elizabeth
2007-02-08 04:38:22 UTC
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070207/NEWS06/702070447
Child's death renews scrutiny of local church
Members say accused Georgia parents innocent of murder
By ANITA WADHWANI
and HEATHER DONAHOE
Staff Writers
The murder trial of a Georgia couple accused of whipping, confining
and then beating their son to death shines a spotlight on the child
discipline practices of a controversial Brentwood church.
Josef Smith, 8, died in 2003 on the day he was whipped with foot-long
glue sticks, locked in a closet and told to pray to a picture of
Jesus. Ex-members of the church say the punishments were in line with
the discipline advice they heard while attending Remnant Fellowship
Church.
But church leaders, including Gwen Shamblin - the charismatic woman
known for creating the best-selling Christian weight-loss program
called the Weigh Down Workshop - say the trial under way this week in
an Atlanta suburb is their chance to set the record straight.
The church condones discipline, not abuse, said Shamblin. In an
exclusive interview, she called spanking a "loving," "time-tested,
ancient teaching from the Bible."
"Parents need to know that spankings and traditional groundings are
not against the law," she said. "I abide by the law.
"We don't leave marks."
Both sides say they hope the truth about the Remnant Fellowship Church
will emerge from the trial.
Boy died after whipping
Remnant Fellowship is a far-flung group, with 130 outposts called
"fellowships" across North America. Outlying members tune in to
worship services through a video Webcast from home, but many make
their way to the handsome, 650-seat Brentwood flagship church for
religious holidays and church celebrations.
Joseph and Sonya Smith lived in the Atlanta suburb of Mableton, Ga.,
and joined the church in 2000. Former church members recall seeing the
Smiths at church functions in Brentwood. One remembers seeing the boy,
Josef, dancing happily in church.
On Oct. 8, 2003, emergency crews were called to the Smiths' home in
Georgia after the couple reported Josef was having trouble breathing.
He died the next day at an Atlanta hospital.
Sonya Smith told police that on the day he died the couple had
disciplined Josef with a series of glue-stick whippings, delivered in
increments of 10. She said the boy was locked in a closet and made to
pray to a picture of Jesus affixed to the ceiling. He was monitored in
the kitchen via a camera in the closet.
A grand jury indicted the Smiths on murder charges, saying the couple
struck him with unknown objects and confined him to a wooden box. The
indictment included five counts of first-degree cruelty to a child,
two counts of false imprisonment and three counts of aggravated
assault, including beating him with glue sticks, the kind sold at
craft shops to load into a hot-glue gun.
The Smiths were arrested in December 2003 and spent four months in
jail before Remnant church members posted their bond.
The following May, Georgia investigators raided the Franklin
headquarters of the Weigh Down Workshop weight-loss program,
collecting files and computer disks over two days.
Police did not say what they found. No charges have been filed against
church officials or anyone else in the case.
Members support couple
Sonya Smith's attorney says she is innocent. Joseph Smith's attorney
did not return calls.
In an interview last week, Shamblin said her personal contact with the
Smiths was limited and that she was only vaguely familiar with the
family. She said the couple is innocent.
Hundreds of Remnant church members have prayed and decided to
collectively foot the Smiths' legal bills, Shamblin said.
Shamblin wouldn't go into detail about the case, saying she didn't
want to say anything that might jeopardize the Smiths' chance at
getting a fair trial. She said she does not know of any Remnant
members who will testify.
"It has been three years now, and I am more sure of their innocence
than ever," Shamblin said. "The forensic evidence that will come out
in court will prove the innocence of the Smiths."
Part of the evidence police have collected is a tape recording of a
women's group meeting in which Shamblin praises Sonya Smith for
disciplining her son, the magazine Christianity Today reported in
2004. Prosecutors won't comment on what evidence will be introduced at
trial.
In the recorded church conference call from 2003, Sonya Smith tells
Shamblin she had locked her son in his room from Friday to Monday with
only a Bible, the magazine reported.
"That's a miracle," Shamblin responded. "You've got a child going from
bizarre to in control. So praise God."
At the trial on Tuesday, defense attorney Manny Arora cautioned jurors
they would see photographs depicting the boy's injuries that "may make
you sick to your stomach." But, he said, those injuries "did not cause
Josef's death." Josef slipped and fell on a banister, he said.
Baby-sitter was uneasy
Laura Boone, 17, has been called to testify as a witness in the trial
this week. Boone, who will graduate from Brentwood High School this
spring, began baby-sitting for Remnant families when she was in junior
high school.
Occasionally, she and her friends were hired to provide child care
during conferences and special events.
In April 2003, Boone baby-sat during an event at Weigh Down's Seaboard
Lane headquarters, where she says the Smiths had come for a weekend
visit.
