On Father’s Day 2012, Bill Gothard made an interesting choice of subject matter for an email to fathers subscribed to his email list (click here to read it). While we recognize that his intent was to encourage fathers, we feel that there were several issues within the email that are greatly troubling. And while we at Recovering Grace don’t actually enjoy responding to these public emails from Bill, we feel that it is important to address some of the unbiblical teachings contained in them.
Bill begins by asserting that Father’s Day is a day to “celebrate a powerful ability that God has given to you!” and admonishes fathers to be diligent to invoke this power daily. This power that he is referring to? The power to pray a “hedge of protection” over one’s family and possessions.
While we do appreciate Gothard’s encouragement on Father’s Day for dads to pray, and we agree wholeheartedly that dads ought to pray for their families, we would like to respond to three significant, mystical (and unbliblical) promises that are implied in this email:
1) That a father’s prayers will always prevent spiritual and natural calamities.
2) That a father’s failure to pray a certain prayer, even one time, will allow Satan to get the better of God in your life.
3) That any unfortunate event that befalls you is your fault.
In the letter, Gothard quotes from the book of Job: “Satan . . . said: Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not Thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.” (Job 1:9–10) However, even a quick look at the passage reveals that the hedge of protection was in place around Job because God put it there, not because Job prayed it there! In fact, nowhere in Scripture do we see anyone pray for a ‘hedge of protection’– it is simply something that God provides at will, and (in Job’s case) removes at will.
While praying for a hedge of protection may not necessarily be wrong in and of itself, it is only found in specific narrative accounts of the Old Testament. It is not ever prescribed (or taught) in Scripture that one must pray a hedge of protection, let alone that it must be a daily ritual, or that without this ritual your family will be exposed to harm. Implying or openly teaching this concept is adding doctrines to Scripture that God did not ordain.
When we look at the passage in Job, we see that God was protecting Job, and that Satan was grumbling about it. In fact, Satan’s complaint to God about this relationship to Job is eerily similar to what Gothard would have us believe is accurate! Notice that Satan implied that Job only honored God because He did good things for him, whereas Gothard implies that God only protects us if we pray a certain prayer daily. It’s a performance based view of God’s love and care.
Gothard supports this teaching with an anecdote about the “one time” his father did not pray this special prayer and his family had an accident. Gothard’s unsaved grandfather made the assertion that the accident was caused by the fact that his father failed that morning to pray…what a load of guilt for Bill’s father!
This is a huge burden to place on fathers! God’s grace and protection are real, and we do well to seek them. But praying a hedge of protection should not be used as a magical omen to guarantee us no harm. We live in a fallen world, and accidents, sickness, and sorrow happen as part of the curse. Not only does Gothard’s theology wrongly teach that we can avoid these things by a daily ritual, but by telling fathers that God has given them a “powerful ability” to pray away hurt, the natural implication is that fathers are at fault when something bad happens to their families.
Job is a perfect example of how evil things can befall a righteous man. Job’s friends certainly saw things the way Gothard does. They essentially said, “Look at all this horrible stuff happening to you. You must have done something really bad.” Of course we know that wasn’t the case with Job (as the Lord clearly said in Job 1:8).
Gothard’s letter reminds us again of his bent toward mysticism and karma in his interpretation of the Bible (Christian Karma explains in more detail how deeply this message is woven into Gothard’s teachings). Our hope is that Bill would stop encouraging fathers to rely on formulaic prayers to protect their families, but rather encourage them to trust in the Lord with all of their hearts. We as followers of Christ must realize that sometimes the Lord gives and sometimes the Lord takes away, and that our loving Father allows good and bad to happen to both the just and the unjust. No matter what our current circumstance, He is in control and He has a plan.
Several years ago I met an ambulance at the hospital with one of my very small children who had been seriously hurt in an accident. As several of our church friends were gathered around, the first words out of my mouth were "This is all my fault". (Meaning that sin in my life had caused the "Umbrella of protection" to be lifted from my family.) Naturally I got strange looks and immediate disagreement from the people there. These were not unsaved people, but Godly people from our Sunday School class as well as a minister from our church.
While it was a long evolution, and continues to this day, it was at that point that I began to realize much of what had been ingrained into me via IBLP/ATI teachings had caused me to develop dangerously wrong attitudes about many things, but specifically about the way God "rewards" good behavior with with protection, and "punishes" you by taking away His protection from not only you, but from your family. Thanks for publishing this article, and helping fellow Christians develop an honest and biblical view of very important doctrinal concepts.
This article stinks!
I want a formula that guarantees happiness and safety! None of this stuff about how it rains on the just and the unjust and I have to trust the Lord's hand in it all - that's too open-ended.
in the event that my sarcasm is lost in translation, I was being tongue in cheek.
Wow! Yet ANOTHER teaching that I did not realize was faulty, so ingrained into me! But this article also helped me think of fathers in ATI with a little more sympathy. No matter how narcissitic or just plain messed up many of them were/are, they still love their families, and must be crushed by the thought that an accident is entirely their fault!
I learned many valuable lessons through my experience with false doctrines. First of all, assume nothing. Therefore we must be careful not to assume that in today's world all men love their families. Self-centeredness is a picture of a human being walking away from the ability to love. Unfortunately false doctrines that make men preeminent and obsessed with their own perceived "authority," feed pornographic predispositions, destroying natural affection, causing some to view others as objects to be used instead of people to be loved. None of us can say "ooops, it was an accident." The first step to recovery is to admit that we were exposed to something that was wrong and remember that Christ is preeminent, God is love, and forgiveness makes us clean. The next step is to unwrap the gift we have been given through our struggles and discover all of the amazing lessons God is teaching us through these experiences. These experiences are vital, valuable lessons regarding discernment which we are going to need in order to deal with the great falling away that takes place just before the return of Christ. All of our experiences in life are meant to drive us deeper into the Word of God in order to be able to overcome and endure to the end. We are told that only the "called, chosen, and faithful" will be left standing in the presence of God when the dust settles.
