Gwen Shamblin: Skinny for Jesus

[Anonymousguest]

7 hours ago, Howl said:

I'm getting a Magnolia Pearl lite fashion vibe.....

Yes, that was the place I was trying to remember the name of. I'm not clicking the link because I don't want magnolia Pearl to follow me around the internet again. Too creepy, lol.

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

1 hour ago, nausicaa said:

Y'all need to think about Gwen:

http://www.spiritwatch.org/gwenstired.mp3

Bitch. 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

1 hour ago, CTRLZero said:

It was interesting to read that a couple of these families relocated to be near Gwen.  I bet, like other cults, they have a lot of families dropping everything to move near their thin goddess

Since I seem to have no life, I've fallen seriously down the Remnant website rabbit hole.  Reading the member bios on the website, the weddings announcements/ stories it seems a great many of them gave it all up to move closer to The Thin Goddess (with big hair).  It's like they can't be firm in their Gwen worship/ faith if they're not right there with her getting there daily dose of the Gospel According to Gwen.

Of course, i have no doubt she encourages this.  One thing that seems clear is that there is an awful lot of volunteering going on. Lots and lots of people giving enormous amounts of time, and most likely money, to keep the cult working,  All the while Gwen rakes in all the profits from her Weigh Down empire which she donated to the church for tax purposes.

[bertnee]

Wow does this ever take me back!! In middle school, I was in a Bible study/weight loss group (12 year old me and a bunch of middle age ladies) that followed her book. I'm still fat but I'm also mostly an atheist so I guess I did everything wrong.

 

:-P

 

:-D

 

 

 

 

[danvillebelle]

I just scrolled through Gwen's instagram.

Holy Mile-High Hair, Batman!  It's BIGGER THAN THE REST OF HER ENTIRE HEAD AND HER NECK.  I think she can't possibly tease it higher and then BOOM it's up another inch.  If they are not wigs, she (or probably a "volunteer") is putting some major time into that hair.  You don't tease it that high in five minutes.

I don't understand how anyone can have a conversation with her and keep a straight face.  If I came up to that hair in person,  I would just guffaw uncontrollably.  

ETA:  just looked up their house.  Historic home that they apparently restored themselves.  It is 8 feet shy of 12,000 sq. ft, on 22 acres.  It is worth 5 and a half MILLION dollars according to Zillow.

Now this is the intriguing part.  It says it was last sold in 1996 for one dollar.  That is just about the time her Weigh Down thing took off.  Did they inherit the house from some relative who "sold" it to them for a dollar?  Was it falling apart and they rebuilt it? 

I know Brentwood; I grew up in Nashville and my aunt and uncle still live there.  It is all sky high prices now, but in '96 it was way more affordable.  

 

[danvillebelle]

But wait, there's more!

It was bought by a guy named Steve Fridrich, who runs a high-falutin' real estate brokerage, for 2 and a half million dollars right before...wait for it...he GAVE it to David and Gwen Shamblin.

Guess who's in the Remnant Fellowship photos?  Steve Fridrich.

Also - the property is classified as a "beef farm."  Which probably means they are getting an agricultural tax break on it.

In related news, I love the internet.

[FundMe]

Yep, I went down my first rabbit hole.  This woman is terrifying.  I want to know what is up with those kids clothes?  Did anyone see the kite flying pic on Instagram?   They are in dresses and pantaloons!   And that poor little Lord fauntleroy!  I've been lurking in this site forever and have spent way too much time exploring fundie subculture, but good heavens, this woman takes the proverbial cake!  She is truly fascinating in a horrible way.  And those weddings!  And those royalty pictures! Oh my!

[danvillebelle]

Gwen's son Michael - sold a house for 710,000 in 2013, to buy one for over a million.

Brandon and her daughter Elizabeth - live in a house valued at over 900,000 (next door to the one Michael sold).

Both these couples work only at the church.  That's a LOT of money and a LOT of high-livin'.

Something is rotten in ShamblinTown.  Gwen seems to excel at recruiting fat wallets into her cult...then she slims them RIGHT on down. 

