Bill Gothard's Institute in Basic Life Principles is Going Under

[illinoisguy]

This article indicates that IBLP, founded by Bill Gothard (formerly Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts), is losing financial support and cutting back on ministries. This movement has been very influential over the years among IFB churches and a wide variety of other religious groups. As an alumnus of the Gothard Basic and Advanced Seminars, my personal feeling is that the Gothard influence has been mostly negative, and it would be better if it was shut down - but hey, that's just me.

Bill Gothard Institute Faces Uncertain Financial Future (julieroys.com)

Those who are not familiar with the Gothard ministry, and want to research it further, can check this link:

Recovering Grace: A Bill Gothard generation shines light on the teachings of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) and the Advanced Training Institute (ATI)

 

[fishinnut]

This article indicates that IBLP, founded by Bill Gothard (formerly Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts), is losing financial support and cutting back on ministries. This movement has been very influential over the years among IFB churches and a wide variety of other religious groups. As an alumnus of the Gothard Basic and Advanced Seminars, my personal feeling is that the Gothard influence has been mostly negative, and it would be better if it was shut down - but hey, that's just me.

Bill Gothard Institute Faces Uncertain Financial Future (julieroys.com)

Those who are not familiar with the Gothard ministry, and want to research it further, can check this link:

Recovering Grace: A Bill Gothard generation shines light on the teachings of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) and the Advanced Training Institute (ATI)

He lost me when he bragged that his home school program HS grads would be so far advanced that they could qualify for among other specialties, medical degrees.

Then he got creepy in his office years later.

 

[Tarheel Baptist]

This article indicates that IBLP, founded by Bill Gothard (formerly Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts), is losing financial support and cutting back on ministries. This movement has been very influential over the years among IFB churches and a wide variety of other religious groups. As an alumnus of the Gothard Basic and Advanced Seminars, my personal feeling is that the Gothard influence has been mostly negative, and it would be better if it was shut down - but hey, that's just me.

Bill Gothard Institute Faces Uncertain Financial Future (julieroys.com)

Those who are not familiar with the Gothard ministry, and want to research it further, can check this link:

Recovering Grace: A Bill Gothard generation shines light on the teachings of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) and the Advanced Training Institute (ATI)

I also attended his Basic and Advanced seminars. Much of the material was very helpful to me, at that point in my Christian growth. Some of it was hooey! Some didn’t have the discernment to know the difference. Some of whatI accepted in those days I know better at this point in my life.

 

[illinoisguy]

If you and most of the folks in your church went to Gothard's Basic and Advanced seminars, and got the red book, and agreed with the hooey . . . you may be IFB.

 

[Ransom]

My one four-month stint as an indy-fundy was as a young adult, and the pastor at that particular church used IBLP materials for their anti-rock music stance.

I liked him a lot--never felt that he was any less than a genuine, godly man with a pastoral heart for his congregation. But as far as his choice of materials went in this one instance, "hooey" didn't begin to cover it.

 

[ALAYMAN]

My one four-month stint as an indy-fundy was as a young adult,...

I don't remember you ever mentioning this on the forum(s) before. Care to elaborate as to that point of contact and how/why you ended up leaving it (this would be apropos in my thread about Theological Journeys )?

 

[Ransom]

I don't remember you ever mentioning this on the forum(s) before. Care to elaborate as to that point of contact and how/why you ended up leaving it (this would be apropos in my thread about Theological Journeys )?

Not much to elaborate, really. When I was a student, I was in my university's co-op program, and I lived for a term in a paper town in southern Ontario. There were two Baptist churches in town, one affiilated with the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptists (a conservative denomination), and one independent. I chose the independent one primarily because it was within a short walk of my house, whereas the FEB church was on the other side of town and I had no way of getting there. So I was an indy-fundy out of convenience.

