All language subtitles for The.Way.Down.S01E01.WEBRip.x264-ION10_English

[men speaking]

[police radio chatter]

Good afternoon.
Initial reports indicated

that a plane crashed
into the water

just off the shore of the Fate
Sanders recreational area.

We do anticipate
search-and-rescue efforts

to continue through the night.

We will provide updates
as we have them.

[police radio chatter]

The search continues

after a plane went down
into Percy Priest Lake.

Investigators updated us
just about an hour ago,

and they told me
that their rescue efforts

have now turned
into recovery efforts.

Rutherford County officials

just confirmed
the seven people on board

are all leaders at Remnant
Fellowship Church in Brentwood.

[videographer] This is
a legal video deposition

of Gwen Shamblin
on May 23, 2019.

Court reporter, would you
please swear in the witness.

[court reporter]
Will you raise your right hand?

Do you swear or affirm

the testimony
that you give in this matter

will be the truth,
the whole truth

and nothing but the truth?

- I do.
- Okay.

[attorney] What is your position
with Remnant Fellowship?

I am one of the leaders.

Have any of the members
of Remnant Fellowship

been asked to leave
Remnant Fellowship

because they're overweight

after being there
for a long period of time?

No.

Have you ever shunned a member
of your Remnant Fellowship

because they had not yet lost
all of their weight?

Never.

Do you encourage members
of the Remnant Fellowship

not to socialize
with non-Remnant members?

No.

To your knowledge,

do any of the members
of the Remnant Fellowship

consider you to be a prophet?

God has taken 86 pounds
off of me.

I have lost 53 pounds.

I have lost 50 pounds
just following my wife.

She has lost 178.

I had sleep apnea.
I had high blood pressure.

I had acid reflux.

I'm not
on any medications anymore.

I don't have to use a machine
to breathe at night.

I'm just free.

I've always looked
for God's guidance,

and so, apparently,
he was able to use me.

Even at a young age,
I adored him,

and so he used me.

And what I do in this program
is teach people

how to stop bowing down
to the refrigerator

and how to bow back down to him.

[woman] We just thank you
for this teaching

that has given us freedom

and kept our weight off
all this time, God.

Do you think it's appropriate
for you to use the Holocaust

to promote
your weight-loss plan?

- I can give you--
- Okay, that--that's enough,

I think. Let's go. Let's go.

[Gwen] What does
the state of the church

have to do with weight loss?

The answer is everything.

I've known for some time

that resistance to doing
the will of God

was increasing in the church,

but we're headed for trouble,

and someone has got
to warn the people.

♪♪♪

Brentwood is located

in the wealthiest county
in Tennessee.

It feels safe and protected

from the harsh realities
of the real world.

People sometimes refer to it
as the Brentwood Bubble.

You grow up with the same people

from kindergarten
through high school.

You know the community members.

Everyone goes to football games
on Friday night

and goes to church
on Sunday mornings.

There's a church
on almost every corner,

I mean, kind of in the same way

there's a Starbucks
on every corner.

Most everyone's
on the same kind of class.

There's not a lot
of racial diversity.

There's not a lot of diversity
of any sort.

Because it's in that bubble,
I think I am surprised

that more people don't know
that live right there

about this place. You know?

The house that I grew up in
and lived in for over 20 years

is about a mile
from Remnant Fellowship Church,

so I drove by all the time.

It's surreal to just see it
standing there in an open field.

There's a church next door,

so it just kind of flows
and fits in with Brentwood.

You know, church after church.

And you would never guess
that this church

was so different
from all the others.

[singing]

♪♪♪

[man] There are guesses

about how many people
are members of the church.

We suspect it's around 2,000.

Most of the church
resides in Brentwood,

and there have been
quite a few families

who have relocated
from out of state to Brentwood

just so they could be there
at the church.

♪♪♪

[woman] The heart of the church
is in Brentwood.

Forty acres. Huge church.
Beautiful church.

And members either share housing

or live very close
to the church.

