Editor’s Note: Previously, we explored events surrounding the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts (IBYC) scandal that culminated in 1980 with Bill Gothard’s resignation and quick reinstatement as president of that organization, which would later be renamed the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP). You can read the Introduction here, Part One here, Part Two here, and a chronology of the scandal here.
In our research for these articles, we have worked with a group of former IBYC staffers, volunteers, and associates who witnessed these events firsthand. In addition to the group’s first-person accounts of the scandal and surrounding events, they have shared with us a large volume of related documentation. Their memories, notes, and records have allowed us to write about these difficult events with evidence and accuracy.
IBYC Headquarters property—Oak Brook, Illinois
With Bill Gothard back in his seat as president of IBYC, there could be little left to say about what happened next. Those of us watching these events unfold from the vantage point of thirty-plus years in the future are leaning forward in our seats, wondering how such obvious corruption of power could have been allowed to continue. We cast our minds back to the names of beloved leadership and prominent speakers who surrounded Bill in the following decades, and we wonder how much they knew. We realize that there are individuals working with Bill in various capacities today who were major players during the scandal back then, and we wonder if they simply trusted Bill too much, or if they understood everything we have come to learn and deemed Bill above “normal” accountability.
Where were the champions for the victims? Where were the proponents of truth and justice and transparency? How could so many staff members have been so summarily dismissed that they had no voice that could stop the machine? Was Bill that powerful in 1980 that he could simply flick the switch and get the train moving again?
We do have answers to those questions. There is some peace in the existence of answers, although knowing nonetheless frustrates us, since there is nothing we can do now to help them. Not then, anyway. Today, Recovering Grace (RG) is doing what it can to carry the banner for the bold men and resilient women who were willing to stand up to Bill Gothard and his fervent followers.
Finances
History of LBC's meeting with former IBYC Staffer, click to view
The fact that Bill was back on board was not a complete coup for him. He was still banned from voting for a while, having “asked for a temporary leave of absence” (Board Meeting, July 25, 1980), which made him subject to the board for his actions within the ministry in a way that he had never experienced before. The board had already openly admitted that they had never functioned as a board is generally understood to function. Bill had made all the decisions and signed all the checks. The board had essentially rubber-stamped those decisions. Since Bill’s home church (which had ordained and commissioned him to Christian ministry) was refusing to review charges against Bill for the purposes of church discipline, stating that any charges against Bill were “a corporate matter,” the IBYC Board was the only authority Bill might recognize. IBYC was facing catastrophic loss if the board didn’t step up and take on its traditional role. For one thing, some of the seminar area committees around the country were recommending a hold on future seminars until the questions about Bill’s credibility and integrity could be resolved.
The problem was that the Institute had invested most of its surplus millions into buying property. Board notes from the late ’70s indicate that Bill was interested in starting a private school for the children of his seminar alumni. This school would be built on prime Oak Brook, Illinois, real estate, on land adjacent to the current headquarters. The problem was that the Oak Brook community vehemently opposed this proposal. They did not want to deal with all the non-residential traffic and other neighborhood issues that would come along with such a venture. As it was, though, IBYC already owned significant, beautifully landscaped acreage in Oak Brook and was buying as many houses and property as came up for sale within the neighborhood. By 1980, IBYC was land-rich and cash-poor. Had the seminars shut down even for just a few months, the Institute would have been financially unable to continue running its base operations.
IBYC's Learjet 35 was put up for sale.
One thing that has been impressed upon us by the former staff members who have been willing to share their stories with RG is that Board decisions regarding what to do about Bill will ultimately come down to finances. This is the problem that fell into the lap of one of Bill’s administrative directors in 1980. The director was assigned to look into the financial feasibility of shutting down the seminars, and came to the conclusion that doing so would require all operations to cease. The Basic in Atlanta had already been canceled by the Board on July 16, during Bill Gothard’s seventeen-day hiatus. The director suggested the sale of the Institute’s airplanes to help defray the costs. This strategy was agreed upon by the board on July 25, 1980—the day Bill was officially returned to his position. However, money was still going out. Steve Gothard was selling his personal property to the Institute for its appraised price of $75,000. Expensive word-processing equipment was being purchased at a cost of $15,000.
