Thursday, April 24, 2014

Bill Gothard Statement


Here is the statement in full:
I have withheld this statement in order to honor the request of the Board of Directors to wait until an initial review has taken place. As the review continues, I now want to make this statement.
God has brought me to a place of greater brokenness than at any other time in my life. It is a grief to realize how my pride and insensitivity have affected so many people. I have asked the Lord to reveal the underlying causes and He is doing this.
For many years I have been building the Institute but losing my first love for the Lord. God warns "I know thy works, and thy labour . . . Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent. . . " (Revelation 2:2, 4, 5). I was finding value and affirmation from the accomplishments of the ministry and those involved in it instead of filling this void in my life with God and His love. I have repented in deep sorrow. However, over the years many people have been offended in different ways because of my lack of genuine love.
I put the Institute and its goals ahead of people and their needs. Standards became more important than relationships. People who didn't "measure up" were cut off and those who were not seen as adding value to the ministry were treated as though they were expendable. The more I have listened to people describe their experiences the more grieved and sorrowful I have become.
My wrong focus produced a further consequence. Families were made to feel that they must "measure up." This resulted in some parents putting undue pressure on their sons and daughters in order for the family to be accepted. When there was a lack of love or consistency, sons and daughters saw this as hypocrisy and rejected it. Also, many felt that the expectations where so high that they could never measure up to them. This resulted in a feeling of deep defeat.
This emphasis on outward appearance was also manifested by bringing selected young people to serve at the Headquarters and causing others to feel rejected and offended by my favoritism. My actions of holding of hands, hugs, and touching of feet or hair with young ladies crossed the boundaries of discretion and were wrong. They demonstrated a double-standard and violated a trust. Because of the claims about me I do want to state that I have never kissed a girl nor have I touched a girl immorally or with sexual intent.
I have failed to live out some of the very things that I have taught. I am committed to learning from my failures by God's grace and mercy, and do what I can to help bring about Biblical reconciliation as Jesus commands: "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matthew 5:23-24).
More than anything I want to make right what I have done wrong and deepen my relationship with the Lord. I trust in God's undeserved mercy and pray that those whom I have offended would find grace to forgive me. I know that I do not deserve this. I would certainly appreciate your prayers during this time that God would bring healing to those who have been so deeply affected by my actions. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had thus far to be reconciled with individuals and it is my goal to contact as many others as I can, fully hear them, and do whatever I can to bring about Biblical reconciliation.
My greatest offense has been against God. I have earnestly sought His mercy and forgiveness and have asked Him to allow me to experience more of Him and the power of His resurrection.
Sincerely,
Bill Gothard

26 comments:

Red Ryder said...

God has brought me to a place of greater brokenness than at any other time in my life.
BG does not take ownership of any of the actions that have brought him to where he is~"God did" , this is a spin on the devil made me do it-lol. I don't know anything about BG so it is interesting to read and try to analyze his words.

It is a grief to realize how my pride and insensitivity have affected so many people.
He doesn't note that the grief is his though.

For many years I have been building the Institute but losing my first love for the Lord. God warns "I know thy works, and thy labour . . . Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent. . . " (Revelation 2:2, 4, 5)
But and because should be highlighted in blue. This is BG's reasoning why things went south~he left his first love for God.


. I was finding value and affirmation from the accomplishments of the ministry and those involved in it instead of filling this void in my life with God and His love
Being praised for doing well in ministry, being admired replaced his love for God.. The verb is past tense, so is this no longer the case

I put the Institute and its goals ahead of people and their needs.
First person, present tense, strong statement, with ownership.
.
My wrong focus produced a further consequence. Families were made to feel that they must "measure up." This resulted in some parents putting undue ii.

My actions of holding of hands, hugs, and touching of feet or hair with young ladies crossed the boundaries of discretion and were wrong.
BG separates "my actions" as far as possible from "were wrong".

They demonstrated a double-standard and violated a trust. Because of the claims about me I do want to state that I have never kissed a girl nor have I touched a girl immorally or with sexual intent.
BG "wants"to state instead of just stating, it is the difference between saying to someone I have offended "I want to say sorry." And "I am sorry. In one I apologize, in the other I merely appear to apologize.
Never is not no/not . This is a red flag bordering deceptive statement.
.
These are a that stood out to me. Thank:)

StoptheSupply said...