[nausicaa]

9 hours ago, danvillebelle said:

Gwen's son Michael - sold a house for 710,000 in 2013, to buy one for over a million.

Brandon and her daughter Elizabeth - live in a house valued at over 900,000 (next door to the one Michael sold).

Both these couples work only at the church.  That's a LOT of money and a LOT of high-livin'.

Don't know if this means anything, but Elizabeth's husband Brandon also seems to have a realtor Facebook page. Don't know how many sales he has though, or if it's just a cover for something else.

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

I think we all agree that the Remnant Fellowship is a creepy weird cult.  A definite cult of personality focused solely on Gwen the Big Hair Prophet (oh yes God told her so) and what she says the Scriptures mean and the truths she says God revealed her.

My question is what happens when Gwen dies?  What happens when there is no Gwen to tell everyone what/how to do, think, say, believe, feel, weigh, marry, parent? When there is no Gwen to be under authority to?

As far as I can tell God doesn't seem to have told her which one of her children is the next "Prophet".  The whole church metaphorically drank the kool aid.  Is it even possible they might literally drink the kool aid if Gwen told them to? The members follow her in everything else, why not that as a way to truly "lay down sin".

I wonder if Gwen's children have designated their expensive houses as Church property for tax purposes?  I suspect Gwen has done that to hers, as the "parsonage". A 12,000 sq ft, 22 acre, six car garage parsonage, but still  .....  a Prophet has to live somewhere.

 

[CTRLZero]

11 minutes ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

My question is what happens when Gwen dies?

I think this is one of the things that defines a cult, especially a cult of the personality.  When the founder dies, they usually scatter to the winds or maybe some of the followers try to continue, but often with a diluted version.  I guess it will depend on if the person taking over the reins has a strong enough personality and drive to do what's necessary to convince the flock to hang in there.  Or it could be that the daughter will finally feel free to throw that big ol' all-you-can-eat brownie party she's dreamt of.

I'm wondering the same of my own local cult (under spoiler, since I've bored people with this before, lol).

Spoiler

I live not far from an interesting school/cult (see Ramtha.com or JZKnight.com).  Same deal, very much a cult of the personality (one of whom is from Atlantis, channeled by JZ).  I worked with people who relocated from all over the world and gladly forked over their savings to the school, hoping to climb the prestige ladder.  Coincidentally, they wore different color wristbands to indicate how far they'd progressed (in reality, how much they'd paid), and my co-worker was happy to achieve a blue wristband (blue sashes?). 

 

[onemama]

It's all about Gwen, who is "the real item".  This video says so much!  Where's her dad? Did he leave them?  Who is her best friend, God or Gwen?   

More Gwen worship:

And I had to laugh so hard at the comment she made about her BIL starting at minute 2. Her husband..... I wonder what he was thinking as he stood there nodding... 

Again, where was their dad?

 

2 hours ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

My question is what happens when Gwen dies?  What happens when there is no Gwen to tell everyone what/how to do, think, say, believe, feel, weigh, marry, parent? When there is no Gwen to be under authority to?

As far as I can tell God doesn't seem to have told her which one of her children is the next "Prophet". 

My guess is Elizabeth will be the prophetess, with Michael's support. He's already controlling everyone with his music. 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

1 hour ago, onemama said:

My guess is Elizabeth will be the prophetess,

I  hope Gwen leaves her the collection of towering wigs, because that scraped back thin hair is not going to cut it for a "Prophet". The higher the hair the closer to God.

[luv2laugh]

How can Gwen's two kids work for the church and afford living in million dollar homes? 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

"Cause Gwen probably pays them million dollar salaries

[usmcmom]

We are in Nashville this weekend, visiting our daughter who lives near Brentwood. I thought about doing some recon at the Gwen Temple but decided they might kidnap me and force feed me kale. So. Nope. I came for the barbecue and the hundred layer donut. 

‘Cause I am just that unrighteous. 

