Tag Archives: Cult Criteria

Behavior Control, Peoples Temple vs WOFF, Uncategorized

Christmas- Merry?

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    After being in Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and living through the transition from celebrating Christmas with church services, decorations, watching old Christmas movies, special music services, open house nights in Greenville and gift exchanges with church members to moving away from those activities and not celebrating Christmas at all; returning to former ways is not as easy as turning on a switch. To the credit of family, friends and co-workers; the pressures to return have been light to non-existent during the first couple of years. Certain individuals would listen to my recounting of the practices and doctrines of WOFF and know that leaving Jane Whaley’s grip was not as easy as physically leaving her presence.

   The first few months out of WOFF were emotional to say the least. The first Christmas season away for WOFF and those who had joined me in the non-celebration was emotional and confusing. I saw other folks that I knew and worked with celebrating, exchanging gifts and greetings. No such rush to join the activities was in me. I clearly saw I needed the fellowship and friendship of others more than the celebration of something that just a few months previous had been despised. As in WOFF, I was grateful that the celebration only came once a year. The build-up was truly more taxing than the day itself. One of the most exasperating things to deal with was the Christmas music. Music had been such a big deal at WOFF. Duirng WOFF days, listening to non-WOFF music was a sure ticket to hell.

   I remember the night Jane “heard” that Oh, Holy Night was a birthday song and that we would not sing that one and/or other Christmas songs. Honestly, as I had continued to believe the growing list of “don’ts” pertaining to Christmas, I knew that some traditional Christmas songs sung during the “Special Music” services would soon be banned. One year, during practice for the Special Music services in December, the young married group which I belonged to was told to go the fellowship hall and chose a song to sing. The debate raged and finally Jane Whaley’s daughter got several folks to agree on a song. I don’t remember which one it was, but we sang it loud and we sang it with perpetual smiles. Does anyone else remember that?

  Continue reading Christmas- Merry? →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Thought Reform, Uncategorized

Join Us – Reflections and Comparisons (2)

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   The opening three minutes of the film “Join Us” is available below. “Join Us”. The film is presented by Interloper Films along with Lusitan and was produced by Ondi Timoner and Vasco Lucas Nunes. (Copyright© Third Floor Productions, LLC 2007). Joaquin Sullivan opens the film giving a brief introduction to his background and experience in Mountain Rock Church in Anderson, SC. He makes a statement that “It is hard to tell from the outside when a church has gone too far”. That is so true. Not until a person can learn the “rules” (verbal and non-verbal) and consequences for breaking the rules; do they know if a church – more specifically the pastor and leadership in the church – have gone too far.

     What is “too far…”?  That is a topic that some would rather ignore. But, as the years have passed, I have some insight into what is “too far”. I spent 16 years under the direct and indirect influence of the teachings of Jane Whaley at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). During my time there and now that I am out, I have more understanding as to what would be “too far…”  When a pastor and/or the leadership of a church begin to control the lives of their members as shown in the film, it is a dangerous environment for anyone- adult or child.

    Joaquin Sullivan also expresses his present doubts and questions about other churches he passes and may nothing about. He shares questions that I fully understand. It is only a natural reaction after coming through an experience like his to question any other church, their beliefs, as well as the pastor/leader. He lists his questions about other churches; is the pastor telling them who can be married, how much money to give or how much of their time is required to make it to heaven?

   This clip reveals the members from Mountain Rock Church arriving at Wellspring retreat center in order to get help with understanding what they had been involved in. The lives of the folks had been affected by the pastor- Raimund Melz and his wife. These are real people, not actors. The counselors are real people, not actors. Actual counseling sessions are shown in the film with real questions and real emotions from the former cult members. Please, take time to view the clip and consider seeing the entire documentary. It will change your ideas about cults, who can be caught in one and where to get help.

   Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog.  Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.

    Look on the right side of any post for the option to subscribe by email for notifications or RSS feeds notifying of new postings. It is a great feature. Also, find more posts by selecting “Categories”.

      (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. ) Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 228.

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Thought Reform, Uncategorized

Join Us- The Movie

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   Recently, I became aware of the documentary entitled – “Join Us”. The film is presented by Interloper Films along with Lusitan and was produced by Ondi Timoner and Vasco Lucas Nunes. (copyright© Third Floor Productions, LLC 2007) The movie is the only film I know of which shows actual cult members as they come to the knowledge of their predicament, grapple with their options, take steps to change and then face the leaders of the group. This is the introductory post in a series that will take dialog and scenes from this movie and compare them to my experience both inside and outside of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). The film has a dedicated website with supporting information. The site is www.joinusthemovie.com . We will reference the information on the website as we continue. We have added the website to our Links page found on the right side of the home page.    

    Steven Hassan, an often quoted source on this blog, is quoted on his website www.freedomofmind.com as saying, ““One of the most ambitious documentaries ever done that shows the suffering caused by authoritarian cult groups.” He appears several times in the film along with Rick Ross, a well know Cult Expert and Intervention Specialist. Rick’s website is www.rickross.com Other experts appear in the film along with Dr. Paul Martin from Wellspring. Robert Lifton is shown in several clips explaining his work on thought reform and its application to the understanding of cults. The supporting cast of cult experts is a great resource for those wanting to learn more on the subject. Also, on the website for the movie under the “Take the Cult Test” tab, there is an outline of Robert Lifton’s eight criteria for determining if a group is using thought reform.