Settling accounts with disgruntled former staff was becoming expensive as well. Bill’s former aide was asked to resign, and when he insisted that he wanted to see the resolution of his commission by the Institute through to the end, the board handed him a letter of dismissal and a $6,000 check for his files on the scandal and his silence. The aide refused the money. Bill’s former seminar coordinator was offered a check in excess of $6,000 to do the same, including turning over his “folder of information” to the board. One of the LA Committee twins, who had worked on staff for Bill since before the first scandal in 1976, was offered $50,000 “to cover all claims with the expectation of signing a release to that effect.” The staff members were being strong-armed into silence. The advantage IBYC had over these individuals was that for some, their entire livelihoods had depended upon the Institute. Many of them had sold everything to come work for Bill, and being dismissed meant that they went from having all their basic needs met—housing, medical costs, even their children’s private educations—to having no place to live, no savings to fall back on, and no job to immediately turn to. A few thousand dollars from IBYC for their silence might be all that stood between them and poverty, until they could find alternative employment. Not everyone was offered money to go away quietly, and not everyone accepted it, but the activities of the Board in those days are nonetheless very telling. All the implied promises of shared Northwoods property and unpaid social security were swept under the rug. The shock and disillusionment among the staff in the aftermath of those days is difficult to describe, but it is acutely remembered by those who lived it, and by their children.
Seminars
Dr. Hemwall to ACC's - 4 pages,
click to view
In August, the area committees were sent a letter from IBYC’s reinstated chairman of the board, Gus Hemwall, explaining that the seminars were going to be continued. The LA Committee pushed back, reminding the staff that the seminars had always been by invitation of the local church leaders, and that they had already been told that canceling seminars until things at Headquarters were resolved would be an option. The LA Committee requested that the October seminar in their area be postponed.
The Board refused again to postpone the October seminar. In an official letter, Gus Hemwall stated, “Our desire is to continue to work with your current leadership, but recognize that this can only take place as God leads you to fully support us in this decision.” The LA Committee was astounded. Steve had been fired and wasn’t even fully gone from the premises, even though he had officially been denied access to all IBYC property. Bill was on leave of absence, yet continued to run things in an unofficial capacity that effectively changed nothing. The finances had been checked over by an accountant who said everything looked great, and that seemed to be enough for the board.
LA Committee to McClario, July 25, 1980,
click to view
There was no independent investigation taking place, neither regarding the staff scandal nor the financial questions. The Board was either being used by Bill unknowingly, or was complicit in his manipulations. Either way, their assertions that the problems were being dealt with were false. Nothing was being dealt with regarding the scandal, and the closer the date of the big LA seminar approached, the more the Board demonstrated their insistence upon moving forward regardless of the local pastors’ and committee members’ concerns.
Dr. Hemwall to the Keasling's - 2 pages,
click to view
Two men were assigned to the LA Committee problem. One of these men was Bob Bulmer, a long-time friend of Bill’s who, over the years, filled a variety of roles supporting the ministry. The committee later stated that they received phone calls from Bob Bulmer almost daily for the purpose of trying to persuade them to reconsider their stand. Bill was also in regular contact with the committee. On September 5, 1980, Bob sent out a letter to Regional coordinators stating that the Seminars would no longer announce a return date for the next seminar in their Friday night announcements with the wording that they would be coming by the invitation of their local committee. Rather, the wording would reference the preferences of the alumni that they would return. This would effectively annul any suggestion that if the committee changed its mind or asked for a postponement, IBYC would feel in any way obligated to consider their request.
Announcement of seminar return,
click to view
In mid-September, one of the twins and the LA Committee chairman flew to Chicago for a national ACC and regional Seminar meeting. Knowing they would be absent from their LA office, the Institute secretively sent Steve’s former assistant (who had apparently not been fired for his part in the scandal) and another man to the Fullerton, California, office. They told the staff secretaries that their termination had “been ordered by the board because they suspected [that the committee staff] were using seminar files in questionable ways.” The secretaries were told to surrender their office keys and gather their personal belongings. The two Institute men escorted the women, weeping in disbelief, to the parking lot. One woman asked the men why they would swoop in unannounced like that and in such a heavy-handed way. One of the men responded that Christ was to come unannounced in the end times, after all.
LA Basic Seminar, 1980
The LA Basic Seminar went ahead in October as planned, but was video only and was staffed with chairmen and ACC’s from other seminar cities around the country. Attendance was less than a third of the normal fall attendance at this seminar, which of course put a serious dent in the financial intake from the seminar. The Institute was going to have to try to make nice with the LA Committee. In November, Bob Bulmer and the man assigned by IBYC to handle the Basic Seminars went to the LA Committee offices to discuss privately with area office committee members the Board’s desire to continue the seminars regardless of the committee’s full support. These individual meetings lasted anywhere from one to more than six hours. The committee was denied further communication with Bill. They asked each individual staff member whether they would be able to fully support the decision to continue immediately, to which each expressed a variety of responses. Some of the committee members asked pointed questions of the two men about what was being done about Bill and the scandal. Some expressed concern that things didn’t seem to be handled well. Others simply stated that they supported the committee’s decision to postpone the seminars until the scandal was resolved. One young LA Committee member took notes of the meetings and shared the following report of her interview:
“I shared concern about Bill projecting himself to be someone he is not, that was one of the main concerns of our committee. I shared even if only one of the things we have heard was true wouldn’t that be reason enough to suspect an individual and organization that espouses such high principles? Would Christ be pleased with the way people and situations were handled?”
