As far as I know, I'm the first journalist who has ever interviewed pastor Jane Whaley. Heck, I might be the only member of the media to have attended church service. How was I able to pull this off? The short answer is, I have no idea.

In fact, when the executive producer of the upcoming A&E series on Word of Faith Fellowship found out about my exclusive interview, he gave me a call. He asked me, "I just want to know one thing... how did you do it?" I told him, "I just asked nicely?"

Here's the promo for the A&E docu-series titled, "The Devil Next Door."

Word of Faith guest gets charged with trespassing

While scanning through research documents, I stumbled upon on an email I had not seen before. It was from democratic North Carolina state senate candidate David Wheeler to Jane Whaley. In that email, David Wheeler requested a meeting with Jane Whaley. Oddly enough she responds, “Can you meet between 3:30 and 4:00 this afternoon?” The state senate candidate confirms the meeting with Jane. What happens next is kind of messed up. Instead of showing up alone, David Wheeler arrives at the Word of Faith Fellowship compound with a several news reporters and a cameraman. He also brought John Huddle who is basically Jane Whaley’s arch enemy. He also brought former sheriff candidate Wayne Guffey who is Jane Whaley’s distant cousin and a critic of the church. The political stunt was broadcast on Facebook live.

The church filed trespassing charges for everyone involved—except for the Daily Courier reporter MacKenzie Wicker. The moment the church official told them them to leave, MacKenzie quietly exited the building. In all fairness, if you read the email, Wheeler never explains to Jane that he intends to bring in the media with him to the visit. Therefore, it's only reasonable for the church to back out of the meeting. But was it trespassing? Probably not. A judge recently dropped the charges. 

 

My first contact with Jane Whaley

The last people to get an invitation to the Word of Faith Fellowship got the cops called on them. However, that didn't stop me from contacting Jane. I have Jane Whaley's email address and intend to use it. Besides, what's the worst thing that could happen? Get arrested for trespassing?

Here's my message to Jane:

Hi Jane,

I'm an independent reporter working on a story about Word of Faith Fellowship. It makes me sad that the national media is so one sided. No one has given you an honest opportunity to tell your story.

I'm willing to devote a whole hour of air time to tell your story with no bias from the other side—and no tricks.

I realize you have a radio show and YouTube channel stating your point of view. But no third party has had the chance to speak with you directly. I promise no tricks. My offer for is for you to speak to my listeners directly.

 

Jane Whaley writes back

Honestly, I didn’t expect a reply. But boy was I wrong. She responds:

 

I am checking with my attorney.  I encourage you to listen to the testimonies on the radio. No children have ever been abused in our church.  It is just the opposite everyone is greatly loved.

 

She wrote this at 2:20 am Saturday morning. I quickly wrote back:

 

Hi Jane,

I have listened to many of the radio shows. I love that you’re reaching out to the community. By the way, I am he only reporter who has put the Cooper family’s claims into question.

 

The Cooper’s, if you remember, is the family Jane claims is campaigning to destroy the church. John Cooper is the man you heard from back in season one.

 

Jane writes back:

 

The Coopers did not like it when I would not allow them to bring their worldly lifestyle into the church.  They purposed to close our doors with their lies. God has so blessed us. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. Jesus said. If you are who you say you are; I would like to meet you before I make any  commitment. I would like for you to come to one of our church services. That way you can see truth.

 

I quickly responded, “I can be there tomorrow. What time is the service? Who should I ask for when I get there?” She said:

 

Our church starts at 9:30 if you want to come and find out truth. They will know you are coming. Someone to take you in and show you where your saved seat is. You can sit right up front right behind me and my family.

 

Holy smokes! Jane Whaley invited me to church. Never in a million years did I ever expect to speak to Jane Whaley directly. Nobody…. Nobody has ever interviewed Jane.

 

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True Crime Podcast Festival | Chicago 2019

Also, I am excited to announce that Pretend Radio is going to be attending the first annual True Crime Podcast Festival on July 13, 2019 in Chicago! Trust me, start planning now. It’s worth traveling to. This is your chance to mingle with podcasters you listen to regularly. There will also be live episode recordings as well as panel discussions. In fact, I’m speaking in one of them.

Some of the shows registered are All Crime No Cattle, Criminology, Canadian True Crime, Mugshot, Swindled, Sword and Scale, and so many more. You won’t want to miss this.

Go to the website TCPF2019.com to find information on tickets and the hotel. Prices do go up the closer we get to the event so you won’t want to wait. When you buy your ticket, make sure you mention Pretend Radio on the ticket registration survey. This is going to be a blast. I can’t wait to meet everyone at the True Crime Podcast Festival! For more information, see the show notes.

 

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Many people have been writing me and sharing their stories. If you have a story to share, shoot me an email at info@pretendradio.org or follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Our theme music was composed by Joe Basile with thechicken.net.