And Ashlawn
is less than five minutes away.

[woman] Gwen Shamblin's
Ashlawn plantation,

I think it's a seven-bedroom,
25-acre estate.

I mean, if you can park
your helicopter there,

then you can probably imagine
that it's fairly big.

It's right in the center
of Brentwood

near the Franklin border,

and it's used as an event venue
for Remnant Fellowship.

The weddings are very abundant,

very overdone.

It's all about reputation
and appearances.

[woman] They want you
to be clones of them.

Everyone dresses the same way,

and the children are dressed

in, I would say,
turn-of-the-century

with lots of ruffles and lace.

And even the little boys look
like Little Lord Fauntleroy.

And the people are always happy.

Or they "look" happy.

[Glen] How members
of Remnant behave

is a bit like
"The Handmaid's Tale"

and "Stepford Wives."

There is a little bit
of this fake persona

and over-the-top bubbly, happy

that, you know,
is just for show.

I am right now on fire...

- Go.
- ...for God to get his way.

That's what I want.

God to get his way.

When Gwen first started,
I truly believed

she really wanted
to help people.

She was so charismatic.

And the joy on Gwen's face

when she would talk
about the Lord--

And when Gwen would talk about
just her relationship with God,

there was so much joy there
that you wanted what she had.

[all] ...all about God!

It was teaching you
how to focus on God

and how to really grow
your relationship with God,

and it was probably one
of the best times of my life,

believe it or not.

It was one
of the best times of my life.

[man] You have this person
and a whole movement

who really wanna do
whatever God wants them to do

and are idealistic
and wanna change the world

with their faith.

It sucks you in, you know.

And it's not till you get
a good way in

that you see some
of the other stuff

that's behind the curtain.

[Glen] I wanted
to raise children

that would be good citizens,
hard-working, successful.

You talk to 'em
about drugs and alcohol

and driving too fast
and teenage pregnancy,

but you never think
to coach your kids on a cult.

It's just--
It's not in the manual.

Both my oldest and youngest
are very independent.

Delaney wasn't as much.

She's extremely smart.

She's one of these kids
that get straight A's

without cracking a book.

She's very, very intelligent.

[Carey] We'd heard
very few rumors

about Remnant Fellowship Church.

But you never really
would hear any details

because, of course, those things
are coming from people

who really
didn't have experience.

It was just outsiders hearing
just that they're weird

or that they're
kind of shut people off

and they're not inclusive,
stuff like that.

But it wasn't anything
super concerning at that point.

So when she met Jackson,

I said, "You don't treat him
any different,"

because I knew
that that was probably a thing

that some people probably
treated him different

because of the church
he went to.

And at some point,
I started to feel like

there was probably
something else going on

that she wasn't telling us.

[Glen] We became aware of it
in 2016.

They were
in the same grade together,

and she started taking
an interest in this boy

and they were
in a play together.

[Carey] She was in the midst
of applying for colleges,

trying to figure out what she
wanted to do with her life.

You know? Just senior year
was kind of traumatic for her.

[Glen] We were told
by one ex-member of Remnant

that they had
a high opinion of Jackson.

He's very much extroverted.
He talks a lot.

He's generally friendly.

But because of what I know,
there's an undercurrent there,

and you kind of realize
the game he's playing.

[Carey] I knew something
wasn't right,

so I went into her room and
said, "Let me have your phone."

I went on
and I saw some very graphic--

them reliving
some physical encounters.

So I took her phone
and I called Glen,

and I said, "You need
to come home right now

'cause we have a problem."

[Glen] We had started a little
bit of research on Remnant,

and we had found
some disturbing things.

So I met Jackson and Delaney
at Cracker Barrel.

I asked him directly.

I said, "Do you intend
to convert Delaney

to your religion?"

And he said, "Yes, I do."

At this point,
he had been pretty arrogant.

Then I pulled out
the text messages,

and his entire
countenance changed.

