Image by Jackie Matthews from Pixabay
On Saturday afternoon, May 29, we began receiving emails and phone calls asking if we had heard that Gwen Shamblin Lara, her new husband, Joe (William J.) Lara, and five other leaders of Gwen’s church, Remnant Fellowship — Jennifer J. Martin, David L. Martin, Jessica Walters, Jonathan Walters, and Brandon Hannah — had gone down in a plane crash. Initially a rescue operation was undertaken, but by Saturday evening it had been changed to a recovery operation and all aboard were presumed dead. Since then, emails and phone calls have been coming in steadily. Some are wondering how to respond to their family or friends who are in Gwen’s group. Others are convinced Remnant Fellowship will close and disappear into history as a one-time popular cult. In some ways, these are two separate questions.
Gwen Shamblin first came to our attention in August of 2000 when someone emailed asking if her company, Weigh Down Workshop, had changed the doctrinal statement on their website? We had never heard of Shamblin at that point. We are missionaries to cults and non-Christian religions, and Gwen had become popular through her business, Weigh Down Workshop, which was represented as a Christian-based weight loss program. Her business had done quite well financially with over a million people have attended her program at $103.00 each — plus drew in additional income for book sales, conferences, and WDW paraphernalia that was for sale. It’s not every day that businesses and weight loss programs appear on our radar screen. We tend to be an inquiry-directed ministry when it comes to new groups that come on the scene.
In response to several inquiries, we checked the Weigh Down Workshop website. Initially it appeared to us that Gwen was someone who didn’t grasp the doctrine of the Trinity and had unintentionally wandered into heresy through lack of knowledge. We called Weigh Down Workshop offices and were a bit surprised the phone was answered as “Weigh Down Workshop/Remnant Fellowship.” It turned out that around that time, Gwen had founded her very own church! We wondered if pastors and churches might be concerned that she would try to recruit people from their congregations — or if they even were aware of this remarkable turn of events. After all, with more than one million church members using her material, would not some be tempted to leave their home church to join the church of a woman they greatly admired and already followed? When we called, we explained who we were and asked a few questions about the online statement of doctrine. We let the person we spoke with know that we had called to offer our assistance in rewording the statement to avoid confusion on this essential issue of the faith. Surprisingly, we were put through to Gwen. We again explained who we were, and she was quite cordial until we raised the issue of the deity of Christ and the Trinity. At that point, the atmosphere of our conversation changed quickly. Gwen denounced me as a false teacher, confidently asserted Jesus is not God, and said the Trinity is a pagan doctrine invented by a false church. Whoa! So much for her promoting a mere “weight-loss enterprise!” It became quickly apparent she was not merely “mistaken” or “confused” on Christian doctrine but knew very well that she was offering teaching the churches would regard as an egregious false alternative to the central doctrines of the very churches who had invited her in their doors and gave her access to their people. She knew true Christian doctrine but was deliberately offering her many followers another Jesus, and as it turned out, another gospel as well. Her crooked doctrine was not a bug, but a feature! We thanked her for her time and ended the call. We drafted a press release about this serious issue and posted it online. Christianity Today picked it up and called Gwen to verify what we had written. Her response was along the lines of, “Women don’t care about doctrine, they just want to lose weight.”
Contrary to what she said, though, there were many women with whom this offhand slight did not sit well. Women began calling us asking how they might get her out of their churches and many churches immediately began canceling her program. Within days her fortunes had reversed. The Women of Faith website removed her. Thomas Nelson Publishers met with Gwen and parted company with her on her then-current book, Rise Above, and one they had just printed, Exodus Out of Egypt. We began seriously researching her teachings in the books and videos she used in her workshops and conferences. Her ideas and assertions were appalling — not only in “disagreement” with the Christian faith and the churches that had sponsored her, but very highly critical and even mocking them.
In the fall of 2000, we printed, “Weighed Down with False Doctrine” and followed up with another Journal article, “Weigh Down Workshop a Cult?”
