Thats a miracle, Shamblin replied in the call. Let's see if . Thousands of churches around the U.S. and the world started using her book and videos as guides. Exploring Lara's fame and power as a diet guru and church leader, and truth behind her carefully curated image, detailing the controversial practices of the church. The Remnant Fellowship website lists food ahead of drugs, depression, self focus, money, anger, selfishness, envy and jealousy as the idols that need to be "laid down.". In 1999, Shamblin broke with the Church of Christ, the conservative branch of evangelicalism in which she grew up (and which forbade female leaders) and launched Remnant Fellowship, based around her diet teachings, which saw weight loss as a pure reflection of spiritual commitment and intent, gain as failure and sin. Shortly after the pilot acknowledged instructions to maintain an altitude of 3,000ft (910m) above mean sea level and make a turn, air traffic control instructed the pilot to climb, but the pilot ceased responding. Early life Participants were not only losing their weight while eating regular foods, but they were using the same Bible-based principles to turn away from other addictions such as smoking or alcohol abuse.By 1992, word had begun to spread about Weigh Down, and churches from all over the country asked if they could host Weigh Down seminars for their church members. Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. A synopsis read: "Despite a carefully curated image, Lara and the church soon fielded accusations of emotional, psychological, and physical abuse, and exploitation for their alleged cult-like practices.". My churches in Arkansas lifted the families and Remnant Church up in our prayers today for comfort and peace through the storm. After years of success with the Weigh Down program, Shamblin had sold millions of books and appeared on Larry King Live and The Tyra Banks Show, per The Guardian. The Christian guru was among seven people killed when a Cessna plane plunged into Percy Priest lake near Smyrna, Tennessee, in May2021. ashlawn brentwood tn gwen shamblin. Police who testified during the Smiths trial in 2007 said they could not find a link between the boys death and the churchs teachings about punishment, NBC News reported. A lot of our evidence is that they disciplined their children in ways the church recommended, a police captain said at the time. where is the expiration date on goldfish crackers, late night wedding venues in northern california, milk bar chocolate confetti cookie recipe. Two more episodes on the crash, its investigation and the transition of power to Shamblins two children, will land in spring 2022. Gwen Shamblin Lara's leadership of Remnant came to an abrupt end on May 29, 2021, after two decades spent at its helm. For more than three years Cappello and her team had researched Remnant, which had faced accusations of being a cult that promoted child abuse, and its charismatic leader, Gwen Shamblin Lara, a stick-thin woman with an inflated blonde beehive who gained fame for a theological diet program to pray ones way to thinness. By . Why Gwen Shamblin's Remnant Fellowship Church Was Investigated in a Child's Murder, https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/remnant-church-murder. Gwen Shamblin is an American Christian non-fiction author and founder of The Weigh Down Workshop and Remnant Fellowship Church. Gwen Shamblin Lara, her husband, Joe, and five other church leaders are presumed dead. The first threeepisodes explored the life of controversial religious leader Gwen Shamblin. In 1999, Shamblin broke with the Church of Christ, the conservative branch of evangelicalism in which she grew up (and which forbade female leaders) and launched Remnant Fellowship, based. When was Gwen Shamblin in a plane crash? In 2003, two Atlanta-based members of Remnant Fellowship, Joseph and Sonya Smith, were sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years for beating their eight-year-old son, Josef, to death as punishment. Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Flubber movie? Debbie. If that sounds bad, it pales. So, praise God.. Gwen Shamblin's power influence was only limited toTennessee. Dogs are welcome and may be off-leash in some areas. Recovery crews are still performing dive operations to locate and retrieve other components from the crash. Earlier this month, in response to allegations made in the film, Remnant issued a formal statement, presented at the end of the series, in which the church categorically denies the absurd defamatory statements and accusations made in this documentary and assures children are happy and healthy, being raised with the most love, care, support and protection imaginable. I did exactly what Tedd told me to do, to spank him in the back of his thighs and lock him for three days in his empty room with nothing but a Bible, she said. