Category Archives: Behavior Control

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized, WOFF Updates

The Present Drama(s) (video links)

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It is certain that these last few weeks and months have been filled with events bringing Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) into the national spotlight. Monday, December 10, 2012 will serve as another chapter in the ongoing saga. An honest observer of WOFF life would be hard pressed not to admit that DRAMA is the norm in Spindale. Let’s review the drama that is in the public eye right now…

Monday, Michael Lowry was supposed to testify in front of a grand jury in Rutherford County. Just before the proceedings were to begin, Michael was standing in the hallway and noticed a WOFF church member walking in as part of the jury. The member was RM. It was reported to me that RM was clean shaven and had been decked out in a fine leather coat. Former members also noted that his wife had served in the church office and was charged with counting the offerings. What were the odds of that? A WOFF member, who has a spouse working in the church office, (or did at one time…) was picked and allowed to serve on the grand jury which was scheduled to hear a case about a former member of WOFF?

Yes, it would be a tricky maneuver to screen potential jurors based on religious affiliation. Since the influence of Jane Whaley and her group is felt far and wide in Rutherford County, does this not require a change of venue for Michael’s case in order for him to receive due process in the hearing of his complaint? The process could be moved to another county- similar to Jane’s situation a few years ago when her trial for simple assault was moved to Polk County. After the inherent weaknesses were made evident on Monday- this appears as the only option. Do you agree? If it is not moved, the next hearing will be January 9th in Rutherford County for Michael.

Here is the video link for today and one previous —–

http://www.wlos.com/shared/news/top-stories/stories/wlos_controversial-church-hearing-postponed-9857.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2nLX8gjBfk

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Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Word of Fear Fellowship? (WOFF)

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During a recent conversation with a friend about life after my time inside of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), we began to discuss the fear that follows a survivor of a cult. At first, I called it a “fear orientation”, one that permeates every aspect of a survivor’s life. I related to this person that many decisions were made based on a fear of something or someone or something that would happen in the future if you did or did not do a particular thing. Some of the fears were easily seen, but many were not. This discussion was several days ago and the subject has been rolling over and over in my mind since that day. In this post, I will share my continuing thoughts on the subject of fear in the life during and after one’s time in a religious cult.

First off, this subject is not new to this blog. Several previous posts have dealt with the subject. Here is a couple for reference:

Does a “Fear-Based” Message Really Work? – https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=1310

Two Good Questions, Two Good Answers – https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=4769

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Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Thought Reform, Uncategorized

Is “Surfing” Allowed Inside of WOFF?

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What triggers memories for you? Do you remember things best from sights or sounds? When you come across a particular aroma, does that aroma trigger memories? Tonight, for me it was a particular sound. The sound was the plethora of often indistinguishable noises that come out of an AM radio at night time. Let me explain the path of memories this “noise” took me on this evening.

Many years ago as a child, I was given a small handheld AM radio. Maybe there was an FM band, but, I doubt it. This would have been in the mid 1960’s. As far as I remember, my grandfather gave me this electronic treasure. It was probably a Christmas present purchased from Sears and Roebuck. The radio was battery powered and one that could be easily held while drifting off to sleep. That is what I remember doing for some years as a young boy. Music, sports and news filled the airwaves then. Talk radio as we know it today was non-existent. I would slowly push the tuner to catch the next strong station from states far away… It was a fascinating hobby for me at that age.

Tonight, as I drove home from work, I continued this habit begun many years ago. I turned the car radio to the AM band and began to surf the stronger stations that my car antenna would receive. To my dismay, I could not find a particular sporting event which I knew would be broadcast from somewhere… it just happened not anywhere I could hear. But, that did not stop me, as I still found it a challenge to listen to a radio show and try to figure out what state the radio station was broadcasting from. Now, for those fellow radio surfers, you know some of the larger AM stations. There is 1510 WLAC out of Nashville, 660 WFAN out of New York, 1120 KMOX out of St. Louis, 720 WGN which transmits out of Chicago and WSB 750 out of Atlanta. When it comes to talk show or interview show, not every time to I agree with the point of view being put forth; but, it is still fun to listen.

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Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Bullying in the Name of Jesus…

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This evening after work, I watched an episode of “Without a Trace”. The story line was about a young boy who was harassed, physically pushed, mocked and jeered by his classmates because he appeared weak and not cool. The episode was originally aired in 2004 on CBS and was titled- “Wannabe”. Here is a plot summary:

The FBI investigates the disappearance of Eric Miller, a middle school student who disappeared during a bathroom break. He was only away for about ten minutes, so either he or his suspected kidnappers may have known what would happen. The investigators learn that Eric had low self-esteem and saw himself as part of the loser crowd at school. When his friend tells Agent Johnson about a bullying incident and they also locate a surveillance video from a local arcade showing an older boy pushing him, they realize they may have something other than a kidnapping.

