Inside America's Anorexic Cult (No Eating)

to accuse me of being deceptive is a very strong language because I've been

led by God to do this.

>> There is a cult in Tennessee that preaches weight loss as a path to God.

>> We're not going to think about food

>> Its founder, Gwen Shamblin,

suspiciously died in a plane crash.

But somehow, the Remnant Fellowship Church is still alive and thriving.

So, what's really going on here behind closed doors?

And what will happen if I try to sneak in to convince the cult

that I want to join?

There's only one way to find out. >> Hey, man. >> What's going on? >> Hey, welcome.

>> This is Michael Black, the founder's son, who's on a mission to expose his

mother's crimes from body shaming and financial control to even more severe forms of manipulation.

>> This is where the magic happens.

>> The blackness of this room is scary.

>> It's a type of paint

that sucks in >> So, what why black?

What is about black that you like?

I see Gwyn changing into somebody that's narcissistic,

controlling, you know, I'm getting abuse whatever from the leadership

and I start, you know, feeling this person, this persona or whatever, this black

and it was it to me it like represented

like something who's tired of being abused by false religion.

I started kind of experimenting

with this persona, Michael Black,

and it meant to me like it's a readiness

that stands in the face of false religion.

I'm not going to be fooled today by lying women

or lying leaders, if that makes sense.

This is a uh Valkyrie.

>> That looks like a badass weaponry thing.

>> And you obviously had this for protection, but also like a hobby >> protection.

I just over the years.

And then of course I had the death threat on my life, right? From Joe.

This is a 338 easily concealed.

>> It feels like a toy.

Is that Is that what you carry with you in a car?

I >> I normally would like to have a little more stopping power than that.

But uh you know it's

better than nothing, right? Oh yeah.

So for the road we take the CZ75. >> It's just easy.

>> This is like my baby right here.

Can't put the Glock down.

My Glock is my hoe.

And my ho go everywhere I go.

You know that song.

>> It even says black on your cologne.

>> Yeah, it's kind of my thing.

So the church started in 1999.

I left the fall of 2021.

That was after the >> After the plane crash.

Do you think if the crash never happened, you'd still be in it?

>> I was on kind of a trajectory at that point.

I was 19 when the church started.

We had been in church all my life. Different churches. Church of Christ.

I don't know if you're familiar with Way Down Workshop.

That was kind of the precursor to Remnant. Got it.

And that was when we were young growing up in

>> It was a book.

It was a class.

It was a >> Yeah, that's it.

I mean, it was faith-based weight loss.

It was intuitive eating

disguised as a religious

Christ way of living.

You know, the idea wasn't necessarily new.

It was around in the 70s.

So, you had stuff like

praying away temptation, right?

And it was in basically,

I would say, literally

every single church denomination

and church in the country had weight on going. Wow.

And when you were like 19 when it started, did you were you you

were aware like wow like your mom started this like that's you must have

felt pretty special like at the time.

>> I was full on full support

and I was gullible

and I was naive >> up until 2021.

Did you think about leaving like you were >> Oh yeah. >> Oh yeah.

But we were still like super isolated.

So we weren't allowed to watch you know a lot of outside media. >> Got it.

>> A lot of outside music.

We were in our own little bubble.

And I kid you not,

you're told the entire

world is like Satan

and we are the only righteous people on earth.

>> You believe that this is a cult, right? >> Oh, yeah.

For many, many reasons.

There are people who literally would have

done anything for Gwyn.

Gwyn's word was like considered law.

>> I'm taking such tiny bites

that u I'm not gaining weight off of it and I don't go beyond full.

She would be somebody that you would listen to like Moses or even Jesus.

You know, there was a story of one of the guys.

He was looking down while Gome was speaking in the sanctuary and he was

reading his Bible and David Martin who was one of the top leaders.

He told him literally this verbate.

He said, "If Jesus was in the sanctuary right now,

he would be paying attention to Gwen." >> Wow.

So that that is pretty >> that was what was being taught.

>> It's so weird that that's your mom.

Like that's your biological mother.

I I started calling them the blondhaired, blue-eyed devils.

Her and those women.

I started feeling more and more that she was about promoting herself. She was narcissistic.

Maybe you've seen the the the Matrix.

The >> Yeah, of course I've seen >> which came out in 1999.

Gwyn used that like that was meant for her and the remnant.

You remember when Neo's being trained and like everybody can turn into Smith.

So they had this was the mindset she had assume.

You're like looking around like anybody could become the enemy at any time. >> That's crazy.

>> Lucifer is on the prow looking for you.

Demons dressed like angels are everywhere

trying to get you to go

>> That kind of mindset though, you you can see how people were shunning their families.

Somebody inviting you to another church was Satan was working through them.

>> And your sister is running the church

>> Do you speak with her? >> At all?

No, we only communicate through

>> So, I lost mother, I lost father,

I lost stepfather, my my brother has left me.

>> They've also served me with some no trespassing papers.