"There were more than 20 kids total there," she said. "All the adults
were getting ready to go into the worship room, and Josef Jr. was
crying really hard in the corner. I asked his dad what he wanted me to
do, and he looked right at me, and he hit his fist into his hand
really hard."
Boone said Smith Sr. told her to hit his son, "Hit him hard," she
recalled Smith telling her.
"I just told him I didn't feel comfortable hitting his son," she said.
"So, he took Josef in the little room next door, and we could hear
Josef crying really hard and his dad hitting him."
Boone said Josef returned to the nursery area still crying but with no
visible marks on his body.
That was the last time Boone or her friends accepted a baby-sitting
job at Remnant or for a Remnant family, she said.
Boone says she is testifying because she "wants to be a voice for
Josef Smith Jr."
Some disenchanted
Some former church members say obedience to church leaders, called
"getting under authority," is paramount for adults. Children's
disobedience is a sign of sin, they say.
Ex-members have created an online support group called City of Refuge.
Former member Adam Brooks, a Philadelphia psychologist, says the
online group has attracted about 100 people, ex-members and family
members cut off from those still in the church. They are closely
watching the trial coverage, he said.
Like other members, Steve Miozzi and his wife joined Remnant after
taking a Weigh Down class at their church in east Cleveland, Ohio. He
said he and his wife were initially enthralled.
"You walked into the church, and you thought this is what heaven must
look like," said Betsy Miozzi.
Everyone was thin, their teeth white, the children well behaved, and
many appeared to be financially successful, she said. And everyone was
"lovebombing" the couple, she said, using the church's terminology for
friendly embracing of new visitors.
But when Steve Miozzi sought help on how to deal with an 11-year-old
boy misbehaving during worship services, he said he was told by church
leader Ted Anger to beat the back of the boy's thighs with a glue
stick. If the boy didn't behave he was to keep repeating the
procedure, and if the boy continued to misbehave he was to put him in
a room with nothing but a Bible, Miozzi said.
Miozzi says that when he visited the Brentwood church for worship
services, there were "glue sticks sticking out of diaper bags" in the
aisles.
Anger dismissed Miozzi's account last week, saying he never prescribed
a specific way to spank a child.
"I didn't sit there and give people manual instructions about
discipline," Anger said. "It's always been about teaching principles.
It's about putting the parents back in control with love and
boundaries."
Child discipline is not what Miozzi says prompted him and his wife to
leave the church.
They left after three years because of a church philosophy that he
said did not allow any questioning of church leaders. The strict
obedience to their authority "destroyed my personal relationship with
Jesus Christ," he said.
Also, he said, he was taken to task for not losing enough weight.
Parents, daughter differ
Support group member Susan Warren of Oklahoma says she feels she has
lost her daughter to Remnant. Her daughter, Cary, joined the church
seven years ago at 17 after baby-sitting for a church couple.
One day, Warren said, she and her husband stopped by the home where
her daughter was baby-sitting three small children. She said she spied
two long white glue sticks on the kitchen counter.
"We were in the kitchen with the kids," she said. "We saw the glue
sticks on the counter, and I said, 'why do you have to keep glues
sticks out like that?' She (Cary) said they were necessary, that she
didn't have to use them very often, but she did have to use them" to
discipline the children, Warren said.
Cary Warren said she doesn't remember the incident, and her parents
never visited while she was baby-sitting.
"She could refresh my memory, but I don't recall that," said Cary
Warren, who now lives in Brentwood. She said she loves and honors her
parents even more after joining Remnant but believes they are getting
misinformation from "groups that are against Remnant."
Her mother said she hopes the trial will expose Remnant.
"I hope it finally breaks (the church) open, and we can have our
daughter back," Susan Warren said.
Members back leaders
Shamblin said that the criticisms leveled by a handful of former
church members distort reality. Miozzi, for example, has spoken with
the media before.
"Talking to someone who left our church in anger is like talking to
someone's ex-boyfriend," Shamblin said. "People have learned they can
get on television if they have something bad to say. It's really
exciting being Gwen Shamblin's enemy."
The handful of church critics must be weighed against thousands of
more who have found joy in the church, she said.
"Nobody is told what to do here," Shamblin said. "They do it because
they're under conviction to do so. If they don't like it, some of them
leave on their own. It's not my way or the highway."
And church members have rallied around their leader and the
institution.
"By nature I'm a skeptical person, so I asked every single question I
could think of," Remnant member Kent Smith agreed. "All the questions
I had were addressed, and they never made me feel badly about asking
so many questions. They were very patient."
Smith moved his wife and four children from Oklahoma to live near
Remnant and said their experiences were far different than those
relayed by former church members.
