Category Archives: Uncategorized

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

Intervention -The Series

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   The program, “InterventionTM” is described on their website as follows:

 “Intervention™ is a powerful and gripping television series in which people confront their darkest demons and seek a route to redemption. The Intervention Television series profiles people whose dependencies on drugs and alcohol or other compulsive behavior has brought them to a point of personal crisis and estranged them from their friends and loved ones.” 

The link is here to learn more… http://www.aetv.com/intervention/index.jsp

   Since leaving Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), a group led by Jane Whaley; I have had an interest in people in crisis; what gets them there, how do they get out of crisis and how are others in their life affected? This show depicts people in crisis and how their friends and relatives struggle to help them accept help. Jeff VanVonderen is listed on the website for this show as one of the Interventionists. The link with his bio is here… http://www.aetv.com/intervention/interventionists/ . One evening, I turned to this program and he was helping a family with a member who had an addiction of some type. It surprised me because I had read his book “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse” years ago.  I do not remember what happened to that book. I read it somewhere around 1991. It is now on my purchase list as well as the newer version which was printed in 2005. When I first found the show, I watched Mr. VanVonderen skillfully and forcefully deal with an individual who had an addiction. This person decided to get help and left for a treatment center immediately. There was an update about the individual, but I can’t remember if they stayed with the program.  

   On occasion, I have watched other episodes as families are torn apart by a member in some sort of chemical addiction. It is not always young folks or always single individuals. Some people affected by addictions are ones with responsibilities for children that go unmet. It is truly sad to see how others can and are affected by these addictions.

   Recently, I tuned in to an episode that was almost over. The scene showed a family reading their letters to the person in their family who had the addiction. These letters told how the addiction had affected them personally. The brother of the person addicted was reading his letter. This is not a quote, but it is close to what was said, — your addiction has kept you from being with me and my family as we share our special family moments. We cannot have you around because of your behavior when you are drinking. (it may have been drugs…) We have missed so many special times when you were to have been a part. Please, accept help so we can begin having the family times as we were meant to have.

   Continue reading Intervention -The Series →

Behavior Control, Uncategorized, WOFF Don'ts

Is There Evidence? (2)

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    After giving an outline of my past experience in different churches, we ended the previous post with these thoughts, “The basis of my observations about (Word of Faith Fellowship) WOFF comes from the 16 years of being exposed to their teachings and practices. I will share the experiences I had and many of the WOFF practices. My personal observations and experiences are offered as evidence to the practices of WOFF, at least during my time in the group. Could my “experiences” and observations be dismissed as fantasy or lies? Sure, they could, but why would someone do that? What would be their purpose?”  

    In years previous to joining the church at Greenville, SC, I had been in three churches that would be considered non-denominational, Protestant, with traditional, evangelical doctrines, at least, as far as I knew. Before moving from Charleston to Greenville in March of 1992, I had no reason or evidence to think that this new church would be totally dissimilar to the non-denominational churches I had been a part of in the past. After all, each of the previous churches had its individual message or emphasis and personality, if you will. But, all had included the message of salvation through believing in Jesus as Savior, baptism and communion. Each of the others had taught about the Virgin birth and Heaven and Hell.

    Prior to attending the first service in Greenville, I had listened to some sermon tapes of the Greenville pastors and liked what I heard. Since someone I knew and loved, trusted the pastors of this new church, I could easily go along and allow myself to trust them also. There was a connection from several years previous working in that relationship. The pastors and the church members soon took us in and showed us support and love like I had not encountered before. I knew very few folks in the Greenville area besides the new church family. The church and its activities would soon become a very big part of my life.  

    Continue reading Is There Evidence? (2) →

Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Is There Evidence? (1)

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    In order for folks to be convinced one way or the other, there needs to be evidence. Evidence could point a person to a conclusion on a certain issue in question. There certainly is evidence that I have attended churches of different types over the course of many years. The first memories of church for me are of a Methodist church in Maryland. The memories are shadows and glimpses of events long ago. I remember the nursery, the toys, certain sights and smells. At that time, I was probably four years old.

    The next church I remember was a Methodist church in Radford, Virginia. One scene I remember is of the pastor raising his hand at the end of the service in order to pronounce a blessing on the congregation. I thought that meant I was to lift my hand, also. My mother reached for my hand and put it down real quick. I don’t remember what she said, but I don’t remember doing that again.