So, if I actually drive on right now, they'll call the police. There's remnant.

>> When's the last time you went in that

>> Do you get weird feeling?

Just >> There's somebody pulling out right now.

>> I prefer them not to see me right now.

So, we just got here. >> All right.

So, we are here.

Right in front of us is the remnant church.

Is that the only main church? >> That's the one.

>> I still can't believe Gwen Shamblin is Michael's mom.

She lived a fancy life off the church's profits, enabled child abuse, and even

defended two members who murdered their own son.

But I'll get to that later.

After her plane crashed, you'd think the church would fall apart,

but it's still growing.

To find out how, I got on the phone with someone who used to

be on the inside,

a former remnant security guard.

What kind of things did you experience as part of the church >> through my

ex-wife that was the main draw or attraction?

Uh she had done a class in her church

before I was with her and then it kind of resurfaced

again after she had her first born and then the weight loss was the main attractor.

>> At what point did you know something was wrong or didn't feel right or

like >> quite early on I was kind of a duck out of water.

It just seemed too frilly and fashion show like during the whole security

there were several times where there was members that were in had stalkers.

To me that was kind of a red flag.

It was set up almost kind of like a military

security cameras that were staged around the building.

>> So everyone was being stalked basically or watched

>> during during the worship service people were being watched.

They got a room down in the basement

specifically to monitor and it was it was multi-creen

and >> really creepy as hell.

>> And they can see people.

They're like not looking at Gwyn or what if they're talking amongst each other.

>> And would they call you out if you weren't looking at Gwen? >> Yes.

But they also they they mainly were become

persons of interest, I guess, if you will.

>> And they didn't know they were being >> Until now.

Is this happening now?

>> I'm sure it is.

There was a list from leadership of people to watch out for.

And there was guys

posted perimeter-wise with full

kit and with ARs,

suppressed >> They have their own shooting range.

How many churches have their own shooting

>> It's pretty crazy to talk to you about this as I'm as I'm staring at the church.

It's just, >> you know, churches have security

teams >> Every church has that.

But Remnant was leading the way and they had a freaking army.

One of the nights that I knew it's

no longer it's Christianity in my mind.

I kind of just asked her.

I said, "If somebody was coming down the church drive and you knew they

were coming after you against you, they were ticked off."

And she said, "I'd have them shot

>> on the church drive."

>> And I was like, "So,

you would have somebody gunned down

in the remnant drive if you knew they were coming after you?" She says, "Yes."

And so that night, I remember leaving going, you know, you think of Christianity

like turning the other cheek.

That teaching about forgiving,

you know, if someone strikes you, you turn the other cheek also.

It was nowhere to be found with Remnant.

Remnant took everything to extremes.

They have people that are in government intelligence

that go to Remnant that are sympathetic.

>> And they would put together threat levels of people.

>> And they were getting information

that the average citizen couldn't get.

>> So they work together the government and >> and so they and so the church minister.

>> How was that legal?

That can't be legal. That wasn't legal. >> That's not legal.

>> And and if those people were found out, if I said their name, they

would lose their job.

I would catch him setting up cameras on tripods wherever I went.

>> Everywhere you went, someone was watching you. >> Yes.

They knew where I was everywhere I went.

And >> how did that make you feel? >> Drove me insane. I hated it.

I went over to the way down building

after church service one day to go just work in my studio at my office over there.

I decided to sneak into Gwen's office

and I found a file she had on me,

but she had been collecting

negative stuff about me since I was in high school. >> What? Why?

Why would any mom do that to her kid?

>> I went through kind of a dark phase in high school.

I found this file and it just literally just destroyed me and I was like, "What?"

>> Did you confront her about that?

>> I never told her.

>> I think that's the creepiest thing that I've heard so far.

>> She was the genuine

definition of narcissism to where she would always know more than anybody else.

She had to be the expert on everything.

>> It was part of her control tech. >> Was she smart?

She went to college and got degree.

Like, was she smart?

>> David Shamblin was smarter than her.

She was a good speaker though.

>> Tell me about your dad.

>> And he actually had the divinity

>> Were you close with him before he >> Yes.

After I left the church,

we we would go to lunch every single day.

We we hang out every single day.

So we were we became best friends

the last two years of his life.

I only had two years with him.

But >> how did he pass? >> Uh pancreatic cancer.

>> Sorry to hear that.

>> So she divorced him, filed against him >> uh 2017.

And the divorce was finalized 2018.

He left the church as well.

>> He left the church like a year into it, like in 2000.

Like he was only there for about eight months. >> Really?

But they were married and he wasn't in the church. That's that's odd.

It's a red flag from the start. >> Yeah.

And and and ironically

like he was really

beloved to a lot of people in the city and he knew a lot of people.

>> She was the Gwyn,

the charismatic, you know, you couldn't miss her.

He never abused her.

He he didn't drink.

He didn't do drugs.

She didn't, you know, he never cheated on her.

