First pics of pastor of alleged ‘TikTok “cult” accused of brainwashing influencers & swindling ex-member out of $4M’
THIS is the end of days pastor hit by claims he is running a TikTok "cult" which has brainwashed top dance stars.
Exclusive pictures obtained by The Sun show Shekinah Church founder Robert Shinn, 63, in Los Angeles.
The church has been accused by the family of TikToker Miranda Derrick, 25, of recruiting her and other influencers with millions of followers working with Shinn's 7M Films production and management company.
Miranda’s sister Melanie and parents Dean and Kelly Wilking tearfully denounced the church for allegedly cutting them off from Miranda in an Instagram Live video last month.
“They are not in control of their lives— someone else is controlling their lives and they're all victims of this,” the Wilkings claimed of 7M’s recruits.
The Wilking family alleges they became estranged from Miranda in January 2021 after she refused to go to her grandfather’s funeral.
They say she later went on to marry her now-husband James Derrick without telling them or inviting them to the wedding.
Melanie, 22, said in the family’s video plea: “We know that’s not her. We haven’t said anything because we always had hope that she’d come back. We didn’t want to embarrass her.”
Melanie claims she also briefly became involved in the church but was not invited to return after she missed just one religious service, which she considered a "red flag".
Asked if they have contacted the authorities, Melanie said: "We can't find anything illegal happening besides complete brainwash, which you can't really prove.
"So, unfortunately, because they're all adults, there's nothing anyone can do."
She added: "I wake up every day hoping that I'm waking up from this nightmare because it doesn't feel like it should be real."
Shinn and 7M vehemently deny the claims and accuse the Wilkings of turning Miranda's "private family matters into a tawdry public scandal for clicks and clout".
Meanwhile, Samantha Long, a dancer who claims to be a friend of Miranda’s husband James Derrick - known on TikTok as B-Dash - also spoke out online about how he has allegedly changed since joining 7M.
Shinn was previously sued by former church member Lydia Chung in 2009 for allegedly cutting her off from her family, brainwashing her and defrauding her out of almost $4million.
He and other defendants reportedly prevailed at trial against all of the claims in the lawsuit.
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Shinn appears to be living in a $2.5 million mansion in North Hollywood where many of 7M Films hit TikTok dance videos have been shot.
He was spotted this week driving a Bentley SUV, attending a gym in Burbank and going for lunch at an upmarket Woodland Hills restaurant with his wife Hannah and two female friends.
Sources tell The Sun that Hannah, 43, serves as the manager of the TikTok dancers represented by 7M.
Meanwhile, Shinn’s son Isaiah, 25, produces 7M's hit TikTok videos, while his musician daughter Kloë is understood to perform at services held in the church’s compound in Tujunga, California.
Isaiah was seen this week in exclusive pics obtained by The Sun running errands in his BMW X3 SUV.
The church is reportedly believed to subscribe to the “Seven Mountains Mandate” followed by some Pentecostal and Charismatic churches to prepare for the end of days.
Lawyers acting for Shinn and 7M denied the church believes in or promotes the Seven Mountains Mandate and claimed the "M" in 7M's name stands for "millennium".
The Seven Mountains Mandate states that to bring about the second coming of Christ believers must work to influence religion, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment and business.
Shekinah Church’s website states: “We are called to aggressively train God’s people to develop the fruit of the Spirit, which are divine characteristics of God Himself, so that they may really meet God in the deepest way.
“Only in this way, will one handle all the success and prosperity properly.
”We are called to be doers of the Word. Therefore, we are called to be givers.
“We are devoted and dedicated daily to give into the Kingdom of God.
“We have firmly committed our lives to sow T.E.M.P. (Time, Effort, Money, and Prayer) seeds every day to bring all of God’s family together into His glorious house.”
Miranda and James Derrick responded to the allegations made by her family by denying they have been cut off from their friends and family
They both denied claims - which have now been reported about, but not substantiated, by several news outlets - that they are part of a cult.
Miranda said she wanted to carry on working with her sister but was “kicked out” of their shared TikTok account, which had 3.1 million followers.
James also suggested in a post that Miranda’s family did not like him because he is a “poor black man from Compton” - despite the fact her sister Melanie is also dating a black man and is still very close to her family.
Miranda and James travelled last week to Michigan to visit her parents and show that they had not been cut off from them.
However, it seems the get-together did not patch up the differences between the couple and Miranda’s family.
Her mom Kelly wrote on March 11: “We were so hopeful when James reached out to us to coordinate a meeting here in Michigan, but sadly very little progress was made.
“We can report that, as of today, we have yet to get a call from Miranda. We will never stop fighting for our daughter."
Fellow dancer Samantha Long, who says she was very close with James and even introduced him to Miranda, claimed in an Instagram video that his behavior changed after he joined 7M.
After speaking with him on the phone for the first time for months she said he went on at length espousing conspiracy theories and telling her “do your own research”.
Samantha reportedly said of her friend, who performed at the Super Bowl in February: “The tone he was speaking in really concerned me and I could tell that something was really off.”
In the lawsuit against Robert Shinn from 2009, Lydia Chung claimed he had been described online as a “former medical doctor who successfully practiced medicine for seven years before God spoke to him and brought him into ministry full time”.
Chung alleged - in claims that were reportedly dismissed following a trial - that Shinn and others in Shekinah Church had deprived her of at least $3.8 million in property and funds after she joined the church in 2000.
The lawsuit alleged: “Defendants exerted undue influence, mind control, coercive persuasion, oppression and other intimidating tactics in the name of ‘opening up and being honest to God’ to cause plaintiff, Lydia Chung, to reveal and give them control over all of her personal financial information.”
The 2009 case reportedly went to trial and a court ruled in favor of Shinn and the other defendants on all counts alleged in the lawsuit.
Robert Shinn declined to comment when approached by The Sun at the home where he appears to live in North Hollywood.
A statement provided by lawyers representing him and 7M Films stated: "The false and sensational allegations about 7M stem directly from a dispute between 7M-represented dancer Miranda Derrick and her
estranged family.
"Despite her family’s claims, Miranda is a successful businesswoman and a loving wife and daughter who cares very much about her family.
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"It is pathetic and contemptible to try to turn her private family matters into a tawdry public scandal for clicks and clout.
"While the recent portrayals of Dr. Robert Shinn and 7M Films
have been wildly offensive and riddled with inaccuracies, those false
claims will not deter 7M from supporting Miranda in whichever
endeavors she chooses to pursue next."
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