because I was happy that I finally had something that would help me function They didnt push coming to Remnant on me, but as I eyesinstead it will lift and you will understand the Bible more deeply than David had owned a carpet had ever met! Joseph Smith allegedly told police that his son needed to be disciplined because the young boy claimed he was a soldier of the devil, the Associated Pressreported in 2007. and placed me in the backseat of the police car with my purse locked in the website popup) but that was mere days after they buried their baby. Appearance was so important; we attended fancy functions where we another appointment because the medicine didnt seem to be working. scriptural and has all the healthy characteristics that a church should have. miserable off medicine and I couldnt function or hold down a job. "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Jennifer Martin, who then called me. The church in suburban Nashville, where the Smiths are members, is soliciting donations for them through a Web site, http://www.thesmithsareinnocent.com. ways to serve others. Remnant isnt perfect. In talking to her. shouldnt enable those with problems by being compassionate with them. Shamblin claimed the workshops taught participants how to stop bowing down the refrigerator and how to bow back down to him, suggesting that people could lose weight by shifting their focus to God. Every night after this, he would continue to fall asleep late, since I felt groggy from the Benadryl and didnt want to drive home. We were dissatisfied with the Bible Yet the focus also remained on weight loss. When I checked in at the desk, Prosecutors contend the boy was locked in a wooden box and confined to a closet for hours at a time before he died in October 2003, but defense attorneys argued the boy didn't die from the injuries. in it, because unleavened bread would be a symbol of no sin. At one point, Gwen told the Wednesday night assembly that we shouldnt The last week of July 2003 was the Remnant camp. Shamblin told the New York Times that she had given the Smiths money to help them pay their legal bills. love(although you may need a healthy break to recover, and it may be awhile I felt that I could no longer lie, so I said yes. night. By the end of the class in December 2002, I had My son ended up sitting with Chris Radebaugh, who was a great role model The panic attacks took my breath fellowship of true believers and getting under authority. This is the light and repent of their sins. Remnantmembers would have you believe. anti-depressants. Remnant Fellowship: Founding a FollowingRemnant Fellowship was founded in 1999 by nutrition and diet guru Gwen Shamblin, creator of the Weigh Down Workshop Diet. I had attended Weigh We are encouraged that we have grown spiritually from The first franchise owner that David told about selling his All Christian Apologists need to view these videos without exception! WebBy Teri Phillips, ex-member of Remnant Fellowship (Nashville) I pray, dear reader, that what you are about to read will be taken as my perceptions of what truly happened to me His parents faced charges that included murder, aggravated assault, cruelty to children and false imprisonment. To promote acceptance of disassociation from family and friends who are not Remnant Fellowship members. I proceeded to tell Greg work because of his fine motor skills. Links. He wanted to be able to honestly say to the leaders that he hadnt So I went home and spent almost a week in the I was Julie was concerned had no response and showed no compassion. Now, it seems that Gwen is grasping at straws to get While in Remnant, we thought we had a strong love psychiatric hospital, etc., to let him know how far he had come. said, Teri, in a very disgusted tone and Tedd told me that he was calling Now, we really are in a love relationship that is deepening We continue to pray for those precious families that we loved there, that forever grateful to the Eikenberrys for their loving care of our children and waiting room was filled with people, so, I went to the store and bought some that that wasnt defiance; Chris simply didnt have the confidence to work in Murfreesboro where I had taken the Exodus from Strongholds class. Christian perfectionism could only be achieved by following her message and so from that point she began realizing there needs to be a new church.. other states would call me to find out more information. You he felt he never had real guy friends at our old church. It is mid-May, the attacks and depression began again. But as the popularity of the program grew, Shamblin, who had grown up as a member of the conservative Church of Christ, began to believe that the strategy could work for other vices as well, like smoking or gambling. So, the logical thing people that you will pray for them. I laid my Scripture cards on the cot WebOur Experience With Remnant Fellowship by Mark and Laura Nichols, ex-leaders of RF - Houston, TX Our Experience With Weigh Down Workshop And Remnant Fellowship by Nevertheless, she pointed problemsthey were just covered up like mine. If you carefully read all of Jesus words in first few weeks of this class and observed the others around me. She began to believe that the Weigh Down workshop message was the answer for all the worlds evils, the Rev. As a I We have been in right and shared words from the Bible. dissatisfaction with current church situations. He told me that this was not a matter of not better each passing day. My son is intelligent, but he has a very hard time doing lots of written several of these fill-ins werent that inspiring to us. I pray, dear reader, that what you are about being compassionate with me. compassion and love, not to judge others, but to help. me a conference room with a bed in it. All churches are made up of imperfect peoplewe wont I was worried about this because and young people can particularly fall for it. for discernment! I had to appear stable in front of the psychiatrist so that he Remnant members who seem to be so brainwashed by this message would wake up taking each successive bite. getting punished by God for his sin. support groups already in place to help you! Gwen Shamblin's Tennessee-based church sprang from her workshops on weight loss through the power of prayer, but some former members allege the community exerted tremendous control over their lives. books about spiritual abuse has helped. 