He sat in a chair and closed his eyes as a dozen people encircled him. They laid their hands on his head, shoulders, and arms, and called on the demon to go, shrieking, “Come out, devil, in the name of Jesus!” Some of them leaned in, their faces so close he could feel the heat of their breath and the spray of their saliva. Their hands squeezed down; they gibbered in nonsense syllables, speaking in tongues. Rick squeezed shut his eyes and held his breath, tamping down the fury that rose up in his gut. In the old days, nobody would have screamed in Rick’s face like that—not without consequences. The old Rick Cooper would have knocked them all on their asses.
He used every technique he knew to keep the old Rick in check: the promise he’d made to Jesus to never fight again, thoughts of his children fitting in and earning good grades at the Word of Faith Christian School, thoughts of his job and all the friendly new people he’d met in Sunday school. If this was the price to pay for all those good things...he’d absorb it, like Jesus did as He carried His cross along the Via Dolorosa.
His first blasting session had a profound impact. Afterward, Rick accepted the church’s doctrine without question. He began calling Jane Whaley “Mother” like her other followers did. Rick accepted whatever punishment the church meted out. He found it easy to help discipline other believers. He thought he might soon join the ranks of the ministers himself.
But first, he had to deal with his wayward mother, Cora. He knew she was playing the sweepstakes. In Rick’s mind, it was gambling.
Rick drove home in a fury and stormed into the house. Cora sat at the kitchen table, reading a magazine.
“Ma, do you know what it’s like to burn?” he said, a little too loud. “What do you think hell is going to be like if you don’t repent of this?” He slammed his hand down on the table. “Is that what you want, Ma? To burn in hell?”
Cora sat in silence. Suzanne ran into the room. She knew the look on her husband’s face. “Rick, please,” she said. “We have children in the house.”
Cora wasn’t one to take abuse quietly. She was only a shade over five feet two inches tall and thin as a rail, but she was tough. “Who do you think you are?” she snapped. “What gives you the right to say these things to me in my own house?”
The drama was getting too much for Suzanne to handle, especially with the new baby added into the equation. She had learned many of the Cooper family’s dark secrets in the past few months. Rick had painted his mother, father, sister, and relatives as devout Christians. But Suzanne had heard disturbing stories of violence, infidelity.
“You’re my mother, but you’re a harlot,” Rick shouted, a common word in Whaley’s lexicon. “Can’t you see that I’m trying to save you?”
But Cora cut him off: “Jesus is my savior, not you. Go save your own damn self.”
* * *
It seemed that the more Rick absorbed the teachings of the Word of Faith Fellowship, the more he fought with his mother. So in May 1994, Suzanne shared her burden with an assistant pastor, saying she would have to leave if the fighting didn’t end soon. She had to protect her children, and her sanity.
And that was when Jane asked to speak with the couple in private.
Rick and Suzanne appeared at the appointed time. Whaley didn’t give them a chance to speak. She praised their hard work and faithful attendance, saying she was proud of their progress. They’d proven their loyalty and trustworthiness. Now it was time to take the next step.
“I want you to attend our leadership meetings,” Whaley said.
The Coopers were stunned. Only a handful of congregants attended leadership meetings, which were held in Whaley’s office a half hour before each religious service. How many times had Rick walked by that closed door and wished he could be inside? Members got a heads-up about upcoming seminars, weddings, or other events. They also talked about who in the church was slipping, not living a godly life, and what kind of intervention it merited.
“What do you think?” Whaley asked them.
Rick and Suzanne said they would be honored.
But Jane Whaley had one qualification: the Coopers would have to undergo marriage counseling with a church minister and get their relationship back on track.
They didn’t hesitate. They said yes.
Rick and Suzanne were filled with joy. Yes, they had problems, but maybe they could overcome them. They had to try! They were poised to become church royalty. They were now part of Jane’s inner circle, and everyone would know. On Sundays and Wednesdays, they’d be the ones basking in Jane’s light. They had joined the elite.
* * *
Brooke Covington and Karel Reynolds didn’t have psychology credentials, but they were two of Jane’s “daughters,” confidantes she trusted enough to counsel married couples. In the Fellowship, that was all that mattered.
For Suzanne, it was one thing to talk about Rick without him in the room, but another to reveal her true feelings with him just a few feet away. She didn’t like hurting people and hated confrontation, but today she had no choice. If they were going to achieve a breakthrough, she’d have to tell them everything.
Covington and Reynolds settled in with stern looks on their faces and several notebooks in their hands. This was going to take a while.
“We can sense that there’s strife in your lives. Tell us what is going on,” Reynolds said.
Rick had no chance to respond. Suzanne told the ministers their marriage had been on the rocks for a very long time. They fought over everything, she said. Money was tight, and Rick always made family decisions without her input.
“He wants sex constantly. All the time,” Suzanne blurted out. In a church that punished followers for having erotic thoughts, Suzanne’s confession was shockingly frank.
She had no idea if Rick’s sex drive was normal, because she had little experience with men before she married. Although Suzanne was a pretty teenager, she didn’t have boyfriends in high school, busy as she was caring for her younger sisters.
In the Air Force, she’d tried drinking and partying, but never really enjoyed it. She started attending a Baptist church on Sundays, and that was how she met Rick.
Back then, Suzanne thought Rick was boring and humorless. All he talked about was God, and he recounted every detail of his personal testimony every chance he got.
But Rick was determined. The night of their very first “date,” a Sunday evening church service, he told her, “I’m going to marry you.”
Suzanne laughed at him.
But over the next few weeks, it seemed that Rick was always around. He told her he wanted to be a pastor. He showed her department store catalogs. “I want you to pick out your ring and dress for the wedding,” he’d say.