Oops! I'm In A Cult

Oops It's The End and Property updates

Scott Barker and Charity Navalesi are former members, born and raised in The Living Word Fellowship. They are investigating this organization, founded by John Robert Stevens in 1951, that branded itself as a Christian church for over seventy years but turned out to be just another cult. Stevens demanded full submission of his followers until his death in 1983 and when his successors, Gary & Marilyn Hargrave took over, the beliefs and practices became even more extreme as they levied control over the congregants for the next three decades. In 2018 a former member finally spoke up after Marilyn's death accusing her son of abuse. There are five active lawsuits. The organization is a shadow of what it once was, but some remain believers of John Robert Stevens' teachings and many maintain loyalty to Gary Hargrave. Gary has a new following on social media and an active "ministry" under the umbrella of Hargrave Ministries.Podcast Links: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2YlZeTi... Contact Oops!www.oopsiminacult.comeMail - oopsiminacult@gmail.com Instagram - / oopsiminacultpodcast More - https://linktr.ee/oopsiminacultIf you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Use these resources to find help for you, a friend, or a family member.⁠⁠⁠https://988lifeline.org/⁠⁠⁠https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-...

Bonus Colorado Collapse - Interview with Sam and Michaela

After a former member of The Living Word released letters exposing sexual abuse cover up in the Fellowship, local Living Word churches struggled with their identity and future as a community. In Colorado, Sam and Michaela Teres had a front row seat to those internal conversations. Scott Barker and Charity Navalesi are former members, born and raised in The Living Word Fellowship. They are investigating this organization, founded by John Robert Stevens in 1951, that branded itself as a Christian church for over seventy years but turned out to be just another cult. Stevens demanded full submission of his followers until his death in 1983 and when his successors, Gary & Marilyn Hargrave took over, the beliefs and practices became even more extreme as they levied control over the congregants for the next three decades. In 2018 a former member finally spoke up after Marilyn's death accusing her son of abuse. There are five active lawsuits. The organization is a shadow of what it once was, but some remain believers of John Robert Stevens' teachings and many maintain loyalty to Gary Hargrave. Gary has a new following on social media and an active "ministry" under the umbrella of Hargrave Ministries.Podcast Links: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2YlZeTi... Support our Supercasthttps://oopsiminacult.supercast.com/Contact Oops!www.oopsiminacult.comeMail - oopsiminacult@gmail.com Instagram - / oopsiminacultpodcast More - https://linktr.ee/oopsiminacultIf you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Use these resources to find help for you, a friend, or a family member.⁠⁠⁠https://988lifeline.org/⁠⁠⁠https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-...

Interview with Sam and Michaela

The Living Word Fellowship fostered a culture that demanded total submission to those in authority. Members were conditioned to accept inappropriate levels of involvement in their personal lives, to include Shepherds coming between spouses. Sam and Michaela were among the many couples whose marriages were interfered with. The abuse became so severe that Michaela, being told she was a hindrance to her husband's ministry and was "too strong", became a shell of who she once was. Scott Barker and Charity Navalesi are former members, born and raised in The Living Word Fellowship. They are investigating this organization, founded by John Robert Stevens in 1951, that branded itself as a Christian church for over seventy years but turned out to be just another cult. Stevens demanded full submission of his followers until his death in 1983 and when his successors, Gary & Marilyn Hargrave took over, the beliefs and practices became even more extreme as they levied control over the congregants for the next three decades. In 2018 a former member finally spoke up after Marilyn's death accusing her son of abuse. There are five active lawsuits. The organization is a shadow of what it once was, but some remain believers of John Robert Stevens' teachings and many maintain loyalty to Gary Hargrave. Gary has a new following on social media and an active "ministry" under the umbrella of Hargrave Ministries.Podcast Links: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/oops-im-in-a-cult/id1703501829Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2YlZeTiuons5y4J3RZYXSv Support our Supercasthttps://oopsiminacult.supercast.com/Contact Oops!www.oopsiminacult.comeMail - oopsiminacult@gmail.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/oopsiminacultpodcast More - https://linktr.ee/oopsiminacultIf you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Use these resources to find help for you, a friend, or a family member.⁠⁠⁠https://988lifeline.org/⁠⁠⁠https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help

The Living Word Cult Collapse: Where is the Money, Now?