Following the interviews, the LA Committee was informed that they had effectively resigned their positions due to their unwillingness to support the seminar returning to LA. This decision was sent out in a subsequent memo to the fifty-plus ACC’s nationwide.
Letter to Regional Coordinators, Dec. 1980
click to view
Farmers Bible Church to IBYC, calling for additional board members, click to view
Other area committees were becoming concerned that the issues were not being handled by the current board of directors. The Dallas committee sent a letter in December stating, “We earnestly hope that the confidence of the Christian community in the management of the Seminar can be restored at the earliest possible time. In order to do this we are unanimously agreed that the board of the Seminar must be expanded to include a substantial majority who were not in positions of authority during the period under question. A total membership of eleven would probably be adequate. Certainly nine would be the minimum.”
Allen to Gothard, calling for submission to the Board,
suspension of seminars and financial accountability, click to view
Board of Directors
The pressure for an independent financial review and an independent investigation into the scandal allegations and Bill’s part in it continued. Back in October, the Board of Directors had discovered that Bill was still communicating with the former staff who had been fired or resigned. Bill was still trying to handle the situation on his own, and the result was that the concerns regarding his ability to lead IBYC were growing. The board was perhaps beginning to realize that Bill’s stated willingness to repent was not showing in his actions. They put it to a vote and informed Bill that he needed to stop calling former staff members.
The board made some other important decisions independent of Bill’s preferences at that October 15th meeting, including the long-requested hiring of Price Waterhouse to do an independent audit. The audit took several months, after which Bill released a statement to the effect that the audit uncovered reasonably acceptable non-profit practices based on similar ministry audits, in spite of the fact that he did not offer the audit opinion or required financial statements for public review. Bill’s letter referred to the audit and how it was performed, but did not give details as to the audit opinion expressed or if an opinion was expressed at all. An audit opinion is the pivotal and key piece of any audit, and the letter released did not contain this information. Without an expressed opinion, the letter from Price Waterhouse is meaningless in terms of a professional statement on the entity financials and their fair representation. We have been told that Bill never even discussed the audit in 1981 with his remaining staff.
Another step the board took was a vote to finance Steve’s move to California, a move which they had ordered several months previously. (Another cover-up: Steve had spent some time in the Northwoods following the scandal, in spite of having been banned from all IBYC premises. When confronted with this at the time, Bill had replied, “No one will know if you don’t tell them.”)
Bill was becoming impatient. For years, he had run his ministry as he saw fit, hiring and firing at whim, and signing all the checks as he deemed necessary. If Bill wanted something to happen, it happened. He had been the king of his castle, and it had been an astoundingly obedient castle. Suddenly, he found himself having to wait. He was banned from his daily phone calls to disgruntled staff. The board had asked him to leave the area “to rebuild his heart in the Lord.” He was going to have to wait months for an audit to clear his ministry from the cloud of financial distrust that hovered over it. His father was off the board, his brother was banned from the ministry, and the rest of his siblings were in varying stages of fury and distrust and bruised loyalty. Bill’s seminars were still happening, but Bill was not in attendance. The board wanted him to wait until the end of the year before they would decide if he would continue his live seminars, although he was allowed one or two appearances just to show his face and say a few words.
Bill chafed at the enforced inaction. He hatched a plan to fast-track his reinstatement to ministry. He called several respected pastors and Christian leaders of the day including Rev. Jack Taylor, Dr. Charles Stanley, Rev. Miles Seaborn, Rev. Gordan Dorian, and Mr. Jim Sammons. His plan was to set up a meeting at LaGrange Bible Church, where he attended and had been ordained. LaGrange had already refused to address any church disciplinary action with Bill, since they didn’t consider him to be under their authority. However, the rest of the evangelical world would see a meeting at this venue as an appropriate “Matthew 18” handling of the situation. Bypassing any actual investigation, Bill would get these men to publicly declare him clean of all accusations and recommend him for further ministry. Bill made the arrangements and purchased the plane tickets at Institute expense, although he later insisted that the men were coming on their own initiative. His audacity is astonishing, but what may be more astonishing is that these men agreed to attend, although it is possible that they didn’t understand precisely what Bill’s goal was for the meeting. Dr. Samuel J. Schultz, vice chairman of the IBYC board, found out about Bill’s proposal, and urged him to cancel the meeting. Bill refused. Dr. Schultz called an emergency meeting of the board, informing them of Bill’s intentions, upon which they immediately agreed that the meeting should not take place. Bill was called in. One board member, Dr. Roy Blackwood, faced Bill with the solemn warning, “If the church acts in a procedural way that does not really get at the facts and if they come to the wrong conclusion, they could damn the church as well as the person they are evaluating.”