Cliff and Lisa Peters are typical of the church experience, according
to Shamblin. They moved to Williamson County from their home near
Fresno, Calif., to be near Remnant. Cliff Peters says it was the
spirit of camaraderie in the congregation that compelled him to move
his wife and three children across the country in June of 2005.
The family had been attending an evangelical Christian church, where
Peters says he "felt we had really gotten away from what the
Scriptures teach."
"Even before Remnant I had felt burdened by that," Peters said. "But
when we came to Remnant, we realized we had not really been following
the Word and being obedient to God and seeking him in everything we
did."
Peters said that those who allege Remnant is a cult don't understand
what goes on at the church.
"I think it's the fear of the unknown for a lot of people," he said.
"If someone came here and really found out for themselves, they'd see
lives being changed and marriages being healed through this
relationship with God."
Defamation suit filed
Shamblin said the church does not promote or condone child abuse,
adding that she differentiates between hitting and spanking.
"Spanking a child is very different from hitting a child," she said.
"Hitting is not spanking. Hitting is inflicting pain in anger.
Spanking is a reluctant feeling that is necessary, and it does hurt
the parent more than the child."
She called spanking a "time-tested, ancient teaching from the Bible. ...
Every child is different, and some parents in the Remnant, all they
have to do is give the child a disapproving look, and some children
are strong-willed. Teaching and constant direction in the form of both
positive and, very occasionally negative, reinforcement is the most
loving way to raise a child."
The 1,200-member church has gone on the offensive to put to rest the
criticisms, hashed out in national magazines, blogs and newspaper
accounts, that have trailed it since Josef's death, church leaders
said.
Shamblin and 78 church members also have filed a
$3.3 million defamation suit against Rafael Martinez, who operates the
self-described cult-watch organization Spirit Watch, saying statements
that described church members' use of "extreme discipline" such as
"harsh spankings and whippings" were a "lie and a falsehood."
The suit, filed in November, goes to court next month.
It's "been a series of media sound bites that have been taken out of
context for three years," Shamblin said last week in a four-hour
interview she sought out with The Tennessean. "This is unfortunate for
the Smiths, and this will soon come to light the truth of what
happened."
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
Posts: 3
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:00 am Post subject: Brentwood deserves
this!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wonder how many in the church voted for Headley, are Republican? This
Christian right makes me sick. Beat children with glue sticks. BTW,
where's our illustrious DA? Coddling Headley I'm sure. Maybe plotting
with Robbie Beal to give visitation to child molesters. I can't wait
to move out of this hypocritical ship of fools. Between this church,
PCA, and the church that ate Franklin, you know Scotty Smith
worshipers, this county is doomed to elect bearded Jesus pretender
closet Christian *******, hypocritical child abusers and those that
protect them, and just about any other uneducated, smiling, praise the
lord **** that gets anointed by the local preacher men.
Back to top
goddalimighty
Amen to wmsncofools! Amen!
Bible verses for ya:
"Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy children against the
stones." - Psalm 137:9
"For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely
put to death." - Leviticus 20:9
"If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, bring him unto the
elders of his city. And all the men of his city shall stone him with
stones, that he die." Deuteronomy 21:18-21
Now, to every christian reading this, defend yourselves. YOU are a
part of this larger problem! YOU have blood on your hands. The members
of this church support their leaders. And christians in general
support christianity as a whole, even factions like this church. You
can justify ANYTHING with a bible verse, can't you?!? Beating kids
with glue sticks? I'm sure there is something in the bible that says
this is acceptable isn't it you hypocrites!
How many more kids have to die before the world wakes up and realizes
this religion for what it is? Churches preach obedience and mindless
conformity to authority and this church is no exception. Now look what
happened. And I bet the murdering couple has pro-life bumperstickers,
right next to the Bush/Cheney 2004 stickers.
Brentwood and its churches make me sick.
Back to top
Gwen Shamblin's church is nothing more than a cult! Her teachings are
man made and she thinks she is a holy leader. Hopefully in this trial
the truth will come out and people will find out what this so called
church really is...Forgive me for judging, but there is nothing in the
my Bible that advocates child abuse. As a matter of fact, Jesus made
it quite clear how to treat children...Please pray for the souls of
these people who have been led astray of the truth of the love of
Christ..
_________________
LadyElizabeth
Back to top
4good
We all need to pray for members of the Remnant! They have been led
astray by a leader who calls herself high priestess. If she really
understood the bible she would understand things like humility and
love. She has no foundational Christian basis in her teachings or her
actions. Her one claim to fame is brainwashing people into dieting to
make money.
Back to top
T-buck
Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Posts: 6
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:59 am Post subject:
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Was is not Jesus Christ himself (where Christianity's most basic
teachings came from) that said: he who has not sinned, cast the first
stone?
