Weigh Down Workshop Controversy: Gwen Shamblin denies the Trinity

May 18, 2004: Police Raid WDW
Detectives testified that the couple admitted to using glue sticks to beat their son. It's an idea that a NewsChannel Five Investigation discovered, originated inside Remnant Fellowship, a church that preaches strict discipline of children.

Detectives said they hope the search will yield evidence that may explain what the Smiths were thinking and what role, if any, their religious beliefs played in the death of the child.

Former WDW Coordinator's testimonies

Former WDW Follower's Testimonies

Weigh Down Workshop News, Links, Articles, and Controversial Teachings Reviewed."
New! Feb. 17. 2002: The Great Commission of Gwen Shamblin and the Remnant Fellowship by Adam Brooks. "Adam Brooks fully expects to be villified for exposing the inner workings of Gwen Shamblin’s Remnant Fellowship. He’s seen it happen before...." Editor's foreword.
December 6, 2001: Channel 5 News: Weigh-Down Guru makes secret settlement

Weigh Down Workshop Questions and Answers "Why should I drop the WDW program.. when it has helped so many people?"; "Wouldn't it be cruel to cancel the program?"
More WDW Questions and Answers: Signs? Programs? Now what?

Resources and articles on biblical weight loss programs, the Trinity, nature of God, Salvation, Cults & more!

Former WDW Coordinator's Testimonies:
1. A former WDW coordinator writes about My Exodus out of Exodus.

2. Below is a series of recent emails from former coordinators:
"Lynette:
Praise God! I did it last night!!! With the strength of God, your guidance, and painful nudging by the Holy Spirit, I confronted my WD class with the TRUTH. I honestly felt as if I were standing on Holy Ground as they all shower where their loyalty rested, on the Rock.
I shared what I learned on your website about the history of the Trinity, the definition that we all believe, what Gwen believes, etc. I challenged them that their actions would show their loyalties. Each one of them, unanimously voted to stand for God and return the materials. We even went further than that and committed to staying together as a group of prayer, support, bible study, and weight loss partners, in order to bring the glory to God. I am calling us "Way Up", because that is where each of these awesome ladies looked to for guidance in a very difficult situation.
I thank you for your honesty, support, and firm stance on who our God is. It took this terrible experience for me to learn who I believed in, and I can clearly claim who He is now.
I would appreciate any contacts or help with this you may have. After last night, I am not sure how people will feel as we work though this. I did refer the class to your web site, but feel some of them may need more personal support. I would be interested in the support e-mail group info. you referenced yesterday, as I continue to dig through some rubble.
Thanks so much! You and _____ were tools for Christ this week in an AWESOME way. Now, I can say that my actions and loyalties are truly in line with HIM. Thanks for helping me get there.
In Christ's Precious Love,"

Subject: Re: Weigh Down Controversy
"Dear ____, the Lord is faithful, isn't He? He can bring good out of the mess of WD..... and I am so glad that you needed to call your supervisor which resulted in you sharing the information so that another class was cancelled! It is sad. But, it is so good when truth wins out!! And you are already getting stronger.... how amazing! That is God's hand in your life. You are precious to Him and He wants you to be in His will and sharing the "only gospel" of grace and the truth of Jesus Christ- that He is fully God. To me this is preparation for bigger and greater things in the future. As God brings healing into your life .....you will minister to others who have been through similar situations and bring comfort to them. When persecution comes, you will face it in God's strength once again.
Hemingway wrote: "The world breaks everyone..... but afterward, many are strong in the broken places." And for the Christian, there is supernatural strength in weakness. I encourage you to journal especially your prayers and look for God's blessings and what He is teaching you in scriptures during this time of healing. Jesus is personal and will touch your life personally. This will only add to your testimony! and in this you can rejoice..... knowing that these trials are temporary but, will bring about God's purposes and give you a chance to glorify Him.
Thanks so much for sharing your journey with me. You will be making many friends now as you meet some of the people who have left WD and have learned greater wisdom about life from Christ and His Word.
I never participated in WD. I read the book and I supervised the program for a year in our church because it was grandfathered into LifeCARE Ministries (which I direct). LifeCARE was expanded to include all helping programs from just a divorce recovery ministry a couple of years ago.
I was not happy with the program because as a professional counselor, I didn't agree with Gwen's teaching that people should avoid taking medication for psychological problems. That teaching, I felt put the church and me as the director in a position of liability and anyone attending the program at risk if they were depressed or had a mental health problem. See Ask the Counselor on the Calvary Mem. Bulletin board for topics on the WDW controversy from last fall.
But, I mostly, did not like the fact that Gwen did not teach a clear gospel message in the book or videos. Now, we know why. I also saw other theological issues and legalistic tendencies which made me concerned. Yes, many of the principles seemed valuable and were helping people, but, I disagreed with some of her basic teachings like "eat whatever you want" as long as you stop when you are full. Because I have a nursing background, I felt that was potentially harmful to people's health. So, after one year, we lost our WD leader and couldn't find another. I talked with my boss/pastor and told him the issues I had with the program and that I preferred not to supervise it or start it up again.
Thank goodness, we didn't ....because one year later Gwen came out with her real views about Christianity and salvation.
So that is it in a nutshell. I truly hope that you will find encouragement and hope as you go on each day "forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead" Phil 3:7-9 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. NIV
God has great plans for you! Love in Christ, Lynette"

