Gwen Shambrin Lara is an American author and nutritionist. She is the founder of the Christian diet program “The Weigh Down Workshop”. Lara is also the founder and leader of Remnant Fellowship Church in Brentwood, Tennessee, USA.
Wiki/Biography
Gwen Shamblin Lara was born on Friday, February 18, 1955 (age 66 at the time of her death) in Memphis, Tennessee, USA under the astrological sign of Aquarius. Gwen received her bachelor’s degree in nutrition science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She then received her master’s degree in food and nutrition science from the State University of Memphis, Tennessee.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 6″
Hair color: light blonde
Eye color: Hazel
Family and Race
Gwen Shamblin Lara was born into a Christian family. Gwen was married to David Shamblin from 1978 to 2018. They have two children, a son named Michael Shamblin and a daughter named Elizabeth Shamblin Hannah.
Gwen Shamblin Lara with her first husband, David Shamblin
In 2018, Gwen married American actor Joe Lara (William Joseph Lara). Joe has a daughter with his ex-wife Natasha Pavlovich.
Gwen Shamblin Lala and Joe Lala on their wedding day
Gwen Shamblin Lara has eight grandchildren. Her son Michael married Irene and the two have four children, Gabriel, Garland, Gates and Christian. Her daughter Elizabeth married Brandon Hannah and they have four children, Grace, Gwyneth, Gloria and Charles Grantham.
Gwen Shamblin Lara and her husband Joe Lara
Gwen Shamblin Lara and her children and their spouses
Gwen Shamblin Lara with her husband and grandchildren
Profession
Lara is a registered dietitian who joined the faculty of Memphis State University after completing her master’s degree. She worked there for about five years. Later, she joined the state’s health department, where she worked for five years.
Weighing Workshop
As a child, Laura had always struggled with her weight. In order to help people in society who were facing similar issues, Gwen began counseling in the field of weight loss in 1980. In 1986, she founded the Weight Loss Workshop, which was designed to guide people away from bad behaviors and emotions such as anger, depression, overeating, and alcoholism, and to direct their energy toward a true relationship with God. Through her workshops, she encouraged people to engage in faith-based eating. After attending her workshops, her followers claim that once-obese people have lost excess weight, alcoholics have stopped drinking, and depressed souls have experienced true joy. People even say that their finances have been restored and their marital problems resolved after learning the morals from the workshops and putting them into practice. When local churches heard about Gwen’s teachings and the amazing results they had, they began inviting Laura to hold weight loss workshops at their churches.
Gwen Shamblin Lara at one of her meal planning workshops
Founded Remnant Fellowship Church
Gwen founded Remnant Fellowship Church in 1999 to ensure that God’s people were taken care of. Initially, a small number of people gathered in the shipping department behind the Weigh Down building in Franklin, Tennessee. They gathered together every day and committed to teaching God’s word and prayer. In 2002, Shamblin purchased 40 acres of land in Brentwood, Tennessee, and built a church building there. The church building was completed in 2004. Slowly, membership began to grow, and people from all over the world became its members. Its membership has now grown to more than 150 churches in the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, and Australia.
Gwen Shamblin Lara during the construction of Remnant Fellowship Church
author
Gwen Shamblin Lala became an author in 1997 with the publication of the book, The Weight Loss Diet. In the book, she suggested using spirituality to avoid overeating. Through the book, she encouraged people to read the Bible when they wanted to snack but were not physically hungry. The book sold more than four hundred thousand copies in one year. As of 2021, the book has sold more than 1.2 million copies.
After her first book was published, Gwen went on to publish many books, including:
- Exodus: A Daily Devotional (1998)
- Transcendence: God Can Set You Free From Weight Problems Forever (2000)
- Out of Egypt: Inspiration for Conquering the Fortress of Life (2000)
- Treasure Legend (2007)
- Weighing Basics: A Workbook (2012)
- The History of the One True God Workbook: Volume 1: The Origin of Good and Evil (2013)
- A History of God’s Love: Volume 2: A Love Older Than Time (2015)
In the media
Laura’s weight loss diet and weight loss workshops quickly gained huge popularity and achieved international status with appearances in nearly every major news publication, media outlet and talk show. She has appeared on the Today Show, CNN’s Larry King Live, DaySide and The Morning Show. In 2011, she produced a live web show called “You Can Overcome.”
Gwen Shamblin Lara on Weigh Down TV
dispute
- Lara caused controversy during the investigation into the death of an 8-year-old boy, Joseph Smith, after his parents reportedly claimed they had physically punished their child because it was sanctioned by the Revenge Fellowship Church, which Lara founded.
- Lara has been embroiled in controversy for preaching that the doctrine of the Trinity is unbiblical. She believes that Jesus Christ is not God, but the Son of God. After her statement, Thomas Nelson Publishing canceled the publication of her book, Exodus. Later, Gwen wrote a letter to her followers to clarify her remarks. She wrote:
The reason all of this is important is because if you don’t understand that God is the clear authority and that Jesus is under God’s authority, then you don’t have a clear understanding of what it means to be the Christ. Jesus suffered, obeyed, submitted, denied his own will, and made it his food to do the will of the Father.”
She further wrote,
I believe that Jesus and God are two different beings. I do not believe that Jesus and God have equal power and glory.”
sign
Gwen Shamblin Lara’s Signature
die
On May 29, 2021, a private plane (Cessna 501) carrying Gwen Shambrin Lara, her husband Joe Lara, her son-in-law Brandon Hannah, and four other church leaders to Palm Beach, Florida, crashed into Percy Priest Lake near Smyrna, Tennessee. Human remains were found at the crash site, and it is presumed that all seven people died in the crash.
Cessna C501 aircraft
In addition to Lalas, others killed in the accident included Jennifer J. Martin, David L. Martin, Jessica Walters, Jonathan Walters and Brandon Hannah.
Emergency workers clear plane crash debris from Percy Priest Lake in Smyrna, Tennessee
Facts/Trivia
- Gwen Shamblin Lara loved God and the church very much. She also loved children and always tried to help the poor and needy.
- In an interview, Gwen’s daughter Elizabeth shared that her mother instilled in Elizabeth and Michael how to have a relationship with God from a very young age.
- In 1996, Gwen and her family lived in Ashlawn, a historic mansion in Brentwood, Tennessee. The mansion was built in 1838.
- The Cessna 501 (which crashed into a lake near Percy Priest, killing Gwen and her husband) is owned jointly by Gwen and Joe Lara. The aircraft is registered to JL&GL Productions LP.
- Before her death, Gwen had appeared on several television shows, counselled many people and participated in various speaking panels as a health expert.
- Lala is often referred to as the “Christian diet guru.”
- Gwen’s weight loss plan includes a variety of fast food. According to her,
“Regular foods” include pizza, cheeseburgers, eggs and pancakes, cereal and milk, ham and cheese sandwiches, fries with cheese sauce and chili, Chinese food, rice and beans, tacos with lettuce and chopped tomatoes, peanut butter and jelly, and deli sandwiches—everyone wants apples, grapes, carrots or celery with ranch dressing…you get the idea—all from grocery stores, and they are America’s favorite foods.”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education