At that time, things seriously “went south” for Gwen and her cultish movement as churches deserted her in droves, thankfully. Sadly, as is often the case, false teachers and cult leaders tend to find ways to survive, recruit new members, and prosper. Gwen was no exception. Some of the over one million who attended Weigh Down Workshop did indeed join Remnant Fellowship, either in person or on WDW’s new (at that time) online “TV.”1Now Weigh Down TV
We all understand the struggle against the flesh we face in this life in various areas. Some of her followers had read our articles and left her movement after her crafty deception had been revealed to them. They contacted us and revealed the strong attraction the promise of “Christianized” weight loss held for people who had struggled long and hard to overcome the flesh in this area. They told us that since they had never understood the Trinity, or been properly educated about Christian doctrine, what Gwen claimed “made sense” to them. Much of her “sensible” argumentation mirrors that of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (JWs) and other cult groups.
Even though this background on Gwen Shamblin and Remnant Fellowship Weigh Down is important to know, our focus in this article is really on two pressing questions. First, how might a Christian respond to those who have family or friends who are currently in Gwen’s group? Second, will Remnant Fellowship disband and vanish from the scene?
Is this a golden opportunity to expose Gwen’s false teachings to those in the group? It may be, but our inclination would be to refrain from doing that at this time. Some may be put off by this advice but hear us out. There is likely not anything that can be said to a friend or family member right now which has not already been said. Those in the group are grieving their loss and coming across as attacking Gwen right after her death may work to drive them closer to other Remnant Fellowship cult members who are also grieving. Yes, they are grieving a false teacher but to them they are grieving someone they ardently follow and believe is their connection to God. There are times in life we should hold our tongues and give a person time to sort out their feelings and come to grips with how their loss may impact their continued participation in the group. Human beings are not generally won to our faith by anyone presenting an unattractive attitude to their lost loved one. (Not that you would — we are absolutely convinced you wouldn’t!) We do not have to say anything particularly nice about Gwen or her teachings, certainly, but it is probably not the time to make those you care about feel they are under assault. Perhaps it is simply time to share their pain if they are willing to do so. There is clearly a time to expose false teachers and share the gospel, and there is a time to wait and see what the Holy Spirit will do. Pray for them certainly and be open and ready if they should want to talk about any doubts they may be experiencing. Many if not most cult members silently carry a lot of doubts and fears around with them. They cannot discuss these doubts with someone in the group for fear of being put into emotional “cold storage” for expressing “heretical” views or “doubting the truth.” Cult groups may talk about love, but in their company is not the place to truly experience any. Cults don’t believe in God’s grace, of course, so life can be much like a giant hamster wheel of continuous failure — huge performance acts — while inside their hearts, they are usually quite aware of their utter failure to measure up. It gets terribly exhausting to constantly find oneself falling short of the group’s expectations when one is desperately seeking to impress God or cultic fellow travelers. Pray, and wait a bit, and ask God for His openings when the time is right and your loved one’s heart is ready. Unlike the cult group they find themselves mired in, we love them, and we want them to experience that firsthand.
A baseball analogy is always appropriate. We live near Chicago which has two baseball teams, the Cubs and Sox. It is often said — possibly more by Cubs fans (who, we must say, are generally more insightful and fairer also, and nicer all around) — that there is a difference in the fans of the two teams.
Here goes:
Sox fans hate the Cubs more than they love the Sox while Cubs fans love the Cubs more than they hate the Sox.
A very good reason to approach your loved one gently is because you love your family member more than you dislike Gwen Shamblin. Be like a Cubs fan. 😊
Will Remnant Fellowship continue? Other than God, no one knows. When Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society died in 1916, there was a splintering of his group into many smaller sects between 1916 and 1931, but the main group survived. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have grown into a worldwide movement with 8,424,185 going door to door each month and Worldwide Memorial Attendance: 17,844,773 in 2020.(2020 Grand Totals) Tragic…
On June 27, 1844 Joseph Smith Jr., founder and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died in a gun battle in Carthage, IL.2See, Myth #8: Joseph Smith died as a “lamb led to the slaughter” of “Eight Mormon Myths” Again, this group splintered into a number of smaller sects with new replacement prophets but the main group survived and by 2018, there were 16,118,169 members worldwide. More tragedy…
Yet many other groups do not survive the loss of a very dynamic and charismatic leader, such as Gwen certainly was, and Remnant Fellowship may go that way. We’ll have to wait and see.
