There is a cost, very often a high cost, exacted by false teachers in the lives of their followers. Lives can be crushed. Often people are badly damaged spiritually and almost always emotionally devastated by authoritarian leaders in whom they have put their faith. Pastors and elders are charged with guarding and protecting the flock from predators that creep in from outside the church, or perhaps worse, arise from within (Acts 20:28-30), but too often, the wolf sneaks past the guard without being seen for the danger they are. The late Dr. Walter Martin used to say, “cults are the unpaid bills of the church.”
We were painfully reminded of the harm and damage that can be done to spiritually ravaged sheep by authoritarian predators as we watched the four-part series, “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets“1Amazon Originals; Directors: Julia Willoughby Nason, Olivia Crist; Producers: Michael Gasparro, Blye Pagon Faust, Cori Shepherd Stern, Jody McVeigh-Schultz, Julia Willoughby Nason, Olivia Crist; Starring: Jill Duggar on its release date, Friday, June 2.2“Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets” is an Amazon Original and if you have an Amazon Prime subscription can view it free. Also, it can be watched with a 30-day free trial There wasn’t a story told that we had not heard from people who had experienced the same treatment over the past quarter century, as we have ministered to people victimized by Gothardism. One of the directors/Producers, Olivia Crist, called and emailed us numerous times while they were producing the series. She and others on her team read our book, A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard and the Christian Life.3There is an updated version on Amazon.com and had also been in contact with our friends at Recovering Grace. We were not interviewed for this series, but one of the things we were able to point out to the producers is that although Bill Gothard has unfortunately had great access to Evangelical and Fundamentalist churches, he is neither an Evangelical nor a Fundamentalist. In the opening episode titled “Meet the Duggars,” Brooke, one of the women that was interviewed, said something very similar:
The IBLP teachings aren’t Christianity; they’re something entirely different.4Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets; S1 E1 Meet the Duggars, 02:52
She is correct, but if Gothardism does not represent true Christianity, how can it be classified? What is it? Gothard cites Bible passages and speaks “Christianese,” and sadly, many Christians have attended his seminars over the years. IBLP claims over 2.5 million people have attended Gothard’s seminars, most of them from Christian churches. We have often stated that Christians are not somehow immune to deception. As Jesus Himself warned, we all must be on guard for false teachers and false prophets who come to us in sheep’s clothing disguised as Christian teachers. People can be too trusting, which is why we are warned numerous times in scripture to evaluate what someone is teaching, not his or her outward appearance. Many people have been hurt by Bill Gothard’s teaching, including far too many unwary Christians.
We pointed out to Olivia Crist what we demonstrated in our book. If one does not fully understand Bill Gothard’s core foundational teaching, one won’t understand why it has had such a negative impact on his followers. His foundational teaching, which informs everything else, is his “umbrella of authority” doctrine. The “umbrella” icon featured prominently in the series, but its origins or how it wields its power over his followers is not addressed.
Bill Gothard is a mystic and a religious eclectic. He eschews studying the Bible in its historical-grammatical context and instead claims he memorizes large portions of Scripture and waits for God to give him the rhemas5Rhema: rhema at times called “spoken word,” [9] referring to the revelation received by disciples when the Holy Spirit “speaks” to them a purportedly inspired inerrant meaning of the text. We can see how much power over people this would give him. A supposedly inspired meaning of a text cannot be checked by anything as mundane as making sure to read the Bible in its context. It is a sort of Bibliomancy, an occultic misuse of the scriptures to obtain their meaning by a mystical influx supposedly. Very often, the meaning he derives is not at all connected to the text in its historical-grammatical context but very conveniently seems to support Gothard’s very unbiblical ideas.
On the first night of the first basic seminar, Bill Gothard explains that authority is an “umbrella of protection.” Those who stay under their “umbrella of protection,” the dictates of their alleged “authority figure,” will be protected from temptation and life’s troubles, etc., and they will prosper. On the other hand, if they get out from under their umbrella of protection, they are in rebellion, and rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. To imbue this teaching with supposed biblical authority and scare people into unwarranted submission, Gothard quotes a portion of 1 Samuel 15:23, as you might guess, out of context:
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (KJV)
In the context of 1 Samuel 23, Samuel is addressing King Saul for his flagrant disobedience to specific instructions he had received from the Lord. Gothard’s tying these together creates what we might call the “authority prosperity gospel.” If you stay under your authority, you will be blessed beyond your expectations. On the other hand, if you get out from under Gothard’s imagined “umbrella of protection,” you are in rebellion, which is as bad as the sin of witchcraft. Your punishment will be personal pain, and your life will lack prosperity.
