About the Photo: A December 29, 2007 message received from Flickr username robertstaddon www.flickr.com/people/15266406@N00/ states that he is the copyright owner and grants permission for the use of the unedited version of the photo with proper credit.
Excerpt from from the blog of Midwest Christian Outreach entitled "The Crux":
From"Bill Gothard King Maker": “
Huckabee announces White House bid” was the title of the article by Aaron Sadler at the Arkansas New Bureau on January 29, 2007. Outside of Arkansas not too many took notice. I had suggested to several in the media shortly afterward that they may want to keep an eye on this not very well known Arkansas politician, mostly due to his ties to Bill Gothard.
This was pretty much met with a collective yawn...... According to several former employees from the late 1970s era Bill had a landing strip built at his 3,000 acre Big Bear lodge retreat in the Northwoods and he had it built to accommodate Air Force 1. I am told that he indicated God had told him that one day presidents to come to him and he wanted to be prepared. Will this happen in the near future? Well, if Bill has his way it may. It is not difficult to believe. as we pointed out in our book A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard and the Christian Life that Gothard often claims special revelation and mystical understandings of Scripture from God....
Why wouldn’t a U.S. President turn to a fellow American leader which the Chinese government has turned to for guidance in fixing their nation’s woes? After all it wouldn’t be the first time Huckabee turned to Gothard. He did so when he was Governor of Arkansas and Gothard his plan to rehabilitate prisoners...
In addition to the above past relationship between Gothard and Huckabee, they were together at a private fundraising even in Texas on December 23, 2007. One of the Gothard followers that was there, the Robert Staddon family, provided a photo of Bill Gothard, Mike Huckabee and Texas billionaires Mr. and Mrs. Dr. James Leininger on their blog. This particular page of their blog was recently taken down. It is also my understanding from several that James Leininger is a partner in Doug Phillip’s Vision Forum.
Again, there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with putting your money where your belief system guides you. All of us do that. And without specifically commenting more on the views represented In James Leininger’s choices, we have done that in article and blog form, I would suggest that we probably have a better idea of why Huckabee did so well with so little money in Iowa. There was a virtual homeschooling army at his disposal through Gothard and his connections. (There is a compendium of Huckabee’s ties to Bill Gothard.)
Well, Don Veinot (author of the above excerpt), there is a quite a compendium of Leininger ties to Doug Phillips documented on the Vision Forum website. Google Leininger with Doug Phillips or Vision Forum see what you find. Vision Forum also sells books authored by Traci Leininger, homeschool graduate. It seems to be common knowledge in homeschooling circles in San Antonio (where this blog host lived for seven years and attended the same Presbyterian church as Phillips before he officially founded his own, local church) that James Leininger was the benefactor of Vision Forum, providing the initial capital for the launch of Phillips' ministry.
Hmmm. I'm not at all comfortable voting for a graduate from the spiritually abusive and mind-numbing IBLP (Gothard's training program), and I am certainly not comfortable with the Leininger connection to Doug Phillips, evangelist for another spiritually abusive system, to say the least. The fact that Phillips love Dabney so intensely (referencing Dabney without qualifying statements about race or slavery) doesn't help matters either.
Hmmm. I'm not at all comfortable voting for a graduate from the spiritually abusive and mind-numbing IBLP (Gothard's training program), and I am certainly not comfortable with the Leininger connection to Doug Phillips, evangelist for another spiritually abusive system, to say the least. The fact that Phillips love Dabney so intensely (referencing Dabney without qualifying statements about race or slavery) doesn't help matters either.
The billionaire, James Leininger, MD , sits on the IBLP board, yet approves of the outright silly medical and health instruction propagated by Bill Gothard (see the MCO blog article for references). As a Registered Nurse and a Doctor of Naturopathy, I believe that I am qualified to make an evaluation and offer an opinion. Gothard's health recommendations differ little from the spiritualist Louise Hay. As a trained hypnotherapist, I've spent a great deal of time evaluating the concept of disease owing to emotions and lifestyle after the tradition of Hay and other hypnotherapists. Both systems differ little from the Word of Faith movement, save that Gothard's and Hay's ideas are based in concepts of spiritism. Considering that I grew up in the teachings of Pentecost and participated as an adult in the Word of Faith movement for more than ten years, I know that tune well also. I'd rather be a Tulsa groopie than follow Gothard any day, but I believe that both are spiritually abusive and extreme in their teachings. And yes, I am an IBLP graduate as well.
At the time of this writing, I display an "Anyone But Hillary" icon and link to a site where they sell bumper stickers, buttons and attire displaying the motto. I posted it here as a half-hearted joke. With the knowledge of Huckabee's connection to Bill Gothard, and in consideration of Doug Phillips and his connections to both Bill Gothard and Jim Leininger, I am inclined to display an "Anyone But Huckabee" button as well. Thought reform (under Gothard's program) does not for a good president make in my book!
