Over the last few weeks, I have spoken to many different folks about Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). The reaction of every person who had never been inside a group such as WOFF was almost exactly the same. They would exclaim- How can the members stay? Or how can intelligent people submit to the rules and the control? The disbelief was obvious. I have had that reaction many times. After several attempts to explain that intelligence has no part in whether a person becomes a member of a cult or controlling group. I had come to an end of how I could explain the quandary. In order to help others understand WOFF, I had mentioned other groups that were obviously dysfunctional and had been labeled as cults. These groups also had members who were accomplished or held some revered position.
During the explanation, I mentioned that cult leaders seek to fulfill needs. Some of the needs were physical, some were emotional or spiritual. It was obvious during my time with WOFF that Jane Whaley helped meet needs in the lives of members. After all, don’t most churches “help” people? Isn’t that a basic premise of Christianity? Helping others is not unusual in a religious setting. Many churches help with financial, social and emotional needs. One key factor that differentiates controlling religious groups from legitimate ministries is this: what does the “free” help cost the recipient? If the person receiving help is required to listen to the gospel message and is not pressured to accept the message and join the group, then that could be a non-threatening environment for the person needing help. The power of free will and autonomous decision making remains with the person receiving the help.
However, if the process requires that the person accept the church “gospel” messages while employing methods of “guilt-loading” tactics, the environment could be unsafe. If with one hand the group gives and the other they intend or attempt to take away freedoms and choices, consider leaving the group and seeking help elsewhere.
