As a youngster, I participated in a Bible drill competition. I’m not sure about other churches, but in Southern Baptist circles, “Bible drills” are a big thing. Students in grades 4, 5 and 6 memorize a score of verses, some short passages, and references for general topics like “The Lord’s Prayer,” “The Ten Commandments,” and “The Armor of God.” They learn all the books of the Bible in order, and practice finding not only books but individual verses at lightning speed. Ten seconds, to be exact. To this day, I can rattle off the names of the minor prophets in correct order without a second thought.
I worked hard at Bible drills; everyone who came to the Sunday evening pre-service practice did. I suppose we were the crème-de-la-crème of the church kids; our parents were all in Bible studies or Sunday School planning meetings or something at the time. I quickly learned that anyone who showed up for Bible drill was expected to practice, to get good at it, and to perform well at state level. We practiced for an hour or two every week, and at home.
I wanted to do well in state-wide competitions. All the winners received blue drill Bibles with a special gold stamp on the front indicating they’d competed perfectly at state. Several of my friends at church already toted those blue “state winner” Bibles around in Sunday School and to girls’ missions classes. I planned to work hard to get one.
After competing in church and regional drills, the long-anticipated day of the state competition arrived. I stood in line with my group, each of us clutching our hard-back Bibles in sweaty palms. The verses came first, and as directed, I stepped forward. Several verses went by. I relaxed. Got into a routine. And by now, many readers will have guessed what happened. I stepped up to the line after a verse was called and the command “Go!” given. I had the wrong verse in mind. When the boy who was picked to recite started quoting a verse different from the one I was thinking, I felt bad for him, until I realized that I had been wrong, not he. I had a spilt-second decision to make at this point — raise my hand to indicate I’d made a mistake, or continue as if nothing had happened. I continued to drill, and finished with a “perfect” score. I got the coveted blue Bible. And my conscience began nagging.
A year or so later, I called the Bible drill instructor to confess. I had been to the Basic Seminar by that time. I believed having an unclean conscience would hold me back from attaining God’s best in my life. I kept the Bible as a bittersweet reminder of the importance of truthfulness. And when Bright Arrows, an IBLP publication for children, put out a call for stories and articles to illustrate character qualities, I sent mine in.
This is where the story gets interesting. When I submitted my article for publication, I wrote about the events as they happened. I wrote about wanting that Bible so bad I’d cheat to get it. I wrote about my guilty conscience and how I justified my actions. I wrote about calling my coach to clear my conscience, and I wrote about her response, which was singularly ungracious. She told me not to send the Bible back, and sounded annoyed I’d even called. It didn’t bother me. I didn’t expect her to praise my incredible character — after all, I was confessing to having cheated in a competition she reverenced. It just felt great to have that weight of conscience lifted. I’d done what I’d been told was right in instances of wrongdoing. Her response was completely out of my control, and really not my concern.
The editors at Bright Arrows took a different view. They contacted me for permission to cut that portion of the story. The girl who got in touch with me explained that the magazine didn’t want to publish anything that might indicate a negative result from following the principles of truthfulness and a clear conscience. At the time, this reasoning made sense. I didn’t want to mislead kids; I wanted to encourage good character, and figured that the old saying “the end justifies the means” might be true in this case.
Looking back on this situation, I wish I had responded differently. I was old enough at that point to stand up for what I knew had happened. But I backed down under the carefully-worded reasoning of the young editor who contacted me. The story was published as a true story under my byline. But the ending published was entirely different from what really happened. I accept responsibility for this; in my effort not to mislead kids, I misled everyone who read that magazine.
As I’ve thought about that strange request, “Let’s just change the ending of your story a little so we don’t discourage people from following the principles,” I realize that this is characteristic, in many ways, of the testimonial nature of IBLP publications and the Basic Seminar. The Seminar teaching is bolstered by numerous anecdotes. That’s probably an understatement. Aside from verses of Scripture, and definitions of principles, the Basic Seminar is entirely made of up anecdotes in support of the points being made. Of course, the seminar is more interesting this way; after all, it’s hard to get people to sit still for 36 hours, without some entertaining accounts. But who’s to say whether these stories are true? Who’s to say whether the newsletters complete with glowing reports of conferences and ministry trips were accurate, or were embellished, in the name of “encouragement?” I have one such story. I am sorry for my part in it.
After many years of reflecting on what happened to that nervous 12-year-old who was me, calling my coach to confess, and getting an entirely unexpected response, I’m glad it happened. I learned that my responsibility is to do the right thing. I can’t control others’ responses to it. I learned that following the principles will not always lead to being praised for good character, and that that’s okay.
