If, like me, you were raised #Adventist and watching the docuseries #ShinyHappyPeople struck a familiar cord with you, there's a reason. 🧵 1/12
If you haven't watched #ShinyHappyPeople yet, I recommend it. It's a well done docuseries on Amazon Prime about the Duggar Family and Bill Gothard and his Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP). 2/12
I was born and raised in the Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists which is known as one of the most conservative conferences in Adventism. And hearing the testimonies in #ShinyHappyPeople from people who survived Gothard's orbit reminded me so much of my upbringing. 3/12
So, I went digging in the Adventist Archives to see if I could find evidence that Adventists were influenced by Bill Gothard and IBLP. The short answer is, yes, they were/are. 4/12
I found dozens of references to Bill Gothard in official Adventist publications, trips coordinated by Adventist colleges to attend IBLP seminars, and an overall endorsement of Gothard's teachings by Adventists (though he was not without his Adventist critics). 5/12
Perhaps most interesting (to me) is the intersection between Adventism, Gothard, and homeschooling, and the fact that both Bill Gothard and James Dobson promoted homeschooling curriculum created by Adventists. 6/12
With that preamble out of the way, let's get to the receipts... 7/12
The earliest reference I found was this Apr 1972 article in the Pacific Union Recorder about a Pacific Union College Bible Conference that "was based largely on materials prepared by nationally known Christian youth leader and counselor Bill Gothard." 8/12 documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/PU…
Andrews University followed suit, according to this Jan. 1973 announcement in the Lake Union Herald promoting Gothard's Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts at a reduced rate for AU students and Pioneer Memorial Church members. 9/12 documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/LU…
Adventists' promotion of the 1973 seminars was so successful that PMC was gifted with artwork from Gothard "in recognition of its having the largest group in attendance" at the Nov. 1973 seminar. "Nearly 200 persons" from PMC attended. 10/12 documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/LU…
In this earnest article from the Sept '73 issue of Ministry Magazine, the author muses over the key to Gothard's success and concludes that it is due to his "clever use of the overhead projector". 11/12 documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/MI…
By 1974, it seems Gothard's seminars were so successful among Adventists that the Review & Herald felt the need to write a 2-part article analyzing Gothard's teachings. I'll have to share their conclusions later because I have to go to work now. 🙃 Stay tuned for Part 2. 12/12
I'm back for Part 3 on what #ShinyHappyPeople has to do with Adventism, and in this part I'll talk specifically about how Adventists, Bill Gothard, and homeschooling intersect. If you missed the first two parts, here you go: 1/20
First we need to talk about Raymond Moore and his wife Dorothy Moore, a Seventh-day Adventist couple whose interest in homeschooling began as they were raising their 9 children. Dorothy felt children were sent to school too young and Raymond agreed. 2/20 curate.nd.edu/downloads/7h14…
Raymond Moore was working for the U.S. Department of Education but resigned in 1967 to pursue research to support his theory that "schooling of any sort was patently detrimental to young children." 3/20
I'm on my lunch break and back for Part 2 of the Seventh-day Adventist connection to/endorsement of Bill Gothard's teachings, brought to you by my weekend viewing of #ShinyHappyPeople. If you haven't read Part 1 of my findings, that is here 1/13:
So, as I mentioned in Part 1, by 1974 Gothard's popularity within Adventism was enough that the Review & Herald editors wrote a two-part series addressing his teachings. Their analysis listed both pros and cons to his message. 2/13
The articles are lengthy so I'll just pull some highlights from each one. In Part 1, the editors state they have never attended a Gothard seminar themselves nor have they met him, but they've talked with Adventists who have and they've read some reports about the seminars. 3/13
One of the problems that comes along with videos like the one making the rounds right now, where an #Adventist pastor takes it upon himself to say the quiet, shadowy, dirty parts of the Adventist Church out loud… (1/15)
Is that inevitably, one of the biggest, loudest (and I suppose I should add well meaning though it doesn’t feel that way) responses is something along the lines of… (2/15)
“I’m an Adventist and he /his beliefs don’t represent me!” “I’m an Adventist and I disagree with him! What he said is vile!” “That pastor doesn’t speak for the official church, here’s a 28-point lecture on what the church officially believes!” (3/15)
Ted Wilson is not stupid. So he must know that when he refuses to directly address the Capitol attack and instead says insipid things like this, it will be seen as affirmation by the Adventists who took part in/supported the attack on the Capitol, right?
Let's break it down. White supremacist Adventists (and yeah, there are a lot of those), can easily read this as Satan's obstacles = bicycle barricades/Capitol police/democrats, but the GC president is here, encouraging them to hold fast to their faith & stay strong. How nice.
And before some of you start wailing that that "CLEARLY" wasn't the intent of his tweet, I'll say intent has very little to do with interpretation, and how do any of us know his intent anyway when he has been COMPLETELY SILENT about Wednesday's attack?
*taps mic* Hello, Adventist Twitter, and welcome to the inaugural Adventist storytime. I invite you to gather ‘round, for today we will be learning about self-proclaimed prophet and attempted murderer, Margaret Matilda Wright Rowen. 1/27
The year was 1916. The place? Southern California (you know how those California Adventists be). 2/27
Our dear Sister Ellen G. White, prophetess extraordinaire, has been dead less than one year when 35-year-old Margaret Rowen enters stage left. I will henceforth call her Mags, because I’m telling the story, and I want to. 3/27
I wouldn’t mind all the energy spent on lectures about the evils of caffeine if the Adventist Church spent the same energy (or any energy, really) discussing things like racism and sexism that are killing POC and women faster and at much higher rates than a cup of coffee #GCAC19
Where are the worship thoughts about dismantling systemic racism, starting right here in our church? Where are the lectures about how the church should respond to and care for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault? #GCAC19
If you don’t want us to drink caffeine, fine. But why hasn’t our health message been expanded to include the health threats we’re now more aware of as 21st century Adventists? #GCAC19