Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized, WOFF Website

What is “Classical Christianity”?

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     Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) was started by Jane Whaley and Sam Whaley. The Articles of Incorporation were signed in 1979. On their recently published website, under the tab listed as “Our Church” you see “Beliefs”. Select that and you will find some very interesting information. WOFF defines themselves as a “Protestant, Non-Denominational church with a Christian school (as defined in classical Christianity)”. Honestly, I missed the term “classical Christianity” in my first reading. Well, there is no doubt about the Protestant, Non-Denominational part. Certainly Jane Whaley reports to no central office and allows NO ONE to tell her how to run her church. As far as I can tell, WOFF discloses no financial records to any third parties for any reason. Yes, the term Non-denominational fits here.

     When considering the term “classical Christianity”,  I learned that my first impressions of the term were lacking. Upon searching  on the term I found a source from Drew Theological School. This source appears to be a support school for the Methodist denomination. Since Jane Whaley admits to attending Methodist churches, then hopefully this source will be good. Certain parts of the article caught my attention.

 What is “Classical Christianity”?      Virginia Burrus, Professor of Early Church History
Drew Theological School

Here is the link to the full article… http://tiny.cc/ykkt9 .

 “The term “classical Christianity” is of relatively recent coinage. Some Methodists, among others, currently use it to refer to the views of a select group of theologians who wrote during the late Roman Empire (that is, during the fourth and fifth centuries) and laid the groundwork for such enduring doctrinal formulations as the divine Trinity and the two-natured Christ.”

     So far so good.. reading further, “The “Fathers” themselves did not agree with one another on every point.” This references the early “Church Fathers” not agreeing but, still moving forward as one. “The fact that a diversity of perspectives and interpretations can exist among those who adhere to “classical Christianity” should not surprise us.”  One definition of classical Christianity means accepting those who may not fully agree on every point? In my opinion WOFF fails miserably on this point. My experience is that WOFF, more specifically, Jane Whaley: it is “her way or the highway”.

      Continue reading What is “Classical Christianity”? →

Behavior Control, Uncategorized

Write Jane a Note…. She Might Read It

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     These memories from my time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) for this post,  are accumulated over several years. As mentioned, I may not get them in the correct time order, but the meaning will be clear. When you have a group of close to 400 folks and they all are required, at different levels, to “check it out” with Jane Whaley; this could prove to be a practical time management issue! Okay, so who has the time to listen to all 400 before every service? Even if only 200 needed to talk to her before a service? How would that work? Even if 40 or 50 folks every service wanted to see Jane Whaley and ask a question, “open their heart” or tell what they saw… How would that work?

     Well, there were folks that would come early to services and line up down both sides of the hallway leading to Jane’s office and wait for Jane’s arrival. “Maybe we can talk to Jane about this question or decision we need to make?” Or – “You have been giving to sin and we need to get to Jane to expose it see what she says…?” So, everyone lined up in the hall may not have a question, they could just be bringing someone else “to the light”. This of course would keep them out of trouble since at WOFF- if you knew of someone else’s sin and did not expose it- you were in just as much trouble as they were or worse- since “hiding sin will take you to hell!” So, thus the “great commission of WOFF” was complete with your friends and fellow members watching you at every point! That is part of the control that outsiders don’t see! When it was known beforehand that visitors were coming and they would be brought to meet Jane before the service;  not only did “Loud Prayer” get put on hold; the hallway dealings were either moved out of sight of visitors or the inquirers told to wait until after the service – if possible. Known sin would be dealt with in a room away from visitors ability to hear or see. (see post here http://tiny.cc/wenoq )

     So, practically there were issues just meeting all the demands of the confession/communication  requirements that had been put on the members. As another fellow put it to me recently- speaking of Jane’s self appointed role- “It is hard (for her) being God”.  A two part solution evolved. One was there would be folks who were trusted “go betweens” and faithful lieutenants; they would meet folks in the hall before the service. They would ask the person what was going on? or why are you here? After assessing the situation, depending on their comfort level of either giving an answer or knowing “Jane needs to hear about this”– they would deal with it or go into Jane’s office. There, they would talk to Jane Whaley about the issue at hand. The person would just wait out in the hallway, most times until the “go between minister” would return. Upon their return; the answer would be given or depending on how close it was to time to start the service; they would be told come back after the service and talk to Jane in person.

   Continue reading Write Jane a Note…. She Might Read It →

Behavior Control, Uncategorized, WOFF and Money Issues

Jane Whaley Gets a New Dog- You Need One!

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     Seeing pictures of Jane Whaley and her dogs brings back memories from a service at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Jane had acquired a new tiny dog. She already had THE Great Dane. That dog had caused quite a stir. Not only did it have tremendous size, but, it would bark loudly at children, occasionally. It worried some parents. The Great Dane had issues with a sore on its leg and had to be watched. This dog was kept in a church office and did not take to being startled.  Even in its muzzle, the dog was ominous and deserved anyone keeping a distance.

     But, we shall get back to the first small dog. Word got out in the hallway that Jane had a new very tiny dog. Now, the exact breed escapes me, but it may have been a miniature, tea-cup chihuahua. I will not remember all the story in order but, here goes. Before the pending church service Jane brought the dog out and held him up while on the platform. She said he was too fragile to put on the carpet. This dog was scared and shaking. (See this video of one similar to Jane’s http://tiny.cc/p7t3t )   Jane’s first dog was much more fragile and weighed only a few  ounces. The one in the video was a hardy dog compared to the tiny dog that Jane bought.

