Category Archives: Criteria for Cults

What critieria should one use to determine if a group is a cult?

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Welcome New Readers-Posts of General Interest (2) August 2010

Leave a comment
Night version of sign
Sign in Forest City

   The traffic on this blog has increased over the last week. What does that mean? I do not believe that since the traffic has increased one automatically assumes that all readers are in agreement with the material. That is about as silly as thinking that just because one reads the “Communist Manifesto”- then you automatically become a communist. Some have expressed their thankfulness for the posts. Many have kept silent. The only thing that can safely be deduced from the increased traffic is that it confirms the curiosity in the community about Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), Jane Whaley and the operations of that group.

     Several have asked if there has been a reply or comment or anything from WOFF in response to this blog or this week. Recently, there has been no official reply either written or verbal. What does that mean? It means nothing. WOFF may choose to ignore this forum all together. On the other hand, I may get some sort of reply. Whatever the reply, whether written of verbal, I will post it and allow others to learn what has been done or said. WOFF may choose another forum that they consider more neutral. Even if their reply is negative toward my material, I would post it here in the interest of presenting both sides of the WOFF experience. After all, the members of the community deserve as much information as possible in order to have a more complete understanding of the group living, growing and doing business among them.  

Here are three posts about life at WOFF:

“The Church Service No One was to Talk About” link – https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=335 From the post on February 6, 2010- “Some even would kneel before her(Jane). Men and women of all ages made their way to the front. Jane soon allowed the “news” to start being told. The people were coming telling Jane that “God had shown them who their mate was to be..”  

Continue reading Welcome New Readers-Posts of General Interest (2) August 2010 →

Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Welcome New Readers-Posts of General Interest (1) August 2010

Leave a comment
Night version of sign
Sign in Forest City

     Over the years at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) certain practices have come and gone. One practice that has developed and still continues, as far as I know, is the practice of standing outside of Jane’s door and waiting for a “minister” to come “deal with your sin”. Particularly before the Sunday evening service, folks would line up either by themselves or with someone who was “taking hold of them”. There, they would wait until they were approached or could snag the attention of someone in leadership. If they caught someone, then there would be the “opening of their heart” and “exposing their sin”. They would often get “help” in “seeing their sin the way God sees it”. If they found a “place of repentance” then they could proceed into the service- generally. If the person in leadership felt they needed to remain “set apart” and “in discipleship” (after checking with Jane or someone higher up in leadership…), the person being dealt with would be sent into the discipleship room and after the service they may meet again to “check them out” and hear “what God had shown them”.

    This scenario could go many different directions. The “sin” could be over “big” things like a “bad attitude” or “not submitting to authority” or in many cases, over “smaller” infractions like not picking up your dishes after a meal, or not taking out the trash when you were told or not “pulling your weight in the household” or “checking out” during the morning service or not ironing your clothes at the right time or coming to church looking sloppy or wearing the wrong color shirt or wearing the wrong tie or wearing the wrong dress or reading headlines of newspapers, or rolling your eyes, or making some motion or expressing some notion that you maybe, kind of sorta, want to watch TV or read a magazine. You could be corrected for whistling, or humming or snoring, over-sleeping not wiping the shower out when you were done or being late for ANYTHING, not parking in the right space, not having your car tag up to date, going shopping at the wrong place, or at the wrong time or even being by yourself! Correction came to bring you back “under the protection of God” and in good graces with those around you- especially Jane Whaley. (select “Read …..” to continue……)

    Continue reading Welcome New Readers-Posts of General Interest (1) August 2010 →

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

“Honor Shunning” at WOFF?

Leave a comment

“Honor Shunning” at WOFF?

    No doubt, the most common subject of emails that I receive is about the division in families where one or more member has gone in to Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and others have not. The details may change, but the main points of grief and bewilderment remain constant. It is a fact, joining WOFF causes divisions. Yes, I know I have been inside and seen the division that caused my immediate family. And now, outside, I am feeling the division in a very personal way.