I said, "I do not want them
seeing each other anymore."

It felt like
the problem was solved.

It felt like it was over.

We found out fairly quickly
it wasn't.

[Carey] Delaney was saying,
"We're not dating,

we're not dating."

I said,
"Then what are you doing?"

"Well, we just don't like
to put a label on it like that."

Well, you know, in my mind,
I'm going,

"He's forcing her
to make a decision.

He's not going
to make that commitment

until she joins the church."

There's a letter where I think

it looks like
Jackson's handwriting,

and it was several explanations
about what to say to us

when she did not want
to be engaged

in the conversation
that we were wanting to have

if it involved Remnant.

[Glen] She was being coached
to be deceptive.

We found emails
where she was told,

"Don't forget to delete
your emails,"

don't forget to change
your password,

don't forget to use
your other email address."

We think there are
email addresses out there

we don't know about,
and we believe

she probably deleted
lots of emails.

She was told,
"There's evil in your house,

and there's shadows, darkness."

[Carey] And the next week or so,

I just had that feeling
that there was something wrong,

and I went into her room
and I found a burner phone,

and I called her in
and I said, "What is this?"

I said, "Who gave it to you?"
And she wouldn't tell me.

So apparently that day
she had walked to church,

and one of their church members

took her to Walgreen's
or wherever

and bought her a phone
so that she could keep it hidden

so that they could continue
to have communication with her.

It started to be where
it wasn't Delaney anymore.

And you could tell
in her eyes...

that we were kind of losing her.

[Glen] Gwen Shamblin's
motivation isn't money.

It was almost be easier
if it was.

But I think--I think
her motivation is power.

[Gwen's voice]

...of mistakes and trials,

hardships,
and finally victories.

Now that I look back on it,

this is what God
was preparing me for

even early in life.

Gwen Shamblin really is
a product of her culture.

She's a Tennessean,

and southerners
are a unique people.

They're wonderful people.

They're people of faith.
They're hard-working.

And Gwen Shamblin's
the same way.

We southerners
grow up in a culture

understanding the Bible
in a particular way.

And we understand Jesus.

We understand that religion

in a very particular way
that you wouldn't understand

if you grew up in Boston
or in New York, you know.

It's a different view,

and that view is
nobody else but Jesus,

nobody even close,

and that the Bible
is literally true

and that it is your job,
above anything else,

to recruit people
to that way of view.

♪♪♪

Ms. Shamblin grew up

in one of the most conservative
religious environments

in our region:
the Church of Christ.

The church she grew up in
forbad women speaking in church,

and now she's the pastor
of a church.

It used to be very sectarian.

We were the only ones
going to heaven, you know.

I remember when I was a kid,

I used to tell
my little Catholic friends

they were probably
going to hell.

The Church Of Christ
is a protestant church movement

that began in the 1800s,

and it was an amalgamation
of several different groups

with the same ideas,

and one of these ideas
was restorationism.

That simply being the belief
that a recovery

of your original
Christian practice and thought

derived only from scripture

was the only way
to reapproach truth.

And they, of course, believed
that they'd come across it,

that they are restoring
lost truth.

[Adam] Church of Christ-ers
have that mindset of, like,

it is possible for human beings

to sort of build
the right church.

We're gonna look
in the scriptures,

and we're gonna figure out
what we have to do

to make God's church perfect
here on earth.

And I think Gwen just kind of
went into a different direction

but certainly overboard.

[Gwen's voice]

[Rev. Martinez]
Her mother apparently

was of the persuasion
that you had to clean your plate

back in those days.

Since she was the one
of, like, three or four kids,

she wanted to make sure
she got her fair share.

Her father would notice

how her eyes
were bigger than her head.

She believed that she needed
to clean her plate,

get all she could,

but that she always had
a restless hunger for more.

She traces that back and
tributes that restless hunger

as part of this sinfulness,

as part of a lack
of self-control.

When she finally left home
and went to college,

she gained 14 or 15 pounds
of excess weight.