Cover Letter sent to ACC's,
click to view
Bill’s plan to never be fired from ministry was in serious risk of the most spectacular firing of his career, and he had no backup. He desperately attempted to turn the tide. Bill insisted to the board that he was in a quandary about the obedience he felt he must offer his own father versus his obedience to the direction of his board. Oddly, the difference between ministry accountability and familial accountability did not seem to exist in Bill’s mind. He told them that he needed his father to be on the board, so that his personal quandary would no longer be an issue for him.
The board did not make any immediate decision on Bill’s assertions regarding his father (although we know that Bill Gothard, Sr., was reinstated as a consultant in January 1981), and the LaGrange meeting never took place. However, the board did nod to one of the requests by the ACC’s by voting in an additional board member, Dr. Ed Brown, who had been with Bill since the beginning in 1964. Ed had resigned from the board in 1977 at Bill’s request, following several board meetings in which Ed had questioned the Institute’s finances. Dr. Brown was now back from the foreign mission work and agreed to come back on the board. However, Bill wasn’t finished attempting to re-establish control of his ministry.
Breaking Point
Cover to Letters of Concern sent to ACC's,
click to view
The LA Committee was still meeting regularly to pray for the ministry and seek reconciliation. A flurry of letters and requests were being sent back and forth in a desperate effort to see justice done. Lists of questions were sent with the statement that if answers could be forthcoming, resolution could finally be found. In the end, though, resolution was not to be had. Bill convinced Board Chairman Gus Hemwall to insist on the removal of Ed Brown, as Dr. Hemwall hadn’t been present at that meeting and hadn’t been given the chance to waive his vote. Bill later informed Ed that he simply couldn’t endorse his return to the board, as he objected to his beard. Since Ed Brown had worn a beard the entire time Bill had known him, this reasoning came across as preposterous. Odd as it sounds today, Bill would continue to verbally employ that same reasoning to pick and choose those who would be involved in his ministry for many years to come.
Letter of Concern to IBYC Board from Jim Keasling,
Copies sent to all ACC's for signature, click to view
Eugene and Liz Short to Dr. Blackwood,
click to view
Dr. Schultz and the LA Committee were finally convinced that nothing was going to change or be resolved with Bill. On December 11, 1980, Dr. Schultz read aloud a letter to the board, stating to his regret that that board had “little to report by way of progress to answer the questions by those engaged in promoting the IBYC ministry.” Dr. Schultz addressed Bill’s teachings, asking, “Can we conscientiously endorse Bill as God’s messenger above reproach and of good report when out there he is being compared to the Pharisees who were ensnarled in legalism with rules and regulation and principles of interpretation?” Dr. Schultz then addressed Bill’s behavior, stating, “On May 14, 1980, we as board members were shocked to learn of the gross immorality that had prevailed for some time among the staff under Bill’s supervision as president. The disruption that followed adversely affected the lives of almost the entire staff and families associated with IBYC. Their confidence in Bill was shaken and his credibility deteriorated rapidly in the wake of this eruption. At this crucial occasion, Bill took refuge and stated that he was under the authority of the board.”
Schultz concluded, “So Bill is our problem. He is our basic problem. We dismissed the staff involved in immorality and gross pornography with pornographic films ordered by IBYC personnel under Bill’s jurisdiction. Dozens of staff members have left with deep-seated grievances against Bill, not only since May but during the last five years, because of Bill’s failure to apply the biblical principles he taught in public. Over four years ago, many tried to communicate to Bill and his father the concerns they had about Steve but like Eli in biblical times, these warnings were ignored. […] This insensitivity to each warning continued in the life of Bill while he taught and developed biblical principles for years until Steve’s immorality was publicly exposed.”
Schultz ended his letter to the board with a list of the concerns that he felt precluded the board from endorsing Bill for further public ministry. Among the items were a breakdown of how Bill had not, in fact, remained under the authority of the board in spite of his public assertions; his refusal to apply the seminar principles to his own life; his efforts to resolve relationship problems with unapproved monetary payments rather than connecting in a personal way with his staff; the fact that some of his seminar principles were actually unbiblical; and Bill’s overall legalistic philosophy, which had resulted in an unprecedented level of personal control over all aspects of the ministry.
Dr. Sam Schultz's resignation letter,
click to view
Dr. Schultz had finally had enough. On January 7, 1981, he released a statement of resignation to the Religious News Service.
[Click here to read the final part in the series: “Failure to Reconcile, 1981–ATI part II”]
July 31, 2024
The most interesting thing to me is that a real audit actually was done and completed. I wonder if the Price Waterhouse opinion letter is actually still in existence in a file somewhere, or if all records have been destroyed. If it exists, it could be a "smoking gun."
No, all audit records would no longer be in existence. All audit records are destroyed after 7 years or so. Just an FYI as an auditor.
