless Jane said “okay”. Anyone associated with the media in any way was to not to be trusted.  That included television, newspapers and radio. The reason should be obvious. WOFF members were not allowed access to those types of media. Others not to be trusted included lawyers- who represented outsiders, defectors or anyone you were not sure of. Now, there was a catch, after a while WOFF had their own home grown attorneys for most every situation. So, you of course could “trust” them. But, making the distinction was tough after you left. I found that trusting attorneys was based on their knowledge of WOFF and the things that had gone on there in the past.

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Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

The Deceptions I Lived Under While at WOFF (2)

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      In the previous post, I outlined certain deceptions that were foundational to continued membership in Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, NC. For a review, I spent a total of 16 years under the direct or indirect teachings of Jane Whaley – the leader of WOFF. In order to make it clear, I do not assume that I see all or know all of the deceptions I lived under while in that group. For sure, not every group which may practice a level of deception could automatically be labeled a destructive “cult”. However, I would say that every destructive cult does practice deception as its core operational methods.  Also, this post is not meant to hurt or harm or impugn others who have been a part of that group in the past or who are a part of that group now. This post is purely reflective of my search and struggle for Truth that brings emotional and spiritual stability and life. Recently, it has been brought to my attention that WOFF members see these posts as an attack on their choice of religion or their faith. That is not the intent; my purpose includes telling the deceptions I believed and the Truth I now understand.

     Since my departure from WOFF, I have realized that I was steeped in the WOFF deceptions. Those deceptions have been in me through and through. It was a major change in my life to begin to see that Jane Whaley and the life at WOFF were not true or based on Truth. The deception which is the basis for WOFF member’s relationship with God is predicated on Jane Whaley and her “gift” of deliverance and her “hearing God”. We covered much of this in the previous post. We now will list other deceptions which are evident in WOFF-life either from what was done or not done, said or not said.

  Continue reading The Deceptions I Lived Under While at WOFF (2) →