In 2018 The Living Word Fellowship’s seventy-year reign came to end, collapsing after hundreds of current and former members began to expose years of rampant abuse on social media. Within two weeks after these revelations began, Gary Hargrave resigned and the church as we all knew it, fell apart. Facilities that were frequented and maintained by church members for years were soon left abandoned. In this episode we investigate what became of the many local churches and facilities within the fellowship, what transpired in the days following its collapse and the question we have all been asking for the last several years: Where is all of that money now? Scott Barker and Charity Navalesi are former members, born and raised in The Living Word Fellowship. They are investigating this organization, founded by John Robert Stevens in 1951, that branded itself as a Christian church for over seventy years but turned out to be just another cult. Stevens demanded full submission of his followers until his death in 1983 and when his successors, Gary & Marilyn Hargrave took over, the beliefs and practices became even more extreme as they levied control over the congregants for the next three decades.  In 2018 a former member finally spoke up after Marilyn's death accusing her son of abuse. There are five active lawsuits. The organization is a shadow of what it once was, but some remain believers of John Robert Stevens' teachings and many maintain loyalty to Gary Hargrave. Gary has a new following on social media and an active "ministry" under the umbrella of Hargrave Ministries. Podcast Links:  Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/oops-im-in-a-cult/id1703501829 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2YlZeTiuons5y4J3RZYXSv  Support our Supercast https://oopsiminacult.supercast.com/ Contact Oops! www.oopsiminacult.com eMail - oopsiminacult@gmail.com  Instagram -  https://www.instagram.com/oopsiminacultpodcast  More - https://linktr.ee/oopsiminacult If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Use these resources to find help for you, a friend, or a family member. ⁠⁠⁠https://988lifeline.org/⁠⁠⁠ https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help

Rediscovering Christianity Post-Cult: Interview with Caleb LaPlante

Caleb LaPlante was raised into The Living Word Fellowship, primarily in the small Grants Pass, Oregon congregation. After having left the church in his college years but staying involved on a social basis because of family ties, Caleb re-entered the world of TLWF in the wake of Shalom’s letters and was active in uncovering abuses, including leadership knowingly protecting pedophiles within the local Grants Pass church. Caleb also discusses his faith and how he discovered a relationship with Jesus for the first time in his twenties after realizing the beliefs he grew up with in the cult were not in line with traditional Christian beliefs. Scott Barker and Charity Navalesi are former members, born and raised in The Living Word Fellowship. They are investigating this organization, founded by John Robert Stevens in 1951, that branded itself as a Christian church for over seventy years but turned out to be just another cult. Stevens demanded full submission of his followers until his death in 1983 and when his successors, Gary & Marilyn Hargrave took over, the beliefs and practices became even more extreme as they levied control over the congregants for the next three decades.  In 2018 a former member finally spoke up after Marilyn's death accusing her son of abuse. There are five active lawsuits. The organization is a shadow of what it once was, but some remain believers of John Robert Stevens' teachings and many maintain loyalty to Gary Hargrave. Gary has a new following on social media and an active "ministry" under the umbrella of Hargrave Ministries. Podcast Links:  Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/oops-im-in-a-cult/id1703501829 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2YlZeTiuons5y4J3RZYXSv  Support our Supercast https://oopsiminacult.supercast.com/ Contact Oops! www.oopsiminacult.com eMail - oopsiminacult@gmail.com  Instagram -  https://www.instagram.com/oopsiminacultpodcast  More - https://linktr.ee/oopsiminacult If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Use these resources to find help for you, a friend, or a family member. ⁠⁠⁠https://988lifeline.org/⁠⁠⁠ https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help