That's where she begins
her discussion

of trying to understand what it
means to be a thin eater

who could eat
but not gain weight.

And as she was going
through college,

becoming a nutritionist,

she began to understand
the science behind nutrition,

but all the other influences
that she's been involved with

were there
in the back of her head.

They were there
waiting to come forth.

If you've tried to lose weight

with a low fat, high protein,
even liquid diets,

all to no avail,
there are a number of books

that suggest you appeal
to a higher power.

Books like "The Divine Diet,"
"Body by God."

There's even "What would Jesus
Eat?" just to name a few.

[Rev. Martinez] She had been
throughout the early '80s

sharing her wisdom, what she had
found about this thin eater,

to listen to your body,
to follow hunger cues.

To her,
it was divine revelation.

Every time
you want to go to food,

and it may be 15,
20 times a day, run to God.

She started
incorporating scripture,

and people started to come,
but they would lose some weight,

and they would start
to gain it back.

And she finally asked the Lord
what's going on,

and he said that they--
To her, he said--

To Gwen, she heard God say

that "they are not following
me and my son.

They're not being obedient."

And that's
how all of this started.

What I do in this program
is teach people

how to stop bowing down
to the refrigerator

and how to bow back down to him.

[Rev. Martinez]
Other Christian diets

had taught the same
general principles,

but she in turn expanded on it,

and she began developing
these Bible studies

that became the foundation
for the Weigh Down Workshop.

[woman] Hey, guys,
welcome to week 6 of Weigh Down.

Debbie, if you want
to lead us in prayer.

[Teri] A neighbor across
the street told me about it.

She said
that it's a great diet

where you don't have
to count calories.

You don't have to exercise.

And you could stop in the middle
of a piece of pizza

or stop in the middle
of a candy bar

and not eat the rest.

And I thought, "No way!
There's no such thing."

The basic principles
were, you know, you can eat

whatever you want.

No foods are bad.

Jesus declared all foods clean
in Mark 7.

So there was freedom

in "I can actually eat pizza
and chocolate and lose weight?"

That intrigued me.

The world will say you can't eat
that way and lose weight.

What you did is you waited
for physical hunger,

and you ate
till you're satisfied.

And the times that you weren't
hungry, you went to God.

You prayed. You gave that desire
for the food to him.

[Gwen] They can only think
about food

when their stomach growls,

and that eliminates
a lot of focus on food.

[Helen] What Gwen would say

is you have breakfast and lunch
and dinner on your body.

If you don't have your growl,
you know,

but your body needs some food,

it's just going to take
the fat away from your body.

It's just going to take
all of the extra breakfasts

and lunches that you've had

and you're gonna lose weight
and you're gonna feel great.

You're gonna have more energy,

and you're gonna be right
with God

because you're gonna be thinner.

I started losing weight
immediately.

I mean, like--

Within two months,
I had lost 27 pounds.

So the program itself works,
and it's simply portion control.

[Gina] Gwen always touted

that this was, like,
some revolutionary thing

that God had given her.

Yet, it's been around forever,
and I'm finding that out now.

You know, she didn't have--
nor does she still--

have the corner on the market
in intuitive eating.

God revealed to me that this
was the true deliverance

and that the key
to permanent weight control

is a matter of the heart.

It plays
to what every American adult

is obsessed about: their weight.
You know?

And if you think about how many
Americans are evangelical

who have been thought that all
the answers are in the Bible

and that if we just studied
the scriptures hard enough,

we'll see God's way.

[Rev. Martinez]
They trusted Gwen Shamblin

because they felt,
"Look, she's a church member."

She uses the Bible.

She's speaking to people
who are in churches

who have the same convictions.

You fall out of love
with the food,

and you fall in love with God.

It was the way
he intended it to happen.

[Rev. Martinez]
That bridging of that gap

is how she was able
to gain the traction she gained

within the church
and within culture.

It became quite--quite
a runaway success.