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams. Elizabeth Shamblin Hannah, who was not on the flight, sent out a text to Remnant families Saturday. HOME; HER LIFE; PHOTOS AND VIDEOS; MEMORIES; MORE. It is the story of Gwen Shamblin, a controversial religious leader and Christian diet guru who was very influential in America. A nice hike in the hills starting from Cattane and proceeding towards the Park of Villa Zilieri and Colle San Giorgio. Gwen Shamblin Lara during one of her diet program workshops. A plane crash in Tennessee over the weekend killed seven church leaders of The Remnant Fellowship, including bestselling Christian author Gwen Shamblin Lara and her husband, Joe Lara, an actor known for his role in the "Tarzan" television series. The mansion was built in 1838. [10] The church's building was completed in 2004 on 40 acres Lara purchased in Brentwood, Tennessee. From here you return to the starting point following a stretch of road and a stretch of paths. The Remnant teachings support corporal punishment for children. According to its website, the church is "an international. Chrissy Teigen is an executive producer of the project. Situated on 40 acres in beautiful Brentwood, TN, the church founded by Gwen Shamblin Lara in 1999 webcasts to over 200 locations around . That was a sign, to the world, of Gods favor of the church, says Wilson, who left the church in 2012 after 13 years. As a Christian diet guru, what doesGwen Shamblin preach? Gwen Shamblin Lara turned author in 1997 with the book The Weigh Down Diet. Shamblin, known for her "Weigh Down Workshop" Christian diet program and starting Remnant Fellowship church in Franklin, died in a plane crash in Percy Priest Lake along with her husband and other . Home Alone 2: Lost In New York Trivia Quiz With Answers. As any other church . The couple made a video that appears onthe Remnant Fellowship website. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), 2023 Cable News Network. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of Gwen Shamblin and Joe Lara on beach house balcony Back in Brentwood, just down the road from the church, the divorce settlement shows Shamblin also got to keep the couple's pre-Civil War. Wraith-like, hands in the air, she leads her followers into the Promised land, together or, at least, further scrutiny in later episodes. The Laras took off Saturday morning from Smyrna and the plane went down moments later. Harry Potter House Quiz: Which Hogwarts House Do You Belong To? [12] Lara founded the Weigh Down Workshop, a weight-loss program with no food restrictions, exercise regimens, weigh-ins, or calorie-counting in 1986. . Boone described Josef as pretty rambunctious, with behavioral issues that might have best been addressed by professionals. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. What were some of the demands ofGwen Shamblin? Christian diet guru Gwen Lara and her husband, actor Joe Lara, are among seven people killed after a small plane crashed into a Tennessee lake on Saturday, May, 29, 2021. John Russell/Associated Press By Nicole. Dive teams from local emergency agencies found human remains among the wreckage Sunday as the recovery effort continued. GwenShamblin and The Weigh Down Workshop was featured on such shows as 20/20, Larry King Live, and The View, as well as in such magazines as Good Housekeeping and Womans Day. As detailed in The Way Down, the church was both a moneymaking venture for Shamblin, and a cult that allegedly promoted child abuse. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), The book sold more than 1.2 million copies. She made insensitive comments about thin Jews in concentration camps and has claimed genetics don't play a role in weight loss. Everyone on board was killed, including Shamblin, Lara (who was flying the plane), and five church members. Located right on the Gulf of Mexico, Shamblin's beach home with its four bedrooms and five baths was located in a gated community known as Destiny by the Sea. In 2003, she supported Remnant congregants Joseph and Sonya Smith, who were convicted of murdering their 8-year-old son Josef. },false) In 1986, she founded the Weigh Down Workshop, a series that directed people to stay away from unwanted behaviors and emotions like anger, depression, overeating, and alcohol indulgence and direct their energies to form a genuine relationship with God. SHOCKING: Man Rapes Dog Inside Park in India as Delhi Police Refuse to Arrest Suspect [GRAPHIC], Dilbert Comic Strip Gets Canceled by Hundreds of Newspapers Over Creator Scott Adams' 'Racist Rant', East Meets West: Two Spirits Industry Visionaries Join Forces to Bring Portfolio of Unique, Super-Premium, Hand-Crafted Japanese Spirits to the US Market, 'Never-Ending War of Attrition': Thousands Rally in Germany Calling for End to Weapons Supply to Ukraine, Camilla Will Officially Be Called 'Queen' and Not 'Queen Consort' after King Charles' Coronation, 'Confused' Joe Biden Says 'Who is Zooming Who' When Asked About East Palestine