I agree and he sort of elevates his indiscretions because they were related or in service to the Institute. Is the Institute well regarded and service oriented? Because that is like saying I forgot to feed my children because I was in India feeding the lepers.
These people were collateral damage for the Institute of which he is still proud, still reminding us of and still using as a reason why he did what he did, as if the goals of the Inst were altruistic and he was blinded by (fill in the blank, my words are 'narcissistic supply') pride and nice hairdo's and my foot fetish and violating Proverbs. He would have quoted Proverbs on favoring the rich over the poor, but Proverbs isn't about mercy, it's about fools, being rebuked, a hatred of hypocrisy and the folly of favoring the rich over the poor. Proverb's is humbling and doesn't imply that if do a google search on 'what repentance looks like' I can touch on those key areas and take a pair of tweezers to the Bible to paraquote things that end in me getting my job back.

Anon "I" said...

I have been following this somewhat and there is an entire web-site devoted to those who were damaged by him. My comments are in parenthesis below and all my personal observations only.

http://www.recoveringgrace.org/

**********************************


God has brought me to a place of greater brokenness than at any other time in my life. (God, he does not say my actions brought me here...)


It is a grief to realize how my pride and insensitivity have affected so many people. (Insensitivity is putting it mildly. It is "a grief," not "my" grief.)



I have asked the Lord to reveal the underlying causes and He is doing this. (IMHO, the Lord first sent others to chasten him before and he did not stop his behavior when it was previously condemned.)


For many years I have been building the Institute but losing my first love for the Lord. God warns "I know thy works, and thy labour . . . Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
(It seems like he is saying not that he sexually harassed these women, but that his sin was to fall away from being close to God.)

Continued:

Anon "I"


Anon "I" said...

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent. . . " (Revelation 2:2, 4, 5). I was finding value and affirmation from the accomplishments of the ministry and those involved in it instead of filling this void in my life with God and His love. (Yes, repentance would be called for, but he goes on to saying he was valuing and obtaining affirmation from the ministry. He leaves out the details of what he put these women through.)


I have repented in deep sorrow. However, over the years many people have been offended in different ways because of my lack of genuine love. (He repented, but wants us to know it was in "deep sorrow." What did he repent for specifically? His love was not "genuine." Way to miss the point, IMHO, what about the individuals he manipulated and placed them on the road to confusion and mistrust.)


I put the Institute and its goals ahead of people and their needs. Standards became more important than relationships. People who didn't "measure up" were cut off and those who were not seen as adding value to the ministry were treated as though they were expendable. The more I have listened to people describe their experiences the more grieved and sorrowful I have become.
My wrong focus produced a further consequence. Families were made to feel that they must "measure up." This resulted in some parents putting undue pressure on their sons and daughters in order for the family to be accepted. (Parents did the damage.)


When there was a lack of love or consistency, sons and daughters saw this as hypocrisy and rejected it. Also, many felt that the expectations where so high that they could never measure up to them. This resulted in a feeling of deep defeat. (Lack of consistency in what actions? "Many felt the expectations were so high" put the onus on the many who felt this way. And, "a feeling of deep defeat" led to them having disillusionment with religion. Again, their feeling.)

This emphasis on outward appearance was also manifested by bringing selected young people to serve at the Headquarters and causing others to feel rejected and offended by my favoritism. (The "emphasis" was "manifested" with him being absent from that sentence until he admits and takes responsibility for "my favoritism." I'd like to know how far his definition of favoritism extends.)


My actions of holding of hands, hugs, and touching of feet or hair with young ladies crossed the boundaries of discretion and were wrong. (Crossing boundaries is softening of the words. I, personally, don't send my children to religious centers for them to hold hands and get their hair and feet rubbed by the pastor!!!! Crossing boundaries is an understatement by any stretch!!!)

continued:

Anon "I"



Anon "I" said...

Continued:

They demonstrated a double-standard and violated a trust. Because of the claims about me I do want to state that I have never kissed a girl nor have I touched a girl immorally or with sexual intent. (He wants to tell us what happened "because of the claims about me." What is his definition of a girl vs young lady vs woman?)



I have failed to live out some of the very things that I have taught. (Softening of language.)

