[Gamecock]

I have a deep suspicion for:

-Parachurch agencies that are built on current fads
-Parachurch agencies that do not exist to proclaim Jesus as their primary mission

[TurkeyLurkey]

Gothardism is a brain-washing cult.
I’ve seen hundreds of lives ruined by their participation in the teachings of their “Institute,” and I have endured the oppression from these people in a church we were members of. It has corrupted many Christian denominations and homeschooling groups.

Read some of their stories:

Recoveringgrace.org

Beware of getting on just any site, however, for the Gothard geeks have put bugs on many.

[SeaHawkFan]

Gothard was good for business wherever his taught his seminars; at least it was good for psychologists and psychiatrists.

[Shery]

There are some good organizations out there, for sure, and some good teaching from them, but more and more it seems that these leaders have become full of themselves. Just like many of the mega-church pastors who have started making their own doctrines more important than Scripture, they eventually fall pray to their own devices. You can only fool people so long before it becomes obvious that something is wrong. The worst part is that most these leaders make excuses for themselves and make others submit to secrecy...so that the media doesn’t distort “things”.

Personally, I think it is time to get really connected to a local church that you like, would like to minister in and with, and forget most of the TV evangelists, etc. When “tshtf” these big guys are going away and the local church will be the one still in business in some way. Local churches can do a lot for the needy and for God’s Kingdom. It also helps to stabilize the community one lives in. We may need to all take our local churches out of the tax exempt status to survive, so it behooves us to make sure buildings are paid off, bills are current, etc. That way we can afford to stay in the business of saving souls and caring for the needy.

[xzins]

A string of allegations have been posted on the website, including one alleging Gothard molested a woman who was underage in the early 1990s. Four articles allege Gothard engaged in sexual harassment, and four articles allege his failure to report child abuse to Child Protective Services.

We make a mistake when we put any human on a pedestal. They will surely disappoint us.

I think we also make a mistake when we point out the "mote in our brother's eye."

[unlearner]

Is it possible that the accusations are untrue? I have met this man and heard his teachings. I have also heard many, many false accusations against him.

Thank God, my salvation does not depend on Bill Gothard’s righteousness. He is just a fallible human being. But based on my encounters with him, I would not listen to accusations that are not supported by strong evidence.

I will say however, as a minister, he should never, ever put himself in a situation of being alone, counseling (or otherwise) with teenage girls. For someone who puts a strong emphasis on wisdom, he would be very unwise to allow this, even if the policy was merely to protect him from false allegations.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

I can’t speak to this man’s character or the veracity of the charges, but I believe some of his teachings were extreme legalism that turned a loving relationship with God into a legalistic set of rules.

This is similar to many cults - mormonism comes to mind.