Visit? That turned Josefs behavior around, and its like looking at a different child, she said. Subjects include Natasha Pavlovich, an ex-girlfriend of Laras fighting against Remnants robust legal team for custody of her 10-year-old daughter. Gwen Shamblin Lara rose to fame as a weight-loss champion turned religious cult leader. The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Remnant Fellowship Church for comment. In addition, she was allegedly involved in the child abuse, death case in 2003. Who are Gwen Shamblin Lara's children? Following Shamblin's death on May 29, 2021, the Remnant Church was passed to the control of her children, Elizabeth Shamblin Hannah . Jennifer and David Martin, the final two victims, joined the Remnant Fellowship at its inception in 1999. According to Shamblin, people should only eat when they feel real, physical hunger and stop when full; prayer and Bible reading will fill emotional needs instead of food. Brandon Hannah, another church leader with a pilot license, was on the flight, but he didn't have a certification for the Cessna 500 series, according to the FAA database. The church has more than 1,500 members around the world. Gwen - who was known for her distinctive blond hairstyle - was 66 when she died. The accident changed everything for director Marina Zenovich, who was already working on the HBO Max documentary about Shamblin and Remnant. Let's see if you can beat the best score. Interesting documentary. Shamblin was a controversial figure whose teachings as a founder of Christin Diet Program The Weigh Down Workshop and the Remnant Fellowship Church was questioned multiple times. Often, Boone and her friends babysat kids in a large group while their parents attended church gatherings. Radar returns show the airplane made a series of heading changes and several climbs and descents before it entered a steep, descending left turn and impacted a shallow area of Percy Priest Lake about 2 to 8feet (0.6 to 2.4meters) deep.[68]. One former member said that there were glue sticks sticking out of diaper bags in the [church] aisles, the newspaper reported in 2007. Their children, Hannah and Michael, are still RFC congregants. The group was traveling to a Women Fighting. Her life was the subject of a 2021 HBO Max docuseries and a 2023 Lifetime movie. The church runs a website proclaiming the Smiths innocence, and blaming ex-church members for making false claims of child abuse against the couple. Shamblin Lara would deliver conferences where fans would hold up banners that read: God has taken 86 pounds off me.. Its an unfortunate taking advantage of the tragic death of a child so they can whip Remnant Fellowship and Gwen Shamblin, she told the AP in 2004. Shamblin, 66, was one of seven people who lost their lives on May 29, 2021 when their Cessna C501 crashed into Percy Priest Lake near Smyrna, Tennessee. She was interviewed by Larry King and featured in an article by New Yorker magazine. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Sunday is the one-year anniversary of when a plane crashed into Percy Priest Lake, killing seven members of a controversial Williamson County church. Adam Tamburin contributed to this report. Kings Crossing neighborhood would not have been built as we know it today. They want to continue doing what theyre doing, which is controlling people. Also known early on as Date in the Desert and the Exodus Tour, Rebuilding the Wall tours have been conducted by Shamblin in 26 cities in the United States and Canada. She counseled that genetics, metabolism, and behavior modification did not explain why some people were thin while others were overweight. Wilson attended the Smiths trial and visited the couple in prison. That [the sleeves might be covering up signs of abuse] didnt click until he passed away. "Each year of our marriage gets BETTER," David Martin wrote. Eight-year-old Josef Smith died in October 2003, a day after his parents called 911 from their home in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. She has an undergraduate degree in dietetics from University of Tennessee, in Knoxville. hitType: 'event', Shamblin had referred to starvation of Jews in Nazi concentration camps and had said that genetics do not play a role in weight loss. She started a Christian diet program. After Josefs death, Remnant Fellowship was investigated by law enforcement in Georgia and Tennessee; other than the Smiths, no church members were charged in relation to the case. CHRISTIAN diet guru Gwen Shamblin Lara, leader of the Remnant Fellowship Church, lived a luxurious millionaire lifestyle before she died in a private plane crash in 2021. If I hear of it, then I will correct it. Authorities said the Cessna 500 series plane that crashed was headed from Smyrna to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida. [39], Shamblin wrote Rise Above, (2000) and Exodus Devotional (2002). Who was/were onboard the plane that crashed in the