Bill Gothard and Moving On

A recent post at Tulipgirl encouraging ex-Gothardites to move on, prompted my thoughts on the subject. Wow! Does this bring back memories? I've been browsing the X-ATI Guy link. While I did not go as deeply into Gothard's ministry as he did, I certainly did attend my share of Basic Seminars and one "Advanced" Seminar back in the late 70's and early 80's, and bought almost everything he said, hook, line and sinker....including the bible verse that was attached to everything he said. Too bad the verse quoted rarely matched the point he was trying to make. When you sign up for a seminar that requires you to attended nightly seminars for 2 to 3 hours, and all day Friday and Saturday, with no time to really reflect and actually look up the scripture that is being subscribed to the given "universal non-optional life principal" Mr. Gothard is equating it to, no wonder so many people have followed in lock step with his teachings. Indoctrination 101. My wife writes about it here. When I got that letter in the mid-80's just before Christmas from "the headquarters", that admonished Christians everywhere not to purchase "Cabbage Patch Dolls", due to their "Satanic Nature", and if you have one to remove it from your home, so it won't have "bondage over you", I finally thought he went off the deep end.

X-ATI Guy directs readers to Al Menconi's website and his book "Dear Mr. Gothard" which counters much of Gothard's teachings on Christian Rock. While I did buy into most of what Gothard said; I always found his lectures about Christian Rock unconvincing, but not enough that for one small, but regretful time in my life I gave up the very music that I loved and was a bedrock for my teenage Christian faith. I loved Larry Norman (read my recent blog about Larry here), Randy Stonehill, Keith Green, ect ..but I let Gothard's arguments convince me they where evil, sinful, and not of God. So I exchanged my Christian rock tapes and made a tape of his "10,000 voices singing the hymns" album. But, boy did I go up on the spiritual barometer! Or so I thought. Nineteen years old and driving around listening to "How Great Thou Art" a cappella 24/7. I gave up a Larry Norman/Randy Stonehill together in concert with a full band, because I had "made a commitment" not to listen to CHRISTIAN ROCK!!. Yes Christian Rock...songs about Jesus that have beats and tempos not approved of by Sir Gothard. Aaaahhhhh, my friends thought I had lost it. Like a lemming to the sea I was!

Menconi makes a great point when he states, "He is such a powerful influence in the conservative evangelical community that people often quote Gothard before they quote God." It is very sad, but true. If we would actually (myself included) read and study the passage of Scripture that a Gothard, Ezzo, Tripp or Pearl attaches to a point, there would be much less false teaching and "lost Christians" who spend a part of their life buying into the "teacher of day", and then determine that it is not working in their life the way the teacher advertised. So the thinking goes.... I still must not be Christian enough, spiritual enough and soon the "struggle" to be a Christian in a un-Christian world goes by the way side....because this isn't working. A spiritual drift sets in. You can pray for me....because this is kind of where I feel I have been at for quite some time. I don't want to be duped again... but I also want a deeper, more fulfilled, less sinful walk with Christ than what I have now. What do I do?...Where do I go to have my faith restored? Tulipgirl and others who are blogging about a fulfilled Christian walk...you are helping to reconnect people to their "first love", whether you realize it or not.

{{{Candleman98}}}