    With all this in my mind, I began reading and listening to news reports of “honor killings” in some places in the United States. Before I continue, let me say, I have not read extensively on the subject and do not intend to be an expert. I will just repeat what little bit I know and how it relates to the subject as it develops. In certain cultures, parents have considered themselves “honor bound” to take the life of a daughter who may have become too Westernized or expressed desires to marry outside of the culture. In order to preserve the purity of the culture, the parents have extinguished the life of the one bringing dishonor to their name and way of life. Thus the term “honor killing”.  There is even debate as to whether or not this has occurred in America.

   All that being said; I can attest with rock solid assurance, that members of WOFF practice “honor shunning” with fervent regularity. The practice begins from within the group as members who may be questioning authority or “in rebellion” are separated into the “discipleship” room. Others are expected to not talk to them or fellowship with them as “God is dealing with their heart”.  If the member repents to Jane Whaley then they are restored and allowed “back into fellowship”. As long as the punishable offense is not repeated, they can be around others. I practiced the shunning of others on church discipline while at WOFF. It is the thing to do unless you want to end up being in the same boat. Those who do not shun will be shunned until they either agree to “walk in God’s ways” or leave… You could/should say this practice is a mainstay at WOFF.

   Continue reading “Honor Shunning” at WOFF? →

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Cult Leader News, Uncategorized

More Thoughts on WOFF and Brazil (repost July 2017)

4 Comments

In light of the most recent Associated Press release-US church goes to Brazil; instills fear, splits families– I believe it is appropriate to repost this review from August of 2010. (click “back” button to return here)

The lead paragraph from this article:

SAO JOAQUIM DE BICAS, BRAZIL (AP) — At the Word of Faith Fellowship churches in the Brazilian cities of Sao Joaquim de Bicas and Franco da Rocha, the signs of broken families are everywhere: parents separated from their children, siblings who no longer speak, grandparents who wonder if they will ever know their grandchildren.

This AP release goes on to chronicle the process of WOFF taking the practice of destroying families from North Carolina to Brazil. The Brazilian churches have become a sad reflection of WOFF NC. Jane Whaley’s ministry of destruction and pain has indeed transferred its dark stain seen and felt in America to Brazil.

Read the post below and note the heartache and angst. The WOFF-effect on families is real. It is indeed an international travesty.

On a personal note, my daughter is expecting or has already delivered her child this month. I am one who wonders if I will ever know my grandson…

___________________________________________________________________________________
Jane Whaley and her crew from Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) have been making trips to Brazil for many years. The first time I knew about the trips was in 1992. At that time, I heard about previous trips in previous years made by members of the Greenville church traveling with WOFF members to Brazil for seminars. There was always a certain mystique associated with the trips and the privilege of going to help the Brazilian church members. During the early years, those who did not go to Brazil would hear about shopping trips to rock shops and eating at Brazilian restaurants.  The seminars would also include many deliverance sessions and teachings about WOFF ways and WOFF life. Many of the teachings were about “hearing God” as Jane or certain others would speak, with Jane’s approval. For sure, the church members in Brazil would emulate WOFF members and end up copying many of the WOFF ways and in order to live in WOFFness.

   Since my time at WOFF ended in July of 2008, I have heard several accounts of WOFF doings that as a member inside of WOFF, we just did not learn about. Why would that be? A few months ago, someone began to let me know about things happening in Brazil. At first, I was shocked. But, as I considered what I knew has/had happened in America over the whole WOFF saga, it all began to make sense. What I will share here is from a translated email sent to me from Brazil. The names of the church members affected are not the key part of this story. The key thing about the scenario of events is to note the strange and sad similarity to previous events here in North Carolina and/or in other states caught in the WOFF-web.

Continue reading More Thoughts on WOFF and Brazil (repost July 2017) →

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

My Trip to Brazil with WOFF – Part 2

1 Comment

My Trip to Brazil with WOFF – Part 2

     This series of posts includes my remembrances from a trip with members of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) to Brazil in 2005. For sure, I will not remember everything in correct time order and some of the surrounding “observations” may be misplaced or just misstated. However, the main points of this trip I do remember and still do cherish the encounters with the Brazilian people. Each one of them welcomed us and made room for us in every regard.