Weigh Down began five years ago
in a Baptist church.

It spread by word of mouth
to more than 250,000 people

in over 14,000 churches
and 70 countries.

[Teri] Weigh Down Workshop
classes were in churches.

I mean, it was thousands of
churches all over the country.

Just about every church
on the corner

would have
the Weigh Down Workshops.

- Hi, Ms. Shamblin.
- Yes!

How are you?
I'm Jackie Taylor,

one of the producers here.
My sister's on your diet.

You have to sign a copy
of your book for my mom.

Her birthday's tomorrow.

[Rev. Martinez]
She was on "20/20," CBS, NBC.

It was just
a massive media hit.

[reporter] To her followers, she
is sort of a modern-day Moses.

Her book has already sold
more than 400,000 copies.

[Teri] I thought
of her as a star.

She had this large, flat-screen
TV in one of her rooms. Huge.

And "Larry King Live"
was playing--

her interview
with "Larry King Live"--

just over and over.

I think
what we have not addressed

is that this
is a void inside of us.

We were made to be addictive.

And I'm not asking people
not to be addictive.

I'm saying transfer over
this addiction to God,

the only thing
that can love you back

without, you know,
robbing you blind.

[Gina] There was
a lot going on.

It was really exciting.

The Larry King days,

the, you know,
the Doubleday bestseller days,

and her book tour days.

That was the height
when she would go and do

all these tours
all over the country.

They're called
Rebuilding the Wall.

And she would have
everybody on stage.

They would get on stage, and
they would hold their clothes up

where they've lost
all this weight.

I've lost 117 pounds
by the grace of God.

I'm from Denver, Colorado,
and I've lost 196 pounds.

- I've lost 156 pounds now.
- [applause]

[reporter] All of the members

usually have words
of thanks to Gwen

for helping them lose the weight
and keep it off,

something no other diet
has been able to do for them.

I just have always
wanted to see you.

- Oh, come here.
- [applause]

[Gina] She loved on everybody,
you know, just lots of love

and, you know, made you feel
really great.

That was something that I,
you know, had missing in me.

So I soaked that all up.

You know, I was in awe.
It was just like, "Wow.

This person has just
been put here on this earth

to change my life.

And so you wanna
get around them.

I wanted to be her best friend.

It is the truth, and it is
the answer to that bondage.

It is a bondage.
You are enslaved

to all the diet foods
and all the regulations.

And it's just a freedom

to know that you're not gonna
be enslaved to that anymore.

It is extremely unusual
to have a religious group

in the Christian faith
led by a woman,

to have a matriarchal lineage,
to have a feminine force.

The wife is incidental in most
of these evangelical churches.

[Rev. Martinez] The core
audience for Weigh Down Workshop

were women that felt they had
great needs in their life

that weren't being spoken to

by the traditional church
that they were in.

They were also confessing what
they were seeing in the church

by way of hypocrisy.

They were seeing the preachers.

They were seeing the big
fat cat leaders in the churches

living such immoral
and materialistic lives.

So they began to view
the Weigh Down Workshop

and its teaching and its claims
and what Gwen was saying

as an alternative,
as an outlet

to help get those needs met.

It seems like I talk too fast

because I'm so excited
about God.

She's so passionate for God.

She was one of the first women
that I've ever seen

that just loved God

and taught you how to have
a relationship with God.

It did radically change me
in many, many ways,

and it was one of the best times
of my life early on.

It really pointed me
to look into God for everything

and examining your life
of just, you know, areas

that you've put more
of a priority on than on God.

Are you worried at all
that you're sending the message

that God only likes thin people?

Mm-mmm. I don't think
he looks at the outside

so much as the heart.

That's what he says.
I think he's jealous.

He's jealous of us worshipping,
you know, objects more than him.

[Rev. Martinez] She was
continually cranking out

more curricula, more media
with the same message.

As the fortunes began to grow,

as she began to get
more and more of a following,

she was broadening things
towards believing

that her message
was going to apply--

it was applicable
to any personal problem.