Personally, since I am saved by grace and therefore in the sheepfold of Jesus, I rest in the protection of being in my Savior's hand - oh and look - I am in my Father's hand too. You can have your hedge if you want to, I would rather be in the hand of my Savior, my Father, the Creator. :)
Jhn 10:27 KJV - My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Jhn 10:28 KJV - And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.
Jhn 10:29 KJV - My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand.
Jhn 10:30 KJV - I and [my] Father are one.
It's so nice to know that I can trust the protection I have in Jesus whether or not my husband remembers to pray a certain prayer every morning. Does make me feel for our parents and the pressure they must have felt in that systme.
Thank you again for pointing out that although something might sound good and right at first glance, we must train ourselves to filter it through the grid of Scripture to see if it truly is biblical and based on truth. Great article!
Speaking of hedges...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Le33lZaMOI
hahaha! i was hoping someone would post this. "my greatest weakness is landscaping! how did the know?!"
Of all the articles on this website, this has been the most helpful to me. Thanks.
Another great article! Grateful to be free from Bill Gothard's teachings and control. Going on about ten years now.
Wow. One inaccurate, unhealthful, and asinine comment by his grandfather shaped his theology. Shame he didn't go to the Bible for it.
I know. Isn't it amazing? A man we followed as a spiritual leader got his theology from passing comments by non-Christians. Amazing!
I guess his 'morality defined his theology' eh?
Its funny because even to this day, if my sister or I "complain" about something in our childhood/teen. years my Dad says "its my fault, everythings my fault right" and its partially a joke but that's whatGothard has done, anything we've done that was wrong my Dad has blamed on himself. like he didn't do something right- not that we just screwed up.
My family always prayed before any trip it was as ritualistic as putting on our seatbelts or praying before a meal... and it's just that ritualistic.
I don't pray when I eat a meal now, nor when I drive necessarily because I pray when I talk to God, in conversation with Him, not as ritualistic duty, or putting coins in a vending machine or as magic spell of protection or fake gratitude.
Christianity is about a RELATIONSHIP with God, prayer is conversation with a loving God and is a key part of that relationship. This is why I pray and why I refuse to pray ritualistically, mindlessly, repetitiously or superstitiously.
God is not a malicious manipulator who will only "protect" and love you if you say the right words every day before every activity over all your family. Who will just look the other way unless you say magic words to form a protective shield about your family.
Here's a time-saving tip for fathers. Pray for a 10-year hedge of protection.
Sorry, only works if done every day. Cause, you know, God is looking for any excuse to expose our children to danger and only our daily intercession prohibits Him. That or He doesn't care about our families and has to be daily reminded to protect them. That or He does care and wish to protect them but He can't keep Satan in hand without our daily prayer.
Well, feel free to pick the option above which is least blasphemeous for why bad things happen if you don't pray daily for a hedge of protection.
Well put, brother. I wish God loved us and was all powerful.
WARNING! WARNING!
Facetiousness alert!
Facetiousness alert!
David and Thompson are being sarcastic!
Do not take them literally! I repeat: do not take them literally!
You are advised to throw back your head and have a good laugh. Please stay tuned to "Recovering Grace" for further encouragement.
Scary!! That is all I can say.
I was in an ATI family - did EQUIP, EXCEL, etc in my teen years. Somehow, somewhere I often have thought I must have really screwed up and fallen from God's 'perfect will' for my life. I found myself in a painful marriage that isolated me from others for years. I blamed myself. I have been on a healing journey for about 5 years now, learning to know my God as he chooses to reveal himself to me. I keep bumping up on these beliefs that were so ingrained in me that to recognize the untruth in them is somewhat shocking. Today I am divorced, a single mom, and I had to laugh when I read this article. I have lost much sleep over the last 7 years of my life, worrying about my authority to pray 'the hedge of protection' over my children. My dad always prayed it over me. When I was married, I lived in constant fear of my children and my vulnerability because I believed my husband's choices were leaving us open to attack by the enemy and we were simply helpless and laid bare to be victims under 'his authority.' Since my divorce I often find myself just confused and fearful about what prayer I can pray for my children, or do I even have the proper authority? Have I simply fallen to far from that perfect will to even be allowed a voice for my children? I have panic attacks and feel like I need someone to please tell me what to do --where is the formula? Sure the reality is there is no formula, life is messy. I have learned to trust in a loving God of grace and mercy. I can identify the untruth in my beliefs, but it doesn't change my gut reactions to life. Many of these beliefs I am seeing others address on this site were a significant part of the first half of my life. I imagine I have a long journey ahead of me. I just found this website. I have been reading through articles for two straight days now. Thank you to all of your voices. I have been fighting to get out of my past and move forward. But hearing all these stories, I don't feel so alone. And addressing this part of my history, has been, and will be helpful for me to confront my daily fears and insecurities.
What a great way to guilt fathers into staying in IBLP/ATI! If they leave, they are showing a lack of faith in God which will result in negative consequences for his whole family. Just like the threat of eternal damnation if someone leaves a cult/polygamy/etc.