Tag Archives: Word of Faith Fellowship

Uncategorized, WFCS Holocasut Museum, WOFF Updates

Is Your Conscience For Sale? How Would You Know?

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Last Monday evening, October 12th, I was privileged to sit among the leadership of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and witness the Honorable Judge Martin Reidinger deliver a presentation on the Nuremberg Trials. As mentioned in a previous post, the irony of the whole night was stark and at times overwhelming. Before the Judge began his delivery, Karel Reynolds opened with a few remarks noting the 15th of October 1945 as the day the Nazi party was dissolved. She mentioned two other statements which I have not been able to forget. She mentioned the results of the Holocaust showed us “…what human beings are capable of…” and that education was not the only answer to stopping such atrocities. Hitler had highly educated scientists and engineers working for him.

As proof of that, in preparation for the prosecution of the defendants at the Nuremberg Trials, each was administered intelligence tests and psychiatric evaluations. (here) Karel quoted Hermann Goering, a leading member of the Nazi party, to say, “I have no conscience. Adolf Hitler is my conscience.” Mr. Goering’s intelligence test score was 138. That score is listed as “gifted.” (2.3% of test takers score this range).

What was Karel’s point? I took it to mean that intelligence will not stop a person from selling or giving away control of their conscience. Karel, was I right?
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Uncategorized, WFCS Holocasut Museum, WOFF Updates

Judge Reidinger Delivers Irony- Who Heard It?

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Judge Reidinger speaks on the Nuremberg Trial
Judge Reidinger speaks on the Nuremberg Trial

Monday, October 12, 2015; Federal Judge, The Honorable Martin Reidinger, United States District Court Judge for the Western District of North Carolina delivered a methodical presentation on “The Nuremberg Trial: Legacy and Impact In Our Generation.” The event was held at the Mildred H. Keeter Auditorium at Cleveland Community College in Shelby, NC. Karel Reynolds, Holocaust Instructor for the College, Principal of the Word of Faith Fellowship Christian School and according to her recent court testimony, head of the video ministry at Word of Faith Fellowship hosted the event.

The calendar for Cleveland Community College specified 200 as the seating limit. Even before, I made it to the building; this clearly was a Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) event with possibly two-thirds or more of the audience consisting of leadership, youth, young adults and children. At first, Jane Whaley was sitting with her class, near the front, beside Brock. However, shortly before the event began, Jane received a text, looked over her left should and then her right. Right then, she heard God to give her seat to someone else. I don’t know if she sat in the back or left the gathering all together. I did not see her after she left her seat.

Let me apologize for stepping on Dr. Jerry Gross’ shoe when I passed in the aisle. Oh, clumsy me. I took a seat right behind Gerald and Linda Southerland and Gloria and Larry King. No, there were no handshakes or warm greetings. Looks of surprise, shock and disgust were more common. Expected. My main purpose was to consume what I believed would be overwhelming delicious irony while sitting among WOFF members listening to a presentation on the Nuremberg Trial. The whole scene was too inviting and I was willing to take the stares and grumpy faces just to witness what promised to be a night of unforgettable remarks. I did not have to wait long for the appetizers to be served.
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Uncategorized, WOFFGATE

NC Court of Appeals to Review Judge Pope’s Orders (Court Docs +)

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Update in the Matthew Fenner Case:
The NC Court of Appeals granted the request for writ of certiorari submitted on September 15th by Josh Farmer on behalf of the three defendants, Brooke Covington, Justin Covington and Sarah Anderson. Rccatalyst.com reported this ruling on Monday. From the article which quotes the order:

“Defendants’ petition for writ of certiorari is allowed for the purpose of reviewing the order entered on 6 August 2015 by Judge Marvin Pope, Jr. granting the State’s motion to disqualify counsel and the order entered on 27 August 2015 by Judge Pope denying the Defendants’ motion for reconsideration. It appearing the defendants have retained appellate counsel and are not seeking court-appointed counsel, the appeal shall be deemed taken as of the date of this order. The record on appeal shall thereafter be settled as provided in Appellate Rule 11 and filed in the Court as provided by Appellate Rule 12.

Defendant’s petition for writ of supersedeas is also allowed… and all further trial court proceedings are hereby stayed pending the outcome of defendants’ appeal to this Court.”

Included in the quoted article is a copy of the docket sheet for the case showing 10/5/15 as the date of the ruling.

What does this mean? From a layman’s perspective, this means the trial could actually be delayed for several months at a minimum. It appears to me that the first step will be to acquire the transcripts from the Superior Court sessions on August 3rd and August 27th. Those could take up to 60 days from the date of the initial request for the transcripts. After those are submitted to the appropriate parties, there comes a set time frame for each party to the appeal to agree on the accuracy of the submitted materials.
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Books, Resources

Locked in – Daily Courier, Book Signings and Kindle

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Thursday, October 1, 2015- Austin Bailey of the Daily Courier published a story about my book, “Locked in.” He included a picture and a few quotes I gave him earlier in the day… Thank you, Austin, for contacting me and running the story. The response has been favorable. See article here.

Book Signings in Myrtle Beach, SC

For those familiar with my story, you know the role my mom took in helping me leave the Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). I detailed the destruction of my family in the third part of “Locked in.” It seemed only fitting that my first appearance for a book signing would be among her friends, and students from her memoir writing classes. This past Friday afternoon, over fifty folks crowded into a room at Brightwater Retirement Community in Myrtle Beach. My mom introduced me by recapping the events surrounding my daughter’s graduation in June 2008. From there I began telling about my time in WOFF. I read the Dedication, Acknowledgement and Prologue to “Locked in.” The expressions on the faces of those listening let me know many were hearing about cult involvement for the first time. Before I ended, I shared about the work of the Faith Freedom Fund and asked for donations. Then, I opened the floor for questions. It has been a while since my last public speaking appearance and the occasional awkward moments of silence were uncomfortable for me, but did not seem to bother the listeners.