"There was no independent investigation taking place, neither regarding the staff scandal nor the financial questions. The Board was either being used by Bill unknowingly, or was complicit in his manipulations. Either way, their assertions that the problems were being dealt with were false. Nothing was being dealt with regarding the scandal,"
And now we have yet another situation. Bill has resigned, and the board has said that they will investigate.
They have not yet given any indication that a reputable third party that is completely independent (such as GRACE) will investigate. They have not indicated that a reputable third party will do an audit of finances. They are expecting everyone to trust them.
Just trust them, on their word alone.
This would be quite difficult already considering the nature of the scandal that Bill has resigned over. The alleged crimes do not happen by somebody who simply made a small mistake the way we all do every day. They were done by someone who was very good at practicing deceit. So already, we have an indication that a high level of scrutiny should be given to the nature and quality of any investigation that occurs.
The fact that this has already been botched before, and quite deceitfully, is just further evidence in this regard. The IBLP board can not be trusted to investigate the matter on their own. They need a completely separate and unbiased group who have experience in this area to investigate the matters thoroughly.
Bill Gothard's lack of action, despite knowing what his brother Steve was doing to these young women, is so twisted and evil that words cannot even express it. It is also a horrible commentary that anyone with knowledge of it continued to support Bill. But then again, this is a cult. We are dealing with forces of blindness and bondage that are rooted in the spiritual realm.
The pure evil of it all just astounds me!
"One woman asked the men why they would swoop in unannounced like that and in such a heavy-handed way. One of the men responded that Christ was to come unannounced in the end times, after all."
I don't have words for this.
No KIDDING!! That is the most evil, corrupt, twisted application of Scripture I've ever heard. What the...?!
So true... Like I told my parents at the age of 17, there is a special place in hell for those who use God as a diversion for their own personal narcissistic agenda...My only hope is that maybe the Sun Times or Tribune will start investigating, talking to people (SURVIVORS, like me...) and then maybe, just maybe the public outcry will get the feds involved.
THIS Sun Times? http://www.suntimes.com/news/26056414-418/leader-of-oak-brook-religious-group-resigns-amid-sex-harassment-allegations.html
Yes maam, that is the article, do you think it will pick up and get more coverage?
I suspect that we'll soon see a similar situation played out. The only two differences are that William Goathard Sr isn't around to help mastermind the cover-up, & all of us know too much. In 1980, Bill was able to control the information by buying off (BRIBING) enough former staff. They didn't have scanners & email & Twitter & Facebook back then. Information known or files possessed by the people who refused to be bribed were stored away, isolated from each other. What could a small handful of people do against the thousands of people and millions of dollars behind IBYC?
Now we see Bill once again resign from IBLP. It's up to us, the Christian world in general & the ex-ATI students in particular, to keep the board & Bill accountable. It's obvious that we can't trust Bill or the board to do the right thing on their own.
No more cover-ups! No more bribery! No more threats! No more insincere "apologies!"
Yes indeed what JB and Lisa Joy said!
"Bill convinced Board Chairman Gus Hemwall to insist on the removal of Ed Brown, as Dr. Hemwall hadn’t been present at that meeting and hadn’t been given the chance to waive his vote. Bill later informed Ed that he simply couldn’t endorse his return to the board, as he objected to his beard. Since Ed Brown had worn a beard the entire time Bill had known him, this reasoning came across as preposterous."
Wow.
And now we know why the rule on beards was instated for ATI...
I looked at the attached seminar photo and saw BG talking to that guy with the beard. I can not help but wonder if BG was explaining to that guy how his beard was ungodly. :/
The deal with BG and beards, is that if the husband had a beard, then the wife had to wear a hair covering. We went round and round ATIA about this. No man with a beard could be an ATI father, unless his wife wore a hair covering. My husband, as pastor, has had a beard since his 20's, but I do not wear a hair covering. I also don't wear dresses all the time. We got away with the beard in Indianapolis, but soon after we attended Knoxville, the phone began to ring, ring and ring. They assigned young men, maybe 17 yrs old, to call us and then my husband's father and his employer to see if my husband was "rebellious". Of course, no rebellion was found. They continued to harass us anyway for several more years. Finally it tapered off and we didn't hear anything more.
That is so BIZARRE.
He couldn't be on the board because of his beard? I realize that this seems to be a very small point of judgmental legalism by Bill, but I wonder how many of us realize that behind it is a concept of God and of Christianity that speaks volumes. It absolutely saturates all of his teaching.
This statement is VERY telling about the whole situation: "...the board handed him a letter of dismissal and a $6,000 check for his files on the scandal and his silence."
What legitimate Christian organization on earth would have to "pay off" someone? This sounds like something from central casting in some bad movie. Or the backroom dealings done in our Capitol.
But done in the name of Christ? The organization is rotten to the core. They should NEVER have any skeletons in their closets that make them feel they should have to buy someone's silence along with any evidence they may have.
Appalling.
