Tag Archives: joining a cult

The Questions Keep Coming- Why Do People Join Cults? (1)

There are few weeks that go by in which I do not talk to or communicate in some way with a survivor of a cult. These contacts are not always survivors of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Early on in my journey of seeking answers and writing this blog, I came in contact with survivors of other groups and after speaking for a short time, we would most always agree on some common points for methods of recruitment or control of members in our respective groups. On occasion, I have been in conversations where would tell the most extreme characteristic of our group and wait for the other person to try and top it! Laughter would often ensue which we preferred over crying. Common threads would emerge and we often would express our surprise that other groups employed similar measures and had similar results.

Two areas that often receive a lot of attention are how a person went in to the group and how they came out. The coming out usually had more emotional drama than the going in. Who would imagine that? I will never forget the question of a person I worked with when I first explained why my life was changing in 2008. “How could an intelligent person like you get involved in something like that?” My first response was “One lie at a time…” Now, at the time, I was thinking about my believing one lie at a time and ignoring the uncomfortable feeling inside that was trying to get my attention. I can’t say I always could tell a lie from the truth. But, many times, I at least had a faint awareness that something was not right. The part I did not see at the time was the guided planned effort of WOFF and other groups to base their recruitment on those lies and thus count on deception to obtain new members.

All of this has been in the fore front of my thinking these last few days as the week’s events have unfolded. Just this evening, I commented to another survivor, “The longer you are out, the more lies you learn about that were used against you while inside.” And just because you leave, does not mean you are able to instantly tell what was a manufactured lie told you inside and what the actual truth was about a situation. It is odd that once you leave you are instantly called a liar when you try to tell what truthfully happened while inside WOFF. I suppose a person inside needs to label outsiders liars to protect themselves from having to recognize the truth inside their group and cause them even more mental anguish over their own choices.

Continue reading The Questions Keep Coming- Why Do People Join Cults? (1)

But There Is No Pain? (sorta)

     Recently, I was reminded of a typical experience of someone who has been lured into Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) which is lead by Jane Whaley. No experience is considered the exact same, but there are similarities to be sure. Some folks meet a WOFF member on their job on in some other way in the community. It may be at a softball game, a department store, a business meeting. Somehow the contact is made and the relationship begins. The WOFF member seeks to gain trust and at some point bring up the question of relationship with God. The normally unsuspecting person begins to respond to the inquiries and soon may be invited to WOFF for a special service of some type or even a Friday night fellowship. Once at WOFF, other members would notice the new person and automatically go and “show themselves friendly”. All this is meant to dispel any negative notions of the new person(s) from what they might have heard previously. You know “rumors out in the county…”

    At some point, the new person would be brought to meet Jane so she can “get a feel for that person”.  Since Jane would have already been briefed and determined if they could attend, the next step would be to “help them see their need for Jesus”. The WOFF recruiter would get a telephone number and begin “keeping in touch” with the interested person. Many times, the member of WOFF (recruiter) would be told by Jane or someone in leadership, how to help this new person keep coming. Objections raised by the new person may or may not be answered directly. Many times, vague replies would be given, enough to soothe the doubt and keep the person coming. The needs of the new person would be met in some way, either with transportation, money or food or just loving, caring, acceptance.  Many folks are not aware of all the religious or lifestyle ramifications of joining a group like WOFF. They are just drawn in by the “love bombing”- special attention that every new person receives.

     Continue reading But There Is No Pain? (sorta)