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Who is Jane Whaley?
Jane Whaley is the pastor at the Word of Faith Fellowship—a conservative, charismatic Christian church with around 700 members.
But she’s not your ordinary church leader. Those who have left the church describe her as a ruthless cult leader. The world doesn’t don’t know much about her. Where did she come from? How did she assume power? I spoke with John Huddle, a former Word of Faith Fellowship member, to learn more about Jane Whaley’s past.
Jane Whaley—The early years
Here’s what we know. Jane Whaley, whose maiden name is Jane Brock, grew up Baptist in a small town in North Carolina. In high school, she was on the swim and soccer teams. After graduating from Appalachian State University, she got a job teaching high school math. Soon, she fell in love with a car salesman named Sam Whaley. They got married and had a baby girl named Robin. Those who knew her back then say she was a motherly figure who showed spiritual guidance to those struggling with drugs, alcohol, or bad marriages. By all accounts, she lived a perfectly normal life.
Back in the 80s Jane’s husband, Sam Whaley, got a job as a staff preacher at Rhema Bible Training College in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sam’s job was to travel the world and preach the “prosperity gospel”—Pray loud enough and God will answer your prayers. And while Sam was away, Jane Whaley began to assume control. According to John Huddle, Jane Whaley started holding deliverance sessions not sanctioned by Rhema ministries. When Kenneth Hagin, the founder of the Word of Faith movement, discovered what she was doing, he asked Sam to leave the church. Sam and Jane moved back to North Carolina. Free from the shadows of Kenneth Hagin and his ministries, Jane was able to preach her version of the gospel. It’s during this time, when God spoke to Sam saying, “Jane is the pastor.”
Who is Sam Whaley?
So, what is Sam Whaley like? We never really hear about him. Everyone who’ve I met says he’s super friendly and always laughing. He’s one of those guys who has a story for everything. The kind of guy who can disarm you with a smile. The same skills that taught him how to sell a used car are probably the same skills he uses from the pulpit. To this day, Sam Whaley is the only ordained minister at the Word of Faith Fellowship. But I get the sense that his wife Jane, not an ordained minister, never really liked his brand of leadership. Jane accused him of having religious devils, which are false religious devils. She accused him of reading his bible too much. John Huddle says he was there when she made this declaration. “He was a good old boy. He wanted you to like to him,” says John Huddle. “When survivors come and they talk about being a youth or a child inside of that group, they don’t say they were afraid of Sam. They say that they were afraid of Jane.”
Word of Faith Fellowship Rules
Former members say that Jane Whaley went from being a sweet motherly figure to a dictator controlling their every move. Here are some of the rules former members describe following:
1. Don’t drink alcohol. (includes beer, wine or liquor)
2. Don’t cook with alcohol.
3. Don’t eat at places that serve alcohol.
4. Don’t drink “Root beer”
5. Don’t drink Cheerwine
6. Don’t drink diet Cheerwine
7. Don’t drink ginger ale
8. Don’t smoke cigarettes
64. Don’t wear cargo pants
65. Don’t wear or own anything with Nike on it
66. Don’t wear black tennis shoes.
84. Don’t decorate your house unless Jane or her helper can help you
85. Don’t buy a car without checking with Sam first
86. Don’t sell a car or truck without checking with Sam first
132. Men: African American- Don’t shave your head bald
133. Don’t start a relationship without checking it out with Jane Whaley
134. Don’t decide who you will marry without checking it out with Jane
135. Don’t talk to the other person who you are in a relationship with unless someone is listening and “guarding the conversation”
See the full list of rules here.
John Huddle is the author of the book “Locked In” about his time at the Word of Faith Fellowship. I also recommend you follow his blog.
To listen to the first episode in the series, go to The Prophet Revisited (episode s301.)
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Great episode. Looking forward to the next episode.