     Somewhere in the process she mentioned that she and some others drove all night to Louisiana and picked him (?) out. They had seen the advertisement on the Internet.  He cost $700. I thought that was strange since she only made $600 a month and gave Sam $200 a month to “squirrel away”.  (see post here.. http://tiny.cc/sfeub ) Can you imagine paying more than a month’s salary for a dog? But, when “God says” and you want it- the money will “just be there”.. Amazing how that works…

     Continue reading Jane Whaley Gets a New Dog- You Need One! →

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

The Mormon Mission

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    Well, with all the excitement, I could not be left out. Today,  after I had mailed my annual “friendship pledge” to Washington via Atlanta and another “pledge” to Raleigh, NC; I was feeling practically giddy. Every year, I get to confirm with the taxing powers that be, that I am their “friend”. Paying that pledge seems more painful as the years go by.

    While I was still giddy;  in my mail box was a nicely printed 4X6 postcard with Ramona Hall’s smiling face. Again, it was very good quality. (thank you, Ramona.)  At that, I was reminded that I missed the forum and regretted it very much. If any readers went on Tuesday night, please, email back your observations. An aside; the Rutherford County Board of Elections has scanned and posted the forms that candidates are required to file. This is a resource for those that want to learn more about their candidate of choice- or non-choice. See Here: http://tiny.cc/9muxn

     As I was making my way to the car, I looked across the street as two young Mormon missionaries were walking past. They turned down a side street and I was drawn to watch. Coming in their direction was an African American lady obviously headed to the post office. I wanted to see the possible exchange. Yes, it was obvious they had tried to speak to her. She would not look them in the face, kept her head down, arms a swinging and kept going. The reaction from her intrigued and excited me. As she crossed the street, I told her – “Way to go! Don’t give the the time of day!” She was sure to tell me that they had asked her where she lived? Wow, those young men needed a lesson or two in Southern etiquette. She was definitely not going to tell two strangers dressed in white shirts, dark pants, toting a backpack and the Book of Mormon- where she lived! Good for her!

     Continue reading The Mormon Mission →

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Baptism of the Dead?

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     Recently, in a short conversation with a co-worker; I noticed something very important about one religious cult group that would apply to others… Some how we ended up talking about the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I mentioned I had been there in the early 70’s. In order to demonstrate the excellent acoustics in the main temple area, a man walked down to the front while our tour group stayed near the back of the main seating area. He rubbed his coat sleeve and you could hear it from where we were. Next, he literally dropped a needle on a wooden surface and we heard it though we were several feet away! She exclaimed they did the same demo while she was there in the late 90’s! Some things don’t change.

     My family traveled out west one summer and spent several weeks in the mid-west and western United States. I asked her why she had an occasion to be at the Mormon Temple? This co-worker explained that she had worked for a large entertainment conglomerate with offices in the mid-west. She was an outside sales representative and responsible for one certain account in Utah, among others. This account was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints (LDS) or Mormons. The Mormon church was seeking help in digitizing the genealogy records that had been stored for years. The process was taking paper records stored in filing cabinets in caves and other safe places, as well as floppy discs and scanning/transferring them to CD’s in order to preserve the integrity of the information. Her company was a leader in the technology at the time.

     She talked about meeting with ten young Mormon men in a Board room and how stiff it became at times. Mormons are a patriarchal society and having to deal with her was apparently stretching their understanding. She said they were all polite and cordial, but still being stretched.

     About that time I asked her, “You know why they wanted to preserve the records, right?” She said no. I told her that Mormons practice the baptism of the dead. I told her they baptize dead people in proxy, so they can be a Mormon in the Celestial Kingdom. She was shocked! I sent here a link with a simple explanation. Here is another.. http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp and http://tiny.cc/vat65 

Continue reading Baptism of the Dead? →

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Everyone Loves Jane and Jane Loves Everyone- Sorta

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    In two previous posts, it has been mentioned the phrase used by Jane Whaley of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) to describe her relationships to members and non-members. This post contains material from several different statements that Jane Whaley has made over the years. The statements may not be presented in correct time order but, the main points will be clear.

     The statement by Jane early on, was “Everyone loves Jane Whaley and Jane loves everyone. If they don’t (love Jane) then they are listening to devils.”  This was first mentioned in post about terms.. here is the link:  https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=101    

    There was a statement later about the “love of God”. “The love of God is the love of God.” Jane goes on to explain:  “I love Sam and O____ (man in church leadership..) the same. It is the same love. I just show that love differently to Sam”.(Whaley)

     Yet, another time she was talking about folks that had left and how she loved them all. “Well, there may be two folks if I saw them walking down the street, I would cross over so I didn’t have to speak to them. Only two, or maybe three…”

     Again, these statements may not be in time order and may not be exact quotes, but the meaning is clear. The first statement is revealing all by itself. For Jane to say that if you don’t love her, you are listening to devils??? How narcissistic can a person be? But, Jane was allowed to say it and sincerely believes that statement about herself and about its affect on others. She is no doubt the center of her world. If you don’t agree – you are of the devil.

     Concerning the second statement, I remember being in the service where she uttered those words. She knew it would be “misunderstood”, so she quickly added the part about showing the love of God to Sam– differently. No further explanation was given and the impression was that it was not much “differently”.

     The third statement only ignited a wondering and inquiry into who had made Jane mad enough that she would not even meet them on the street? In public, Jane can be the sweetest thing since jelly toast. But, for her to admit that she was so put out with someone was strange. Well, not that strange since she was referencing those who had “betrayed God” and left WOFF. That left the list wide open.

Continue reading Everyone Loves Jane and Jane Loves Everyone- Sorta →