In an effort to make the umbrella teaching sound biblical to his audience, Bill uses the story of the Roman Centurion in Matthew 8:5-13:
After the centurion asked Jesus to come and heal his servant, it occurred to him that just as his life was structured around a “chain of responsibility,” so the kingdom in which God operates must have a similar structure of authority.6Bill Gothard (instructor), Basic Seminar Textbook, p. 20 as quoted in A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard and the Christian Life, Don Veinot, Joy Veinot and Ron Henzel, Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc 2003, p 106
Here is a multiple-choice quiz for our readers. Is the point of the above passage to teach:
A) that God’s kingdom is structured around a chain of responsibility/umbrella of protection? OR
B) to teach Who Jesus is, that He is God and can heal long distance?
Answer “A” would be in direct contradiction to the Lord’s own words to the Apostles, to whom He had given authority to sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28) when He said:
And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.” (Luke 22:25-26)
Another major problem with Gothard’s umbrella teaching—as borrowed from First Century Roman authoritarian practice—is his example of Jesus as a child. Gothard takes the story of the 12-year-old Jesus who remained behind when his family and their caravan left for home. (Luke 2:41-52) When his parents returned frantically looking for Him, according to Gothard, Jesus had to make the “tough decision” to get back under his parent’s umbrella of protection.
The first time we met with Gothard in his office, we verified each step of his umbrella teaching and his story of Jesus having to make this “tough decision.” We pointed out that if Jesus had to decide to get back under his parent’s umbrella of protection, that necessarily implies He had gotten out from under it, to begin with. If Gothard’s teaching is correct, Jesus was in rebellion against His authority — and rebellion such as this is as the sin of witchcraft, according to Gothard. So, either Gothard’s teaching is wrong, OR Jesus is a sinner. After a few minutes of silence, Gothard simply stated his teaching is correct, and Jesus isn’t a sinner—but he couldn’t explain how that worked. It doesn’t work—that’s the problem, and it is a major “problem.” Pastor Don Owsley also picked up on this when he heard Bill state, “Don’t be like Jesus when he disobeyed his parents!7An Evaluation of Gothard’s Twelve Hearts seminar, Pastor Don Owsley, December 20, 2020
In this setting, the authoritarian leader wields God as a big club to threaten any of his followers who may question or disobey his dictates. Gothardism is, like the First Century Roman culture, a Patriocentric system in which females are personal property and must obey their male authority without question. To do any less than blindly obey is to get out from under their umbrella of protection and risk God’s wrath. At the wedding of his daughter, a father transfers his authority over his daughter to his new son-in-law. The husband is now her “leader,” who she must hear and obey unquestioningly. If a father passes away, his authority over his wife and family passes from the father to the eldest son, according to Gothard. And here is another way a woman can be passed from authority to authority— If she is sent to work at IBLP “Headquarters,” the authority over her passes from her father to Gothard himself. Wow. That type of “ownership authority” is not biblical at all and can and does produce horrendous outcomes.
Jinger Duggar Vuolo and her husband watched the series as well, and I spoke with Jeremy earlier this week. To acknowledge the obvious, the series is “left-leaning,” but we expected that would be the case. It does not seem the producers and directors understand a theologically conservative worldview, and there was a bit of popular “Wokeism” conveyed. But as we consider the content, the series did an important service. They gave those who had grown up in this rigidly authoritarian system a voice. Jinger and Jeremy were impressed with how well the creators handled the abuse stories and respected those who shared them. Many Gothardites, as is true with people in other cultic groups, equate the authority figure at the top with God Himself. When people leave a group like that, it can be very hard to get past that false idea, and it takes time to begin to see God as He is and not as He has been portrayed by the “great leader.” Some feel that by leaving the group, they have left God, which is a very scary and lonely feeling, though it is not true in the least. Some choose atheism or agnosticism. Others deconstruct into Progressive Christianity. Some, like Jinger Duggar, have gone through a process of Disentangling Faith from Fear. Such people, coming out of whatever authoritarian group they have been a part of, really need our love and our prayers.
An unfortunate side effect of this expose is the broad brush that will be applied to all those who have been involved in IBLP to any extent whatsoever. Many who are or have been involved in IBLP are well-meaning parents who seek to protect their families and try to raise Godly children in an ungodly culture.
It is also quite likely that Fundamentalist and Evangelical churches may be tarred as well and seen as supporting these or similar teachings. They most assuredly do not. Most Fundamentalist and Evangelical churches completely shunned IBLP decades ago, especially after the 1980 sex scandal. It seems the Apostle Peter’s words are very appropriate concerning an unfair or unwarranted public rebuke:
But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:14-17)Ω
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Thanks for another well thought out article.