I am committed to learning from my failures by God's grace and mercy, and do what I can to help bring about Biblical reconciliation as Jesus commands: "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matthew 5:23-24). (He wants to "learn" and bring about "reconciliation.")


More than anything I want to make right what I have done wrong and deepen my relationship with the Lord. (What is his definition of "wrong" in this case?)


I trust in God's undeserved mercy and pray that those whom I have offended would find grace to forgive me. I know that I do not deserve this. I would certainly appreciate your prayers during this time that God would bring healing to those who have been so deeply affected by my actions. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had thus far to be reconciled with individuals and it is my goal to contact as many others as I can, fully hear them, and do whatever I can to bring about Biblical reconciliation.
My greatest offense has been against God. I have earnestly sought His mercy and forgiveness and have asked Him to allow me to experience more of Him and the power of His resurrection. (I notice that he doesn't say that the behavior will stop. He wants to get closer to God, obtain reconciliation, mercy, prayers, etc., but I don't see him stating that he will stop the specific behaviors.)

Sincerely,
Bill Gothard

********************************

I found this link: http://www.recoveringgrace.org/2014/04/response-to-gothards-statement/

It seems that those at Recovering Grace sense progress, but also acknowledge glaring and insightful omissions and are proceeding with extreme caution.

IMHO,
Anon "I"

Anonymous said...

have withheld this statement in order to honor the request of the Board of Directors to wait until an initial review has taken place. As the review continues, I now want to make this statement. "

This is the sentence (in my opinion) that needs dissecting. Is this man getting the gut feeling things aren't going to go his way? As an orator, will his words persuade forgiveness and let him return to the corporate styled Christianity he sees that would serve humanity much better than the Word?

StoptheSupply said...

He never says I in context of what he has done, its my actions, my wring focus (focus is wrong, not my egregious actions) or vagur pronoun as if the Institution itself did yhese things and not him.'were made to feel," this sounds like sn ongoing process. He doesnt say "I made them feel" he says "were made to feel." This is distancing but it also sounds as if he was giving instructions or carrying out a methodical plan. He's not repentant ir remorseful. He just got his hand caught in some panties while trying to brainwash people into thinking he was a demigod, putting the congregation on the defensive so no one would have the emotional or intellectual wherewithal to stop looking at their own flaws and say, this emperor is bare ass naked.

Baxtie said...

Wow, there's a ton of passive voice in his statement.

Tania Cadogan said...

Hi RedRyder, that too stuck out at me.

He wants to state and then does,I could state the moon is made of fried onion rings, it doesn't make it true.

Girl is repeated twice making it sensitive.
Also a change in language indicates a change in reality, he went from young ladies to girl, is the change in language warranted?

He told us he held hands, hugged, touched their feet and hair in relation to young ladies.
He has never kissed, touched immorally or with sexual intent in relation to girls.

he doesn't tell us he has never kissed, touched immorally or with sexual intent young ladies nor that he held hands, hugged, touched feet or hair girls.

What does he define as a young lady and what as a girl?

Never does not mean did not unless the question is asked have you ever.

What is his definition of immoral?
What is his definition of sexual intent?

it is my goal to contact as many others as I can, fully hear them, and do whatever I can to bring about Biblical reconciliation
The addition of the qualifier FULLY, weakens his statement, are there other ways of hearing them.
Why does he say hear them and not listen to them?
I can hear a noise and not listen to it.
Is this him telling the world he will be seen to be doing something outwardly whilst inwardly he won't be hearing them?

What are the limitations on him doing what he can to bring about biblical reconciliation?

Why does he refer to biblical reconciliation?
Is he hoping his victims will be all christian (unlike him) and turn the other cheek and forgive him?
It was the bible that got them into the situation in the first place and thus attacked by him.

Is he hoping biblical reconciliation will stop judicial and legal reconciliation?
If they biblically reconcile with him then they won't be suing the pants off him and he avoids jail an lawsuits.

I noticed he refers to young people before specifying young ladies and girls, i wonderif there were any boys in his favorites and if so were they victims as well since a change in language is a change in reality. He tells us what he did to young ladies and what he didn't do to a girl which are specific yet no mention is made of boys or young men who would have been included under the umbrella young people.
I would ask if he did holding of hands, hugs, and touching of feet or hair with young men and if he had ever kissed a boy nor have I touched a boy immorally or with sexual intent.

he talks a lot yet says very little about what he actually did.
Basically he is blaming god, jesus and the church for what he did,people who weren't good enough and families who did too much and tried too hard.

he is committed to learning from his failures (next time don't get caugh and if he doesn't learn it's all god's fault)

Rose said...

