It’s no secret that some elements of the church are incredibly tone-deaf about responding to sexual assault. Earlier this week, I told you that Chuck Phelps, the man responsible for one of the most outrageous cases of victim blaming ever uncovered, was allowed to speak at the daily chapel for a Christian school. Well, I found an equally outrageous example. Earlier this month, a church in Arkansas got the bright idea to allow a child molester to speak at its conference.
Homeschoolers Anonymous discovered that Total Outreach for Christ Ministries in Little Rock invited longtime Bible teacher and pastor Bill Gothard to speak at its “Overcomers Conference” on June 8-10. I have to wonder what Total Outreach for Christ’s founder, Bishop Robert Smith, was thinking, because Gothard is the last person who should be within an area code of such a conference.
Back in 2014, Gothard was forced to resign from the ministry he founded, the Institute for Basic Life Principles, in the face of overwhelming evidence that he groomed, assaulted, and harassed several girls who worked for him as early as the 1970s. Most of these claims have been posted at Recovering Grace, a Website run by former Gothard followers. Among other things, Gothard was seen looking in on women in their nightgowns, stroking women’s hair, playing footsie with them, and touched their breasts. He was also accused of failing to report child abuse as required by law.
While Gothard was never criminally prosecuted–in part because the statute of limitations had run out in most of the cases–the board of directors of his own organization found him unfit to return to his post. Earlier this year, several women who formerly worked for Gothard sued him and his former ministry, alleging that Gothard or his staffers molested them.
There’s another reason Gothard had no business being at this church. He is partly responsible for the rampant victim blaming and victim shaming that prevails in much of the fundamentalist world. This was revealed in sordid detail last year during the downfall of his most famous followers, the Duggars. Gothard taught that it was possible for sexual assault victims to bring their ordeals on themselves.
According to Gothard, one way was if they “defrauded” their attackers by dressing or acting in a way that stirred up lustful thoughts–even with something as innocent as a toss of the hair. Apparently the Duggars based their ultra-strict standards of dress on this principle. According to Michelle Duggar, her family doesn’t wear shorts even in the oppressive heat of a northwest Arkansas summer because it risks creating “a visual element that could defraud someone.”
Gothard taught that another way victims can be responsible for being assaulted is if they put themselves outside the protection of their fathers by sinning. It’s a near-certainty that Josh Duggar’s sisters, and possibly his other victims as well, were told something along these lines. I ask the same question that I asked last year–what parent would tell their kids, or allow them to be told, that they are in any way responsible for being assaulted?
Homeschoolers Anonymous reached out to Smith’s wife, Carolyn Ann, about Gothard’s appearance at their conference. Carolyn Ann claimed that if Gothard’s critics weren’t so bitter and angry, they wouldn’t be slamming him. The Smiths have been friends with Gothard for over 35 years, and are standing by him because “we also know what David and Solomon went through.” She also said that “survivors have to be mindful not to become bitter.”
However, in the same breath, Carolyn Ann appeared to let slip that she knew Gothard was a child molester. She believes that “God is still working in him,” and hopes that those victimized by him would let him “make restitution” and ask for forgiveness. She also hoped that they would pray for “mercy to triumph over Bill Gothard’s life.”
This would be nauseating by itself, but this is coming from a couple that also runs a Christian school, Word of Outreach Christian Academy. If this is their idea of counseling, then I would sooner have my wisdom teeth pulled than let any child of mine around these two.
Process this for a moment, folks. The Smiths knew Gothard had taken advantage of women, and still allowed him to come anyway. To put it in the most diplomatic terms I can use, this is flat-out unacceptable. Perhaps we should let Smith know what we think about letting a victim-blaming and child-molesting thug like Gothard come to his church–politely, of course. Tell him what you think on Facebook and on Twitter.