    Our family spent years in that church.  There were friendships started there that I still consider as ones to cherish and remember in fondness. During those years, there were spaghetti dinners, summer vacation Bible schools with games, fruit punch, grape drinks, cheap cookies and trips to the local park near the river for cookouts and fun. Fellowship dinners included volleyball and other games. There were celebrations of Christmas with the hanging of the greens, advent wreaths and other Methodist traditions. As I grew older, there were also Cub Scouts activities sponsored by that church.

    When my family moved to Dublin, VA, we joined the Methodist church there. Though these were different folks, many of the same activities were there. Many of the very same Methodist traditions we celebrated at the Dublin church. There were several young people my age and that helped. There were several activities for our age group. A few of these same folks I have reconnected with and communicate with them regularly.

   Continue reading Is There Evidence? (1) →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

How Are You Doing?

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      “Tsunami” The Aftermath, an HBO Films® 2 DVD set was produced in 2007. This is a dramatization taken from accounts of survivors and observers from the aftermath, rescues and clean-up process from the tsunami in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. The sheer power and resulting destruction of that tsunami is hard to comprehend even after reading the statistics. “The epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, according to the USGS, which monitors earthquakes worldwide… Within hours killer waves radiating from the earthquake zone slammed into the coastline of 11 Indian Ocean countries, snatching people out to sea, drowning others in their homes or on beaches, and demolishing property from Africa to Thailand… Witnesses said the approaching tsunami sounded like three freight trains or the roar of a jet. In some places the tsunami advanced as a torrent of foaming water.” (source link http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041226_tsunami.html )  The resulting death toll was nothing short of phenomenal. Over 230,000 people died in several countries. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake_and_tsunami )

     This movie tells the story of different families affected by the tragedy. The accounts are drawn from the testimonies of survivors and are an attempt to depict the intense physical and emotional struggles after the historic event. In my opinion, the film is well made however the language is not family friendly and the recreated scenes are very graphic. The movie is rated “MA”.

    Two of the main characters are Ian and Susie Carter. Susie goes out diving the day of the tsunami and Ian is left with their little girl- Martha. The father and daughter are unaware of the warning signs of a tsunami as were many other visitors to Thailand. The father and daughter were then separated in the raging waves. Ian and Susie reunite after some time and one subplot is their personal and united struggle to deal with their losses. Ian is asked by a couple of different folks in the movie, either with an inquisitive look or verbal expression, “How are you doing?” Most every time he immediately begins to tell of his struggle in the waves and overwhelming need to find his daughter. The emotions shown by Ian and Susie, as well as the other actors portraying survivors were intense and compelling to say the least. Others in the film were not able to offer much solace. In fact, one reporter who arrives after the tsunami is very direct and heartless in his words to Ian, at first.

    While watching this movie, I could not help but be drawn into the emotion and traumatic feelings of the characters. Could I comprehend the full scope of the unfolding tragedy of those who had been actual survivors? Probably not. Was it an honest effort by the writer and producer to convey these emotions? Yes, I think so. Were there events in my life that were “disasters” which could give me some place of empathy? Yes.

  Continue reading How Are You Doing? →

Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Uncategorized

“Carolina Blues” at WOFF? (3)

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      We pick up here in the third post using the book, “American Exorcism” by Michael Cuneo (copyright 2001, published by DOUBLEDAY, ISBN 0-386-50176-5) as the author is sharing his encounter with Word of Faith Fellowship, (WOFF) led by Jane Whaley. While we go through this chapter, remember we are looking for the reason the author named it- “Carolina Blues”. Cuneo is beginning his efforts to reach RF- “a prominent minister in the Spindale church, a kind of point man for the Whaleys.” He writes, I phoned a dozen times, leaving messages, once having an agreeable chat with RF’s son, JF, but RF himself was always just now away on business, or just now entertaining guests, or just now otherwise occupied. (page 188) The author then decides to take a chance and go to WOFF unannounced. What he encountered was so typical, it made me laugh out loud! His account of the Saturday afternoon encounter so reminded me of WOFF-days and WOFF-ways.