   We begin this post where we ended the last one,  the arrival on the first day of the time in Brazil. After we stopped at the first house, I believe we again boarded the bus and went around to the main entrance of the church. There the luggage was unloaded and we were grouped by the assigned household list and ferried to our respective homes for unloading and settling in. The streets were dirt and gravel.  We were in a neighborhood on a large hillside. Each home was fenced in and gated. I was told that because of the poverty, everyone needed heavy security for their properties.

    For my time there, I would stay a very nice, large home on what looked to me like about three to five acres. The surrounding fence was brick and the large electric gates were wooden. The owners were a very sweet husband and wife, who were leadership in the local church. The estate had a large home, a pool and a large pool house where another couple lived with their children. There were several fruit trees on the property, some near the front and more towards the back of the property.

    Continue reading My Trip to Brazil with WOFF – Part 2 →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

“Know the Marks of Cults” Part 8

Leave a comment

      We will wrap up our series with two more comparisons from the book:  “Know the Marks of Cults” by Dave Breese, (copyright 1975, SP Publications, ISBN 0-88207-704-x). We have been reviewing the insights from the author and comparing them to my experience at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) led by Jane Whaley. In the seventh post from this book, we reviewed chapter 11 titled “Financial Exploitation”.  I encourage readers to obtain their own copy and read this book.

    Breese writes in Chapter 12 titled “Denunciation of Others”, “When one announces himself as the true Messiah, all others of course are false and must be put down.” (page 110) For certain, I have never heard Jane Whaley say she was the “Messiah”.  She did say she was “no one’s Savior”. However, we must look at her actions that I have witnessed, to verify the view she has of herself and her position. I have seen in writing and heard in person; Jane and Sam Whaley reference themselves as “Apostles”. Recently, the written titles have been “Pastors”… I am not sure what has changed. While I was there at WOFF, we were never told, that I remember.  

    Continue reading “Know the Marks of Cults” Part 8 →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized, WOFF and Money Issues

“Know the Marks of Cults” Part 7

2 Comments

   For now, we continue on with yet more comparisons and observations from the book:  “Know the Marks of Cults” by Dave Breese, (copyright 1975, SP Publications, ISBN 0-88207-704-x). We have been reviewing the insights from the author and comparing them to my experience at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) led by Jane Whaley. In the sixth post from this book we reviewed several characteristics of cults as put forth by Breese. The last one in the post was the “Enslaving Organizational Structure” as explained in chapter 10.  We have been comparing some aspects of these “Marks”, to what I have known about WOFF. As a note, I will not write full length posts on the entire list all of “The 12 basic errors of false religion” that are mentioned in the subtitle of this book. Reviewing each one in depth is not for this forum. However, a brief reading would affirm that out of the twelve listed errors, I have seen and experienced all of them during my time at WOFF.  I encourage readers to obtain their own copy and read this book.

   Breese states in Chapter 11 that a cult would/could display “Financial Exploitation” of its members. This was another chapter from which it was hard to only pull a few quotes. The author writes, “It is clear also from the Word of God that the Christian is never put under obligation to do, give, sacrifice or expend himself in any way in order to be more sure that the has the Gift of God which is eternal life.” (page 105 emphasis added) He continues, “The Word of God, however, is clear that service for Christ is a voluntary proposition on the part of the Christian, and nothing that he does will increase his own guarantee of eternal life.” (page 105) For those who are now or have been at WOFF, do these statements take your breath? I read them and found myself reeling with doubt then catching myself, as I saw this was old patterns of WOFF-think kicking in. Is “service for Christ” really voluntary? Do you mean that “pleasing Jane” or “doing the will of God- the WOFF way” does not get you on the inside track to heaven? Is this cause for pause?

    Continue reading “Know the Marks of Cults” Part 7 →