movie? The logical next step was to expand her brand, and so in 1999 she founded the Remnant Fellowship Church, which encourages its members to pray through hunger and turn away from the love of food and toward a love of God. The church promises a world in which where Husbands are kind like Christ, women are submissive, and children obey their parents and find HAPPINESS in doing so, according to a note on its official website written by Shamblin's daughter, Elizabeth Hannah. appreciated. According to The Guardian, Shamblin wielded an alarming amount of power over every aspect of church members' lives, including their finances, their marriages, and who they were allowed to see. What was the name of the six-year old girl in the movie? Weiss said the investigation will focus on three main factors: the pilot,the people involvedand environmental factors affecting the flight, including things like theweather and interactions with air traffic control. According to the Federal Aviation Administration website, no one on that flight was qualified to fly the plane. Gwen's first husband David Shamblin was also one of the founding members of the Remnant Fellowship Church. In 2018 they divorced, and she married Joe Lara. In 2002, Shamblin bought 40 acres of land in Brentwood and donated the entire property for the building of the Remnant Fellowship Church. Lara is often referred to as the Christian Diet Guru. Director of HBO docuseries on weight loss church wants to help people get out, NTSB releases preliminary report on plane crash that killed Gwen Shamblin, Joe Lara and others, Remnant Fellowship Church founder's children will keep church going after her death, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Gwen was an Instructor of Foods and Nutrition at the University of Memphis for five years, and she worked with the citys Health Department for an additional five years, helping specifically in the areas of overweight, obesity, pregnancy, and child health. Members of the Remnant Fellowship church posted bond for the Smiths before the 2007 trial. Others accused the church of "emotional, psychological, and physical abuse," according to researchers. In May of this year, film-makers Marina Zenovich and Nile Cappello had nearly wrapped on a documentary series about Remnant Fellowship, an insular, eerily cheery church in Brentwood, Tennessee, which preached weight loss as a spiritual assignment. The Remnant Fellowship founder Gwen Shamblin answers questions during an interview with local media regarding the churches beliefs and faith in Brentwood, Tennessee on June 29, 2004. Three-and-a-half years later, Joseph and Sonya Smith were found guilty of beating their son to death, and each was sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison. Follows the Remnant Fellowship Church and its leader Gwen Shamblin Lara. In 2001, Nashville CBS affiliate WTVF investigated how Weigh Down Workshop leaders spent money. The book sold more than four hundred thousand copies within a year. The pair were together from 1978 to 2018. (modern), The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin on HBO Max. During an Interview, Gwens daughter, Elizabeth, shared that her mother had instilled in Elizabeth and Michael how to have a relationship with God at a very early age. The official YouTube Channel for Remnant Fellowship Church. Strict punishment of those who failed to follow church tenets. Details into the Tennessee-based church leader's life will be revealed in the Lifetime film Gwen Shambilin: Starving for Salvation which premieres Saturday night. They were married in 2002 and had three children. "Gwen Shamblin Lara was one of the world's most kind, gentle, and selfless mother and wife, and a loyal, caring, supportive best friend to all. Gwen Shamblin was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, with a strong faith and foundational values. In a recorded phone call when Josef was 7, Sonya Smith told Shamblin she was thankful for the wonderful advice of church leader Tedd Anger. She lived every day laying down her own life to. It was also in 2018 that Gwen decided to divorce David and marry someone new: an actor and country singer called Joe Lara. TN in the shipping department. [62], Lara lived with her husband and children in Ashlawn, a historic mansion in Brentwood, Tennessee that was built in 1838. Sonya and Joseph routinely disciplined their son, Josef, by beating him with foot-long glue sticks,[60] belts, and heated coat hangers; locking him in confined spaces for extended periods of time; and tying his hands with rope. Twice-weekly church services are webcast live from the original Remnant Fellowship church located outside Nashville, Tennessee, built using her own personally donated funds.The dream of helping people turn away from the love of food and toward a love of God has turned into a ministry. All Rights Reserved. Gwen Shamblin Lara (February 18, 1955 - May 29, 2021) was an American author, founder