>> It's obvious that Michael has survived a lot of trauma, but opening up about

it seems to be a positive step towards healing.

Now, we are heading to the building where it all started.

Back in the '90s,

before the church and before the cult, there was a diet class called We

Down that Gwen started, and we just arrived at the exact location.

>> Remnant actually worshiped here for the first 2 or 3 years of its existence.

>> They've sold the building now.

So, does way down exist anymore?

It it exists as

like the still the weight loss classes that the remnant.

>> Did you do weigh down?

>> I've been in I've heard probably 10,000

hours worth of it.

But yeah, and I worked here for three years in the shipping department.

My entire life has been based around way down.

>> So you were really skinny at one point. >> Yeah.

Hard to believe, huh?

>> That's not not what I was getting at cuz I've seen pictures of Gwen

like and she was like a toothpick.

I've had hundreds to thousands

of people write me on like social media

saying things like way down program cause them to have eating disorders.

So they're still to this day trying to unlearn

the practices and things the teachings that they had when they were in it.

They would start pushing

fasting, not eating for long periods of time. >> So stop eating.

>> And then where it really got extreme

was if you were in remnant.

You have people that are weight monitors

and you have leaders.

So you're checking in constantly

and it caused people to

go to >> I'm trying to understand

why do they want people to lose weight?

Like what what's the significance of that?

>> Because that was the number one sin of remmit was weight.

And so thinness would be equated with godliness.

>> Other religions don't believe this.

>> Gluttony is a sin like in the Catholic church or something like that.

But way down has taken it to the extreme.

It is all appearance.

It's how someone looks.

>> It's how you're doing on your weight this week dictates

how close you are to >> Okay, got it.

That's >> so I think this is an important point though is that it's women.

We down was 99% women.

I I've actually started calling it the women's movement.

It was women who run it.

>> It was women who steer it.

And so you have the ones who joined were like the families.

It was headstrong women.

They join way down.

They get roped into joining the remnant.

They pull their husbands in.

They pull their families in. It's strong women.

It's women is what it's all been about.

>> So, you know, just

basic facts, diet programs

in the 80s, 90s, whatever 2000s,

it's a lot more female than male.

The teachings of weigh down, that's one of the dangerous parts of it.

It's causing people to go to extremes

and you're doing it for God.

So, they would tell people that were struggling in remnant,

you need to fast for 40 days.

40 days, how will you even live?

So, how could did people die fast?

>> If you have a lot of

excess weight, it's possible,

but it's not it's not healthy.

But people I mean, there's been all sorts of issues where people have had

damage, internal damage to your organs and

stuff like that mess up your

>> Do you think Gwen had anorexia?

>> She one time confessed to me almost like that she had taken it so

far that her body she goes, I would eat just a few bites of

salad and that's all I could eat for the day or I'd gain weight. >> What is it?

Your resting metabolic rate.

It keeps going down and down as you're starving more and more.

So, she was eating so little, but she was also wanted to drink alcohol.

>> Oh, she drank as well.

>> So, she would drink wine, but eat a few bites of salad.

I remember her complaining about that to me.

Her body had just

it was shutting down.

She was a little fuller figured like in when we was popular

>> and then as Remnant went on, you just start seeing stick figure

anorexic by the end.

Well, that's the problem here is my sister who's taken it over.

That's their ideal spiritual

icon would have been Gwyn or Elizabeth

to these women >> to this day. >> To this day.

>> Does that bother you?

>> I'm very uncomfortable with it.

>> I'm glad you're out.

I'm glad you're like you seem to be in a much better >> I'll be honest.

I mean, my whole entire purpose at this point is to

go against this women's movement.

>> That's kind of what I'm doing.

Not to be overly threatening.

>> Lift up Jerusalem and make this place

a light to the world.

You are the God of all.

I noticed that you never say the word mom and dad.

You just prefer not

>> I say dad more, but Gwen, I started calling her Gwyn.

It's it's a it's habit.

And >> yeah, that's all right.

>> Probably around the time when I found that file >> before she passed.

There was like a tension between you and her for a while.

But you never confronted her about this stuff. You couldn't. >> I did.

I I confronted her one time when she was storing ARs down in the church basement.

And I said, "You're going to get some Waco

some sort of crap going on here."

And I've got kids.

I'm saying they're going to come in with smoke grenades

and so she called a meeting that night and

had to move it out of the

>> Do you think there will be

a realistic case where it could be shut down in the next 10 years

like if all these allegations come out?

>> I've thought before trying to rally the city of Brentwood.

>> Try to get politicians involved.

You get enough people

crying out they might do something,

but I would love to see the day where it's the doors are closed

for the last time.

Since he left the church, Michael's been gathering evidence,

not just about what happened inside Remnant, but what's still happening outside today.

Now, he has taken me back inside his house to show me everything he's

>> They were keeping files on every single member in the church. They still do.

Uh these are issues.

This is what's called the guidance system.