It's funny to me that people would use the Remnant Church as an
example of Christianity. Every religion has it's extremists. But, that
does not mean that the entire religion is a larger reflection of the
smaller factions.
Back to top
Trowgo
Joined: 02 Jan 2007
Posts: 13
Location: Old Hickory
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:07 am Post subject: Remnant Church
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child abuse in the name of our Lord, Duh!
I guess stupid is as stupid does.
Love is patience.......
Guess the members need Nanny 911 and DCS worker and speed dial
Back to top
jaycee
Joined: 18 Oct 2006
Posts: 11
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:19 am Post subject:
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Gwen Shamblin is one scary woman. NewsChannel 5 did an investigative
series called Firm Beliefs on her and the Remnant Church. It's still
available for viewing on their website. Shamblin is caught in lie
after lie as she denies knowledge of what this couple did, the use of
glue sticks, etc. The reporter would then play a portion of the tapes
seized during the raid on the church and she'd start back pedaling.
She says it's "okay to lie if you're doing it for the Lord." She also
likens herself to Moses and claims to be a prophet. The only thing
more disturbing than this egomaniac are the hollow eyed followers that
pack up their families and move across the country to be near her.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in
a garage makes you a car.
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clarksbar
Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Posts: 1680
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:20 am Post subject:
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Those who were involved with the torture and murder of this precious
and innocent child are sadists and child abusers. The fact that the
brutal murder was carried out by people that are members of a church
has nothing to do with religion. The Catholic Church under it's
previous liberal leadership descended into behavior most foul. Evil
people often use churches, as shields for their unspeakable deeds.
_________________
"Before I met Rick I was straight, but now I am gay." - Written by 12-
year-old Alex King regarding 41-year-old Rick Chavis.
Back to top
rbirdrb
Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 4
Location: California
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:04 am Post subject: Remnant Church
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the treatment given this little boy is so beneficial, why not give
the adult parents exactly the same? Sounds like a group of mental
patients have formed their own church organization and use it to
insulate their barbaric behavior from public scrutiny.
Back to top
indemom
Joined: 27 Oct 2006
Posts: 17
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:07 am Post subject: Time for Remnant to
go
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I agree with Gwen Shamblin about one thing. I will be glad to see the
results of this trial set the record straight on the Remnant Church
and its practices. It is difficult enough for parents to know what to
do in rising children without having some egotistical lunatic give
them the "green light from God" to terrorize their kids physically and
mentally. I'm so sorry for what little Josef suffered. It is
unspeakable. I also greatly admire the strength shown by young Laura
Boone in speaking out for Josef and the other children who are victims
of this outrageous perversion of faith. The Remnant Church is NOT
welcome in Brentwood, and I hope the outcome of this trial speeds its
early departure. Let me know if you guys need any help packing up to
leave town.
Back to top
MominTN
Joined: 18 Sep 2006
Posts: 1532
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:14 am Post subject:
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I met one person from this church in the grocery store. Talk about
pushy! I was trying to decide which light ice cream had the least fat
grams and the least carbs. Without being asked, this lady told me to
just buy the regular ice cream and eat less. I told her I would rather
have one less fattening and eat more. She said I needed to hear her
church's opinions on eating and prayer, and how God could help me
control my eating. Even though I am a Christian, I thought it was just
a little too much standing there in the frozen food dept. I'm
certainly glad I didn't take her up on her offer.
Back to top
Jimmy
Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 72
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:15 am Post subject:
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Gwesus is a whack job. She makes a life out of leading people astray.
They don't follow Jesus. They follow her.
_________________
Why is it that the Christian haters take every nutcase whacko and try
to say that ALL Christians support and are like them?
Unstable people are atheists, Christians, Jews, Wiccans, Hindus, and
Muslims and in the past 100 years as many people have been murdered in
the name of atheism as have been murdered in the name of any other
religion.
_________________
Presidents come and go. Jack Bauer remains.
"There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far
less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction."
JFK
Diet Guru to Cult leader? Personal communication with and approval by
Shamblim of the accused parents' "religious discipline" techniques?
Caught in lies by investigative journalists? While I believe the
parents are the ultimate culprits in this matter and their son Josef
the ultimate victim, I also believe that news accounts support the
assertion that the Remnant Church and Prophet Shamblin's role in this
inexcusable murder should subject this shameful Cult to culpability on
the highest level. Not just exposing Shamblin's idiotic advice which
turns members into murderers but actually imposing civil and criminal
liability for directing the murder of this innocent child. To excuse
the Remnant Church for its role in this murder is like excusing Osama
Bin Laden for his distant role in the bombing of the World Trade
Center simply because he wasn't present when the deaths occurred and
did not administer the death blow. Religious fanaticism shrouded by
hypocrisy and lies is no different in Brentwood than it is in the
Middle East.