Peter,

Please do an analysis on the Hollywood execs accused of rape by Michael Egan. So far, I have not see a single on of them issue a reliable denial.

Red Ryder said...

Hi Hobs, you hit the nail on the head! I was just writing a comment about the language change from girls to young women and his activities with them but you say it so clearly. I missed the thing about the boys! Back to the statement!
What kind of freaks me out is when we are done here tonight, after Peter posts, there will be another 40% MORE to garner from the statement. That is so cool!

Red Ryder said...

Thank you Hobs:) I was writing a post about the change of language from girl to young women when I saw yours post! You say things so clearly. I missed the boys/young men thing.

Further down BG talks about how "I have failed to live out some of the very things I taught."
What are the things he failed to live up to? He does not specify but it is "some". The sentence preceding this one is "Because of the claims about me I do want to state that I have never kissed a girl nor have I touched a girl immorally or with sexual intent."
He "wants" to state it, but doesn't . If a person doesn't say it we can't say it for them. Touching immorally and with sexual intent is listed immediately before the some things he failed to live up statement. No matter how carefully constructed, his letter is leaking what happened, his actions.

Unknown said...

He is downplaying the impact his actions have had on his victims by making the focus of his repentance repairing his relationship with God.

He is basically saying, 'I was so busy doing God's work and furthering his ministry/
Institute, that I neglected my relationship with God'. (As if that is the issue, or the sin that has led to the scandal.)

The issue is that he used his position, and his ministry, to gain access to naïve and vulnerable girls, (his word) and touch them in an inappropriate manner. The closeness of his relationship with God is of no consequence, and his inclusion the topic in his statement is pure manipulation.

He wants to establish that no further punishment is needed, because his relationship with God has been repaired through these 'transgressions'. The members of his church will likely to feel obligated to accept this explanation. I would expect anyone who insisted on further punishment to be chastised and lectured on forgiveness, and that the ultimate goal is closeness with God, which he claims to have gained through this experience.

This was a self-righteous, passive, distant, manipulative, attempt at a 'mea culpa'. If that was his idea of taking responsibility for his actions...he has a loooong way to go!

John Mc Gowan said...

"My greatest offense has been against God."

I'm sure the parents of the selected "young people", don't feel the same way.

This is slightly OT, but given the topic, i thought i would post it.


Why Predators Are Attracted to Careers in the Clergy


http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/spycatcher/201404/why-predators-are-attracted-careers-in-the-clergy

John Mc Gowan said...

OT.

My apologies if this has been posted before.

Martin MacNeill Trial: The 911 Calls

911 OPERATOR: Pleasant Grove Police Department.

MACNEILL: I need — I need an ambulance!

911 OPERATOR: OK, what`s the problem, sir? We need medical. Sir, what`s wrong?

MACNEILL: My wife`s fallen in the bathtub!

911 OPERATOR: Who`s in the bathtub? Who`s in the bathtub?

MACNEILL: My wife!

911 OPERATOR: OK, is she conscious?

MACNEILL: She`s not. I`m a physician. I need help! (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: Sir, sir, I need you to calm down. Sir, I can`t understand you, OK? Can you calm down just a little bit?

MACNEILL: I need help!

911 OPERATOR: OK, what — your wife is unconscious?

MACNEILL: She is unconscious. She`s under water.

911 OPERATOR: OK, did you get her out of the water?

MACNEILL: I can`t! I just (INAUDIBLE) I let the water out (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: She`s under the water?

MACNEILL: She`s under the water, and I need an ambulance!

911 OPERATOR: OK, is she breathing at all?

MACNEILL: She`s not!

911 OPERATOR: OK, sir, the ambulance has been paged. They`re on their way, OK? Do not hang up.

MACNEILL: Why?

911 OPERATOR: What? Sir?

(MACNEILL HANGS UP ON 911 ending call one )

911 calls back

MACNEILL: Hello?

911 OPERATOR: Sir, this is 911. Can I help you?

MACNEILL: I need help!