While I was there, the pastor did an expository series on Philippians, which was the best I'd heard up to that point. There were frequent guest speakers, particularly students at Toronto Baptist Seminary--there were a couple of Nigerian students he was particularly close to; one of them preached a really powerful Good Friday sermon that year. Views on rock music aside, he was a fine pastor and a good man--he had a young family, and frequently hosted church people at his home for Sunday lunch. Apparently he's still a pastor, but at the other Baptist church. Looks like the smaller one closed in the meantime, or perhaps they merged.

 

[illinoisguy]

Toronto Baptist Seminary - founded by T.T. Shields, who was pastor of Jarvis Street Baptist Church in Toronto. I attended a service at Jarvis Street Baptist in September, 1980 - at that time, the pastor was Eric Gurr. (While in Toronto on that visit, I also attended Toronto Free Presbyterian Church, part of Ian Paisley's denomination). Where do Jarvis Street and Toronto Baptist Seminary stand nowadays, in the spectrum of IFB fundamentalism?

 

[Ransom]

Toronto Baptist Seminary - founded by T.T. Shields, who was pastor of Jarvis Street Baptist Church in Toronto. I attended a service at Jarvis Street Baptist in September, 1980 - at that time, the pastor was Eric Gurr. (While in Toronto on that visit, I also attended Toronto Free Presbyterian Church, part of Ian Paisley's denomination). Where do Jarvis Street and Toronto Baptist Seminary stand nowadays, in the spectrum of IFB fundamentalism?

Jarvis and TBC are officially Reformed Baptist. At least the church is a member of the Sovereign Grace Fellowship (a Reformed Baptist denomination whose member churches hold to the First or Second London Baptist Confession).

I also visited Jarvis once--again, on a school work term, I was looking for a Toronto church during the eight months I lived there. I enjoyed the service, but eventually settled on another church a lot closer to where I lived. These days, I'm more theologically aligned with them (and given the same choice today, would probably land there instead).

 

[ALAYMAN]

Not much to elaborate, really. When I was a student, I was in my university's co-op program, and I lived for a term in a paper town in southern Ontario. There were two Baptist churches in town, one affiilated with the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptists (a conservative denomination), and one independent. I chose the independent one primarily because it was within a short walk of my house, whereas the FEB church was on the other side of town and I had no way of getting there. So I was an indy-fundy out of convenience.

While I was there, the pastor did an expository series on Philippians, which was the best I'd heard up to that point. There were frequent guest speakers, particularly students at Toronto Baptist Seminary--there were a couple of Nigerian students he was particularly close to; one of them preached a really powerful Good Friday sermon that year. Views on rock music aside, he was a fine pastor and a good man--he had a young family, and frequently hosted church people at his home for Sunday lunch. Apparently he's still a pastor, but at the other Baptist church. Looks like the smaller one closed in the meantime, or perhaps they merged.

My memory is atrocious, and now that you have told that story I think I do vaguely recall those facts. Do you know where that pastor had his exposure to Indy-fundy doctrine (because it is interesting that he preached expositorily, which shows his influence wasn't of the Hyles style)?

 

[Ransom]

My memory is atrocious, and now that you have told that story I think I do vaguely recall those facts.

That's possible, but I'm also fairly sure that if I've mentioned that I was at an independent Baptist church for a few months as a student, it was only as a passing comment.

Do you know where that pastor had his exposure to Indy-fundy doctrine (because it is interesting that he preached expositorily, which shows his influence wasn't of the Hyles style)?

I couldn't tell you anything about his background. He had a bit of a drawl, so he was probably American, at least. Given his apparent association with Toronto Baptist Seminary, I'm guessing he wasn't averse to higher Christian education as so many indy-fundies seem to be.

The church also wasn't independent due to some hyper-fundy separatist conviction; as he explained to me once, they just wanted to maintain their own autonomy when it came to things like choosing their pastors/elders. (They had, I believe, two lay elders in addition to the pastor--another departure from the typical single-pastor rule of many indy-fundy churches.)

Sorry if I'm a bit vague. This was 30 years ago, give or take a week.