    From the back cover of the DVD case:

“Join Us follows four families as they leave a controlling and abusive church in South Carolina and come to realize that they have been members of a cult. The film documents them intimately as they enter Wellspring, the only accredited live-in cult treatment facility in the world. At Wellspring, they learn how they were brainwashed to give up control of their lives to the Pastor and his wife, allowing their children to undergo severe abuse in order to make heaven.

Continue reading Join Us- The Movie →

Cult Leader News, Uncategorized

Jane Whaley Said…..

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    As we come to the close of this year, it is worth recounting some of the quotes from Jane Whaley. She is the leader of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, NC. Yes, what she does reflects in truth more of whom she is rather than what she says or believes; however, these jewels of “wisdom” do give us reason to pause and reflect on the questions- Who is the Jane Whaley? How does she command such loyalty from hundreds of folks in this country and hundreds in other countries? After all, she had my attention for about 16 years. The last six years, I lived inside the group and witnessed many of the golden utterances in person.

   “Your sin affects me!” This statement was uttered at a November seminar in reference to learning that an older lady in the church was gathering grocery papers from the local stores and sharing them with other church members. No one bothered to “check it out” with Jane and she exploded in a rage as she left the sanctuary. Just before she left she turned to rebuke this lady who was standing in congregation. After this blast from Jane, the lady crumbled in her seat and cried. The net effect was to warn others that WHATEVER they did, they needed to check it out with Jane since regular members could not determine what was sin and what was not… Jane only knew what sin was. Jane’s reputation in the community was/is precious to her. Does anyone doubt that? Here is the post about this to learn more… https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=143 (Bonus- in this post also explains the “sleep devil” that attacks members who can’t stay awake during her preaching!)

    “Some of you parents are saving money for your children, God said to give it.” We mentioned this statement during the post about the $50,000 offering. Wow, some folks must have believed her. Jane cried after announcing that though she was only $25,000 short, God have blessed with $50,000… From such a group, this was sizeable offering. See the post here… https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=245

    Continue reading Jane Whaley Said….. →

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Unintended Consequences?

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    Last night, I watched a report on FOX News® with John Stossel. He recounted laws, programs and moves made by our elected officials during this past year. The ones he highlighted had “unintended consequences”. Some of the people interviewed agreed and others were very unwilling to admit that the effects of these moves had been negative or even worth addressing. It was a very informative report.

   After watching this report, I wondered if this could be how some folks view Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and Jane Whaley. Could some folks be unwilling to acknowledge the negative fallout for members who are in and/or have been inside that group? Would there be some folks who see the broken relationships, emotional torment and social adjustment issues for those that leave WOFF as “unintended consequences” and therefore give Jane a free pass? Could it be possible that like some politicians that deny the harmful consequences of their policies and programs, Jane and her leadership are in denial that their doctrines, methods and practices are harmful to their members?

   Continue reading Unintended Consequences? →

Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Broken Relationships at WOFF- Why?

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    For days, I have considered the material for this post. It has been a struggle to actually put this one into words. There is no doubt that life within a group such as Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) is full of broken relationships. You may ask – Why? Why would a group calling themselves a “Protestant, non-denominational church with a Christian school (as defined by classical Christianity) and “Our Beliefs include traditional evangelical doctrines”… have so many broken relationships in the lives of present and former members? What is the cause of so many folks being cut-off or cutting themselves off from either members inside or folks outside of this group?

    Do I even have the ability to write about such things? Have I ever seen relationships torn apart while either inside or outside the group? While on the inside for so many years, what thoughts accompany the witnessing of other members as their family unit breaks apart because of WOFF ways? When I saw other families ravaged by the power of Jane Whaley to split them, what were the thoughts that helped calm what should have been obvious concerns? We will start there.

   From 1992 to 2008, I was under the sway of the teachings of Jane Whaley. The beginning years were spent in the church in Greenville, SC where the leaders were being directed and counseled by Jane Whaley and her leadership team. We could be assured that if Jane taught it at WOFF, eventually, whatever doctrine or practice, it would be brought to Greenville. Sometimes, the source of the doctrines were obvious, other times, the source was not so obvious. Looking back, it is all very obvious.

   Continue reading Broken Relationships at WOFF- Why? →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Peoples Temple vs WOFF, Uncategorized

“Sheep Stealers”? Jim Jones and Jane Whaley?

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    During the last few weeks, I have been considering some further questions about Peoples Temple and Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF).  Did Jim Jones, leader of Peoples Temple, participate in the recruitment of church members from other congregations? How do we know? (This is commonly referred to as “sheep stealing”.)  Did/does Jane Whaley, leader of WOFF participate in recruitment of church members from other congregations? How do we know? If both leaders did recruit other church members, were the techniques similar or different?    

    From the “Raven” by Tim Reiterman with John Jacobs (copyright ©1982 Tim Reiterman, Introduction copyright 2008 by Tim Reiterman, ISBN 978-1-58542-678-2); the authors tell of several attempts of Jim Jones to recruit members from other churches. Let’s look at a few examples.

    “Jones’s expansion attempts were those of an impatient and aggressive man. While on a quest for new organizational techniques in the late 1950s, he had read extensively about Father Divine, spiritual father of the gigantic Peace Mission movement. In typically direct fashion, Jim Jones drove to Philadelphia to meet the black cult leader in person.” (page 59) Father Divine has been mentioned previously on this blog. Here is another link to read about the sharecropper turned “self-proclaimed “Dean of the Universe,”..(page 58)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctrine_of_Father_Divine

   Continue reading “Sheep Stealers”? Jim Jones and Jane Whaley? →