[Carol]

In related news, Gwen Shamblin was found dead today after suffocating when her 3 foot wig fell on face while her attendants were out of the room.  Her husband,  who found her, described it as quite a disturbing scene, saying, "I guess her lil' ol' skinny arms didn't have the strength to lift it.  She will be missed".

[onemama]

6 hours ago, usmcmom said:

the hundred layer donut. 

What is a hundred layer donut?

If you did visit and they kidnapped you, I doubt they'd force-feed you anything. You'd be forced to wait for the growl, and your plate of goodies would be removed before you finished enjoying the third bite, lest you sin and eat past the barely satisfied mark. Besides, kale doesn't appear to be any holier than the junk foods Gwen favors.  

[Howl]

I'm really curious to know if congregants worshipers  the gullible try to copy the look in hair or clothes or if that is STRICTLY reserved for the royalty. 

From a google search, Remnant Church has about 80 to 100 members in Nashville, and most everyone else home churches. 

When googling, there were several entries that definitely defined Gwen worship as a cult....and this written by a woman who was involved in a Weigh Down Workshop at her own cult-y ex church and who blogs at What Would Roger Sterling Do?  From her post titled "A Cult Within a Cult": 

It must have been around 1997 or so when one of the older ladies at Creek Church started a Weigh Down Workshop class and I was exposed to the grating hog-calling voice of one Mrs. Gwen Shamblin and her ideas that all fat is sin.

Yeah, this is a sect, a cult and a weight loss empire all rolled into one.  As her website notes, she's a NYT best-selling author.  Not surprising that Gwen and the off shoots are rocking million dollar homes.  And she doesn't believe in the Trinity. 

[usmcmom]

9 hours ago, onemama said:

What is a hundred layer donut?

If you did visit and they kidnapped you, I doubt they'd force-feed you anything. You'd be forced to wait for the growl, and your plate of goodies would be removed before you finished enjoying the third bite, lest you sin and eat past the barely satisfied mark. Besides, kale doesn't appear to be any holier than the junk foods Gwen favors.  

A hundred layer donut is  twenty layers of carbs, topped with twenty layers of sugar, followed by twenty layers of sin, and finished with FORTY layers of  an orgasmic sugar coma. http://www.bravotv.com/blogs/100-layer-donut-at-five-daughters-bakery-nashville-is-cronut-tribute

[CelticGoddess]

On November 29, 2017 at 8:47 PM, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

Bitch. 

That made me very stabby.  I am not in a great place right now (I am safe though) and listening to her bullshit about poor pitiful her just made me very angry.  would she say something like that to a person with terminal cancer?  Yeah, she probably would.  I grew up hearing that shit (not from a Christian point of view, but from the point of view of a narcissistic mother).  

She isn't a bitch (I'm a bitch and proud of it, LOL) She's a soulless excuse for a human being.  I fear for the children.

[Howl]

4 hours ago, Howl said:

Yeah, this is a sect, a cult and a weight loss empire all rolled into one. 

Oooopsie, forgot to include scam in that list.  The secret to Weigh Down?  Don't keep eating when you're full. 

[Peas n carrots]

A new fundie for me to follow. The hair draws me in.

Elizabeth Hannah - I could get looking pale and wan in a couple unflattering photos, but most all the photos she looks dangerously thin. Also fascinating how Momma Gwen's husband is overweight - in assuming in this cult the burden is on the woman to look good?

[Howl]

20 hours ago, Howl said:

The secret to Weigh Down?  Don't keep eating when you're full. 

Or more accurately, eat anything you want but don't swallow. 

[Peas n carrots]

Ok so after putting on some weight over the past 3 years I've recently started watching what I eat again. I'm a long time Weight Watcher veteran, but this time I'm doing a high protein program paired with a weightlifting program. So far about 5 lbs down. Another 30 to go.

So I find it fascinating the Weigh Down push of "the growl" - this seems to go against most healthy eating advice I've ever seen. Usually when you get to a growl point, it's hard to control the urge to overeat. At least for me it is!

Most programs do advise to wait until you are legit hungry and listen to your body's cues. But the growl - seems like that could promote binge eating.