They're laying down cigarettes,
alcohol, pornography.

We're getting truckloads
of letters

of things that are happening
as people have been able

to transfer a relationship
with food

to a relationship with God.

[Rev. Martinez] She just
continually asserts

that she is a purveyor
of this wonderful message.

"We want to teach you
permanent weight loss,

but more than that,
we want to teach you...

fulfillment of life."

She uses all the verbiage

of recruitment to a cause,

to a personal quest.

She beckoned to people.

There's a way to what
she called the Promised Land.

[crickets chirping]

[Glen] There was a person
I had come in contact with

who used to be at Remnant,
him and his whole family,

and they got out,
and I had asked him

if he would be willing
to meet with Delaney

and talk about their experience.

[Carey] Delaney agreed to go.

And it just happened
to be a Wednesday night,

'cause that's
when this person could meet us.

And, of course, that meant
she was gonna miss church.

So the day that it happened,

um, she started to panic.

[Glen] She started
to renege on it a bit

and didn't want to 'cause she
didn't want to miss church.

But I told her you committed,
and they're already locked in,

and so we're gonna go.

[Carey] So that night we went

and met with this ex-church
member and his daughter.

They decided they were
gonna leave the church.

And when they left,
no one would talk to them.

Basically, their life
as they knew it was just done.

And he was so kind
and so informative.

And I remember Delaney
just sitting there

acting like a five-year-old.

Like, "I don't wanna
listen to this."

She wouldn't ask any questions,
you know.

It was just kind of like,

there was nothing
out of that conversation

that would have helped her,
in her brain.

[Glen] Delaney came home
with me in my truck,

and when I backed
into the driveway,

got out, went into the house.

And she didn't follow me,
but that didn't surprise me.

I figured
she probably was fuming

and needed to cool off
a little bit.

A few minutes later,
I realized she hadn't come in,

so I went back out to get her,
and she was gone.

We went driving around
looking for her,

but it wasn't very long.

And we got a text message
from someone else's phone number

that said, "I'm safe.

I'm at someone's house.
Don't worry about me."

[Carey] My concern is
that at some point

she would want to get out.

But yet, it's going to be
one of those things

where she's not going
to be able to

because...they're gonna--

They don't let you leave.

♪ We will glorify
the King of kings ♪

♪ We will glorify the Lamb ♪

♪ We will glorify
the Lord of lords ♪

♪ Who is the great I Am ♪

[Adam] Coming out
of the church background

that Gwen and I share,

there's a real emphasis
on lay leadership.

So I think that she sort
of came along this idea

of, like, "Oh, people
can lose weight

if they eat this certain way,

and it's God's way
of people losing weight,

and I'm the one
with the message."

She cashed in on it,

but also, I think, in her mind,
you know,

brought God's kingdom
into earth with that.

But God's church is supposed
to be a place where it's pure...

where there
isn't anything unholy.

Selfish, selfishness,

self-loving,
self-centered people...are--

have gotten inside the church,

and this is the abomination

that has led to her desolation.

[Rev. Martinez]
She began to believe

that the Weigh Down Workshop
message

was the answer
for all the world's evils.

She had the truth.

Christian perfectionism
could only be achieved

by following her message.

And so from that point on,
she began realizing,

"Well, there needs
to be a new church.

There needs to be
a new restoration."

And, of course, that's
when she incorporated in 1999

the Remnant Fellowship Church.

[Glen] Remnant in itself
is a very elitist name.

They're claiming
to be the remnant

of the Christian church

and that no other church
is--is the Christian church.

It's only theirs.

It was in the Old Testament,

but the only time you see it
mentioned in the New Testament

is in the final book
of the New Testament

which is Revelation.

And there is a remnant
of 144,000 believers.

But that's
in the very end times.

Now, it's interesting
that cults glom onto that

and say, "If you wanna be part
of this remnant,

then you need to be part
of this group."