With Gothard's current resignation, I can not help but wonder just what kind of backroom dealings are going on right now. Are checks being written to people? Or are unmarked envelopes of cash being handed out? Are people being silenced within IBLP at this very time? Being made to sign non-disclosure agreements?
Is history being repeated in Oak Brook?
In 1980 our family began attending a church where -I now know- the teaching each week was usually a variation of material presented in the Basic Seminar. The messages were always based on some passage of scripture, though the connection was sometimes tenuous. We were looking for a community in which we could see healthy families modeled, where we could be in a safe bubble of like-minded people, where our children would be safe. This was not our stated mission, but in retrospect that's what we were looking for -- a place to re-family. We eagerly attended the Basic, then the Advanced, and continued to get Bill Gothard's teaching interlaced in sermons at least three times a week. The damage done in our family has been so devastating.
The very teaching that Bill Gothard implemented in order to wield control -- "evil communication," "only a good report," "taking up an offense," the accusation that dissent was "bitterness," --was implemented in our church to allow heavy handed control and manipulation. Wrongs in the church and the school were not effectively confronted because information was so tightly controlled. My children suffered. My spouse and I suffered. It truly was crazy-making.
The vice grip of Bill Gothard's teaching began to loosen one Sunday when this sermon passage was read: "For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." --Matthew 23:4. "That's exactly what's happening in this church," I thought. But it would take me several more years to extricate myself from the Gothard web.
Never was there any open communication about the scandal which is outlined on this website. Never was there an acknowledgement that IBYC had taken in millions of dollars. Never was there a time when the sheep were given the basic facts of the situation and allowed to investigate and evaluate for themselves. (Getting information from Christianity Today would not have been encouraged because it was considered to be a liberal publication.) Bill Gothard's Don't Talk Rules protected not only himself, but many other abusers and manipulators as well, some of whom were in our church.
It is difficult to express in words the profound grief and anger I feel when I look back and see that had I or my spouse known of the allegations in the early '80's we may have been spared from years of suffering IN the cult of Gothardism and years of ongoing recovery OUT of the cult of Gothardism.
Thank you Recovering Grace for breaking the "Don't Talk" rule of dysfunctional families, churches, and organizations.
Very interesting to note how much of an emphasis Bill placed on being obedient to his father at the age of 46. This quandary (described below) seems especially odd and unhealthy for an adult man. I suspect that some of Bill's teaching on authority were from his father, and spreading the ideas via his seminar was perhaps a way to normalize and justify the control Bill's dad had over him. I also wonder about his relationship with his mother. Everything seemed to be a family matter for the Gothards (e.g., Bill swept his brother's immorality under the rug, Bill can't go forward unless his dad is on the BoD...) which may indicate a high level of enmeshment and dysfunction.
Quote: "Bill’s plan to never be fired from ministry was in serious risk of the most spectacular firing of his career, and he had no backup. He desperately attempted to turn the tide. Bill insisted to the board that he was in a quandary about the obedience he felt he must offer his own father versus his obedience to the direction of his board. Oddly, the difference between ministry accountability and familial accountability did not seem to exist in Bill’s mind. He told them that he needed his father to be on the board, so that his personal quandary would no longer be an issue for him."
He had to come up with some excuse the board would buy to put his father back on and in control.
In response to Haley's good comment, another consideration: any mention of obedience to Christ, is conspicuously absent.
How odd to honor and obey a corrupt earthly father while ignoring the call of our Heavenly Father.
We attended our first seminar in May of 1977. It was a requirement of our Christian school for staff to attend. Typical carnal (maybe blasphemous) thoughts were soon buzzing in my subconscious: " ahh, at last
a godly organization to help us be strong in the Lord and help us be good mates and parents." How absurd when the Father himself said that He would never leave or forsake us. He said that He would teach us and lead us into all truth. He said when we search for Him with all our hearts we would find Him. Why did we think we needed something more? Is He not enough???? I think of the Israelites wanting more than manna, of the post flood civilization wanting more than what they knew of God already. Maybe some edifice of their own to reach up to Him would help enhance their relationship with God. So because we are not willing to wait on Him, and to wait for Him and to be preoccupied with glorying in what He has already done and has promised to do in the future, here we are in this mess. I conclude that we have brought this on ourselves by enabling Mr. Gothard to minister. Now, can we save this generation from falling prey to the need to follow a man?
Let's show ourselves as much grace as we want extended to the other victims of Bill Gothard and his machine. We are all hurting. Most of us did not bring this on ourselves. What we have here is a long history of crimes committed in the name if God. Some of us are just now learning of this. Blaming the victims, including ourselves, is not helpful.