Thanks Don and Joy for bringing great clarity to so much False Christianity that is really so far from the truth. I am seeing how critical it is to bring the light early to the lies that bend the Bibles teachings or they can just suck people in to delusion in large numbers. I wonder if you would have gone and stood outside thier church service many years ago, if anyone would have had ears to hear this truth. Roadtrip to where, now?
I appreciate your take on this topic and article. However, I would disagree with you that evangelicals have rejected the teachings of Gothardism. They may have publicly rejected his organization, but I still hear comments about how “a woman needs to be under a man’s covering or she will go astray and sin” and “rebellion (against leaders & their interpretation of scripture) is the same as witchcraft, so you’d better obey your leaders without questioning.” These are mostly coming from Christians who are overall wise in their interpretation of scripture, but continue to pass along those sorts of ideas because they were taught them at one point and didn’t really question them. I think it survives because of the temptation a lot of people experience – we want to be faithful to God, and our fearful human minds think that authoritarian ways of doing things are the only way to ensure that. But I like how you pointed out that Jesus calls us to the opposite, to seek to serve and show mercy instead.
I appreciate your response. We probably don’t disagree as much as might be thought. They rejected IBYC/IBLP but Gothard’s as I just pointed out to someone in an email, Gothard’s impact was more far reaching than the 2 1/2 million the Institute claims attended his seminars. I suspect that the attendance is pretty accurate. But why is his view so widespread? Simple, it is like a virus. Those who attended and brought their newly acquired beliefs back to their home churches; some of the younger attendees went on to become pastors and elders and carried the teachings into the pulpit. Even if Gothard’s name was never mentioned, his teachings were perpetrated under the guise of being Bible-based sermons. Shortly after our book came out on Gothard, I was speaking at a conference. I ran into a pastor I knew, Paul, that had just been called to a church that went through a monumental split. I gave him a copy of the book, and he said if he has time, he will look at it. The church was in a mess. It was 1,000 members and split in half. The former pastor was still in the area and Paul was trying to figure out how to facilitate healing among those that had stayed. He got on the plane home, and nearly as soon as he landed, he called and said he needed two cases of the book immediately. He had just figured out what had happened. The previous pastor was a Gothardite and wouldn’t be held accountable.
It’s been 33 years ago that I first was introduced to Gothards seminars. I had just been banished from my home and family business because I could no longer keep up with the demands of my” authority figure”.Trying to get my bearings and figure out what happened I ran smack into this guy and his umbrella of protection teaching. Something was off but I didn’t know what. I found the suggestion that even those who are abused should continue to remain under an abusive authority very offensive.I warned all the Gothard worshippers I knew that this would not end well. After many years of study I learned that Gothard was not teaching christian leadership but Old Testament patriarchy. Exactly what control freak men needed. A”biblical” justification to abuse their wives and children in the name of God.When the abuse allegations about Gothard came out I finally realized that he was simply practicing what he preached. As the authority over IBLP he had a Godgiven right to do what he wanted to the girls under his authority.
Thank you for this review of 25 years of the concerns voiced to you about Gothard, your experience with him directly, and all you’ve done to graciously confront him.
One of my closest friends through thick and thin, I met in the aberrant shepherding church that followed Gothard’s principles more than anything else, I spent 4 years in back in the early ’90s. Of course, I’d never heard of Gothard when I joined, nor did the church ever formally mention him. I walked away first, and she (and her husband and her seven children) didn’t last long there, but she remains devoted to Gothard. Twice, I’ve sent her copies of “A Matter of Basic Principles,” and I still don’t know if she’s read them. (Though she was dissuaded from following Pearl’s standards 20 years ago, she still defends him, so we’ve declared a moratorium on both Gothard and Pearl for the most part. We love each other, so that is both easy and very hard to do.)
I talk with her about twice a month, and I know the subject of the documentary will come up, partially because of how triggering it has been for me since I’ve watched it. I’ve been painfully reminded that emotional healing is never linear, and I’m surprised to find myself thinking about the dilemmas and awkward, painful moments that I struggled through while a part of that church. I expected to be pierced by the struggles of those who grew up Gothard-following families, but that is not what keeps coming to the surface of my heart and mind at this point. And I anticipate how our discussions will go when she talks with me about how her children who suffered much educational neglect will react. It’s going to be very painful for her, and I expect her to be “loaded for bear” as well as broken. She also did not reap with her children all that Gothard promised. (How could she?)
As I watch and read the reactions to the documentary, this is the first and best resource I’ve found that I can share with her that will tell her the truth without making an enemy of her. I can refer her to this article which is honest yet gentle with enough of a “just the facts” instead of polemics. I feel like the documentary belongs to the Second Generation Adults who were raised in the system with bounded choice. But your article here speaks to a broader audience which includes the parents who used IBLP/ATI principles to raise their children (and those like me who watched and suffered a bit differently, both inside and outside of the system).