If somebody had a doubt

about Gwyn, it would be written.

Every member has a webcast

history, how much they were watching the services.

And if they did not watch it, it was noted.

It would be logged every single person.

Like here's some screenshots

I took one time of a text thread Gwen's asking people once they make a home visit.

Like she had them people going through their pantries,

their fridge, they report back what they find in people's houses if they find

Gwen's books and stuff like that.

People in the church.

Here's an example of so and so chose not to come today of trumpets

and did not webcast either.

Friendly reminder, Gwen is asking for those

people in the Monday night class to have their weights reported

once a month in the guidance.

What do you call it?

Invasive, intrusive, all of the above. >> Yes, exactly.

They had maps of everybody's house, everywhere they were in Brentwood.

This was a time period when Gwen, she started changing the scriptures

to allow divorce when she wanted to get a divorce.

>> Oh, so she would basically

change laws depending on what she wants to do with her own private life. >> That's crazy.

>> And immediately once she did this,

all of a sudden, you had all these women divorced,

like lining up to divorce.

You have so many families that have been split apart by this church.

But that was a big deal when she did that.

This is something interesting.

Looks like something I saved whenever they

make kind of threatening wording.

I'd keep these screenshots.

And this was just a sampling of what they really

were deep down feeling about me. >> All right.

So, what's going on here?

You got a briefcase of stinks.

>> I didn't know if you knew this or not, but I've got a stalker.

She was a part of Remnant Memphis.

>> She's currently stalking you?

She's tried to kill me.

She's been arrested 14 times

for specially aggravated stalking.

So, she's never gotten

physically close enough to me.

They would arrest her like when she pulled into the church or stuff like that.

Like, she writes these gigantic

huge letters, like 50 60page letters to me.

She writes them from prison, too.

She wasn't even supposed to. What?

>> Why did I want to kill you, Michael?

The Lord says they no longer ask for the Lord's guidance or seek my blessing.

Then she says, "I'm writing you all today to admit that I brought the

knives from home in order to kill you, Michael,

because you did not comply with my demand to engage in sexual immorality."

>> Were you actually scared that she might kill you at one point? >> Oh, yeah.

>> So, where's she now? >> She's in prison.

Rena had all these satellite churches.

And so, she's in Memphis and she's

she starts hearing like this code in Gwen's sermon and all my song lyrics

that God is telling her that we're supposed to be united.

So, she starts coming to Remnant

Nashville and she starts trying to get into all the events and they start

slapping her with orders of protection and trespassing. She doesn't care.

She didn't care if she gets arrested.

>> But if she was part of Remnant Church,

why would she want to?

>> By that point, she was kicked out.

The first thing a lot of people see when they

come in is this painting.

And a lot of people kind of get weirded out by it.

>> Were there as many devils in worms as there are roof tiles? I would on.

I don't get it. >> This is Luther.

He was excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

So he's saying if there as many devils and verms as there are roof

tiles, I would on.

And >> so what does this mean to you?

>> It's symbolic cuz at that it was called the imperial diet of verms.

He refused to recant.

And then they issued from that day forward all his writings were

>> It makes sense that Michael admires Luther, a man who challenged the church from

the inside, exposed corruption

and sparked a reformation.

In a way, Michael's trying to do the same.

Now, he is taking me to one of the only restaurants that Remnant members

were allowed to dine at, a place that shows just how deep the control really went.

We're here with Steve, who's the owner of Soapas, which looks amazing.

And what do you know about

Michael and the Remnant Church?

>> We've had we've hired

children that you know of members that that worked, and I've never had any

any issues with >> with anyone from Remnant.

Um, >> how about when the news broke in 2021?

like what >> it was a lot, you know, cuz

Gwen would would come in quite often and we'd have

>> conversations and it was definitely

>> What was your thoughts on Gwen?

>> I always enjoyed talking with her.

Um, you know, I went through a divorce when I first opened the restaurant.

So, we we talked about

divorce after she had gone through and so we just took it as face

value for the people that we saw that came.

Personally, I think it's we it's strange that like people they're pressing you to

like lose weight and to not eat.

>> You know, I I had heard

about that and heard different things

like there was certain

restaurants that were approved

>> really people to go to.

I didn't >> was yours approved

>> evidently cuz we had

this and Jay Alexander

and there's you know some others.

>> Need a little second to unwind here after hanging out with Michael.

Um, I've done a lot of stories on cults and communities around the US.

This one is one of the darkest and most interesting,

especially cuz it's still happening.

Excited to learn more.

This is just getting crazier and crazier.

>> Now, we are heading into the heart of the remnant community, the mansions.

Huge gated homes owned by the top members of the church.

>> Did you ever live in a mansion?

>> I lived in Ashon in high school.

>> So, you grew up like pretty wealthy.

Like you had money?

>> No, we grew up dirt poor in Memphis.

Our family was like $20,000

in debt by the time I was like eight or nine.

Like they were working multiple jobs.

