19 min listen
S705: The Word of Faith Fellowship Update
S705: The Word of Faith Fellowship Update
ratings:
Length:
75 minutes
Released:
Mar 2, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
If you haven't listened to The Prophet series, start here:
http://pretendradio.org/the-prophet-word-of-faith-fellowship-revisited/
When I first started this podcast, I reported on a secretive church located in the foothills in western North Carolina called the Word of Faith Fellowship.
The church is accused of being a cult and separating families—forcing them to break ties with non-believers.
One teenager named Matthew Fenner pressed charges against five church ministers because he said they beat the gay demons out of him.
And that's just the beginning. Several former members reported being forced into isolation in what is known as the lower building. Some male congregants say they lived in this makeshift storage unit for over a year. But perhaps they're best remembered for their signature style of prayer. It's known as blasting. As you can hear in this secret audio recording, blasting is a form of deliverance meant to cast out the devil.
It has been said that crying babies were often held down and yelled at until the devil released its grip on the child. I've experienced blasting first hand. In 2018, I was personally invited by the church's leader,
Jane Whaley, to spend the day at the Word of Faith Fellowship. While interviewing her in her office, Jane Whaley looked me straight in the eyes, opened her mouth, and began shouting. It was terrifying. To this day, I still get chills.
It's been 2 years since I finished my 11-part series on the Word of Faith. Since then, I've been flooded with emails asking me to give them an update. They want to know, have there been any new allegations of abuse?
Have any of the church leaders faced any criminal charges? Is Jane Whaley still running the church? Today, I plan to answer some of these questions.
______
Story idea?
If you have a story to share, email Javier at info [at] pretendradio [dot] org.
For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.
To get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donate
Today's episode was written by Javier Leiva and edited by Logan Castrodale
Reference:
Covid-19 Timelines:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_States_(2020)
https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus
Threats against Word of Faith church over coronavirus rumor https://www.charlotteobserver.com/article242307531.html
Word of Faith church in NC received a PPP loan amid COVID https://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article244084852.html
Lotz International LLC v. Burnette:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17404523/lotz-international-llc-v-burnette/
Case against Facebook commenters moves to state court:
https://www.shelbystar.com/story/special/2020/09/23/case-against-facebook-commenters-moves-to-state-court/43180133/
Former Word of Faith member charged with breaking into minister's home: https://wlos.com/news/local/former-world-of-faith-member-charged-with-breaking-into-ministers-home
Word of Faith member reaches plea deal in fraud scam:
https://wlos.com/news/local/word-of-faith-member-reaches-plea-deal-in-fraud-scam
Trump March:
https://youtu.be/yxUksEHZGag?t=350
Trump Rally:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7VJtRZBy-M
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
http://pretendradio.org/the-prophet-word-of-faith-fellowship-revisited/
When I first started this podcast, I reported on a secretive church located in the foothills in western North Carolina called the Word of Faith Fellowship.
The church is accused of being a cult and separating families—forcing them to break ties with non-believers.
One teenager named Matthew Fenner pressed charges against five church ministers because he said they beat the gay demons out of him.
And that's just the beginning. Several former members reported being forced into isolation in what is known as the lower building. Some male congregants say they lived in this makeshift storage unit for over a year. But perhaps they're best remembered for their signature style of prayer. It's known as blasting. As you can hear in this secret audio recording, blasting is a form of deliverance meant to cast out the devil.
It has been said that crying babies were often held down and yelled at until the devil released its grip on the child. I've experienced blasting first hand. In 2018, I was personally invited by the church's leader,
Jane Whaley, to spend the day at the Word of Faith Fellowship. While interviewing her in her office, Jane Whaley looked me straight in the eyes, opened her mouth, and began shouting. It was terrifying. To this day, I still get chills.
It's been 2 years since I finished my 11-part series on the Word of Faith. Since then, I've been flooded with emails asking me to give them an update. They want to know, have there been any new allegations of abuse?
Have any of the church leaders faced any criminal charges? Is Jane Whaley still running the church? Today, I plan to answer some of these questions.
______
Story idea?
If you have a story to share, email Javier at info [at] pretendradio [dot] org.
For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.
To get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donate
Today's episode was written by Javier Leiva and edited by Logan Castrodale
Reference:
Covid-19 Timelines:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_States_(2020)
https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus
Threats against Word of Faith church over coronavirus rumor https://www.charlotteobserver.com/article242307531.html
Word of Faith church in NC received a PPP loan amid COVID https://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article244084852.html
Lotz International LLC v. Burnette:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17404523/lotz-international-llc-v-burnette/
Case against Facebook commenters moves to state court:
https://www.shelbystar.com/story/special/2020/09/23/case-against-facebook-commenters-moves-to-state-court/43180133/
Former Word of Faith member charged with breaking into minister's home: https://wlos.com/news/local/former-world-of-faith-member-charged-with-breaking-into-ministers-home
Word of Faith member reaches plea deal in fraud scam:
https://wlos.com/news/local/word-of-faith-member-reaches-plea-deal-in-fraud-scam
Trump March:
https://youtu.be/yxUksEHZGag?t=350
Trump Rally:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7VJtRZBy-M
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Released:
Mar 2, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
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