A second plot summary reads as follows:

The “Without a Trace” team is called to a school after the sudden and unexplained disappearance of a pupil during a bathroom break in class. What at first seems like a sinister kidnapping soon leads the team into high school culture and on a trail of bullying and violence.(emphasis added)

 (source link- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0749727/plotsummary )

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Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Did You Win a Medal? (Videos)

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As a beginning, let me thank all the faithful supporters and blog readers who have contacted me over these last few weeks to check on me. Yes, it has been over five weeks since I have written a post. What would explain the absence? In part, I will share that I have been recounting the losses and assessing the aftermath of my time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). At times, I have ignored or denied that the losses were as devastating as they actually turned out to be. During these last few weeks, life events have occurred for the family that remains inside WOFF. I was not invited, asked to participate or briefed on the outcome.  There has been no contact in reference to these events or others that are yet to come. Admittedly, it would have been awkward to revisit WOFF, as I am told that I am forbidden to step foot on their property. Shocked?  All that being said, it is still regrettable beyond words, and more accurately, a severe life-changing emotional tragedy to realize the outcome for once being a part of Jane Whaley’s kingdom. Words are often shallow and do not come with enough color or accuracy to describe to others the pain of losing the family you had been with for over twenty years- all in the name of a religious cult.

But, where will I go from here? That is still to be determined. For certain, I don’t plan to stay in the gully of despair or in the ditch of rejection and pass the days away lamenting what could have been. No. In conjunction with recounting the losses, I have been setting my sights on the future. As other survivors learn, I have also found to be true; the road to a positive future can sometimes be elusive and hard to navigate. What do the next few years hold? None of us knows for sure. But, I am determined to find a more rewarding life-path than these last four years have been.

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Behavior Control, Uncategorized, WOFF Updates

Former WOFF Member Files Incident Report to Help His Friend

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In case there is any doubt, you don’t have to be a member of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) for very long to be affected in very intense ways. June 15, 2011, we shared an experience at a local restaurant in Rutherfordton. It was actually an ugly exchange prompted by a present WOFF member who I had known for nineteen years. After telling of that incident, I shared a few words about Tony Nicosia. The post was titled: Revealing Incident at the Great Wall– here is the link – https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=4264 .

This is a brief review of a story that Tony can tell with amazing detail most every time he gets started. He and Carole Kolari came to this area in 2003 for Carole to be around her three sons who were at that point inside WOFF. She was allowed periodic visits with them in her off hours from her job. First, she and Tony lived in Kings Mountain and then in a condo near the Cleghorn Plantation golf course. Events transpired to cause two of the younger sons to move back to Chicago. Carole and Tony followed or vice versa. Anyway, in 2007, Tony and Carole found themselves back in the Chicago area.

April of 2010, Carole’s oldest son was to marry at WOFF. Carole was driven back to NC by a couple of WOFFers; their names escape me at this point. She made it back to WOFF in time to be in the wedding and this made her happy. Tony made some calls and asked to be moved back to this area in hopes to continue his friendship with Carole. An entourage from WOFF drove to Chicago to pack up and pick up Tony. Here is a quote from the previous post: “They showed up with a truck and packed most everything from the place where Tony lived. Tony was under the impression that these things would be taken back to NC for him and CK(Carole). Other things happened that weekend which are just too scary to retell here. Anyway, these things in the truck NEVER made it back to NC- according to Tony…The furniture, personal effects, insurance papers and jewelry that Tony says were his were never presented to him when he got to NC! He was put into an apartment arranged by CK’s (Carole’s) first husband and in it is furniture given to him by that first husband- GC, Sr. A bed, a chest, a sofa and some kitchen items were about the sum total of the furniture items I saw in Tony’s apartment. Where did all his stuff go?…But, for sure, Tony’s stuff is gone.”    Continue reading Former WOFF Member Files Incident Report to Help His Friend →

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Emotional Control, Thought Reform, Uncategorized

Former WOFF Member Files Report of Assault

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Before I begin with the content of this post, let me acknowledge there will be some who disagree with my position to present this information in this forum. Some survivors of WOFF choose to “forgive and forget” and attempt to put everything that happened to them as far away from them as possible. That is a choice each is free to make, but, I don’t recommend it. Privacy prevents me from sharing the emails I receive on a regular basis from survivors of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and other groups. Many of these emails contain regrets for waiting so long to process the events that happened to them in years of being involved in a controlling group. Trying to ignore the injuries, the injustices, the hurts, the confusion and the emotional trauma will not prove helpful in the long run. The emails I receive with these aches and hurts are from survivors who were in WOFF and relatives of those who are now or have been in WOFF. It is with that understanding that I proceed to share the ongoing story of a survivor of 21 years of involvement in WOFF.

In a previous post titled, “Another Exit Drama Unfolds …” found here: https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=4782 . In that post, we did not name the survivor for various reasons. As of a few days ago, by his choice, his name was put into public record and therefore we will mention it here. Michael Lowry was born in 1990 in Rutherford County while his family was a part of WOFF. The family was from Michigan and have lived in the area every since his birth. He grew up in WOFF as his only social environment. In the previous post, we recounted his experiences in the “fourth building”. Those experiences had been traumatic to say the least and were a major part of his decision to leave his family and the only group of “friends” he had ever known. Today, we will give you excerpts from an incident report he filed with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s department outlining some of the events in the fourth building.

  Remember, this report is listed as “Further Investigation” needed. The people listed in this report are innocent until proven guilty.  No event or claim in this report has been proven in a court of law and no person in this report has been convicted of any crime(s). This is an incident report that is in public records that anyone can obtain a copy of from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s department.

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