I had quite a few of those blue Bibles. We got a new one every year, the crisp pages all the better to find verses quickly. I kept the gold-stamped state winner Bible the longest. Kept it until the lessons learned were cemented, not the least of which is God’s grace to those who do their best to follow him.
WOW. "If we tell people the truth, they won't want to do the right thing, so we'll lie." (Paraphrased) Hmmmmm.....!!!!!!
I've often wondered about the stories told in the Seminars, at the annual ATI conferences, in newsletters or books, etc. Too often they seem too "perfect." I know that one can spin stories to make the point that you wish them to make, and I suspected the Institute & Mr. Gothard of doing so on a large scale. Your story just confirms that it was (is?) indeed a practice of the organization.
Wow. That is something I never dreamed would happen when I was still in ATI! Telling the truth was of utmost importance - or so we were taught. Even if it put others in physical danger, we were to tell the truth. But I guess if it puts others in spiritual danger, it is ok to fudge it a little. Sigh. Things like this definitely make me wonder how much of what we were taught was downright lies.
I THOUGHT I'd heard this story before! I remember the Bright Arrows magazines came out. I loved them. How very odd that they would change your story. wording it nicely doesn't change the fact that they left something out, and that's what most folks would call lying, esp as it was deliberately done.
It's a sad fact that much of modern Christianity, including IBLP teachings and anecdotes, teach "do this right thing and this right thing will happen to you," theology. Whether it be the health and wealth gospel or the legalistic system that is suppose to improve our relationship with God, it is a far cry from the realities of the cost of following Christ. One of my defenses against the accusations that IBLP was a cult with "do this and live" rules was all the tragic stories in the Wisdom Booklets. I always knew that at one point or other the historical figure would lose a child, a spouse or something else important. However, none of that prepared me for the experiences with IBLP when I did the right thing and got in trouble or was accused of not doing it and treated like it never happened (and worse).
And while we're on the topic of half truth, is anyone else troubled that ALERT claims to memorize the whole book of 1 Peter but leaves off the last 3 verses?
Regarding the omission of the last 3 verses of 1 Peter (chapter 5), it must be either the mention of the "true grace of God", the "church that is at Babylon", or the exhortation to "Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity" (ALERT guys might be tempted to think the wrong things if they heard the word "kiss").
The Children's Institute has been known to "edit" verses as well, such as Psalm 8: "Out of the mouth of babes [and sucklings] hast thou ordained strength..." Not a big omission, but just one example of how IBLP felt the need to edit Scriptures for their followers, many of which IN CONTEXT would have muddled up their point. I know there are other examples; just don't have my big red book handy to find them.
Oh, and regarding all those edited anecdotes, didn't Character First teach us that a partial truth is a lie?
And what about the life stories that DIDN'T make it into the Wisdom Booklets, because they would have revealed errors in IBLP's logic or exegesis of Scripture?
The double standard is nauseating ...
It's a sad fact that much of modern Christianity, including IBLP teachings and anecdotes, teach "do this right thing and this right thing will happen to you."
I recall this being taught in my church and at the same time saw all sorts of bad things happened to good people which caused me to question the double speak teaching- "when you do the right biblical things God blesses"---so then what about missionaries or christians living in communist countries being imprisoned or killed for doing biblical things?
I remember it being explicitly stated (not by IBLP but in my church) that if someone attempted to rape a missionary, that God would protect the missionary. This turns out to be demonstrably false.
We want the God that blessed Solomon with seemingly endless wealth but we'd prefer to bury Job's God in the graveyard of dust on the ancient history shelf.
Oh heavens, yes! I heard so many apocryphal stories, you'd think that female missionaries were being threatened with assault every week!
I remember in the early '80, Amy Grant had a song out called "Angels Watching Over Me", and one of the verses was about a young woman being rescued from a dicey situation by angels. I have to wonder how many women and girls were lulled into a false sense of security by that song, and all of the stories. Certainly I was, and I paid a heavy price.
What a disappointing and disillusioning experience.
For a young person who experiences something like this, it can be hard later to shake the feeling that you don't know what else you have been lied to about. It can be like an earthquake where the problem is not that some ground was shaking but that you have lost your confidence in all the ground around you. What was supposed to be stable turned into shifting sand. It can make a real impact on a person.
Kudos to the 12-year-old you!
"What was supposed to be stable turned into shifting sand. It can make a real impact on a person."