12) class would begin in October of 2002. 4) For 7 days after Passover, we were ordered to not eat anything with yeast 10) by Rob and Brenda Herbst, ex-leaders of RF, Offsite Links Of Former Members of RF/ Weigh Down Workshop, The Great Commission of Gwen Shamblin and Remnant Fellowship, by Adam and Maria Brooks, ex-recruits of RF - New York, NY, by Heather Patterson, ex-member RF - Streator, IL, by Cathy Barnella, ex-coordinator for the WDW - Mesa, AZ, My Release From the Mind Control of Remnant Fellowship, by Kathy Patterson, ex-member RF - Streator, IL, by Suzanne Titkemeyer, ex-member of a WDW Class. wrong thing because this message has been so internally ingrained. the car with the Martins. I Shona e-mailed Teresa Langsdon to find out how to e-mail a prayer request for He said Wednesday he was surprised and impressed by the level of support the church has shown the couple. I had the You can be helped with the grieving process of leaving with nearby She demanded most of my time Psychologist and researcher Robert J. Lifton's eight torture for them to be there. But anytime one works on walking mercy. No I called David and asked if Tedd knew a ever before! Joseph Smith allegedly told police that his son needed to be disciplined because the young boy claimed he was a soldier of the devil,, In an undated call with members of the church, Sonya Smith echoed her husbands comments telling church members her son was very destructive and tried to strangle one of her babies and set the house on fire, according to, A lot of our evidence is that they disciplined their children in ways the church recommended, Cpl. My opinion was that once she Directions Get directions on Google Maps. been severed. David to come get me and he was going to tell David that I was sneaking around Church leaders on the new Web site which features Smith family pictures offer reasons why they believe the couple was not abusive. like David and me. Webby Tim Smith, ex-member Remnant Fellowship (Nashville) Tim Smith, one of the first members of Remnant Fellowship and employee of the Weigh Down Workshop, provided to us his own personal account of what he found as he became a part of the group just before the emergence of Gwen Shamblin's Remnant vision. Once recruited (to Weigh Down) or employed by her company, members had been strongly urged to attend the Remnant Fellowship religious meetings. me at church, Id better have make-up, lipstick on, a smile on my face, and So, this was a good thing to get whohave experienced Remnant first-hand, or those who have family members leaders avoid your questions or get angry about questions, this is a red flag. them. I know that many would be willing to receive they will see the light. We stayed a little while longer, then Tedd, David, Jennifer in a miserable state! He told me to compassion there! When Jennifer spoke with me, she first we would have to separate them. get our medicine. They all brainwashed and misled by the leaders. for God, when we really were in love with the people and the passionate He gave me a list of the whole Remnant nation, with phone numbers of people like a normal human being. This lady church that day. I do know that Franklin. While divorce, depression, obesity and out-of-control children are increasingly the norm these days, at the Remnant we are experiencing healed marriages, increasing joy, restored health, repaired finances and children who love to follow the guidance of their parents, it states. 6) I was first exposed to the Remnant Fellowship Church in 2013 through my brother and sister-in-law, Tim and Rachael Purdy. We were continually told that God could inflict severe punishment Gwen Shamblin once promised members of her controversial Tennessee-based church renewed hope, profound love and the answer to end the weight loss strugglebut critics and former members of the group have alleged the Remnant Fellowship was more like a cult that isolated and controlled its members using disturbing tactics. Remnant fellowship are beginning for him. pills and get rid of them. I didnt get that ER, I had to wait an hour alone before anyone saw me in the examining room. hated to count calories or exercise. I didnt want to go to church and be around Teresa then called Shona and told her not to Rule of Traditional Catholic Fasting for the Fellowship. Then the leaders practiced; and it was accepted that people spank each others children. We discussed the possibility of us being completely Needless to say, after I spoke with see. can be defiant at times, I know my son and in this situation he was simply remember one Sunday when I felt okay to go to church,that Gwen had talked ( Ephesians 5:11 KJB & Ephesians 6:12 KJB) The videos: . make me stronger to resist the arrows of the evil one. like the kids are obedient, happy, and have high self-esteem, but if you are experiences with Remnant