911 OPERATOR: OK, sir, they`re on their way. Is your wife breathing?

MACNEILL: She is not! I am a physician. I`ve got CPR in progress! (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: You`re doing CPR?

911 OPERATOR: Sir, how old is your wife?

MACNEILL: My wife is 50 years old. She just had surgery a couple of days, a week ago.

911 OPERATOR: What kind of surgery did she have?

MACNEILL: She had a facelift.

911 OPERATOR: She had a facelift?

MACNEILL: Yes.

911 OPERATOR: OK, do you know how to do CPR?

MACNEILL: I`m doing it!

911 OPERATOR: OK, do not hang…

(and he hangs up)

Randie said...

#1 He says it is God's fault, not his own.

"God has brought me to a place of greater brokenness than at any other time in my life."

#2 He isn't making his own reconciliation, only a Biblical one.

"...it is my goal to contact as many others as I can, fully hear them, and do whatever I can to bring about Biblical reconciliation."

NOT GOOD! People like him give Christianity a bad name. He is a counterfeit christian.

Anonymous said...

Peter, you have taught that the use of the world child can be indicative of abuse. Can you tell me if that applies if someone uses the term children? It's consistently "the children" in reference to their own children.

Skeptical said...

I am going with my own body language on Bill Gothard's statement. As I was reading it, I became aware that I was forming my face into the expression of disgust.

Karen T said...

Peter: OT Here is a case out of San Francisco that is amazing in that the alleged perpetrator cops a plea deal after severely beating his girlfriend & there is video evidence to prove it. Here is the link: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/04/25/grow-up-people-tweets-radiumone-ceo-who-avoided-prison-after-plea-deal-in-girlfriend-beating/#comments

He never says, "I did NOT beat my girlfriend". He had a couple of interesting things to say on his twitter account though.

Anonymous said...

Who os he?

John Mc Gowan said...

OT:

Cliven Bundy: If People Think I'm Racist, Blame MLK Jr.


Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy claimed during a Friday interview on CNN that he didn’t understand the bipartisan outrage over his recent comments suggesting the "Negro people" were “better off” as slaves, and blamed the perception that he's racist on Martin Luther King Jr. for not finishing “his job.”

"I took this boot off so I wouldn’t put my foot in my mouth with the boot on," Bundy said. "Let me see if I can say something. Maybe I sinned, and maybe I need to ask forgiveness, and maybe I don't know what I actually said, but when you talk about prejudice, we're talking about not being able to exercise what we think.

“If I say 'Negro' or 'black boy' or 'slave,' if those people cannot take those kind of words and not be [offended], then Martin Luther King hasn't got his job done yet," he added. "We need to get over this prejudice stuff."

Bundy has allowed his cattle to illegally graze on government-owned land without paying fees since 1993. He has been championed as an anti-government crusader in recent weeks by some conservatives, including Sens. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), though they've distanced themselves from him in the wake of his racist remarks.


Numerous qualifiers.

Words said in the negative.

Embedded admission.

Comparison language

Distancing language.

Pronoun changes.

Take your pick. He knew exactly what he was saying!!


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/25/cliven-bundy-racist-mlk_n_5212526.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000021&ir=Crime

Anonymous said...

OT - Peter, can you do an analysis on the XMen director Bryan Singer who is accused of molesting some teen actors during Hollywood orgies?

Anonymous said...

"Blame MLK?" statement of Bundy?

Sounds like the typical redneck militia rhetoric associated with political parties and religion-Those who believe with their views are Christian; all others are not.

FtheFeds said...

1) redneck is a derogatory term; it refers to farmers/outdoor workers whose necks get sunburned while their head is covered by a hat and back is covered by a shirt.
2) Mr. Bundy is being protected by bodyguards. One of his bodyguards is black. That bodyguard says he would take a bullet for Mr. Bundy and that irrespective of Bundy's latest comments that he believes Bundy is not racist nor did his comments offend him.

Anonymous said...

He also says "I want to say." Of course he wants to say this. It's the perfect time to Want to say it, so he does. But it's a lie. It's not a relaiable denial but an unconscious admission that he wishes he could say it honestly but he can't.

Anonymous said...

What the heck? Unnecessary info about plastic surgery. I'm a physician.? And? Get her out of the water. How do you do CPR on a woman who is underwater? That tub is draining slowly.