>> So then when way down started, it blew up.

I will say one thing about our family.

I felt like we were able to appreciate

things >> cuz we were like,

you know, we were thrilled to get to go to McDonald's

or something growing up.

Like that was a big treat where other people would just think that's normal.

>> Do you know how much

money the church is pulling in at its height, at its peak?

Like millions of dollars. >> Oh, millions.

>> And where did that money go?

salaries for the people that worked at Remnant.

A lot of it went towards legal.

Remnant is like a welloiled

machine with their legal team

because they're always at any given moment they're in

helping members fight custody battles against spouses that are outside the church. >> They're not dumb.

Like they they know what they're doing.

I feel like people across the board, they underestimate

Remnant because it was a little woman, you know, sweet

looking woman with blonde hair and now my sister's this little girl.

They can talk sweet

and it seems like a pretty little church sitting out there on the field

and people just don't understand

how harmful and brutal

these people can be.

And she started getting obsessive

about painting stuff white.

One of the things that bothered my dad and me more than anything, one

day she had all of her books painted white in her library.

Painted over the covers and everything. >> That's weird.

>> These are like nice books.

She started painting everything white.

She wanted everybody to start wearing white.

People started painting their houses white.

All interior, all exterior

was >> All the other houses are like brick,

you know, dark color.

And then you have these white ones. >> Mhm.

I wonder what the neighbors think about the remnants.

Like >> neighborhoods in Nashville

dread it if remnant starts moving into their

>> Because they take over.

They try to get on all the committees.

>> Do you ever feel like you want to leave Brentwood

and distance yourself from all this mess?

>> I think I still want to be

close to where my kids are.

>> Are they involved in what you're doing and what you believe in or >> Well,

they're they're in remnant.

So >> they are in remnant

>> and they still >> with my ex. Yeah.

and they still appreciate you.

And even though you're so outspoken,

>> I'm saying they're sweet.

That leadership made them say

that they were going to pull back and not have anything to do with

me if I kept going. >> Got it.

>> But I I kept going.

I'll tell you the one of the poems I wrote one time.

It was uh in the Brent Woods

there dwell many white witches

who make men do their bidding

with a church of sales pitches.

There's Ashelon, by the way. The mansion.

Oh, >> That's her house.

Damn, that is a nice

>> Right as we drive by his sister's giant mansion,

a guy mowing the lawn starts circling us like we just set off an

>> Just drive a little slower. Jesus Christ.

The guy's like, >> "Wow, what are the odds?"

She just pulled up.

Pulled by that was Donna >> Wait, where?

Oh, pulled up in >> the van that just drove by us. Yeah.

>> Oh, he's Dude, he's definitely watching you.

Did you see that? Okay.

So, he's on they're on the lookout for us.

>> Just just keep driving.

>> Uh looked like a Martin boy.

David and Jennifer Martin's son.

They're the ones that passed away in the plane crash.

>> Oh, but is he close with your sister? >> Yes.

She's s super loyal to her.

>> Let's say worst case scenario for me.

I go there right now

by myself and I'm filming on my phone and someone comes up to me

and says, "Hey," >> said, "Get off, get off the property."

because you've been so outspoken against the church.

Have you developed a new

following or a new community of people that support you now? >> Yes.

After Channel 5, like that was a really big step for me.

Up until that point, I'd not really spoken out

>> It's hard to call it a church in my mind. It's a cult.

>> It was like a whirlwind

of pieces of trashtalking

remnant leaders and members.

Like Elizabeth stayed in her house for 3 years.

You can't get any information on anything.

>> What do you mean she stayed?

She didn't >> She didn't want to be seen by anybody.

She didn't even step foot in the church for three years.

>> Just recently, she started >> just now. >> Just now.

And why did why do you think she feels comfortable now doing it?

>> She just got remarried

to a guy who's completely

kind of a a mystery himself.

He's a contractor for NASA and SpaceX.

So, nobody knows any background on him.

His profile picture is like all black. He's from Florida.

Like their wedding, there was no family.

He's got no kids.

You can't find his schooling.

There's >> It's weird to think that

people idolized your mother for so many years

and when she passed away, now they're idolizing your sister.

>> Well, I would call it worship.

They worshiped Gwen and now that has been passed down to Elizabeth.

They are worshiping her as the female leader of

>> I never thought about this whole thing,

this cult being so female driven, but it makes sense now.

>> In the Old Testament,

there was a queen, Jezebel.

It was actually a real woman.

The Bible talks about her.

She's like the most

maybe the most wicked woman who's ever lived.

Her agenda was replacing the worship of God

with the worship of Baal

and the worship of Ashro.

And she also murdered the prophets of God.

>> What I believe is

anybody who's open to this is women.

We're talking about women here

who are open to this spirit.

They want to be worshiped themselves. Mhm.

>> I believe a form of this Jezebel

spirit has been birthed called the Gwyn spirit.

>> I've seen people change. It's women. It's always women.

