Zach wears a black fleece, a winter hat and gray cargo pants. He points out that while the world may change, and same-sex marriage may even come to Kansas, Christ will remain the same. “Many of his jokes were related to blacks. Now Zach buys him lunch. Zach Phelps-Roper outside the Westboro Baptist compound, his former home in Topeka, Kansas. The sermon is delivered by one of eight male pastors and generally amounts to a furious denunciation of homosexuality and all who tolerate it. (“Theo taught me the word ‘vanilla’ as it pertains to sex,” Zach tells me at one point. The acclaimed filmmaker has been revisiting his previous work throughout the years, and last night’s conclusion of the four-part miniseries saw Louis take a deep dive into his time at the Westboro Baptist Church. Zach maintains sporadic contact with other church defectors, like his uncles Mark and Nate. I sit in the back of the chapel, which is about the size of a suburban basement, adorned with the sort of wood paneling that was popular in the ’70s. He knew he would never be able to talk to his parents again, and all traces of him would be scrubbed from his family’s home and their place of worship. Over the past decade, roughly 20 members have left the Westboro Baptist Church; each one has been completely cut off. Former Westboro Baptist Church member who fled hate-organization tells how she was 'brainwashed' by controversial group . Fiery and fanatical, with a high forehead and ecstatic blue eyes, she, of Fred Phelps’ 13 children, best channeled her father’s raging spirit. He’s also, for the first time in his life, developing friendships. Local government officials and activists who openly disagree with the church are also singled out. Before long, Fred had chased away most of Westboro’s members, leaving his family as his only audience. 'God Hates Fags' Church Member Left After She Became Friends With Jewish Blogger. “She would go sit somewhere and cry. “Please forgive them,” he could be heard shouting, “for they know not what they do!”. During pickets, her voice was the loudest. ‘It’s not the past, it’s now and that’s incredibly painful – no matter how long it’s been.’, More: Louis Theroux Louis Theroux revisited his time with the Westboro Baptist Church in an emotional conversation with former member Meghan Phelps-Roper during last night’s Life on The Edge finale. Zach responded, “I see man,” then asked how he could help. “And sometimes I see something in them that disturbs me. Many of Fred Phelps’ family members have left the church including his granddaughter Megan Phelps-Roper. | (Photo: TEDTalks video screencap) Megan Phelps-Roper, the adult daughter of Fred and Shirley Phelps-Roper of the Westboro Baptist Church, has said that conversations with people on Twitter played a big part in her decision in 2012 to leave the controversial church. One day in mid-November, I meet Zach in Topeka. Like his siblings and cousins, he attended Topeka’s public schools and was free to play video games and poke around the Internet. Despite being cut off from her loved ones still in the church, Meghan holds love for her mum, who is now one of the leaders of the controversial church. Now Her Story Will Be a Movie . Theroux interviewed several recent defectors, all young members in their 20s. He doesn’t ask about the service; instead we discuss his future. He arrived to find all his possessions dumped on the front porch: his bed, his clothes, his PlayStation and his prized movie collection, which was filled with boyish blockbusters like Jurassic Park and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Perhaps the policy was too harsh? “I feel like I have unconditional love for every person around the world,” he said. “This was my first Halloween,” he explains. His style recalled the backwoods pastors of an earlier era, all hellfire and brimstone. He designed his own picket signs with phrases like “Planes Crash God Laughs” and “Fags Eat Poop,” and attended pickets every day after school and before church on Sundays. His mother affectionately called him “Zachy-pac.”. The next morning, Sunday, I attend a service at Westboro Baptist Church. Most of them take place over social media. They live near the church on a compound of some 20 houses that takes up an entire residential block. FKA Twigs recalls online racial abuse during relationship with Robert Pattinson, FKA Twigs recalls online racial abuse during relationship with Robert Pattinson. None were Shirley’s kids, but of her 11 children, her second oldest, a boy named Josh, had left more than five years earlier, never to be heard from again. Louis made three documentaries about the Westboro Baptist Church – The Most Hated Family in America, America’s Most Hated Family in Crisis, and Surviving America’s Most Hated Family – mainly following the Phelps family, as their congregation came under strain and many members would leave. Fourth Phelps-Roper Child Abandons Westboro Baptist Church Zach Phelps-Roper, 23, left the antigay church in February and is now preaching a message of … 1 of 18 Westboro Baptist Church former members Megan Phelps-Roper, left, and Grace Phelps-Roper speak in the Media Center at Greenwich High … In the church’s view, the masses are already beyond saving. pinknews.co.uk Westboro Baptist Church member who left because of the hate says she ‘still loves her family’ He steers the car toward Westboro and parks across the street. Zach says his mother was despondent. Two years later, in 2013, two of Shirley’s daughters, Megan and Grace, decided to defect. However, most of his time is spent with a tiny network of ex-members in Topeka, including two he currently stays with. Westboro focuses on the latter because of the belief that God compels them to do it. Over the next two years, he gained a reputation as a thrilling preacher who conjured an atmosphere of controlled chaos. And it meant that Zach would be excommunicated. He prefers to go to sleep by 9 in the evening so he can wake up early and play video games. The end of my antigay picketing career and life as I knew it, came 20 years later, triggered in part by strangers on Twitter who showed me the power of engaging the other. Every Sunday, Zach would listen to his grandfather Fred Phelps preach the word of God. And those who sin will ultimately face his judgment. His presence still lingers, and he left behind an incredibly complicated legacy. His younger brother Nate, also a defector, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. “What’s done is done,” he says. Steve Drain, a preacher at the Westboro Baptist Church. A few months ago, he drove 12 hours to meet her in her hometown in Alabama. ”She gave me a hug. When the two of them chat, Zach mostly nods and smiles, as if attempting to learn a new language. “Gramps,” as they lovingly called him, would sing to them on their birthdays. “I remembered the quote, ‘No peace for the wicked,’” he tells me. Later Zach picks me up at a McDonald’s around the corner. Much of it was spent in the service of the church. Our protests soon became a daily occurrence and an international phenomenon, and as a member of Westboro Baptist Church, I became a fixture on picket lines across the country. Almost every day, church members picket around Topeka. The difference is a matter of tolerance. For the last year of his life, Fred was barred from all church activities. A woman who grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church has explained why she left. Lauren Drain, 27, left the church … Fred Phelps. When he was just 21, in 1951, he got his first taste of fame. A Black Hole Was Simulated And Studied In A Bathtub, Trapped For Hours, Three Young Brothers Rescued After Italy Quake, Chocolate Repairs Damaged Hair At This Salon, This Man Might Love Honey More Than Winnie The Pooh, How One Country Handled Statues From Its Controversial Past, These Bears Were Rescued From Abusive Circuses. Zach says he knows the episode is true because he was present for the excommunication meeting, which took place in his parents’ basement. When the service gets under way, there is an opening prayer and Fred Phelps Jr., the founder’s first child, steps up to the lectern to deliver the day’s sermon.