[quote]All are members of an evangelical charismatic Christian church in the tiny town of Spindale (population 4,238) in western North Carolina. The church, Word of Faith Fellowship, has for decades drawn controversy over its cultish insularity and its treatment of children and adults who have been judged by church leaders to be sinners.
[quote]As church leaders have acknowledged in legal proceedings, Word of Faith relies on a practice known as “strong” or “blasting” prayer. Former church members have described the entire congregation surrounding and screaming at a single member for as long as an hour in an effort to expunge the evil from the person. Church officials say this characterization is overstated.
[quote]Beginning with a report by the TV news journal “Inside Edition” in 1995 and culminating in an investigative series by two Associated Press reporters that would become a book in 2020, numerous former church members have come forward and described being physically assaulted during such prayers.
As empathetic as I am toward western North Carolina right now, I hope this church is now floating away in floodwaters.