Bill Gothard, the controversial founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), has reportedly shown signs of improvement after suffering a heart attack and entering a “natural coma” earlier this week.
In a statement posted Saturday to Gothard’s Facebook page, supporters said the 91-year-old ministry leader suffered a heart attack on June 24 and was revived before being transported to a hospital.
“For immediate official press release: Bill Gothard suffered a heart attack on June 24th, and, as a result, went into a natural coma,” the statement read. “He was revived, and taken by ambulance to the hospital.”
The update follows reports circulated Thursday in a private Facebook group for Gothard supporters indicating that the longtime ministry leader had suffered a heart attack and was in a coma.
According to Saturday’s statement, Gothard experienced a significant medical improvement after his kidneys reportedly stopped functioning, and he has shown responsiveness in recent days.
“As per his wishes, we have been doing every medical, life saving procedure possible to save his life,” the statement said.
“Right now, he is alive, and though his kidneys quit functioning, by an absolute miracle, they started to function again, as per a kidney specialist,” the statement said. “A former staff member was visiting, and he squeezed their finger. Today, he has been squeezing multiple people’s hands, at their request.”
Gothard founded IBLP in 1961 and became one of the most influential figures in the American Christian homeschooling movement, developing the Advanced Training Institute curriculum. The ministry, which describes itself as “a non-denominational Christian organization with a focus on affirming God’s Word and its principles which are vital to one’s daily walk with Christ, featured week-long seminars, training centers across the country, a prison ministry, and other educational programs.
Gothard’s teachings, primarily on gender roles, family structure and authority, gained mainstream attention after being embraced by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, stars of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting.” Josh Duggar, the eldest son of reality TV stars, was sent to an IBLP training center as a teenager after he admitted he had sexually abused four of his younger sisters and a family friend, while both Jim Bob and Michelle spoke at the organization’s conferences.
Gothard, who has never been married, resigned from IBLP in 2014 after more than 30 women had alleged that he had molested and sexually harassed women he worked with, including some who were minors.
The lawsuit included a letter in which Gothard allegedly wrote to the women who were accusing him. “I was very wrong in holding hands, giving hugs, and touching their hair and feet. I was also wrong in making statements that caused emotional turmoil and confusion,” the letter reads, describing what he did as “sin.”
Public scrutiny of Gothard intensified again in 2023 following the release of Amazon Prime Video’s documentary series “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,” which featured former IBLP members who opened up about the ministry’s culture of authoritarianism, spiritual abuse and misconduct.
Among Gothard’s most prominent critics is Jinger Duggar Vuolo, who has publicly detailed her efforts to disentangle her Christian faith from Gothard’s teachings.
Speaking previously with The Christian Post, Vuolo said Gothard’s teachings left her believing that a woman’s value depended on her ability to please others.
“You need to keep your husband happy with you, and if you don’t, then he may run off, and it will be your fault,” she said. “I think that the pressure it placed on women definitely was unhealthy and it was imbalanced.”
Vuolo has argued that Gothard’s teachings distorted biblical Christianity and fostered fear rather than faith.
“One of the things that really pains me the most, is to see those who claim to speak for God, don’t,” she said. “They lead people astray.”
Continue reading
