Category Archives: Criteria for Cults

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

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, WOFF Updates

Findings of Fact….

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During many years of the history of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), there have been several drawn out custody battles in which church practices became a main focus. In 2000, there was the McGee custody battle, Ben McGee- plaintiff; in which an eleven page “Findings of Fact” was rendered on or about December 5, 2000 by Judge Randy Poole. The case was heard in Rutherford County General District Court – case #FILE NO. : 00 CVD 0686. Included in this ruling from the court were definitive statements about church practices and their danger to children. I will include a few here. After each one, I will offer my opinion about the “fact”. Remember, during this hearing, I lived in Greenville, SC and only attended special meetings. For certain, this material was shared on a “need to know” basis. Let me also point out that when/if some or all of these “facts” had been shared with regular WOFF members, there would have been major spin presented and a dare put out there to question or voice any agreement with the “facts”. Does that sound plausible? If you showed or expressed questions or doubts– that was your invitation for an open rebuke and/or church discipline.

16. There is a hierarchy of control and authority within the WOFF organization. Subordinate members are encouraged to report any perceived aberrant behaviors of other subordinate members to higher authorities within the organization.

This was such a common occurrence at WOFF, who would dispute the validity of this “fact”? We were all required to tell the sins of others or “that sin was in you!” and you were as guilty as if you had committed the act. Yes, this could be a reason it is hard for present and former members to trust – ANYONE.

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Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized, WOFF Updates

Additional Memories Leading to Exit Drama- Ben McGee

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The following material was provided by Ben McGee. He pulls back the curtain of self-protection and reveals his innermost concerns and thoughts leading up to the previously posted exit drama. Please, do not miss the transparency and the honesty with which he tells his story. These reflections should be a help to us all in managing our own host of memories- however painful they may be.

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The WOFFIA…

In order to set the time frame, let me say that these memories are from the period just two weeks before I was forced to leave.  I removed myself from the church, and would not attend regular services, but stayed in the church discipline room because I struggled with a conversation between Jane Whaley and myself.  The one statement that troubled me the most was when Jane stated that if I decided to move off church property- I would do so alone, as she began poking her finger into my chest.  I took this to mean that she was going to keep my family from me, if I attempted to move away from the church property. (I must ask- would Jesus make a threat like this?)

I struggled with this threat for some time. Pam was not present for this event.  I knew we could not afford to leave, but desired to do so and decided money or no money we were not going to stay trapped.  I wanted to discuss with my ex-wife how I felt but, she was alienated from me completely.  She would not listen to me and would go straight to the church leadership and tell them everything I had said which was a pattern already well established in our marriage.  This probably became extremely important for her after the confrontation with Jane.  I must confess I did likewise to her when she would get out of control and abusive in the past. I was afraid of her past use and abuse of drugs.

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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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Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

You Can’t Have My Ball of String…

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Many years ago, newspapers were delivered door to door often times by a young boy or girl. I don’t know maybe somewhere in this nation this still happens. In the early ’70’s, it was very common. I was ten years old when I took my first paper route. There were no more than about 30 to 35 customers. But, it was a big deal to me. I still remember my first few weeks as my Dad would get me up and walk with me to the place where the truck had dropped the papers earlier in the morning. I can still remember the exact location and have thought of it in years past as I passed through Radford, Va. We picked up the papers about 6:15AM and off we went to deliver them – door to door. This was quite a big deal for a ten year old boy. The papers first came wrapped with a cotton string. Every morning, I would cut the string and save it. Why? I am not sure. But, I kept the string and began a ball. Later, the papers would come wrapped in wire and then in plastic ties. It was impractical to save wire or plastic, but the string made a great souvenir.

Over the years, the ball of string went with me as I moved from place to place. Actually, for many years it ended up in a box of other “trophies” from my childhood. Years passed and every so often there would come a purge to the box as I would release certain items as “no longer needed”. But, for years the ball of string made it through purge after purge. After I married and we had children, I would come across the ball of string and tell the story of its origin to my children. They would laugh and at least for the first few times, so would my wife. It seemed like a harmless memento from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, well you know what I mean.

Ball of String
My Ball of String

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Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Traveling Over the Bridge….