God Almighty,
the God of the universe

says I can't go to heaven
unless I lay down greed.

Then I knew
I was onto something,

and also that's when--

It took fear.
It was fear of God.

[man] The fear of God
is the basis

for her start-up church
called Remnant Fellowship.

Weigh Down members formed
the core of the congregation.

The church and Gwen Shamblin

were thrust into the Christian
media spotlight.

That's when Shamblin defied
the orthodox Christian belief

of the Trinity--the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit--

saying God is above all.

The Trinity is everything when
it comes to Christian theology.

You have the Father,

who is the Lord we often
think of in the Old Testament

who gives the Ten Commandments
and that kind of thing.

But you have the Son
who died for our sins.

And then you have
the Holy Spirit

who is today
indwelling believers

and is our guide
and our teacher.

Without the Trinity,

you lose the deity of Christ,

and if we lose
the deity of Christ,

then we lose his power
to give us salvation.

The teaching against the Trinity

has been regarded as heresy
for centuries.

She had views
that seemed designed

to separate her from others,

to try to increase her panache,
so to speak, or her appeal.

She was very rigid,

very unforgiving,
which is typical of zealots

no matter
what their subject matter.

[Teri] In 2000,
and I was there

at the Desert Oasis in Nashville
when this happened,

she introduced her church.

God is rebuilding this city
with a righteous remnant,

whether you want to be
a part of it or not.

And just as in Nehemiah's day,

he has chosen only the obedient
survivors from the exiles,

those who returned
and obeyed his commands.

[Teri] Half the people
accepted her message,

and the other half left

because she denied the Trinity
in this message.

[Adam] That was kind
of a real watershed moment

for her movement
because lots of churches

were like, "Oh, no.
No, no, no, no.

We can't have this
in our churches anymore."

And churches were bailing
on them right and left.

[Gina] People started
calling in, angry people,

and I'm fielding
all these calls.

Pastors livid,
yelling, screaming.

And people shipping
books and tapes back in mass.

It was awful, awful times
to be working on the phones.

[man] The woman
behind the Weigh Down Workshop,

Gwen Shamblin, is being sued
by several former employees.

Among their claims,
being pressured

to join Shamblin's church,
Remnant Fellowship.

I was employed by five women

who had worked
at the Weigh Down Workshop.

They felt that their rights
were being violated

from a religious standpoint

because they were
being required,

as a condition
of their employment,

to attend Ms. Shamblin's church.

So we filed five lawsuits

which we then combined
into one case

and ultimately settled
those cases.

It was in the course of that
that I took her deposition.

When people were in prison camps
and ate less food,

they lost weight.

All of 'em.

[Gary] Ms. Shamblin, surely
you're not making a comparison

between the force of starvation
of a population

and middle-class Americans'
eating habits.

Are you honestly doing that?

I have been for 15 years,

and a lot of people
have responded.

I don't know that she ever
really understood

how offensive it was.

I think her inability to see how
offensive that example would be

is a manifestation
of the zealotry.

L. Ron Hubbard said

the best way to make money
is to start a religion.

Not just a church.
A whole religion.

Jesus, ichthys, the fish,
the cross, the Bible,

the whole nine yards,
it's all smoke and mirrors.

This is not
about theology at all.

That's all a sideshow.

It's about money,
prestige, power.

That's her holy trinity.

[man] They're opening
a new headquarters

in Franklin, Tennessee
next year,

and Shamblin expects plenty
of people to help fill it.

[Gwen] So, yeah, I mean,
this is an uphill battle.

I mean, I think
you'll see me again.

Because what this does
is it stirs up people.

Because I'm questioning
the most thing that matters--

their church
and their salvation.

Lift up Jerusalem
and make this place

a light to the world

with directions
for the exiles who come home

and have pointed everything
up to you

that you are everything.

You are the God of all.

[Gina] One of her big premises
for this church

was people out in the world

that are doing these classes
in other false churches

are gaining their weight back.