Child's death renews scrutiny of local church
Members say accused Georgia parents innocent of murder
By ANITA WADHWANI
and HEATHER DONAHOE
Staff Writers
The murder trial of a Georgia couple accused of whipping, confining
and then beating their son to death shines a spotlight on the child
discipline practices of a controversial Brentwood church.
Josef Smith, 8, died in 2003 on the day he was whipped with foot-long
glue sticks, locked in a closet and told to pray to a picture of
Jesus. Ex-members of the church say the punishments were in line with
the discipline advice they heard while attending Remnant Fellowship
Church.
But church leaders, including Gwen Shamblin - the charismatic woman
known for creating the best-selling Christian weight-loss program
called the Weigh Down Workshop - say the trial under way this week in
an Atlanta suburb is their chance to set the record straight.
The church condones discipline, not abuse, said Shamblin. In an
exclusive interview, she called spanking a "loving," "time-tested,
ancient teaching from the Bible."
"Parents need to know that spankings and traditional groundings are
not against the law," she said. "I abide by the law.
"We don't leave marks."
Both sides say they hope the truth about the Remnant Fellowship Church
will emerge from the trial.
Boy died after whipping
Remnant Fellowship is a far-flung group, with 130 outposts called
"fellowships" across North America. Outlying members tune in to
worship services through a video Webcast from home, but many make
their way to the handsome, 650-seat Brentwood flagship church for
religious holidays and church celebrations.
Joseph and Sonya Smith lived in the Atlanta suburb of Mableton, Ga.,
and joined the church in 2000. Former church members recall seeing the
Smiths at church functions in Brentwood. One remembers seeing the boy,
Josef, dancing happily in church.
On Oct. 8, 2003, emergency crews were called to the Smiths' home in
Georgia after the couple reported Josef was having trouble breathing.
He died the next day at an Atlanta hospital.
Sonya Smith told police that on the day he died the couple had
disciplined Josef with a series of glue-stick whippings, delivered in
increments of 10. She said the boy was locked in a closet and made to
pray to a picture of Jesus affixed to the ceiling. He was monitored in
the kitchen via a camera in the closet.
A grand jury indicted the Smiths on murder charges, saying the couple
struck him with unknown objects and confined him to a wooden box. The
indictment included five counts of first-degree cruelty to a child,
two counts of false imprisonment and three counts of aggravated
assault, including beating him with glue sticks, the kind sold at
craft shops to load into a hot-glue gun.
The Smiths were arrested in December 2003 and spent four months in
jail before Remnant church members posted their bond.
The following May, Georgia investigators raided the Franklin
headquarters of the Weigh Down Workshop weight-loss program,
collecting files and computer disks over two days.
Police did not say what they found. No charges have been filed against
church officials or anyone else in the case.
Members support couple
Sonya Smith's attorney says she is innocent. Joseph Smith's attorney
did not return calls.
In an interview last week, Shamblin said her personal contact with the
Smiths was limited and that she was only vaguely familiar with the
family. She said the couple is innocent.
Hundreds of Remnant church members have prayed and decided to
collectively foot the Smiths' legal bills, Shamblin said.
Shamblin wouldn't go into detail about the case, saying she didn't
want to say anything that might jeopardize the Smiths' chance at
getting a fair trial. She said she does not know of any Remnant
members who will testify.
"It has been three years now, and I am more sure of their innocence
than ever," Shamblin said. "The forensic evidence that will come out
in court will prove the innocence of the Smiths."
Part of the evidence police have collected is a tape recording of a
women's group meeting in which Shamblin praises Sonya Smith for
disciplining her son, the magazine Christianity Today reported in
2004. Prosecutors won't comment on what evidence will be introduced at
trial.
In the recorded church conference call from 2003, Sonya Smith tells
Shamblin she had locked her son in his room from Friday to Monday with
only a Bible, the magazine reported.
"That's a miracle," Shamblin responded. "You've got a child going from
bizarre to in control. So praise God."
At the trial on Tuesday, defense attorney Manny Arora cautioned jurors
they would see photographs depicting the boy's injuries that "may make
you sick to your stomach." But, he said, those injuries "did not cause
Josef's death." Josef slipped and fell on a banister, he said.
Baby-sitter was uneasy
Laura Boone, 17, has been called to testify as a witness in the trial
this week. Boone, who will graduate from Brentwood High School this
spring, began baby-sitting for Remnant families when she was in junior
high school.
Occasionally, she and her friends were hired to provide child care
during conferences and special events.
In April 2003, Boone baby-sat during an event at Weigh Down's Seaboard
Lane headquarters, where she says the Smiths had come for a weekend
visit.