of the Christian diet program The Weigh Down Workshop and founder of the Remnant Fellowship. [26] Approximately eight churches in Britain were hosting workshops in December 1996. Gwen Lara Documentary: Director of new HBO docuseries on weight loss church wants to help people get out. Here is a Gwen Shamblin: Starving For Salvation Quiz for you to test your knowledge about this movie. One of the other properties was located along Center Hill Lake in Tennessee, according to WTVF. The church states on its website: "Our full leadership team consists of 120 people who serve and meet the needs of the congregation through ministries and counsel. The primary coordinates for Ashlawn Plantation (historical) places it within the TN 37027 ZIP Code delivery area. The first three episodes of The Way Down are available now, while the last two will debut in early 2022. Church archives in Vicenza province may store even older information. The event the group was traveling to inFlorida was billed as We The PeoplePatriots' Day Rally, which took place Sunday. Exploring Lara's fame and power as a diet guru and church leader, and truth behind her carefully curated image, detailing the controversial practices of the church. Construction, Architecture, Roofing, Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical, Concrete, & Excavation Services all offered under one roof! HBO Max's new docuseries, The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin, delves into the bizarre and disturbing story of the Remnant Fellowship Church, a religious cult with a toxic emphasis on dieting. During this horrible tragedy, our church would greatly appreciate prayers. The book quickly became a million-seller as people discovered the secrets to losing weight quickly and permanently while finding a new relationship with God. After allegations of being a cult and of controlling followers' weights, lives, and finances, the group is now being led by a leadership team, including the weight loss guru's . It all changed when Gwen died, as tragic as it was for her family," Zenovich said. Joe had one daughter from his previous marriage to Natasha Pavlovich. But the Weigh Down Workshops promised something many women were desperately craving: a framework for weight loss that felt meaningful, infused with the righteousness and familiarity of religion; a community and common purpose beyond the home. . Per the Times, the authorities raided Shamblin's office as part of this murder investigation. On May 9, 2021, Shamblin and a group of the church's leaders were killed in a private plane crash . Remnant Fellowship Church did not respond to a request for comment from A&E True Crime. Shamblin, who said that she struggled with her weight during college, started a diet consulting practice in the 1980s, which soon snowballed into the Weigh Down Workshop. The group - which included herTarzan actor and second husband Joe Lara, 58 - were thought to have beenheading to a Women Fighting For America event. If you take the hidden path behind the house, it will take you to a dead end on private property. Her daughter, Elizabeth, was married to Brandon Hannah, and together, they have four children, Grace, Gweneth, Gloria, and Charles Grantham. Church name: Enter any location: Search Now. THE sudden death of Gwen Shamblin Lara in a 2021 plane crash marked a new chapter for the Remnant Fellowship Church, the controversial religious community she created. The McMartin Preschool Case: Satanic Panic and Child Sexual Abuse Allegations. Shamblin was also allegedly leading a cult. Lara founded Remnant Fellowship in 1999 after the success of her Weigh Down Workshop, which she created in 1986. You will find religious records of the same events (births, marriages and deaths) but, most important, you could go further back in time! Weigh Down Workshop hosted more than 21,000 classes with more than 250,000 participants worldwide by August 1998. [Josef] sat at the table eating, and he was wearing long sleeves in summer, but thats not unusual around here, because sometimes people dont want to get darker, Schweizer says. She has self-published devotional book titled Exodus as the publisher terminated the contract after she claimed that the doctrine of the Trinity was not Biblical. a Saint, for sure. Official Website for Gwen Shamblin Lara. What We Know About 'The Diplomat' Season 2, The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin. We were taught to absolutely and unequivocally submit, and if we didnt submit, there were ramifications, she says. Colli Berici: Sant'Agostino - Monte Comunale - San Gottardo, Museo del Risorgimento e della Resistenza, Villa Valmarina - Monte Berico - Borgo Berga, Prima Ciclabile Riviera Berica: Vicenza - Noventa Vicentina, Via Postumia MTB, Segment 5: Vicenza - Zevio, Monte Berico - Villa Ambellicopoli - Borgo Berga, Via Postumia, Segment 14: Vicenza - Lonigo. * This service and all webcasts and content on this website are material