Carmen J. Bryant, August, 2002
14
husbands instead of controlling them; it does not it any way suggest adoration or
worship.
37
3. Bill Gothard and the Chain-of-Command
Perhaps the most pervasive influence surviving in evangelical churches from the
70s was promoted by Bill Gothard's Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts, now the Institute
of Basic Life Principles (IBLP). IBLP began in the 60s and spread rapidly during the 70s.
Hundreds of thousands attended the week-long seminars where they received the "red
notebook" that would teach them how to live successfully by submitting to all established
authority and by following Gothard's rules for Christian living.
Initially, evangelical churches welcomed Gothard with open arms. Gothard, with
his charismatic personality and seeming humility, looked as if he had the solution for
American parents struggling to keep control of their rebellious teenagers. Many benefited
from Gothard's emphasis upon the memorization of Scripture. This benefit was
compromised, however, by Gothard's own misuse of the Word, especially his legalistic
use of Old Testament Law to prescribe present-day behavior.
38
Dr. Ron Allen, at the time
37
Doyle approaches submission--which she calls surrender--from a common sense standpoint. The
similarities with The Total Woman show up in the extent of the surrender and the reasons for it. In advising
wives to replace "inappropriate control" of their husbands with total trust, she says: "Respect means that
when he takes the wrong freeway exit you don't correct him by telling him where to turn. It means that if
he keeps going in the wrong direction you will go past the state line and still not correct what he's doing. In
fact, no matter what your husband does, you will not try to teach, improve, or correct him" (35). However,
Doyle recognizes that a husband has to have earned that kind of trust (31).
Nevertheless,
The Surrendered Wife contains elements of dishonesty. "One of the keys to success
in surrendering is to pretend you have faith--or, as the old expression goes, to `fake it `till you make it.'
You may feel like an actress at times . . . . But I promise, there's no better time to do an acting job worthy
of an Oscar nomination than when you are surrendering . . . . When you have faith in your husband, even
when you're stretching it, you will bring out his very best efforts and awaken his tenderness . . . and he'll
go to new lengths to please and pamper you" (136-137). Surrender, then, becomes just another form of
manipulation, serving the same purpose as submission in The Total Woman.
38
For a discussion of the legalistic aspects of Gothard's program, see Don Veinot, Joy Veinot, and Ron
Henzel, A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard and the Christian Life (Springfield, MO: 21
st
Century