Saturday, we returned to the same room for a birthday party for my friend and resident of Brightwater. She is turning 100 years old on Tuesday. It was a festive occasion. I wore a special purple shirt in honor of her and that was new ground for me. There were more people than the room could hold as many relatives and friends dropped in to honor her. She requested a copy of “Locked in” and I was only too glad to oblige.
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Books, Resources, Uncategorized

WLOS Features – “Locked in” by John Huddle

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Tuesday was another busy day. This news piece was initiated, arranged, shot, edited and went live all in one day. Sure my part was easy, show-up, talk and go home. The WLOS reporter and the news team did the hard work. Thank you, to Ashlea Surles and the entire new staff for putting together a concise story about my time in Word of Faith Fellowship and my departure. Thank you, also to the McDowell County Library in Marion for allowing us space to shoot the video. At first, talking in a library seemed against the rules! But, we had permission.

From the text-

“When you’re inside the group, you don’t concentrate on what you’re giving up, you concentrate on what you think you’re gaining, which is a relationship with God and God’s people and salvation,” said Huddle. “A lot of the restraints are out of fear, fear that you will lose your family, fear that you will lose your job, fear that you will lose your house.”

There is hope. Anyone can wake up and take back their life.

Season of Changes is upon us.

Follow this blog on Twitter- @religiouscults and Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/johnhuddleauthor
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Recap of Events, Motions, and Letters in Fenner Case as of 9/25/15 (court docs)

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There is a lot of ground to cover in this post. We will begin with a timeline of known events, filings and letters issued during the last few weeks. Some of these events have already been covered or mentioned here. Also, we will note which ones have been reported by Rccatalyst.com.

In summary, five defendants from the Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) were indicted in January of this year on several charges including felony assault and second degree kidnapping stemming from events on January 27, 2013. The five defendants include Brooke M. Covington, Justin B. Covington, Sarah Covington Anderson, Robert Lewis Walker, Jr. and Adam Bartley. Tomblin, Farmer & Morris (TFM) started out as counsel for the five. After hearing a Motion to Disqualify TFM on August 3rd, Judge Marvin Pope issued an ORDER of Disqualification of TFM and their associates for representing any of the five. Adam Bartley and Robert Lewis Walker, Jr. have since secured counsel. Bartley’s attorney is Robert Denton and Robert Walker’s attorney is Matthew Cabe. Both attorneys practice in Morganton. TFM filed a Motion to Reconsider the Disqualification and took on Angela Beeker to argue for them. August 27th, Judge Pope issued an ORDER denying the Motion to Reconsider Disqualification.

9/11/15- Letter from Assistant District Attorney Garland Byers to Attorney Denton (not placed in court file until 9/18) (Rccatalyst.com 9/26) Byers explains the State’s position with Bartley’s bond and offered plea. Byers points out that Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) holds the security (land) for the bond and for any reason or no reason have the option to withdraw their security. This could land Bartley in jail until other means or considerations for a bond are made. The power that WOFF has in holding the bonds of all five defendants is a matter of concern or Byers and he is seeking a way of “eliminating this situation.” In this letter, Byers admits concerning the plea, he is “keeping the offer open and disregarding your client’s premature rejection…” This is not a surprise in my eyes.

9/14/15- Attorney Beeker files Motion to Withdraw from counsel and Motion to Continue – Motion to Withdraw has not been heard because of the Stay issued 9/17, therefore Beeker remains as counsel for Brooke, Justin and Sarah- in the eyes of Superior Court. (Rccatalyst.com 9/15)
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Books, Resources, Locked in, Uncategorized

Locked in –Released!

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Locked in
Front cover- Locked in by John Huddle

The following is a brief description of the book and the special offer of a bonus book for ordering today. Share this post and please, write a review on Amazon.com after you read the book. Thank you… I will post more on the Fenner case later today..

Here is the link – Amazon US
Amazon Great Britain

For many years, residents of tri-city area of Rutherfordton, Spindale, and Forest City, NC have witnessed the unique appearances and behaviors of the members of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Now, one survivor tells his view of life inside this ever-smiling, well dressed, standoffish group. John Huddle’s book, “Locked in”, reveals the oppressive inner dynamics and resulting behaviors which have proven a lightning rod for stares and hushed questions from those who observe WOFF members. This account goes into detail about the signature practice of loud prayer and blasting deliverance. John includes details regarding the efficient fund raising techniques employed by the group to support the affluent lifestyle of the leader- Jane Whaley. Throughout the story, the personal account of his journey is intertwined with observations and details of the many unwritten rules and essential beliefs which control each member. You will learn which freedoms the regular members surrender in order to stay inside this cloistered subculture. “Locked in” answers many questions which onlookers have asked for years.

Take a few minutes to order this book on Monday, September 21st. Begin learning many of the secrets behind the lily white doors of WOFF. You will find it at Amazon.com searching- “Locked in-John Huddle.” After you order on Monday, return a copy of the receipt or your order number by email to author@religiouscultsinfo.com or john@johnhuddle.net and receive a link to a .pdf copy of the book which helped John see through the haze of WOFF. This second book is out of print; however the download of 253 pages is free. In addition, a portion of each sale of “Locked in” will be donated to the Faith Freedom Fund- a non-profit organization purposed to help survivors of high-demand groups. John Huddle serves as a member of the Faith Freedom Fund. Please, share this offer with your friends and neighbors. It is much appreciated.

Thank you—for supporting my efforts to tell my story! Tell a friend, share this post.

Learn more about the Faith Freedom Fund here- https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=1039

Again, here is the link to order- Amazon US

Season for Changes rolls on…
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