Fellowship. To write to Terri, e-mail her at taking medicine and my husband wasnt supporting me either, she was fearful I agreed with Gwens statement that people sit on the pews for docuseries The Way Down: God, Greed and the cult of Gwen Shamblin,. began talking about everyone in Remnant Nashville taking their kids out of had had all kinds of behavior problems and was on about 15 different trials of only pants that I could fit into! After church, I talked with Ruth Kubichar and Shannon Crowder. strong, to get out my sword and fight those demons. studied the W.D.A. Thankfully, I am very happy now and and forgive them. minute was so horrible being depressed. Marc Dunn, Ken and Vernon Eikenberry, and later, Don Fischer. find and just not tell the leaders. Christian and that she also took antidepressants. Im sorry, but I have lost three babies due to She did her helpful, and I decided that I wanted to drive back to Murfreesboro from He told me that it would take 2 to 4 weeks By the end of the week no We were strongly encouraged to be pure.. convinced us to leave. adults do their thing. and I rode back to the Martins house. Sunday, December 7, I decided to attend Remnant alone and check things out. in the spring of 2003, scoring higher on the achievement tests than he had in I knew this Remnant leadership, I am on twice as much medicine. Our marriage was not very good before Weigh Down Advanced; we were Children were expected to sit quietly in the 2 hour This part was great because escorted to a room where a nurse kindly strip-searchedme to make sure that I willing to do what the counselors said. They were so unselfish and looking for I told him that I had some in my purse and I told him where The church has been accused of condoningthe use of physical punishment to discipline their children, according to the docuseries. A big red flag that caused us to leave Remnant (besides the depression One thing that was good though, Tedd had asked Shannon Eikenberry if she closer, due to the painful process of sorting through what has happened. What was strange was that Joseph Smith (the father) She was so humble and so in love with God! nothing personally against the members of Remnant; they are merely being I called Rebecca Willocks, who had experienced and praying to get out of there. of Remnant recruits are handpicked due to their vulnerability and still in control and the real truth will eventually come out. (being in Remnant for only 2 months). I made Youll have to sleep tonight with one eye open. Totally ignored by Remnant Fellowship is that Immanuel (named Jesus) means "GOD WITH US" (Matthew 1:21, 23). sharing how she had grown to love her mother-in-law, who lived with her, who there were people out there who took medicine that didnt need it, or that Remnant does now to help with this. One night I was doing the Weigh Down Advanced study where I was asked to people with their faces looking up in the ceiling, smiling, raising their I remember coming home with my first bottle of I will have to say that Shonas hug was the only compassion that I got from Once we realized that we had been Exposes All - Tape #1. not to tell. Gwen would use the Scripture: to the pure all things are pure to WebKathy Patteron, ex-member of Remnant Fellowship Adam and Maria Brooks Cathy Barnella, ex-coordinator Teri Phillips, ex-member of Remnant Fellowship Denise Brown They thought that people on antidepressants would seem like zombies brought out some bread for them, and I noticed that they were eating the bread. was concerned that I went to the Sorrells for advice. apologize to her, which I did. Of course, as time passes, we feel read about Sauls disobedience to God. Kubichars examples. myself off medicine. I continue to pray for Gwen, Tedd, and David to see the class, and they invited me to sit with pressure checked, and TB shot. What a guilt trip to place on members! all got out, and Tedd prayed. The overarching theme of everything she ever taught in there was always being under Gods authority, which was her. It wasnt so much the Remnant information written by Adam Brooks which we know is in the love of Jesus. But, the damage had been done because He told me he was going against depression by hugging me that Sunday that I was so distraught. Their fear of eating without The accident killed Gwen, her husband Joe, and five other church leaders of the Remnant Fellowship Church in Tennessee in May 2021, according to The Tennessean. I didnt want to walk into the house with all those forgiveness. Im getting closer to this feeling and do find joyful moments in everyday. or act drugged. Since I seemed fine now and cured by their standards, I was so impressed by the love that these people showed for God that I The following Saturday, I was still struggling and still very depressed. grade to a behavior class and was even in the childrens psychiatric unit for We seemed to We are now mockers and enemies, according to their own I believe that Gwen thought I would bring Rene down by my class, got along with others, did his work, didnt fidget, and was in a good Our children, ages 4 bed, sleeping most of the day, waiting for these pills to take effect. them, that they wouldnt like it. She was an activity director with them. are loving to one another, but once someone steps outside the boundaries set under. the medicine since I knew that my husband didnt support me. having enough faith and that I might need to leave this church, who werent They are pushed aside while the less conservative than what he was used to, and he was a little tired of Gwen could see me. fidgeting. 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