The Board requested we not publish anything about them and refer instead back to the statement(s) that they put forward on the IBLP website as this would best express their actions and intentions.  We expressed that due to the many questions we continue to field on the reasons behind their actions we had to make some attempt to explain what we understood to be true.  Hopefully we can do this in a responsible and respectful way.

Bill was never asked to resign by the Board. He was not encouraged to resign.  In fact, the Board pleaded with him not to resign.  The Board wished instead to assume responsibility for the resolution of this matter and asked him to step aside until they could complete that task.  Bill felt he was best prepared to resolve the problems by personally contacting each offended individual.  There was a strong disagreement and, rather than limit his response, Bill resigned, as he understood it, temporarily.

The Board saw Bill as a public relations liability and knew they could not control him. For this reason they banned him from access to all IBLP facilities and prohibited all IBLP employees from assisting him in the steps ahead.  He was removed from all financial support.

The Board investigated the outstanding stories enough to conclude that there were no valid criminal or sexual impropriety claims against Bill. They have not accused him of such, are not looking to him to repent of that.  The matters that they sought repentance from involved harshness and insensitivity, pride and stubbornness, for example ignoring warnings to tighten up some of his protocols so as not to damage the reputation of the ministry.

For his part, Bill maintains that he has vigorously addressed each issue that has been brought to his attention as a means to bring closure. Board members have indicated that they are looking for more evidence of brokenness and repentance in Bill, and evidence of reconciliation with those offended.  Some of us have sat across from Bill on multiple occasions as he has asked us with emotion, “What else should I do?”.  We are not sure how to answer him.

Even though we may disagree with the way in which this has been handled we respect and continue to pray for the members of the Board that they may have God’s wisdom and courage to do what is right toward Bill and the families they serve. We are well aware that they are taking this very seriously.

Continue to Did He Do It? – Some Facts or view the previous in series, “The Cabin Story” and More