I don’t know that this will help my friendship with my dear friend endure challenges to come, as all friendships have them. But I’m breathing a huge sigh of relief, as this seems a perfect tool to help me through.
Thank you, Don and Joy
I became a Christian out of agnosticism at college in 1971. Soon after I attended the Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts in San Jose CA and several other Northern CA venues. In 1972 attended an Advanced Seminar in Chicago at Wheaten which shows how mainstream it was in the early 70’s. As a new Christian, Gothard’s teaching was exciting but didn’t seem to line up with the Bible in context which, was the way my large American Baptist Church in the central valley was teaching me to study it. His umbrella of authority and chain of command were off as was his apparent insistence that believers obey the OT law. The church decided that the whole thing was enough of a false teaching that after the Chicago trip, they had nothing else to do with Gothard and his seminars.
Later, in various contexts I ran across a number of people, the majority of them women who were seriously hurt by his heresy. Many taking years to work through the damage. Thank you for your years long work in exposing the false teaching that did hurt many and caused the gospel to be shamed.
The Amazon show had it’s flaws, but as you said it did expose the nature of the false teaching the Duggars followed and the dangers even though they were on the surface all shiny and happy
Thank you for continuing to warn about false teachers, especially those like Bill Gothard, who SEEM so credible in the eyes of so many people. Yet, he has always been somewhat of a mystic.
I found the following interview with Jinger Dugger Vuolo to be excellent regarding the Duggar Family, and Gothardism:
https://youtu.be/AMpp-MqLgJE
Thank you for the comments. We are in the process of updating our book on Gothard an putting it back in print. I think that should be in about four weeks. If you haven’t seen it you may be interested in the interview we did with Jinger and Jeremy, “March 14 — “Becoming Free Indeed” – Jinger Duggar & Jeremy Vuolo“
I have a question. Since the testimony of Jinger Duggar (now Vuolo) and Jeremy Vuolo now follow John McArthurism, how are they any better? How are they credible? John McArthur has very abusive teaching and behavior concerning women and children. Jeremy Vuelo who is being groomed to replace him supposedly has no problem with secular ungodly rock music or contemporary supposed christain rock music. I find there is so much hypocrisy and perversion along with occult practices, freemasonry and contracts with illuminati money and funding in so many churches now. I think Jinger is being used. I don’t think everything Mr. Gothard teaches is right. I don’t think everything any man or woman teaches is 100 percent right. I also don’t believe the accusations against him are fair or accurate. I think we can turn a bright spotlight on each of these ministries and find a lot of things wrong including the ones writing this article. I think we choose to use fad labels and modern rhetoric , you are just showing how much of the illuminati mind control you’ve adhered to , not the Holy Spirit and His Word. We need to pray for the Body of Christ, accurately study God’s Word for ourselves as much as possible and be obedient to God by obeying His Word. Every denomination ( which having denominations is Not scriptural by the way) has corrupt leaders, teachers, doctrines, control issues, sexual abuse, infiltration etc…. we have met Mr. Gothard, he has a gentle spirit, kindness, and concern for others. I beieve he is honest . We have camped right next to the Duggars, we know many many families in IBLP and many in Baptist churches and other denominations. We were not in IBLP but have attended the Basic and Advanced seminars since I was 18. I have almost all the materials . It gave me so much in understanding things about music, family structure, heart issues, etc…I came from a broken home. I do know not every teaching from it is 100 right. We all are learning, growing and coming to more understanding about the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Like His Word says, we see through a glass darkly on this side . The accusations against Mr. Gothard for any supposed sexual misconduct were found to be false. I don’t believe them. I know people from the inside who have shared that some of the young women accusing him of those things are themselves involved in levels of witchcraft. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. Be wise about not helping him. I am a researcher, I have found ministries who publicly attacked Mr. Gothard are ministries who themselves have serious compromise. I’m going to continue to look into this and this couple who wrote this book. I wonder what or who they may be involved with. I agree with confronting false prophets, But there is a difference between an evil false prophet and an earnest and sincere believer who may not see things accurately yet.
Hi, Don. I just checked with Bill and he has no recollection of making the statement, “Don’t be like Jesus when he disobeyed his parents!”. If he did say something like that he suspects that he was making a point that we cannot be just like Jesus in every act, who was in fact, the Only Begotten Son of God with rights and privileges we cannot have. In other words, things He did as a 12 year old with full authority to do so are not things we get to do. The initial read of that seems to suggest that Bill found a reason to impugn the Lord Jesus which is absolutely not the case.
Thanks.