   “It was a late Saturday afternoon, and I turned into the empty parking lot with the thought of making a brief reconnaissance swing around the property.” (page 188)  This was obviously his first mistake. You do not go onto WOFF property, unapproved or unescorted, if you are not a WOFF member. Even when a WOFF member gets a new car, they could be stopped and mistaken for a “visitor”. Remember- WOFF is a closed shop. He continues, “All at once the church’s internal security system sprang into action. A family that had been playing baseball on the front lawn of the house across the road dropped their bats and balls, the woman ran into the house, and the man headed for the parking lot and intercepted me at the entranceway. “Can we help you?” he said.” This scenario is all so typical and WOFF-normal, if there is such a term. I have seen it and been a part of it – so many times!

    Continue reading “Carolina Blues” at WOFF? (3) →

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

“Carolina Blues” at WOFF? (2)

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    At the end of the previous post titled “Carolina Blues” at WOFF? (1), the author of the book titled “American Exorcism” by Michael Cuneo (copyright 2001, published by DOUBLEDAY, ISBN 0-386-50176-5) was beginning to share his encounter with Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, NC. This encounter is in Chapter 12. In Chapter 11, Cuneo writes about his encounter with Hegewisch Baptist Church. This is important to note, since at the end of Chapter 12, Cuneo makes a comparison of the two churches- Hegewich Baptist and WOFF. We also mention in the first post the question regarding the title- “Carolina Blues”; we are looking for a reason for the title to this chapter.

   The author page found here.. http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=6157 states that Michael W. Cuneo serves as a teacher of sociology and anthropology at Fordham University. He wrote “The Smoke of Satan” and has had his research quoted in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. The book listed as a reference for this post; “American Exorcism” is the only work that I have read by Cuneo, so far.

   Cuneo noted that his sources had told him the Whaleys “run a closed shop”. (page 186) So, who would agree with that? How long has that been true? The author continues with his interview of Pete Evans, the detective who went undercover and filmed the deliverance sessions for the Inside Edition story in 1995. Evans said “he personally submitted to deliverance eleven times.” Evans went on, “Anywhere from six to twelve people would form a circle around you and scream the devils out of you at the top of their lungs. ..They wanted you to vomit the devils out in plastic buckets they put in front of you… The screaming was so intense that some people suffered hearing damage or damage to their vocal cords. When you join up, you’re asked to sign a waiver releasing the church from liability for injury.”  (page 187)

    Continue reading “Carolina Blues” at WOFF? (2) →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized, WOFF Updates

“Carolina Blues” at WOFF? (1)

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    In previous posts, I have mentioned that my use of Google Alerts®. This is a free service that searches the Internet daily for key words and returns them in an email set to your preferences. I use terms such as Word of Faith Fellowship, Jane Whaley, mind control, religious cults and spiritual abuse. This is a great way to keep up on certain specific content without trolling the web yourself. Who has the time?

    Recently, one of my searches brought back a blog post containing a reference to the conference in Washington, DC held in July 2010 by the Christians United For Israel (CUFI). The headline was CUFI Linked with Controversial “Demon-Blasting” Church . I have not read all of the content on the host blog. I do recommend following the link and reading this entire post. The blog title is “Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion”. It is written by Richard Bartholomew. He is quoting an article from “Charisma” magazine, as well as other sources.

    This post I considered such a good find. There are two topics from that post which I will take up. One is the conference in Washington, DC where Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) displayed their Holocaust Museum. Yes, there are pictures at Flicker® which I will link to in a future post. There are some pictures of Congressman Heath Shuler posing with the WOFF group. Was I surprised? All of that is for another post. You can get a head start and read the post from Bartholomew.

    Today, the subject has to do with the reference toward the end of the article to Jane Whaley being quoted in a book by Michael Cuneo titled “American Exorcism” (copyright 2001, published by DOUBLEDAY, ISBN 0-386-50176-5) This can be purchased at amazon.com. My copy was purchased used for $1.69 plus shipping. What a BARGAIN! The reference in the blog post for a quote from Jane Whaley was for page 235. In my edition, that was incorrect. Chapter 12 of this book if titled “Carolina Blues” and this is the section about WOFF and Jane Whaley.

    Continue reading “Carolina Blues” at WOFF? (1) →