So this church is her,
you know, big savior

to help people
keep their weight down

and stay, you know, saved.

It was all about salvation.

And, um, nothing to do
with Jesus Christ.

It was about being thin.

[Terasee] If you're
not losing weight,

like, you don't lose
more than two pounds that week,

you are told to fast.

And there are people
who have fasted 40 days.

I mean, I was told myself

that I needed to just
quit eating to lose more weight.

I had lost 130 pounds
within 18 months.

But they wanted me to fast
to lose more weight.

And it's the faster you do it,
the holier you are.

The unrepentant gravitate
quickly to the dark places,

the dark churches
that do not turn on the light

for the fear
of offending any members,

stepping on any toes.

Because the pain of the light

of the guilt

is overwhelming.

[Gina] The overarching theme

of everything
that she ever taught in there

was always being under God's
authority, which was her.

Everything fell around that.

And then everything else
was about the weight

and what you look like.

So we were constantly
being told

every time we were together.

And then the other leaders,
you know, backing it up

that she was the voice from God.

She was the one
hearing from God.

She was the prophet of God.

And who are we
to think we could question

what God's telling her?

What must one
actually believe or do

to be considered
a true adherent

of God's true religion?

I've asked all these questions

and wondered if there was
a church, a true church

on this earth or not.

Or was it just going
to exist in heaven?

I have good news.

I have found God's church.

[applause]

[Gina] I mean,
she's just playing God on earth.

It's wrecking families.
It's wrecking kids.

It's giving them
eating disorders.

It's ruining marriages.

It's giving people PTSD,

social anxiety, depression,
suicidal thoughts,

self-harm, you know.

I mean, all of these things

because of this person
that just has to look good

in her community.

She's gone to another level.

Um, another level of crazy.

Another level of--She--

It's her way, you know.
It's nothing about God.

It's not been about God
in a long time.

It's been about Gwen,

and she's going to twist
and manipulate the Bible

into fitting her agenda.

♪ Glory to God ♪

♪ In the highest ♪

[Terasee] My real prayer
is that it implodes,

that Remnant Fellowship
implodes.

I almost thought
it was gonna happen

when Gwen married Joe.

I really did.

I thought surely,

surely people are gonna get it,

that she's not all she
cracks herself up to be.

I vow to only
look forward with you

into this incredible journey

that the Lord
has in store for us.

And if the dark forces

should ever manifest themselves
against us,

I vow to never stand behind you,

'cause I'll be in front of you.

[ applause ]

My name is Natasha Pavlovich.

I had a daughter with Joe Lara

who married Gwen Shamblin,

and we are all in juvenile court

fighting for the custody
of our daughter.

It's heartbreaking
because you have to be strong,

and inside,
when you're talking to her,

you really wanna fall apart.

[girl laughing]

[Natasha speaking
foreign language]

When my daughter is with me,

she's free to express herself
for who she is.

When she's over there,
she doesn't have that freedom.

She's not allowed
to have friends

outside of Remnant Fellowship.

She's not allowed
any extracurricular activities

outside of their compound.

Life for my daughter
would be in a capsule

and subject to all
of their brainwashing,

and that's what I'm afraid of.

They want to take
my daughter away from me

to make the father
the primary parent.

No.

No.

You know, I had to keep
convincing myself no

because the alternative
would be to submit,

and I will never,
so help me God,

submit not to protect
my daughter. Never.

It's okay. You know what?
You're strong.

And guess who you're
gonna see tomorrow.

Guess who you're
gonna see tomorrow. Molly.

Yeah. Yeah.

My daughter is the nucleus,
the focus of my life.

She deserves to reach
her own potential in life,

to make her own decisions,

and not to be controlled
by the decisions, influences,

and authoritarianism
of Gwen Shamblin. No.

[clock ticking]

Gwen Shamblin was not expecting

for me to be
such a strong person

that stands up for herself.

She was expecting me
to go away like all the others.

Surprise. Surprise.
I ain't going anywhere.