Gwen finally she had had enough of being under men authority.

>> By then she was ready to start a place

>> it's 24 hours a day

playing Gwyn on the radio.

Everybody has to have the apps.

She gets to be worshiped.

She was giving them permission to break authority.

That's what it was. It was sneaky.

But she was living it out. She embodied it.

And honestly, Remnant has taken notes from Scientology. >> They studied Scientology. >> that stuff's crazy.

>> They literally They would visit it.

They would study it.

In fact, the Church of Scientology in Nashville loved Gwent. They loved Remnant.

Every church we went to before

Remnant, >> she caused problems.

She would speak out of turn.

Every church we went to left a

>> of people that hated her.

I know that doesn't sound as maybe as crazy to people from

other states and stuff, but in the south

that was a big deal for women to be speaking out like that.

So Gwyn, she has this spirit.

So what she's doing, it's manipulation once again.

And her agenda is

it's replacing the worship of God

with the worship of a woman.

And that's also why I talk about witchcraft, witches.

It is mainly manipulation.

It's manipulation of somebody's will.

And that's why I'm calling this it's it's closer to a form of witchcraft

than it is Christianity.

My mission in life now.

It's it's to expose

them and to to

take to snuff out this Gwyn spirit.

>> Have you lost trust with all women because of this like subconsciously?

>> For the most part, I believe women have an innate sense of lying.

>> After almost getting caught outside Elizabeth's

home, I'm even more nervous about showing up to the church later and trying

to convince him that I want to join.

We are rolling up to the church here.

Um, I'm going have to keep my I don't want them to know we're filming.

>> But before that, Michael and I want to grab lunch in town so I

can unpack more about the cult's current activities.

Made it to downtown Franklin.

We're going to get some food and walk around,

learn more about this place.

So, what is this building right next to you?

>> So, this is the Williamson

County Courthouse in Franklin.

>> Have you been there? >> Multiple times.

Uh, for stalker situation mainly.

So, you've had to like talk to court.

Not about >> I've had to testify in court,

uh, take the stand and that kind of

>> If there's a remnant member that walks by,

can you figure out who they are just by how they dress?

>> They went really hardcore

into the white and the khaki.

Um, Gwyn loved this stuff like shabby chic.

Now, you know, Elizabeth has been trying to normalize everyone.

That's been kind of their slogan is to normalize. >> Super nice.

The devil has arrived. >> The black table.

>> Can you tell me about this like Smith's murder case?

I don't really understand it, but I read about it online. >> A boy died.

Little Joseph Smith died.

He was murdered by his parents, Joseph and Sonia Smith.

They were members of Remnant in Georgia.

They were getting some bad counsel

from Remnant, telling them to do stuff like

put him in his lock him in his room for the weekend cuz he's

just he was out of control.

And a lot of the police and detectives and everybody that saw

the case in Atlanta,

they said it was like some of the worst case of child abuse they've ever seen.

>> So the kid died. >> Yeah. He dies.

>> And what was what happened?

How did it come back to the church?

>> Because they were members of remnant and they were getting counseledled

by the remnant how to discipline their child.

And they were suggested he start using glue sticks to beat him like long

glue sticks like you know like a whip.

And do you think in today's day and age if that stuff's still happening

or is it more like secretive?

>> I think they're doing a lot all they can do to try to >> Thank you.

>> steer away from that kind of stuff right now.

I I don't think they're doing that right now.

They're trying to avoid persecution.

They know the stuff being talked about the church.

People are, you know, eating disorders and starving themselves.

So now she's she's put out the directive

to everybody to normalize.

I think that could cause issues for people that are trying to claim Christianity

because Christians in general were trying to like stand out from the world

and Remmit's like trying to look as much as they possibly can like the world.

>> Yet I don't think they're doing a good job cuz they're still weird.

>> When the plane crash happened,

did you get a call, a text? Like what happened?

>> So I was driving down the interstate

and I got a call from Elizabeth.

She got notified before me

because they had already put enacted a plan

that she's going to be leader.

So, she's getting full-time

recon and calls from security and people they already had people driving up there

to get on the ground at Percy Priest Lake.

So, she called me to let me know.

I just couldn't believe it happened.

Um, I wasn't sad about it. >> I saw that.

You said you never cried >> to this day.

>> It doesn't make you sad. >> No.

It's like my enemies have just died.

But I'm not I don't gloat over my enemies, you know.

I take that that passage to heart.

I don't do that.

>> So, you found out your mother died and who else was on that plane?

>> My stepdad, Joe Lara.

>> Brandon Hannah was co-pilot.

That was my best friend since 10th grade.

>> So, were you sad about him passing?

>> That was a tough one.

He started getting into more and more stuff, helping them do stuff, illegal activities,

and I found out he broke into my house when I was singing worship music.

He broke into my office which was locked and he pried open the back

of my 17inch MacBook Pro laptop

and he cut his finger on it.

He never could install whatever he was trying to install.