"There were more than 20 kids total there," she said. "All the adults
were getting ready to go into the worship room, and Josef Jr. was
crying really hard in the corner. I asked his dad what he wanted me to
do, and he looked right at me, and he hit his fist into his hand
really hard."
Boone said Smith Sr. told her to hit his son, "Hit him hard," she
recalled Smith telling her.
"I just told him I didn't feel comfortable hitting his son," she said.
"So, he took Josef in the little room next door, and we could hear
Josef crying really hard and his dad hitting him."
Boone said Josef returned to the nursery area still crying but with no
visible marks on his body.
That was the last time Boone or her friends accepted a baby-sitting
job at Remnant or for a Remnant family, she said.
Boone says she is testifying because she "wants to be a voice for
Josef Smith Jr."
Some disenchanted
Some former church members say obedience to church leaders, called
"getting under authority," is paramount for adults. Children's
disobedience is a sign of sin, they say.
Ex-members have created an online support group called City of Refuge.
Former member Adam Brooks, a Philadelphia psychologist, says the
online group has attracted about 100 people, ex-members and family
members cut off from those still in the church. They are closely
watching the trial coverage, he said.
Like other members, Steve Miozzi and his wife joined Remnant after
taking a Weigh Down class at their church in east Cleveland, Ohio. He
said he and his wife were initially enthralled.
"You walked into the church, and you thought this is what heaven must
look like," said Betsy Miozzi.
Everyone was thin, their teeth white, the children well behaved, and
many appeared to be financially successful, she said. And everyone was
"lovebombing" the couple, she said, using the church's terminology for
friendly embracing of new visitors.
But when Steve Miozzi sought help on how to deal with an 11-year-old
boy misbehaving during worship services, he said he was told by church
leader Ted Anger to beat the back of the boy's thighs with a glue
stick. If the boy didn't behave he was to keep repeating the
procedure, and if the boy continued to misbehave he was to put him in
a room with nothing but a Bible, Miozzi said.
Miozzi says that when he visited the Brentwood church for worship
services, there were "glue sticks sticking out of diaper bags" in the
aisles.
Anger dismissed Miozzi's account last week, saying he never prescribed
a specific way to spank a child.
"I didn't sit there and give people manual instructions about
discipline," Anger said. "It's always been about teaching principles.
It's about putting the parents back in control with love and
boundaries."
Child discipline is not what Miozzi says prompted him and his wife to
leave the church.
They left after three years because of a church philosophy that he
said did not allow any questioning of church leaders. The strict
obedience to their authority "destroyed my personal relationship with
Jesus Christ," he said.
Also, he said, he was taken to task for not losing enough weight.
Parents, daughter differ
Support group member Susan Warren of Oklahoma says she feels she has
lost her daughter to Remnant. Her daughter, Cary, joined the church
seven years ago at 17 after baby-sitting for a church couple.
One day, Warren said, she and her husband stopped by the home where
her daughter was baby-sitting three small children. She said she spied
two long white glue sticks on the kitchen counter.
"We were in the kitchen with the kids," she said. "We saw the glue
sticks on the counter, and I said, 'why do you have to keep glues
sticks out like that?' She (Cary) said they were necessary, that she
didn't have to use them very often, but she did have to use them" to
discipline the children, Warren said.
Cary Warren said she doesn't remember the incident, and her parents
never visited while she was baby-sitting.
"She could refresh my memory, but I don't recall that," said Cary
Warren, who now lives in Brentwood. She said she loves and honors her
parents even more after joining Remnant but believes they are getting
misinformation from "groups that are against Remnant."
Her mother said she hopes the trial will expose Remnant.
"I hope it finally breaks (the church) open, and we can have our
daughter back," Susan Warren said.
Members back leaders
Shamblin said that the criticisms leveled by a handful of former
church members distort reality. Miozzi, for example, has spoken with
the media before.
"Talking to someone who left our church in anger is like talking to
someone's ex-boyfriend," Shamblin said. "People have learned they can
get on television if they have something bad to say. It's really
exciting being Gwen Shamblin's enemy."
The handful of church critics must be weighed against thousands of
more who have found joy in the church, she said.
"Nobody is told what to do here," Shamblin said. "They do it because
they're under conviction to do so. If they don't like it, some of them
leave on their own. It's not my way or the highway."
And church members have rallied around their leader and the
institution.
"By nature I'm a skeptical person, so I asked every single question I
could think of," Remnant member Kent Smith agreed. "All the questions
I had were addressed, and they never made me feel badly about asking
so many questions. They were very patient."
Smith moved his wife and four children from Oklahoma to live near
Remnant and said their experiences were far different than those
relayed by former church members.
