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"Her critiques of the church being overly therapeutic resonate with a lot of people who want a stricter theology," said Griffith, a religion researcher at Harvard Divinity School. "Gwen seems to have her life together, she's beautiful, and her children are out there with her. Subconsciously, people want to be like her."

There is already a growing group of Remnant Fellowships dropouts. Don Veinot Jr., president of Midwest Christian Outreach in suburban Chicago, has met with Christians who left their churches to join Remnant but who are now alienated from Shamblin's movement.

Veinot told CT, "Most pseudo-Christian movements have this arrogant tendency—the propensity to find themselves or their perceived enemies in every passage of Scripture, while losing the gospel of Christ along the way." Veinot said Shamblin appeals to hurting individuals who have failed at losing weight and are deeply unhappy with their church.

Veinot described Shamblin's teachings as "the Jesus-plus plan," meaning she teaches that Christ died for a person's sins, but "total obedience" after conversion is needed to keep one free of sin and confident of salvation.

Thomas Robinson, senior pastor of the Manhattan Church of Christ, New York City, allowed Weigh Down classes at his church in 2001. Church members Adam and Maria Brooks coordinated the classes after attending a Rebuilding the Wall seminar.

Adam Brooks believed Shamblin gave him an important assignment: Warn his church elders to deal with the sin in their church or face God's wrath. The group met with Robinson and the elders.

Robinson said he had not monitored Shamblin's journey from weight control to extreme discipling. "There is a kind of graceless legalism at the heart," Robinson said.

About a year ago, Robinson canceled all Weigh Down gatherings at the church and dismissed Maria Brooks as his secretary. Three couples, including the Brookses, quit the Manhattan Church of Christ.

In spite of his attraction to Shamblin's teachings, Adam Brooks still had reservations about joining Remnant. Brooks said he began asking questions about her doctrine, and he said leaders later banned him. The other two couples, though, joined Remnant and moved to Nashville.

In the end, Adam and Maria Brooks decided to backtrack. They apologized to Robinson, to their elders, and then to the entire congregation.

J. Gordon Melton, director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara, California, believes Shamblin's relentless focus on overweight Christians continues to inspire a powerful following. Melton also said Shamblin's marketing savvy strongly benefits her bottom line. At Rebuilding the Wall events, Remnant leaders sell everything from charm bracelets to T-shirts, with the profits supporting the movement. The movement has also started a publishing arm.

Melton believes Remnant is destined to grow because Shamblin already has a national network set up through her Weigh Down classes. "She has what amounts to seeds all over the country," Melton said. "With so many people scattered across the nation, this is going to grow quickly."

Veinot also thinks Remnant Fellowship could become a sizable movement. Weigh Down still offers all of Shamblin's seminars, but now leaders often teach Weigh Down classes at Remnant sites or in their homes.

In the Seattle area (where Shamblin spoke at a Rebuilding the Wall event on Nov. 9), 27 Weigh Down groups meet regularly, according to Weigh Down's website.

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December 9 2002, Vol. 46, No. 13