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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
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