Broken Faith - Inside the Word of Faith Fellowship, One of America's Most Dangerous Cults - Mitch Weiss Page 0,6

all. She found satisfaction in volunteering for nursery and kitchen duty at the church and school, babysitting, and carpooling, helping other mothers the same way she had been helped.

Even if she and Rick had nothing in common except their children and church activities, by early 1994 Suzanne felt hopeful and happy.

* * *

After Blair was born, Wanda Henderson came from Florida to meet her new grandson and give Suzanne a hand. She found her daughter had changed.

The Suzanne she knew loved to gossip about her sisters and updated her mom on her children’s progress in math, their outgrown shoes, the funny things they said. She’d sometimes complain about Rick, but then they’d talk about politics or movies.

But now her daughter only wanted to talk about Jane Whaley and Word of Faith Fellowship.

Wanda worried. Suzanne was a caretaker, a natural follower; she had always been easily led.

She was sad when her daughter went to North Carolina, but she knew if she’d gone to Florida it would’ve meant the end of Suzanne’s marriage. Suzanne had grown up without a father, and she didn’t want her children to suffer that fate.

Wanda recalled the first time she heard Jane Whaley’s name. A month or so after the Coopers settled in, Wanda sent nine-year-old Lena a pair of shiny white ankle boots. Soon after, during a church service, Jane criticized Suzanne for letting her daughter wear “go-go boots” to church.

“Parents, God cares what we wear and what we allow our children to wear,” Whaley said. “We’ve got to mind how our children are dressed.”

Embarrassed, Suzanne called her mother after the service and told her what had happened.

“The preacher stopped the church service to tell you that Lena wasn’t dressed right?” Wanda asked.

“Yes. I don’t know what to think,” her daughter said. “They’re just a fun pair of little-girl shoes.”

“Goodness, I don’t think I would want to go to a church where they tell you how you can dress your kids,” Wanda said.

Suzanne was quiet for a moment. “Well, it’s not that bad,” she said softly. “I just didn’t expect it. But maybe they are too grown-up a look for a little girl. Jane was probably right.”

Wanda had come to North Carolina to cuddle the new baby, but while she was in town she decided to see Jane Whaley for herself.

The Sunday service was weirder than Wanda could have imagined. In the sanctuary there were no windows, no natural light. No pews. The wall-to-wall burgundy carpet was covered in rows of stackable chairs. Five steps led up to a stage with a big arrangement of artificial flowers. A lectern—Jane’s pulpit—stood in the middle, surrounded by drab white walls. Ornate bronze chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

The congregation was striking. Everyone was dressed in suits, ties, dresses, and heels, like they were attending a wedding or a funeral. Back in Ocala, many churchgoers wore jeans. The preachers Wanda knew didn’t care what people wore, as long as they showed up on Sunday morning.

Recorded music filled the room, and at the crescendo, Jane Whaley swept to the pulpit like a movie star at a premiere. Whaley looked the part, Wanda thought, with that white St. John Knits dress and a tailored jacket, a thick gold necklace, and bracelets on each wrist. Her fingers sparkled with diamonds.

She stepped to the pulpit, and the service took a surreal turn, a strange mix of Home Shopping Network and televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. The glamorous preacher pulled a pair of ladies’ shoes from behind the lectern and lifted them up to show the congregation.

“God is speaking to us today,” she shouted. “Who has it in their heart that these belong to you?”

A woman raised her hand. “I feel led to have those shoes,” she said.

What the hell? Wanda thought.

Whaley presented another pair of shoes, which were quickly claimed by another congregant. Then a belt, and a blouse. Wanda scratched her head. Is this church, or an auction?

Whaley and Brooke Covington, her most trusted confidante, loved shopping for bargains at discount clothing stores. They often brought their booty to church services and “shared the blessings” with the community, Suzanne explained later.

When her shopping bag was empty, Whaley opened with a Bible verse and began to preach. But to Wanda, it was more of a public shaming than a sermon. One after the other, Whaley singled out her followers, using Scripture to describe the sin in their lives. When time came for the offering, the plate was sent around the church three times.

Wanda felt a