Cole-Whittaker Disciples Vow to Carry On Ministry

When the Rev. Terry Cole-Whittaker told her congregation Sunday that she soon would leave her church “to go within myself . . . to be happy and to do what I want to do,” many of her followers felt sadness.

But one of Cole-Whittaker’s top aides, the Rev. Carey C. Miller, says that those who understand the teachings of the charismatic “Reverend Terry” also realize that it is all for the best.

“In the bigger picture called God, everything’s perfect,” Miller said in an interview Wednesday. “Everything happens for the highest and best good for all concerned.”

Cole-Whittaker, 45, known for preaching prosperity to a status-conscious crowd, surprised many with her announced plan to leave her church and end her television evangelical shows, which reportedly reach a million viewers. But, buoyed by a philosophy that echoes Candide’s Dr. Pangloss (“This is the best of all possible worlds”), the faithful believe that the ministry can live on without its founder and leader.

“It will go on in a new form and with a new name,” said the Rev. Kathy Hearn, who will succeed Cole-Whittaker in the church. “I’m open to it becoming whatever it chooses to be. I’m really interested in providing a service and a place for people to experience themselves spiritually.”

Hearn professed confidence. “I’ve been really well-trained. I’ve been trained by one of the best,” she said, referring to Cole-Whittaker.

Hearn said she and at least two other Cole-Whittaker deputies, Ron and Sandy Scott, plan to establish faith centers in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as home base La Jolla, to continue the Sunday “celebrations.”

Though he is not sure of his role, Miller said he too will be active in the ministry. “It’s my life,” he explained. “The form could change, but the value I’ve gotten out of the ministry, the teachings of Rev. Terry, just the aliveness that I have--I want to share that with more people.”

But as far as TV is concerned, there doesn’t appear to be anyone in the church who is willing or able to follow the bubbly, attractive Cole-Whittaker.

“Uh-uh, not me,” Hearn said, laughing. “That has never been a desire of mine. I love working one-on-one with people and in groups.”

“I don’t see any of the ministers picking up the TV part,” said Miller. “I don’t think there’s anybody who wants to hold that position like Terry did.”

Cole-Whittaker, who has declined interview requests since her announcement, told her congregation Sunday that her personal ministry will remain “a legal entity as the government allows and in that I will do retreats . . . where we will travel to different high-energy places.”

She announced her decision at a time when her ministry is reportedly $400,000 in debt. “It is absolutely Terry’s intention to clear out any debt that we do owe,” said Miller, who oversees church revenues.

Cole-Whittaker, a one-time Mrs. California who has been married four times, is also known for her book, “How to Have More in a Have-Not World,” and classes such as “Mastery in Wealth,” “Mastery in Love” and “Dress to Win.” She had usually appeared by videotape in her classes, with assistants such as Hearn and Miller acting as “facilitators.”

Hearn suggested that it is unfortunate that media coverage focuses on the materialism in Cole-Whittaker’s sermons. “The message that Terry has always given is that people are limitless and capable . . . there’s so much more to the teaching than about money. It’s about love, the relationship with God, the ability to create life the

way you want it to be,” she said.

“We believe in divine right action. There’s a divine order by which things occur.”

Asked in separate interviews whether the starvation in Africa was an example of “divine right action,” both Miller and Hearn said it was. “Although that may be difficult to understand,” Hearn added.

Miller declared, “What is the outcome of that tragedy? What happens is it brings people together. You have to talk about the bigger picture that is God. . . . I cannot judge a specific event from my limited perspective.”

And should the new, re-formed ministry go nowhere without Cole-Whittaker, that too would be divine, they said.

“The outcome is certain; that is the only certainty,” Miller said.

He was asked if he is certain that the outcome would be good.

“It always is,” he replied.