And then people have the audacity to wonder why we start questioning everything? Sigh.
Very, very well said.
I remember a lot of double standards... but i doubt, including this story, that Mr. G. Was directly responsible... he did kick out a lot of people...
No has claimed Mr G was directly responsible for this incident.
At the same time, there is plenty of evidence that Mr G was responsible for plenty of other untruths. I know from personal experience both that Mr G will use false advertising and deceitful marketing to promote his programs, and that, if confronted, will vigorously defend, excuse and/or attack the character of the one with concerns.
John Doe, I would be surprised to hear that Mr. Gothard had any idea that this ever happened. I don't think he had much to do with the details of publications like Bright Arrows. However, it illustrates a long-term pattern of publications and teachings within IBLP that I think is important to note.
If you have time, please read the other two articles I linked in mine, written by other individuals, in different circumstances, at different times, who experienced the exact same situation. Reality was misrepresented to get make IBLP teachings look better. I think if the teaching was as good as I was led to believe by seminar hype when I was a young teenager, it wouldn't need embellishment.
I contacted BG about dishonesty in the CI's. He defended them.
Do you remember what he said?
My Dad and I wrote to him at the same time. I had taught at the CI where the children were reportedly memorizing all of PS. 8, but part had been left out. I was concerned about lying to the kids and as it was my second experience with dishonesty in CI's, I wrote. He said something about maybe they should have appealed to the Hebrew to find a better word than "suckling." And I think the not using "suckling" was deference or something like that. I don't remember how he responded to the other lie (telling the kids they were eating Skunk Cabbage when they weren't.) My dad addressed the same type of stuff, but he had been working at the Basic Seminar while I was at the CI. He wrote to BG because he was concerned when he realized that a lot of apprenticeship students didn't trust the reports that came out in the newsletters (since they were there when the things happened.) My dad's response from BG was a scathing rebuke of how his bad attitude was corrupting his daughter. So much for respecting authorities, huh? My dad's love for truth is something I've always loved and respected him for.
I k.now a lot of true stories...
Recently I was thinking about the one example that Bill used for years about God providing numerous vehicles when he needed one (I believe it was in a situation where he would be working with youth). It seemed that if you truly were walking with the Lord and prayed, the same would happen to you. And if it didn't, it was your fault. Glad that I've learned that God may answer in many different ways and I just need to trust Him. It's sad that everything must be "perfect" to go along with the principles taught when that's not the way life is. May the Lord continue to restore all of us to a correct view of Him and His grace.
Elisa, I remember reading your story in the magazine. I still have the magazine, in fact. I think it's a shame your story was edited. Kids need to know that sometimes doing the right thing does have unpleasant consequences.
So... What was the Bright Arrows ending?
Remember Larry Guthrie, and the changed ending of one of his stories? It seems this problem really is widespread. So much peer pressure to present a testimony about how the principles work. But they really don't work. At least they didn't work well for me, or anyone else that I know well. I never got lasting peace or joy from any of them. They don't lead to love. They don't produce the fruits of the Spirit.
I *do* remember that! I was in a group where he confessed that in person. It seemed like he was supposed to sort of hang his head in shame and just stand apart for a while. I liked him.
I thought it was pretty silly. But then I took most all his stories as parables and had no problem that he changed them around to make a point. It's not like twisting Scripture to creates new doctrines or anything :) Still it was quite ironic considering how so many articles in ATI publications play loose with the facts.
Thanks for sharing your story Elisa. So sorry your story was edited. God bless yoU!
Elisa is it possible your bible drill instructor thought you were being silly for feeling guilty because she felt you did nothing wrong and that you had misplaced guilt? I'm having a hard time seeing where you cheated in the competition by staying silent. Perhaps the real flaw is in the rules for allowing someone to get away with getting it wrong.
I was wondering the same thing. I didn't see how you cheated.
This happened to me as well. They published my testimony and without my permission changed parts of it. I was horrified when I read in (after it had been published and printed on the program’s brochure) because it made me seem like a liar to those who had participated with me. My dad even called and asked them to change it or else omit my testimony but they continued to use the brochure anyway.
My first experience of blatant dishonesty in ATI/IBLP was when Mrs. Elie was forced to change her personal testimony under duress from Mr. Gothard and Mr. Mattix--directly. It was during the 1993-1994 ATI trip to Moscow. The pattern does come from the top. They will not appreciate this candor, but my observations and opinion are as follows:
Mrs. Elie had shared with some of us in normal conversation that she appreciated the life testimony and ministry of a few CCM singers--we had asked. Somehow, that became known to "authorities", and they forced her to share her revised "personal testimony" including how she was set free from CCM and stood against CCM citing the specific artists that she appreciated as being wrong.