Cliff and Lisa Peters are typical of the church experience, according
to Shamblin. They moved to Williamson County from their home near
Fresno, Calif., to be near Remnant. Cliff Peters says it was the
spirit of camaraderie in the congregation that compelled him to move
his wife and three children across the country in June of 2005.
The family had been attending an evangelical Christian church, where
Peters says he "felt we had really gotten away from what the
Scriptures teach."
"Even before Remnant I had felt burdened by that," Peters said. "But
when we came to Remnant, we realized we had not really been following
the Word and being obedient to God and seeking him in everything we
did."
Peters said that those who allege Remnant is a cult don't understand
what goes on at the church.
"I think it's the fear of the unknown for a lot of people," he said.
"If someone came here and really found out for themselves, they'd see
lives being changed and marriages being healed through this
relationship with God."
Defamation suit filed
Shamblin said the church does not promote or condone child abuse,
adding that she differentiates between hitting and spanking.
"Spanking a child is very different from hitting a child," she said.
"Hitting is not spanking. Hitting is inflicting pain in anger.
Spanking is a reluctant feeling that is necessary, and it does hurt
the parent more than the child."
She called spanking a "time-tested, ancient teaching from the Bible. ...
Every child is different, and some parents in the Remnant, all they
have to do is give the child a disapproving look, and some children
are strong-willed. Teaching and constant direction in the form of both
positive and, very occasionally negative, reinforcement is the most
loving way to raise a child."
The 1,200-member church has gone on the offensive to put to rest the
criticisms, hashed out in national magazines, blogs and newspaper
accounts, that have trailed it since Josef's death, church leaders
said.
Shamblin and 78 church members also have filed a
$3.3 million defamation suit against Rafael Martinez, who operates the
self-described cult-watch organization Spirit Watch, saying statements
that described church members' use of "extreme discipline" such as
"harsh spankings and whippings" were a "lie and a falsehood."
The suit, filed in November, goes to court next month.
It's "been a series of media sound bites that have been taken out of
context for three years," Shamblin said last week in a four-hour
interview she sought out with The Tennessean. "This is unfortunate for
the Smiths, and this will soon come to light the truth of what
happened."
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
Posts: 3
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:00 am Post subject: Brentwood deserves
this!
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Wonder how many in the church voted for Headley, are Republican? This
Christian right makes me sick. Beat children with glue sticks. BTW,
where's our illustrious DA? Coddling Headley I'm sure. Maybe plotting
with Robbie Beal to give visitation to child molesters. I can't wait
to move out of this hypocritical ship of fools. Between this church,
PCA, and the church that ate Franklin, you know Scotty Smith
worshipers, this county is doomed to elect bearded Jesus pretender
closet Christian *******, hypocritical child abusers and those that
protect them, and just about any other uneducated, smiling, praise the
lord **** that gets anointed by the local preacher men.
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goddalimighty
Amen to wmsncofools! Amen!
Bible verses for ya:
"Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy children against the
stones." - Psalm 137:9
"For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely
put to death." - Leviticus 20:9
"If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, bring him unto the
elders of his city. And all the men of his city shall stone him with
stones, that he die." Deuteronomy 21:18-21
Now, to every christian reading this, defend yourselves. YOU are a
part of this larger problem! YOU have blood on your hands. The members
of this church support their leaders. And christians in general
support christianity as a whole, even factions like this church. You
can justify ANYTHING with a bible verse, can't you?!? Beating kids
with glue sticks? I'm sure there is something in the bible that says
this is acceptable isn't it you hypocrites!
How many more kids have to die before the world wakes up and realizes
this religion for what it is? Churches preach obedience and mindless
conformity to authority and this church is no exception. Now look what
happened. And I bet the murdering couple has pro-life bumperstickers,
right next to the Bush/Cheney 2004 stickers.
Brentwood and its churches make me sick.
Back to top
Gwen Shamblin's church is nothing more than a cult! Her teachings are
man made and she thinks she is a holy leader. Hopefully in this trial
the truth will come out and people will find out what this so called
church really is...Forgive me for judging, but there is nothing in the
my Bible that advocates child abuse. As a matter of fact, Jesus made
it quite clear how to treat children...Please pray for the souls of
these people who have been led astray of the truth of the love of
Christ..
_________________
LadyElizabeth
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4good
We all need to pray for members of the Remnant! They have been led
astray by a leader who calls herself high priestess. If she really
understood the bible she would understand things like humility and
love. She has no foundational Christian basis in her teachings or her
actions. Her one claim to fame is brainwashing people into dieting to
make money.
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T-buck
Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Posts: 6
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:59 am Post subject:
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Was is not Jesus Christ himself (where Christianity's most basic
teachings came from) that said: he who has not sinned, cast the first
stone?