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We have posted from Janis Hutchinson’s book, “Out of the Cults and Into the Church” (copyright© 1994 by Janis Hutchinson, Kregel Resources, ISBN 0-8254-2885-8) in previous posts; however, it have been almost eighteen months since we did so. Recently, I have recommended this book to other survivors and it has been received well. I was reviewing material from Chapter 10 titled: The Precarious Transition Period.(page 187) The author’s direction for writing the book includes among other things an emphasis to help former cult members make steps out of their former group and into the Christian community. I will quote from her work and then expand on it to include other thoughts on this transition period.

  “There is a danger period—that precarious stage after a new convert finally acknowledges cult beliefs as unbiblical, knows he or she made a correct decision in leaving, has pretty much dealt with the problems, and is just about to cross over the line into full assimilation into the Christian community.

   It is at this point that former cultists suddenly find themselves entering an in-between stage. It is like crossing a bridge with the cult behind them at one end and the Christian community ahead—but they stop in the middle. In this suspended, limbo-like period, they are neither here nor there.”(pages 187-188)

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Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Do You Want To Get Well?

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A few nights a week, I travel home late from work. Last year, while driving home, I had the radio on surfing the AM channels, as it were. I tuned into a station out of Nashville and Dr. Asa Andrews was taking callers and answering their health questions. I listened with interest as my struggle at the time was against a major illness that had captivated most all my attention and extra time. I wanted to learn how to fight the disease. Dr. Andrews had some ideas that were new to me and I listened hoping to learn and eventually win my battle.

As I listened, he talked about a book he wrote titled, “Empowering Your Health” (Copyright©2007 by Asa Andrews, published by Thomas Nelson, ISBN-13:978-1-4016-0372-4). I made a mental note at that time to order the book. Have you ever done that? Make a mental note to do something and several months later- you have not followed through? That is what happened to me. It was almost a year later and I had not ordered the book. Why? There could be many excuses. I had ordered other books and not remembered to order that one… I may have actually looked it up and intended to order it and just never did. Then in early January, I told someone about the book and told them I would order it and read it. Finally, after several more weeks, I went to amazon.com and ordered the book. The struggle did not end there.

When the book arrived, I left it in the back seat of my car for a day or so. It was as if I was afraid to open it because that would bring me one step closer to reading it and possibly seeing what I knew in the back of mind was my reality. So, I unwrapped the book and it is in great shape for a “used” book! That was wonderful. The jacket for the book had a picture of Dr. Andrews throwing an apple in the air. So, I opened it and began reading. The first part was about his struggle when he was on a team of folks who lifted weights and traveled. He met with physical struggles and began searching for answers. After all he was a medical student! Chapter 2 was titled “Do You Want to Get Well? Taking Responsibility for Your Health” I read a few sentences then I stopped and put the book down – for days! Let me explain.

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Criteria for Cults, Thought Reform, Uncategorized

Salvation Critical Issues

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A recent conversation with a person who has never been a member of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) revealed something to me that helped me understand the quandary for many outsiders. After asking several questions and trying to understand the dynamics of life inside WOFF, this person said, “You know, I don’t think about my salvation constantly. I am not worried if I am going to hell over every single thing I do…” I was shocked at the statement, but suddenly I could see the problem and at least some of the answer. Let me explain.

First, the fact that I was shocked showed me I was still at least in the shadows of WOFF thinking. Why? Inside WOFF, for faithful members, the life is saturated with “salvation critical issues”. What do I mean? Everything at WOFF – every behavior, every attitude, every decision, every thought, every purchase, and every choice of a garment, every relationship, and every facial expression – can be and is subject to being scrutinized to see if you are saved, born again and submitted to the will of God. This may seem strange and should to those outside the WOFF sub-culture. So much revolves around this one aspect that is may be difficult to fully explain the vital role that this has in the control environment of WOFF, but, I will make an attempt.

We have chronicled many of these issues here on this blog in previous posts. Your walk with God and eventual salvation could and would be judged for how you talked, how you walked, how you dressed, how you drove, how you handled your cell phone, how you left a bathroom, who you wanted to be friends with wither inside or outside the group, where you wanted to work, what classes you wanted to take in school… The list can be endless as new situations would arise and you would be judged in that new situation as to whether you were “hearing God” or were “under authority” or were “lawless” or “giving over to your sin” or “giving place to the devils in you” or risk being “put out of the church and the MOVE of GOD”… All of these phrases were meant to instill fear over your eternal destination while relating to common occurrences such as how you cleaned your house or folded your clothes or if you cleaned your deck, or whatever Jane decided to use for her purposes. All of this would be covered in the phrase- you need to walk, talk and act “like a minister of God…”

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