Deception of mankind began in the Garden of Eden and has remained a problem to the people of God down through history. False prophets and false teachers certainly were in full operation in the Nation of Israel, the First Century church and continue to this day. Satan and his cohorts keep dragging people into wretched captivity. They may bring someone to your door; they may bring someone right into your church. Gwen’s group may or may not survive but we should prepare our heart, soul and mind for the opportunities God will bring, so the Holy Spirit may use us to reach them. We can also pray God will use other Christians and/or eye-opening experiences to free the captives. With all our hearts, we hope and pray that many of Remnant Fellowship people will come to reject the house that Gwen built. Amen.Ω
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This is very good! Since i have heard about the crash i have been praying for the people left behind. I was in weigh down for 2-3 years. Getting out was painful and took years to overcome. Jeaus has been good and patient with me as i have made the slow journey to being Gwen free. It has been an eye opener about the state of the church in America. I have been praying for that as well since there are apparently so many who fon’t know any more about the truth of God’s word than I did!
That is a very big concern for us as well. As “New George Barna Research: ‘Dangerously’ Low Percentage of Americans Have a Biblical Worldview” points out:
Thank you for the feedback.
We have definitely seen evidence of this in spades simply by virtue of the current political atmosphere!
I remember Weigh Down from years ago but I don’t remember ever getting involved, nor did I know anything about Gwen Shamblin or her church. But I have a son who has left the faith in favor of science. We have had many conversations over the years but he appears to keep digging his heels in harder. So I resonate with everything you are saying, especially the need to love him more than I dislike where he’s at spiritually. I also know several Mormons from their time as missionaries and living in our town. We had many conversations about their faith and the Christian faith of the Bible. I still pray for them to this day that their eyes would be open, but I haven’t tried to contact them through Facebook. Sometimes I wonder if I should at least show that I’m still thinking about them.
Yes, our kids can be exasperating to be sure. Having grown up as an atheist and coming to the faith, largely through evidence and the realization that the universe could not have popped into existence from nothing for no reason I have to ask myself what was the draw for someone raised in the faith to embrace atheism. Very often when I have the opportunity “science” has become the defense but was not the reason they embraced it. Having said that I think you are on a wise course of action. You have said what can be said, God may provide opportunities or even bring a strong believer into his life that is not family and God may use them. The love of a mother and her prayers are pretty powerful weapons. There is also an interesting phenomena of atheists taking place recently. Some of the more high profile atheists, Richard Dawkins and Tom Holland for example, who are defending the need for Christianity and others like James Lindsay and Peter Boghossian who have created alliances with evangelical leaders to stand against Critical Race Theory. You may be interested in our article, “Atheists Need Christianity” Thank you for the comments.
I appreciate your article. As someone who did weighdown in the 90’s I never truly got the lessons and lost weight. I knew our church no longer offered her classes but did know why. Last year I saw a video online with her classes, so I thought maybe I should try again. I still had trouble doing the diet and reading the material. It didn’t help and I would feel this check in my spirit not to sign up for the classes etc so I never did and was going to quit the tv membership. Then when the accident happened, it was like my eyes were opened spiritually and I knew I had to investigate this group and I found you articles and others that showed me why I was being warned to not follow this. A representative from weighdown called me a couple of days ago wanting to know why I cancelled my membership. I thought of alot of things I could say, but decided to say this. I could tell the lady didn’t want to make these calls. She was barely doing it, she was really struggling and sad. I told her how sorry I was for her loss and I was praying for them. (I really was) And that the diet didn’t work for me and I had a different view on Gwen’s faith teachings without being specific. I said for those reasons I didn’t want to participate in the program. She thanked me for my honesty and all. From that call I think some of them are shell shocked. I was for a brief time in a group a little like this but got out. It’s very hard to see the truth sometimes. Praying for a release of the captives.