We had homeschooled our kids (not ATI) prior to Ruth's passing. But as a single dad I put both kids in a small Christian School and hired a nanny. While attend a parents meeting for the following year, I was informed that a requirement of the Bible class was attending the Basic Seminar. I asked the teacher if this was optional and was emphatically told NO. I explained my experience with Gothard and was severely rebuked by the teacher for questioning the "Master". Today over coffee my daughter (31) reminded me that returning home from that meeting I informed her she would not be passing Bible the following year and that was OK. (she was a 3.9 student) We transferred to a different Christian school the following year.
That teacher was blinded by the teaching of a man and failed to seek the truth like so many of his followers.
Larne Gabriel
author Ruth's Story
Oh Larne, That is both really sad and absolutely hilarious!
The new school worked out much better anyway and maybe the event was God's plan to add a little humor today!
Larne, that is truly amazing! What a wonderful father you are to your children! I openly gasped when I read the teacher's response! How in the world did you manage to keep control of your actions?
I was firm with the teacher but also remember biting my tongue really hard, if we had stayed at the school I would have gone to the school administration. I was not a wonderful father, just a dad who loved his kids who missed their mom.
This story keeps getting weirder and weirder with each day! With with each passing day I get sicker to my stomach! At times I feel I am reading a piece of fiction when up pops the name of someone I knew and highly respected. People that should be in the "know". Where are their voices in this matter? Where are their letters of concern as the one written by Dr. Schultz? Maybe this is what will be released in days ahead but right now their silence deafening!
Exactly. It's like a piece of fiction that is riveting ONLY because you know the sequel and because you know that you are in it!
Okay so THIS is where his objection to beards comes from.
Do I see a pattern here? If someone is in Bill's way, Bill just creates a teaching against some aspect of their person.
What bothers me besides the obvious lack of concern for the women harmed, is staff member after staff member fired. These people had often sold their homes before coming to work for the institute. While there you live and breath institute. It is your WHOLE life. I only spent one year at the ITC and at the time I didn't realize how all consuming it was, but it was. ..all consuming. There was no time after the long work hours for anything else.
I wonder how many families and individuals are still hurting financially, while Gothard wants for naught?
Thank God the Oak Brook community said "no" to a private school run by Gothard all those years ago. Can you even imagine how many more young girls (and maybe even YOUNGER girls) would have been subject to harassment and molestation had there been a residential school? In light of the current allegations, it occurs to me that perhaps this is exactly what Gothard had in mind by proposing that a school be established right by his headquarters. The thought gives me the chills.
Who are the board members and how can they be held accountable? Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Let the light of transparency and truth shine on this whole organization. No more cover ups.
Dan,
You can read about the board members here: http://iblp.org/about-iblp/corporate-information/board-directors
Most people (if not all) have written to them via their "contact us" section of the website: http://iblp.org/about-iblp/contact-us
We have written but with no response yet. After all we only gave decades of our lives, our family vacations, money we didn't have, sacrificed friendships and championed Bills causes for little or no money. Why would we need a response???? We can just wait until they can time a massage that is well crafter and in a manner as they see fit. What a bunch of arrogant, selfish _______fill in the blank since I can't say it here. The men on the board who are touted as godly men are absolute cowards. I would just fine if everyone of them ended up in jail. Maybe they will have access to Gideon bibles.
[…] Failure to Reconcile: 1981-ATI […]
I confess to not hearing 95% of what I've just been reading at the RecoveringGrace site. Yet I believe every word. I attended the Basic seminar in 1973, as a gift from a previous Sunday School teacher. My husband was quite willing to stay home with our four children, and he was not interested in discussing what I learned during those sessions. Yes, I had some doubts as to some of the principles, but didn't discuss them with anyone. Over the next few years, my family physician (who, by the way, was as enthusiastic about Gothard and his teachings as anyone I knew)began changing both in personality and in his practice of medicine. He insisted that at least patients who had attended the seminar allow him to pray over each patient. He also began to exhibit signs of bullying within his practice of medicine. I wondered many times if it was time to change doctors, but somehow didn't. Meanwhile, my husband and I decided that it was God's will that I return to school and finish my college degree (five quarters). I discovered only after the damage (a painful and protracted divorce) had been done that in the year or two after I graduated, this doctor convinced my husband that my pursuit of a degree was NOT God's will, and that I had done this ONLY out of blatant lack of submission to my husband. Somehow the two of them began spreading lies, not only about this perceived insubordination but also that I had a boyfriend, and other related lies. I went through the Matthew 18 standards with the physician, but to no avail. Nothing was ever resolved, and eventually he and his wife (a friend of mine by then) sold their gorgeous house and moved...where? No one knows. Now that I am reading all this, I understand how something that was supposed to bring about such good actually destroyed our marriage and cause irreparable damage to my children.