copyrighted by Remnant Fellowship and are for your personal and noncommercial use only, unless otherwise expressly permitted by Remnant Fellowship in writing. So we tried we sent letters to a lot of leaders but no one responded.. An explosive HBO documentary, The Way Down, also aired months after Gwen died in a plane crash inTennessee. Shamblin has developed seven different seminars over the past two decades through Weigh Down.http://www.weighdown.comhttp://www.remnantfellowship.org These seminars teach people "how to transfer a relationship with food over to a loving relationship toward God.". Recovered plane debris will also be studied and examined to determine what caused the crash. Six months before Josef died, 14-year-old Laura Boone, who worked as a babysitter, made a report of child abuse about Josef, without knowing his name. The workshop essentially encouraged people to pray away the pounds, preaching that if you turn to God, he will keep you virtuous and protect you from overeating. That's according to a New York Times piece from 2004, which also notes that Shamblin believes that gluttony is a moral failing. (Which should give you some indication of how psychologically healthy this whole program was.). In 1999, she founded the Remnant Fellowship Church in Brentwood, TN. The second part of "The Way Down" airs Thursday, April 28 on HBO Max. This little-known but highly valuable community contribution is certainly a wonderful part of the legacy of Gwen Shamblin Lara. She saw Josef crying in a corner, so she asked his father, Joseph Smith, what she should do, she says. The search didnt yield anything criminal, so his superiors told him there was pretty much nothing else I could do, says Schweizer, who retired from Cobb County in 2020 and now works as investigator for the Banks County Sheriffs Office and as a task force officer for the Department of Homeland Security. The Remnant Fellowship, an international church community founded in 1999 and based in . On 29 May, Shamblin and her husband, former Tarzan actor Joe Lara, as well as five other leaders within Remnant Fellowship, died in a plane crash outside Smyrna, Tennessee. Diet guru Gwen Lara and her husband, actor Joe Lara among 7 killed in plane crash. [32], Shamblin founded the Remnant Fellowship Church in Franklin, Tennessee in 1999. THE sudden death of Gwen Shamblin Lara in a 2021 plane crash marked a new chapter for the Remnant Fellowship Church, the controversial religious community she created. Joseph Smith wrote letters from prison in which he exhorted the Wilsons to love your kids, which she took as a sign of remorse, she says. The seven people presumed dead in a Saturday plane crash on Percy Priest Lake in Smyrna were all leaders at Remnant Fellowship Church in Brentwood. We'll be exploring the history of the Weigh Down and Remnant Fellowship, a religious, cult-like group founded by Gwen Shamblin Lara, that has been at the center of the Smith family's story. One follower even claimed she suffered irreparable damage to her kidneys as a result of the weight loss program as she starved herself "for God.". 1. Shamblin is said to have struggled with her weight while in school. [40][41], Shamblin sent an email to her followers saying that she believed that the doctrine of the Trinity was not biblical on August 10, 2000. Here is a Gwen Shamblin: Starving For Salvation Quiz for you to test your knowledge about this movie. Gwen Shamblin Lara (February 18, 1955 May 29, 2021) was an American author, founder of the Christian diet program The Weigh Down Workshop and founder of the Remnant Fellowship. All the best! The first red flag came in 2004, when an 8-year-old child died in Atlanta and his parents, who were Remnant members, were charged with his murder. Official Website for Gwen Shamblin Lara. Investigators hadchanged from a rescue mission to a recovery mission Sunday morning. In the book, she advised using spirituality to avoid overeating. [49] Participants from the Weigh Down Workshop were featured on the cover of Good Housekeeping,[50] in the Ladies' Home Journal,[51] in People Magazine,[52] First magazine,[53] Quick and Simple,[54] and in numerous newspaper articles. Shamblin was an exalted figure inside the church she founded back in the late 90s, coming off the success of her Weigh Down Diet plan. She and her siblings didnt suffer corporal punishment, but it was a lot of verbal, emotional and mental manipulation and abuse, she says. But she soon faced accusations of running a cult and of using money raised for the church for her own personal wealth. GWEN LARA:Gwen Shamblin Lara, other leaders of controversial church killed in plane crash. Just like Gwen, Joe was charismatic, attractive and thin, which to Gwen . They have been identified as: Gwen Lara, a diet guru and founder of the Remnant Fellowship Church, her husband Joe Lara, an actor, Jennifer J. Martin, David L. Martin, Jessica Walters, Jonathan Walters, and Brandon Hannah.