It was the summer of ’73, a hot and miserable evening in the San Bernardino Fairgrounds, when I stood from a steel folding chair and placed myself firmly under my umbrella of protection. My entire family had gone to hear the man of the moment, Bill Gothard, at his Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts (IBYC), a week-long seminar for all ages. Young, ignorant, and powerfully zealous, I had no clue that Gothard’s principles would gut my initiative, twist my understanding of Bible, warp my view of God, or hamstring my future marriage. 

And yet that is exactly what they did.

Continue reading “Shiny Hurting People, Imaginary Umbrellas, and Biblical Authority: Bill Gothard and IBLP” →