So he pried it was like iron.

It's like galvanized steel.

He had prying it open.

>> I come back my computer

it won't sit flat on the desk all the time.

I turn over the the steel has been pried open.

He was good at picking locks. They all were.

They were trained to do they have safe crackers

on their security team.

So he was he got more and more into just loyalty to Gwyn and

he was >> he was working against me and he bec he became my enemy. >> He's an enemy. >> Yeah.

And that's that's why people think I'm like some partless,

you know, But I'm >> No, I get it.

>> You know, so all a sudden to have those people

die was like there was some relief to me.

I mean it was

>> You must have felt like a newborn Michael has arrived.

Like you can say what you want like you can do what you want.

I remember talking to my dad on the phone

as soon as I got home

and the first thing we talked about was was it a suicide

which posed problems because then it would be a murder suicide. He was miserable.

>> Who flew the plane?

>> He could have crashed it.

Nobody would >> They were on their way to a Trump rally.

Unbeknownst to me, she started giving money to Trump

organizations and she was going to a guess what?

Women for Trump rally.

They were going to have a a weigh down function down there in Florida in Palm Springs. Wow.

>> And they were on their way to that when the plane crashed. >> Yeah. Pretty wild. >> Sure.

You're not on a weight loss

>> Does it look like I am?

>> I I'll be honest.

I started gaining weight when they got a divorce.

She told me the same day she told my dad she was filing for divorce.

And I took that pretty pretty hard.

And that was a big that was a big change for Remnant.

I kind of started letting myself go, I guess you could say.

This is the main This is Main Street

>> After all, I do run a travel channel.

So, it's kind of cool that people can

>> what it looks like here.

It seems like uh this place has been around since like the 1800s. >> Yes.

We try to do a concert here at Franklin Theater when I was worship

>> We're never allowed to do anything outside of the church.

So that was a huge deal to me.

We toured here and we,

you know, we're setting it all up and like we were going to fill

it with all remnant people.

It's like 328 capacity.

So when we get back to the waiton office, you know, I was pumped.

That was like a big deal for me.

And they called up and they were like, "We looked up Gwyn on the

internet and it's a cult.

Sorry we can't do it." >> They canceled it.

>> Oh, they they they called it a cult.

>> Never got to do it.

>> Your your mother was very wealthy. She passed.

The money is somewhere.

How has the financials

thing worked with you? >> Uh, yes.

>> Me and my sister got inheritance. >> That's great.

And that must have been very helpful for you to live your life. >> Yes.

I'm grateful for that.

>> I'm glad that that happened.

I didn't know if you if you got that or if

in the will or something that your mom blocked you or something like that.

>> And one of the things I think the misconceptions

a lot of people have said is

that, you know, they make such a big deal about how Gwyn didn't leave

any money for the church, >> right?

Here's the thing though.

Our family owned that 40 acres is sitting in the middle of Brentwood.

That's 40 acres of land. The church. >> That's so valuable.

>> You think about that.

And then also the church building itself is worth like $4

>> That would have been ours. >> Upon her death.

So she donated that to the church. >> Oh wow.

>> So every, you know, every acre is like over a million.

You know what I'm saying?

How many millions of >> tens and tens of millions? Yeah. No ticket.

>> There was a time, you know, when

at the day mansion they had a bunch of remnant kids over and they

they were out of town and they let them all just

come over for a big sex

party kind of thing going on at their mansion.

>> Like younger than 18.

>> Uh some of them. Yeah.

There were like mattresses on the floor and everything.

No, they were like just all sleeping

with each other and stuff like that. >> The kids?

>> Yeah, like young adults and stuff. on the website. >> That's disturbing.

>> I think one another big problem has been these

remnant adults have been buying alcohol for the youth when they come over for parties.

Remnants had a lot of stuff they covered over.

They've had kids die from drunk driving and

killing other people in drunk driving accidents.

>> we're really hyping it up like my my visit to the church because um

after knowing all these things, I'm going to have to put on this fake

smile like hello, how are you?

What Remnant does, they're experts at rewriting history.

>> People don't understand how quickly they rewrite history. They erase websites.

If somebody leaves, you disappear.

You're you're you're off the director.

You disappear from videos. >> They change laws.

>> People in Remnant right now, they would love to say

that they're the next generation

of Remnant leaders who had nothing to do with all the past abuses that happened under Gwyn.

But what the actuality

is is that they are all complicit

with it and they're

completely lying their faces off.

The master plan of what Elizabeth's

doing in the top leaders,

they're letting the current generation die off.

They don't care about them.

She's taking a page from Gwyn

and her regime basically

now is it's going to be the youth because they're ultra loyal.

They're like, you know, like the Hitler youth, that kind of stuff. the brown shirts.

They don't know any better.

They don't know the outside world.

They've been raised in the remnant.

There's tons of kids in the remnant. It's the youth. >> That's their plan.

And she has been

working them for the last decade.