[…] Failure to Reconcile: 1981-ATI […]
It is sitll ture that you are innocent until proven guilty. It continues to suprise me that there are all these allegations but no charges have been filed by anyone (at least not that I am aware). Why not? Isn't there sufficent evidence? I too am interested in full disclosure....who are the IBLP board members and who are the RG board members. Lets all be open and honest otherwise we will never know the truth
@Don; I hope you see that there can be a difference between 'legally guilty': guilty of a prosecutable offense and shown so by a court of law... and guilty of sin or offensese against GOD and HIS church. these can be one and the same, but need not be: just because your don't have an arrest record , does not mean you are therefore not guilty, esp. the kind of offenses that would disqualify one for leadership in the church. I would hazard a guess that very few of those are actually criminal offenses.
One of our favorite Bible teachers William S. Dillon stressed, "God's work done in God's way will NEVER lack God's supply." As proponents of the IBYC/IBLP seminars both as a young couple and as then parents of Jr Hs children, we trusted that our Lord had led us to these seminars for very specific reasons. I recall one of the first things Bill discussed was his "gift of celibacy" and that gave him even more credibility in our minds' eyes. He shared how like the Apostle Paul, not being married and not having the bulk of his time and energies consumed by familial matters, gave him greater insights into God's principles. We marveled at his insight into familial matters which he himself had never experienced first-hand. We swallowed it all, hook, line and sinker! We bought his materials, shared all that we had learned with our families, we went back and made restitution with those whom we had offended, we realized the "birth of a vision, death of a vision and re-birth of a vision" from his talks. Each seminar we attended, God spoke to our hearts and inspired us to keep on marching forward for the cause of Christ. We didn't respond because it was BG's teaching, but because the Holy Spirit gripped our hearts with real Biblical truths. Reading the patterns of sexual misconduct fostered under the leadership of BG and his board, just validates the true extent of our carnal natures. When we broadcast our special spiritual gifts; then it is only reasonable to conclude that this area will become our down-falI. Bill taught how to avoid the appearance of evil and impropriety in relationships, but failed to follow his own advice. Several years ago when the New Tribes Mission sex scandal was unleashed in Senegal, with other countries affected as well; we were only NOT SHOCKED--being former New Tribers ourselves--but were appalled that leadership turned a blind eye to those innocents whose lives were being destroyed on their watch. I say that to say this; we can shoot the messenger, but NOT the message--for the most part. (We were never involved with ATI) God used BG--whether his motives were impure, or ulterior to his original intent to provide instruction to mold our lives and the lives of so many thousands from the 60's on. Despite his clay feet (we all have them) he managed, packaged and transmitted ultra-valuable lessons with eternal truths and lasting value--which energized our spirits. Relationships are time specific. The failures of one context do not de-legitimize the successes of another. The successes remain gems. The failures are not rehabilitated by future successes. Each is contained in its own unique context and the whole is the sum of its parts and well beyond. My natural trait now is to regard our whole relationship with IBLP as one continuously good and valid or bad and invalid whole. Life isn't like that and we don't have to think of it that way. One's view of the person changes as to who they are now. Your regard for the person in the other context need not change so very much. We are grateful that we saw him at his best (as far as we knew)---or at least not at his worst. Our hearts, minds and spirits were excitedly opened for transformation of not only our individual lives, but the lives of our children, extendeds etc. When one usurps the authority of God himself, then I liken him to a wolf in sheep's clothing. He morphed into a false teacher who had his own private agenda. Bill's own admission of putting this agenda above those of our heavenly Father, gives credence to his loss of the original object of the ministry. Greediness for power, fame, and fortune interwoven with sexual deviancy brought his demise. Bill's own admission of his sexual addiction--paved the way for the abuse of those innocent women and their families. "Whereas by one man, sin entered the world." I refuse to cast stones; "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone comes to mind; however, with the paper trail of evidence over the past decades, it would be hard for anyone to discount all the improprieties-in direct opposition to the principles he espoused and taught. Being accountable to the Highest Authority--Jesus Christ--comes through submission and subjection firstly to our Almighty God and Father. How saddened our Lord must be over the misuse and misappropriation of funds/time/talents given in "good faith." I see no evidence of repentance or guilt. I see instead a pattern of deceit, cover-ups and fear of what the public will say. We are taught, "to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt." As BG was a mentor to countless thousands, he will be judged by a greater standard I believe. We are responsible for walking in the light we have, and when the Lord gives us new light, then we must follow and keep on growing in our walk. I pray for those injured and for the hardened hearts to be softened with repentance so restitution can begin. I also strongly believe, that where there is repentance, forgiveness follows just like with many of our Biblical heroes and heroines. I think about Ananias and Sapphira hiding the monies from the sale of their land thinking nobody would know. "There is a way which seemeth right to man, but the end thereof is death." Ananias and Sapphira both died within 3 hours of each other. Both lied not only to Peter, but to the Holy Spirit. They didn't get a 2nd chance. I am so grateful for all of my 2nd chances because, "Therefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." "There but for the Grace of God, go I." Selah--let's stop and listen!
[…] Failure to Reconcile: 1981-ATI […]