Thank you for the note. At this point they are shell shocked. Many questions will be making their rounds. Is this Satanic attack? Did I follow the wrong person? What happens next? Some will find our articles, read them, and may contact us. The most powerful thing to do is what you are doing, caring enough to pray for them. Thank you
Thanks Also in the group that I mentioned I was in briefly that they teach as long as you are under our leadership you are protected but if you leave you are not. I noticed some of this teach at Remant Fellowship. So will be hard to understand.
That is pretty typical for many groups. You might like “Trapped in the Shadow of God’s Anointed” something else is helpful for those who have been in high demand groups is “Bad Heir Day.” I would also recommend the book, “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” If we can help in any way, please let me know.
Thank you for this article. I live in Tennessee, about 20 miles from the church and know people who are heavily involved. It’s been hard for me not to be judgmental. I need to pray for them.
It can be hard. It is easy to not realize they are under spiritual deception.
I was a converted Mormon for a few years when I was young. That church really messed up my Father and sister. The judgements and the shunning. I just don’t understand how people buy into these cults. All you have to do is do your research. It’s really sad when these cults use your weaknesses against you. The fact that this bizarre woman who was very likely anorexic and bulimic had such a hold over people is down right frightening.
I also have done the Weighdown workshop in the past with my sister. I got a really bad feeling from it but my sister did not. She lost weight and had never felt better so thought this was the real deal. She’s been involved in this church for about 13 years. Even went as far as to moving their entire family to Tennessee 1.5 years ago so they could regularly attend church as they were not allowed to listen or be part of any other church besides Remnant. I’m really hoping and praying their eyes will be opened through all of this so they can truly see how much they’ve been deceived
I attended a Weigh Down class at a Bible Church years ago…This was before her teachings on the Holy Spirit.. after several classes I left because I recognized her works oriented rather than grace oriented statements…The videos Remnant put on show beguiling beautiful people with constant smiles and loving statements….dressed in white….reminding me of Paul’s warning to beware of angels of light who are in fact angels of darkness.I am thankful for my Bible teaching church,,,I pray that The Father will draw these people back to the Truth…to Jesus through the Holy Spirit and the Word.
Your article is interesting and full off facts, EXCEPT it’s a pretty big jump from disagreeing with Gwen’s theology that day in her office, and concluding she knew she was wrong and intended to continue to do wrong. That leap in logic does not float. Perhaps some of what was said in the meeting supports your viewpoint. If so, please reveal your basis for the accusation of Gwen’s purposefully bad theology.
I went through the Weigh Down program several times, even facilitated it in my office, and it did work as long as I spent a lot of time in the Scriptures.
I appreciate the response. Hopefully my response will clarify and answer your concerns. Our brief discussion wasn’t “in her office” but as we noted in the article, was by phone. Second, we didn’t indicate “she knew she was wrong and intended to continue to do wrong.”
That she knew Christian doctrine is not the same as believing it is true and substituting something else. Gwen was little different than Jehovah’s Witnesses on this point. They knowingly reject the orthodox teachings on these essential issues, deny the deity of Christ, and teach a work-based salvation. In addition, Gwen’s view of the Father was of a heavenly, perhaps Hugh Jackman type, who is not omniscient and too trusting. He wanted to give humans the opportunity to choose between Him and Satan, made Himself invisible to keep things fair, but didn’t realize the humans would choose the other suitor. (See “Weighed Down with False Doctrine”) Apparently, this god is “out of the office” a lot and unaware of what is going on in the office while he is gone. We are uncertain where he goes, golfing perhaps. He has a “magic chair” in his office which gives additional power to whoever sits in it. Sometimes when he is out one his most trusted employees would sit in the magic chair which enabled him to do whatever he wanted to do. One day when god returned he was shocked to find the employee in his very own magic chair but believed Satan when he said he was sorry. (See God in Your Own Image)
There is really nothing in her teaching on God which is biblical. Her views are more in line with the Watchtower or Mormonism.