Freedom in the Gospel of Grace

In the past, I have been a huge supporter of Bill Gothard but in the last year or so, I have had increasing concerns with his teachings. I do believe there is some truth in his teachings. It is good to be reminded to honor authority and seek to make restitution with those you have offended. But when people revolve their lives around his teachings (as is encouraged by Gothard), I think many harms come to them and to those around them.The following quote from Robin's Readings & Reflections has also, in many ways, been my experience with Gothard's teachings.

"...[W]hile [Bill] Gothard may appear to achieve tremendous response through brandishing on his listeners fear and guilt, the result is that, while our outward lives may become perfected through resolution and strength of will, inwardly we become self-absorbed, proud and over-conscientious. Though Gothard gives lip service to the gospel of grace, the extreme focus on ourselves leads people to become imprisoned to the letter of the law, forgetting completely the freedom in the gospel of grace.

One person who attended Gothard's seminar observed how "There seemed to be a lack of teaching on God's acceptance, or on the spontaneous growth that comes from a loving, accepting relationship. Instead, consequences of principle violations are given as the sole motivation for growth. Personal moral failure is the prime motiv[ation] for living a godly life. The system cannot stand unless the students are convinced that all pathology can be traced to moral guilt." This leads to a concept of God who is always ready to zap His followers as soon as they step out of line. The Christian life becomes like walking a tight rope, for unless you follow the right procedures, God will see to it that you are punished....

Although the Lord may use Gothard to help people, we must be careful not to assume that all who appear to be helped by Gothard were helped through the working of the Holy Spirit. The question is again not so much what are the results, but what is the source of those results? A teacher may produce many results through the energies of the flesh, by exhorting listeners to try harder and provoking people to action through psychological motivation. It is even possible, working in the energies of the flesh, to cause people to weep, make resolutions for the Lord, and become zealous, though this is worth nothing if the source of these results is not God's spirit. As Hudson Taylor used to say, “God's work must be done in God's way.”

I am convinced that the harms from Gothard's teachings outweigh the benefits and that the helpful concepts found in Gothard's materials can easily be found in other less harmful sources. Here is a short list of gospel and grace-filled alternatives to Gothard's materials.

Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate by Jerry Bridges
Wordliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World by C.J. Mahaney
Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing by C.J. Mahaney
Idols of the Heart: Learning to Long for God Alone by Elyse Fitzpatrick
Battling Unbelief: Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure by John Piper
How Can I Change? by C.J. Mahaney & Robin Boisvert