That's been her specialtity, the youth.

>> How do you think it all evolves in the next 5 to 10 years?

I >> I've had a lot of people,

you know, posture that they think,

you know, we've got the rim on the ropes.

It's going to close the doors.

What I'm seeing is that

they're they're still strong.

>> It's surreal to hear Michael's vision of Remnant's future.

But now, it's time to attempt to visit inside the church to see how I'll be received.

Due to safety and legal reasons, Michael is unable to join, and I'm too

scared to go alone.

So, I connected with a local guy named Anthony, who's up for the adventure.

We are meeting up at a local Target to find some clothes so I can blend in.

>> That's all I need. >> Quite a break. pretty much.

>> I just bought this in Target, which ironically matches him.

And we are going to roll up together.

I don't know if I can film on this camera.

I probably got to use my phone.

Actually, I might be able to put my phone in in a pocket.

And we're just going to question them and just say, "Hey, we're interested in joining.

We want to learn about the community."

We're not going to say anything else. >> No, that's it. >> Are you ready? >> I'm ready.

>> It sounds like you've been wanting to do this for a while.

>> Yeah, a very long time.

Thank you for coming, Drew.

>> This guy's a legend.

No one knew anything about it till the plane crashed in Smyrna where I live in Smura.

>> It was in Smrna.

>> Yeah, it was in Smur Percy Freak Lake.

Well, first it was like the actor who played Tarzan

was in the plane, you know. Yeah. Yeah. That's her husband.

>> Oh, she didn't know that.

>> Yeah, the original Tarzan from the movies.

Then it came back, you know, like it was, you know, preacher this church

and then it all just broke loose.

>> Did you hear about her like weight loss

>> Yeah, the weight loss program.

She would say, you know, when you're hungry, pray.

barely eat like her hair

>> weighed more than her body did.

She denounced the trinity.

>> She denounced the father, son, and the holy ghost.

>> So therefore, the actual,

you know, church want to cut ties with her.

So that's when she went to do her own thing and like uh >> what

are your what are your thoughts on like not eating?

Like it's not healthy to do that. >> It's not healthy.

Like why why would you want to do that?

That's like you know

putting your body through hell.

Why would you put your body through so much hurt when

the Bible says, you know, keep your body as a temple, right?

>> Why would you serve it?

>> We're almost at the church and part of me feels like I should have

packed a bulletproof vest or something.

Will they really believe we're just regular locals wanting to join the cult?

I'm feeling pretty anxious.

>> We are rolling up to the church here.

Um, I'm going have to keep my I don't want them to know we're filming.

So, uh, let's just roll in and then >> the remnant fellowship.

All we're here for is just to kind of learn and

go to the left side where those two white vans are. Park over there.

That's what Michael said.

>> I'm gonna turn off the camera now and we're gonna >> They got security.

He's going to stop us >> here. Move the mic. Move the mic. >> All right. >> Hey, sir.

>> What can I do for you? >> I'm Brian Mullis.

I had emailed the church this morning and I I was just curious, you

know, what it was about and everything.

We're looking to uh get into

>> So, what's the microphone for? >> What? The microphone? >> Yeah.

I mean just for detailed perspective. No.

>> So you can visit the church

website for bread fellowship.org.

>> You can find everything out if you want to there.

And further questions you can >> We just want to roll up and see what's going on.

>> The the thing is a friend

one guy to another. That's off right.

You send an email this morning.

You didn't wait for a reply. You show up.

Well, yeah, but because it's used to the churches I'm used, you know, are like, welcome.

>> Being here being cautious and caring about my family and friends doesn't make us

unhealthy because there's a different there's there's the

questioning, well, that's not right.

I don't see why you believe it. Okay.

But it is what we believe and we're allowed to. So, >> yeah.

It's just like, you know, >> as

Presbyterian tongues and everything,

hey, I want to understand

because what you're saying is intriguing to me.

So, there's two different dynamics. Absolutely.

So, we're on two different

>> I was just going to ask you this, like I believe, I've been baptized.

Am I going to see you in heaven?

>> Heaven is not mine to determine who does or does not get in.

What we're kind of running after is we got a pretty good

outline of of how to get in.

And so, we're just looking at pursuing that. >> I'm Anthony Mo. >> Anthony, I'm Lonzo.

It's nice to meet >> Hey, I'm Drew. Sorry to interrupt.

Turn >> We're going to turn around.

>> That was crazy, bro.

We managed to escape before things escalate,

but it's clear that this place has eyes everywhere.

The Remnant Fellowship Church is alive and well, and it's protecting itself tightly.

I came here to try to understand how a Christian diet class turned into a full-blown cult.

And after everything I've seen, it's worse than I imagined.

The control, the fear, the loyalty,

it's all still present even without Gwen.

I respect Michael and his bravery for speaking out,

especially when his own family is still inside.

If anything, this trip showed me how hard it is to escape a system

that is designed to keep you quiet.

>> For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil.