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Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

New Identity – My Week – Part 4

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     As we move on with the concept of “identity” for members of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), it would be helpful for me to share a typical week from my time in that group. Since I worked both for companies outside of the church and for a church-member owned company; two or three scenarios will be needed. These accounts will remain general as this forum is not suited for release of some private information. Even with the restraints, as a reader, you will learn the main points. I must also restate the idea that at WOFF none of this identity analysis or information would be accepted. Most every problem or issue had a “spiritual” cause. All matters were dealt with from that perspective.

    Before moving to WOFF from Greenville, I worked at a credit union in Greenville, SC. I traveled back and forth working part-time. During the first few weeks, I kept this job and also began to work “part-time” for the growing property management company owned by a family in the church. That started by being called into Jane’s office. The owner of the company was there and Jane mentioned he wanted to offer me a job with his company. I was told to go pray about it and get back with him. Jane had given her approval for the owner to ask me about the job. A few days later, I took the job. I had no experience renting apartments.

    The first few weeks, I would be helping folks renovate apartments. But, in a few weeks there would be other work for me to do. After a few weeks,  I began renting apartments and collecting rent for the properties owned in Rutherford County. My job included answering four or five incoming lines which had been forwarded to my cell phone. There were between 50 and 60 calls on some days. This lasted for about two (?) months. I remember telling someone in leadership at the church that I just wanted to crawl up in a corner and cry. There was no let up with the calls at virtually any time of day and night, seven days a week. She said- “It is good for you. It will train you for the ministry.” Looking back, this was a totally insane set-up. However, I kept trying to perform the assigned tasks. During this time, the work at the SC credit union stopped and I took a part-time job with a credit union in a neighboring county in NC. That was October 2002. So, between both positions, I was putting in 50++ hours a week. Getting to bed before midnight was a rare blessing.

     At first, there was excitement as the new position working among “God’s people”. There were several adjustments to working around WOFF members. Members were always “on guard to help you” and “point out where you missed it”. Then of course, that would be passed up the church structure to those who needed to know “how you were doing” and “where you were walking”. It all appeared so spiritual for a while. Looking back, it all served to mold folks and weed out any “sinful behaviors”.

     Continue reading New Identity – My Week – Part 4 →

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

New Identity – Definition Part 3

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   As we continue to look at “identity” and how it is affected by involvement in Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), a short functional definition is needed. The word identity has several meanings according to the context used. Therefore, in this series of posts, we can use this definition: the set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/identity) The concept of identity could be referencing a personal identity or the identity of the individual as they appear inside the group. Social psychology explores the effects on individuals inside of a group. Here are some statements from reading about social identity.

—Many people gain a sense of positive self-esteem from their identity group, which furthers a sense of community and belonging.

—Another issue that researchers have attempted to address is the question of why people engage in discrimination, i.e., why they tend to favor those they consider a part of their “in-group” over those considered to be outsiders. (http://www.answers.com/topic/identity-social-science)

    First, from the definition, the set of behavioral characteristics that make members of WOFF recognizable are easy to list. We have mentioned some of them, dress, hairstyles, mannerisms, language, housing choices, lack of facial hair and more. Any one spending any length of time around members of WOFF would easily be able to notice the “sameness” in the members of the group. This is by design from Jane Whaley and the leadership in the group. There is a concerted effort to “drive out the sin” resulting in most every member looking and acting just alike. Can these outside measures actually change the true identity of a person or just hide it for a time?

     Continue reading New Identity – Definition Part 3 →

Behavior Control, Uncategorized

New Identity – How It Develops – Part 2

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     In reviewing the last post about a Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) “identity”, it is plain that new subjects were introduced which could lead in many different directions. For now, let’s review the concept of a new identity for WOFF members, how it would develop. There may be a few more posts on this subject as there is a lot of “ground to cover”.  These observations will be based on experiences from my time there and my readings after leaving WOFF. In all cases, I will share my opinions and personal observations unless noted otherwise.

    The Christian hope is based on change through salvation; old man to new man, sinner to saint. Folks in the Bible who experience major changes include: Saul to Paul, Peter from denier to Apostle to martyr; the doubting Thomas to the believer of Truth. So, that is not up for debate. You expect folks to change once they come to experience true salvation. This change is from the inside out – directed by God and not man’s wishes. The change that a believer in Jesus experiences is not a change orchestrated by the Law as in the Old Testament. Israel tried that and the results speak for themselves.

    The Apostle Paul was clear that not everyone would change into the same personality or gift.

 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Romans 12:5-7

18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 1 Corinthians 12:18-19,  New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

     Would it be safe to say your spiritual gift would reflect in many ways, your identity personally in Christ and in then the local church and the Body of Christ in general? Not everyone would expect the same gift or even the sameness in their identity. There would be the same “Spirit”, each with a different expression of that identity or place in Christ that they had been given. Can we agree?

   Continue reading New Identity – How It Develops – Part 2 →

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

WOFF Members Get New Identity – Part 1

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    During one service at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) Sam Whaley was up in front receiving the offering. He began to tell about God dealing with him and about his work before starting WOFF. He said it was all worthless; “well some of it was good”. I suppose he was talking about his many trips to other countries for Rhema Ministries under Kenneth Hagin. Later in the service, Jane spoke up to correct him. She told him that all he had done before getting deliverance and getting truly born again was WICKED! Everything he did before “knowing Jesus” was pure wickedness. Of course, he said “You are right, Jane.”  This event seemed to pass as one of the many times that Jane had rebuked Sam publically. It was “normal” at WOFF. No one except Jane “heard God at such a high level.”

     While reading Janis Hutchinson’s “Out of the Cults and Into the Church” (copyright 1994 Kregel Resources) I found her insights very helpful. In chapter 5, she explains how ex-cultists may seem disoriented as when they come out; they lose “their roots, their story, and their identity”. It should be obvious; you can’t lose something you never had. In order to lose a “cult identity” it had to be created in that person. She explains how a cult member needs the roots and stories to arrive at the new identity.

      I will not attempt to recite all that she gives as reasons for sharing these observations. In short, she explains “roots, spiritual or physical, tell an individual or a group where they came from, why they’re here, how they started, why they do the things they do, and why they are who they are.” (pg 98) Cults or other groups use myths or sacred stories to give its members roots.

   She goes on:  “Stories are three kinds. First myths and history of a culture’s heritage…these confirm and perpetuate the roots…. Secondly, there is the story of individual community itself- how members relate to that culture with their common problems and how they overcome them… Thirdly, there is one’s own individual story within the culture. This generally consists of accumulated childhood experiences containing the negative and positive, the triumphs and tragedies. It also includes a vast array of input from people, places and situations.” (page 98)

    And finishing her explanation:  “Identity, on the other hand, is the assurance individuals, culture, or nations gain as a result of having both roots and story. .. It promotes self-esteem and a positive self-image, collectively or individually. Without it, individuals are strangers to themselves and to others.” (page 98) Her work deals with folks after they leave cults.

     Continue reading WOFF Members Get New Identity – Part 1 →

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Audio Blog Tour… To Help Navigate This Blog

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     The sound file below is an “audio blog tour” designed to help readers gain more access to the information contained in these posts. This file has also been placed on the “Welcome New Readers” page. 

                    Audio Blog Tour

     Please, take time comment to let us know if this file is helpful. Any other suggestions are welcome.

     Thank you, for taking time to visit, read and comment on this material.

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Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

What is Common Ground?

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       Alexander Hamilton was speaking before the New York Constitutional Convention in June of 1788. He made three speeches. The one on June 27th contained several arguments for allowing the States to impose their own taxes as well as some other matters. In an explanation for State governments, he makes the following statement: “There are certain social principles in human nature from which we may draw the most solid conclusions with respect to the conduct of individuals and of communities. We love our families more than our neighbors; we love our neighbors more than our countrymen in general. The human affections, like the solar heat, lose their intensity as they depart from the center, and become languid in proportion to the expansion of the circle in which they act.”(page 232, Classic Speeches, copyright 1965 by Philosophical Library)

     The principle that Hamilton mentioned was not doubted or debated. It only follows to reason and from observation that in general, folks love the families more than their neighbors. Does that make sense to you? Have you seen that to be true in most cases, in the community in which you live? Would you say that neighbors would include those you where you go to church?

    When I read the quote, something from my past came to mind. During my time inside Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), I heard the term “spiritual parents”. On many occasions, members would refer to Jane Whaley and Sam Whaley as their “spiritual parents”. The term would be a term of endearment and generally be followed with glowing praises and expressions of gratitude for the work Jane and Sam had done to either bring the message of deliverance, start the Christian school or withstand all the “persecution” that come to them for their stand for “holy righteous living”. Even while I was on the inside of WOFF listening to this, I had a major yuck feeling inside when others would begin the most abundant adulation and flowery praises for the spiritual parents that Jane and Sam had become to them. Some folks from the Greenville church would follow suit and proclaim the pastors from that church, as their spiritual parents, as well as recognizing Jane and Sam.

Continue reading What is Common Ground? →

Uncategorized, WOFF Website

Footwashing Services at WOFF?

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     One noticeable omission from the “Beliefs” page of the Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) website was the “foot washing” practices of years past. This is not listed as a ordinance of the church as with other churches who practice foot washing. If my memory serves me correctly, I participated in three “foot washing” services while attending WOFF. The first one was more intense than the second or third. Though not practiced by several mainline or traditional Protestant churches, there certainly is scriptural basis for the practice. Here is the passage in John 13:5-9, 13-15:

5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.  6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”  9“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

13“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.   New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica 

     My memories are not as detailed and distinct in reference to these three services. So, I may get the details confused as to the order they occurred. The first foot washing service at WOFF was set on course with certain guidelines: men washing men’s feet, women washing women’s feet. Family members could wash each other’s feet. The purpose was to humble yourself and make right any bitterness or unforgiveness with that person. Plastic basins, (from prayer times?) were brought out with some water in them. Towels were supplied for drying the feet. The service lasted several hours as there was a whole lot of washing to do. Many wept and from all indications, several relationships were mended.

    Continue reading Footwashing Services at WOFF? →