Since we already knew her personal life testimony, the problem was obvious. However, the question was, "Why?" The disparity of this "modified testimony" did not make sense and was too much to simply sweep under the carpet.
In order to not jump to conclusions or speak inadvisedly, I asked her in a conversation over lunch at McDonalds during a small outing what happened telling her that I knew something was wrong. I told her that I grew up in the church and IBLP and that I did not believe her public account.
I sensed that some sort of coersion had come into play.
When I pressed for the reason of the discrepencies, I found out that Bill Gothard was threatening to cut the funding for their orphanage if she had failed to adjust her "testimony" to the ATI position. An alternative punishment that had been discussed was that they could have been sent home and made into a public example.
So, my opinion and interpretation of the situation is this: Funds in a "Christian ministry" received from "generous donors" and given "to the Lord" was used to control those "serving under the ministry" to modify their "personal life testimonies" to conform to the party line and away from the "truth of their life message" in order to "effect some consistent message" and "powerful testimony" that really didn't exist. If those serving protested, they were to be sent home and/or the funding was to be cut to them.
This is a reason why I refused to advise families to sell their homes and join ATI/IBLP in "service for Christ" when working as a Family Coordinator Assistant." I advised parents to go to TCs themselves as a family and observe with their eyes open before making such long-term and drastic committments.
My personal opinion is this: Nobody buys points with me when they claim a "higher standard of ethics" while using the acromymns ATI,IBLP, or affiliates in the same context. I'm not buying it. I've seen too much. I feel that the system and teachings themselves are shaped in a way that force you at some point to choose between truth or "effective testimony" in that path.
The problem is this: God writes our life testimonies, so they WILL BE different if we truthfully reflect them! If the testimony of the CROSS of Jesus Christ is the ONLY THING common between us, I'm ok with that. If we would not lie under oath before a human judge, how much more should our testimony remain true before God?
Accepting God as omniscient and omnipresent, I fail to find the benefit in distorting the truth in order to effect a "powerful and persuasive testimony."
Very sad, but believable, Samuel. I've seen enough that I could totally see that happening.
This makes total sense in hindsight Samuel. I was on that same Russia Trip and saw how the Elie family was treated. Very sad.
During my two years working at HQ I saw things changed time and time again in the monthly newsletters. And to say BG wasn't directly involved is actually pretty naive thinking. Hair was added, suit coats, smiling faces - all to make pictures look up to par with the message. Things were also omitted. Take the Arkansas facility. It had razor wire around and was not a pretty site. The wire was taken away and trees added to make it look like this amazing god-send.
If I'm reading you right, you are saying that images used were photoshopped such that pictures were substantially different from what a person would have seen in real life, is that correct, Rachel?
Yes Matthew. There was a picture of a girl(I believe she was with a Russian girl in the newsletter?) who had hair added because Bill did not like her short hair. The Arkansas TC was so altered I doubt you would have known it if you passed by it.
And images of women with photo-shopped skirts in place of pants because they were doing outdoor work/activities at various campuses. Yeah pretty common.
FYI, here's an example of skirts being added to a photo: http://i.imgur.com/FlykCdr.jpg
Above is the original, below is the picture as published in the ATI Newsletter.
Love the picture example you gave - hilarious!
You know what sickens me, is that I believe my folks, and plenty of others, IF they read all of this, would still find a way to excuse the program, Gothard, etc.. Or call everyone a liar, or some such. (never mind they've never actually been to any of these places.)
Lol, I remember that story in Bright Arrows. I used to peruse those magazines frequently when I was a kid. ;-)
It always hit me as rather funny when I'd read the IBLP newsletter account of an event I'd been to--and wonder, "was this the same thing I went to?" I usually enjoyed the ATI events, but the "life changing" and "best conference yet" stuff was just over the top.
Looking back, the embellishment is so obvious it's embarrassing. They still do it. The IBLP website is a scream.
TM, their myriad number of exclamation points amuse me. LOL
Wow! I used to read and re-read those Bright Arrows magazines, too! I remember your story ... it encouraged me that if I told the truth all the time, things would always work out perfectly :-).
Thanks for sharing - it's good to know I'm not the only one who has had things like this happen to me (ie. being asked to share a testimony and it being changed, etc.)