It's funny to me that people would use the Remnant Church as an
example of Christianity. Every religion has it's extremists. But, that
does not mean that the entire religion is a larger reflection of the
smaller factions.
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Trowgo
Joined: 02 Jan 2007
Posts: 13
Location: Old Hickory
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:07 am Post subject: Remnant Church
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Child abuse in the name of our Lord, Duh!
I guess stupid is as stupid does.
Love is patience.......
Guess the members need Nanny 911 and DCS worker and speed dial
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jaycee
Joined: 18 Oct 2006
Posts: 11
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:19 am Post subject:
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Gwen Shamblin is one scary woman. NewsChannel 5 did an investigative
series called Firm Beliefs on her and the Remnant Church. It's still
available for viewing on their website. Shamblin is caught in lie
after lie as she denies knowledge of what this couple did, the use of
glue sticks, etc. The reporter would then play a portion of the tapes
seized during the raid on the church and she'd start back pedaling.
She says it's "okay to lie if you're doing it for the Lord." She also
likens herself to Moses and claims to be a prophet. The only thing
more disturbing than this egomaniac are the hollow eyed followers that
pack up their families and move across the country to be near her.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in
a garage makes you a car.
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clarksbar
Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Posts: 1680
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:20 am Post subject:
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Those who were involved with the torture and murder of this precious
and innocent child are sadists and child abusers. The fact that the
brutal murder was carried out by people that are members of a church
has nothing to do with religion. The Catholic Church under it's
previous liberal leadership descended into behavior most foul. Evil
people often use churches, as shields for their unspeakable deeds.
_________________
"Before I met Rick I was straight, but now I am gay." - Written by 12-
year-old Alex King regarding 41-year-old Rick Chavis.
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rbirdrb
Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 4
Location: California
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:04 am Post subject: Remnant Church
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the treatment given this little boy is so beneficial, why not give
the adult parents exactly the same? Sounds like a group of mental
patients have formed their own church organization and use it to
insulate their barbaric behavior from public scrutiny.
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indemom
Joined: 27 Oct 2006
Posts: 17
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:07 am Post subject: Time for Remnant to
go
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I agree with Gwen Shamblin about one thing. I will be glad to see the
results of this trial set the record straight on the Remnant Church
and its practices. It is difficult enough for parents to know what to
do in rising children without having some egotistical lunatic give
them the "green light from God" to terrorize their kids physically and
mentally. I'm so sorry for what little Josef suffered. It is
unspeakable. I also greatly admire the strength shown by young Laura
Boone in speaking out for Josef and the other children who are victims
of this outrageous perversion of faith. The Remnant Church is NOT
welcome in Brentwood, and I hope the outcome of this trial speeds its
early departure. Let me know if you guys need any help packing up to
leave town.
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MominTN
Joined: 18 Sep 2006
Posts: 1532
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:14 am Post subject:
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I met one person from this church in the grocery store. Talk about
pushy! I was trying to decide which light ice cream had the least fat
grams and the least carbs. Without being asked, this lady told me to
just buy the regular ice cream and eat less. I told her I would rather
have one less fattening and eat more. She said I needed to hear her
church's opinions on eating and prayer, and how God could help me
control my eating. Even though I am a Christian, I thought it was just
a little too much standing there in the frozen food dept. I'm
certainly glad I didn't take her up on her offer.
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Jimmy
Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 72
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:15 am Post subject:
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Gwesus is a whack job. She makes a life out of leading people astray.
They don't follow Jesus. They follow her.
_________________
Why is it that the Christian haters take every nutcase whacko and try
to say that ALL Christians support and are like them?
Unstable people are atheists, Christians, Jews, Wiccans, Hindus, and
Muslims and in the past 100 years as many people have been murdered in
the name of atheism as have been murdered in the name of any other
religion.
_________________
Presidents come and go. Jack Bauer remains.
"There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far
less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction."
JFK
Diet Guru to Cult leader? Personal communication with and approval by
Shamblim of the accused parents' "religious discipline" techniques?
Caught in lies by investigative journalists? While I believe the
parents are the ultimate culprits in this matter and their son Josef
the ultimate victim, I also believe that news accounts support the
assertion that the Remnant Church and Prophet Shamblin's role in this
inexcusable murder should subject this shameful Cult to culpability on
the highest level. Not just exposing Shamblin's idiotic advice which
turns members into murderers but actually imposing civil and criminal
liability for directing the murder of this innocent child. To excuse
the Remnant Church for its role in this murder is like excusing Osama
Bin Laden for his distant role in the bombing of the World Trade
Center simply because he wasn't present when the deaths occurred and
did not administer the death blow. Religious fanaticism shrouded by
hypocrisy and lies is no different in Brentwood than it is in the
Middle East.