""Lynette: We had two sessions of WD. The other session was this morning and God blessed us with the same response!!!! All the class members stood up for Christ, without reservation!!!
Many of the women came back shortly after the class to return all of their materials. God is so AWESOME! Many are even returning all of their materials from previous classes just to show Gwen that women do care about doctrine.
I did refer both classes to your website. I hope that was okay. I do not mind your sending anything on to anyone who might benefit from this message. I have called a local church that I knew had WD before us and they are canceling their fall session. Also, I talked to someone at WD named Teresa who handles their returns. They are going to give us our money back. It was funny, though, that after several of the ladies left, they said they would do the same thing whether they got their money back or not.
WOW! God bless you for all of your support, resources, and honesty!!!!!
In Christ's Love,"

"Dear Cathy,
I wanted to thank you for your email re: WDW. I have been in the program for 5 yrs. I have been a facilitator for 3 yrs. I was going to begin a new class in Sept.; but after reading your email, Gwen's mission statement, and the other information, I can't. I am a Charismatic Catholic and my meetings centered around the Trinity and the grace from the Holy Spirit and Jesus' love through our prayer and discussion. Thank you again and God bless you,"

Former WDW Followers:
"Dear Lynette,
i was a very good follower.I was able to loose 180 lbs during the time i was in WD. i went along with anything Gwen said and either ignored or just didn't recognize the red flags that came up in the program.
When i went to DO '00 and came back home to try to digest what had happened there, it finally began to sink in. BUT even so i still believed she could do no wrong. I had 180 reasons to think that! when my friends began to pull away i was really torn. Who do i trust, my friends, or gwen. I chose the friends.
It was last october when i really got out. I have learned a lot about how lazy a christian i am. I didn't know the Lord well enough to recognize when he was not being represented correctly. I had one participant in my last WD class whose hubby listened to a part of one audio tape and said, "That woman isn't teaching grace." I was astonished. I want to be able to see like he did. I think God is working on that. ;-) "

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WDW: The Hard Facts:
For those of you who need some hard facts on the Weigh-Down workshop theology and goals..I have collated the following archived WDW email messages along with the Mission Statement into categories with the links to each page on WDW's web site. You can then draw your own conclusions about this controversy. Just check out the link above.

Resources:
See the page on Weigh Down Workshop Questions and Answers "Why should I drop the WDW program.. when it has helped so many people?"

Other Weight loss resources: Check out the Thin Again discussion board set up to serve those who have decided to read through the book Thin Again by Arthur Halliday, M.D. and Judy Wardell Halliday, R.N.

See the Christian Research Institute , Stand to Reason and Midwest Christian Outreach for more information on apologetics and cults. Please contact Don Veinot at 630-527-9028 for a copy of the MCO Journal with the Weighed Down With False Doctrine article or Lynette Hoy. Read A Response to Gwen by MCO and Christian Research Institute article on WDW as well as the Apologetics Index article on WDW.

See the CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & RESEARCH MINISTRY article: Weigh Down Weight Loss founder Gwen Shamblin denies the Trinity. They state that Gwen Shamblin's "view is very close to the Jehovah Witness teaching about God".

See Dr. Ray Pritchard's sermon on the Trinity: God in Three Persons: A Doctrine We Barely Understand for a biblical view. Read Who is Jehovah, Who is Jesus? by Phillip R. Johnson.
See Shamblin's Doctrine of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ by Steven A. McKinion.
And for Calvary Memorial Church's statement on the Trinity, the Nature of God and Salvation by Grace see their: Articles of Faith.

Read about the Characteristics of a Cult, and When a Leader Disappoints You.
Read the Spiritual Abuse Profile by the Watchman Fellowship. This article covers the characteristics of spiritual abuse, the biblical response, effects of the abuse, recovery and resources.
By the way, I wonder how Gwen explains this verse which explicitly identifies the Messiah as the "mighty God, everlasting Father"?
Isa 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. NIV

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The Controversy: Churches, Publisher & Bookstores respond

Articles by Christian organizations and Apologists : Write to Don Veinot for a free copy of the latest Midwest Christian Journal and article: Weigh Down Workshop-A Cult?

News Reports and Individuals respond Read "News: Channel 5 Investigates WDW", July, 2001 and the PBS June 29th article!

Quotes from: Christian Research Institute & Midwest Christian Outreach

WDW: The Hard Facts (quotes from Gwen re: authority, salvation, Remnant church)

"Weighed Down with False Doctrine" quotes

Wall Street Journal article Quotes

Lynette Hoy, NCC, LCPC

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Notice: This column is not intended to take the place of direct professional mental health services but rather to provide insight into various problem situations and possible helpful resources and interventions. Please contact AACC for a referral to a mental health professional.