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Ezzo's Email and MacArthur's response

GCC Elder Phil Johnson's Informal FAQ provided the text of the email that had been alluded to in GCC's Statement:

Here is what Ezzo wrote:

Grace is in great transition now. Lance Quinn, John's assistent walked out on him a few weeks ago. He will be leaving in two weeks. Many of the staff have gone amillinial in their escatology, and this has created more problem. Dave Maddox VP at the college and a number of other high ranking staff members there have called it quiits. Pray for the situation. The old Grace Community is no more. Many of us remeber it in its hay day, when we set chairs outside the auditorium because we had no more room to put the people on the inside. Now, there plenty of room. Anyway, if you can remember to pray for Grace that the Church will close out its years with dignity. [Errors in original.]

Johnson wrote, "Every statement in that paragraph is demonstrably false (see below), and there is no reasonable possibility that Gary himself could have believed these things true. In other words, these were lies, not exaggerations or misunderstandings. The donor, understandably troubled to read such things, forwarded the message to a counselor at Grace to You and asked if Gary's remarks were true."

September 1, 1996 John MacArthur wrote the following to Gary:

I know you cannot really believe these things to be true. In fact virtually every sentence of the above paragraph is false.

  • Lance did not "walk out" on me. [Lance Quinn, Senior Associate Pastor of Grace Church, left in 1996 to become senior pastor of a church in Little Rock.] He left with my blessing and with nothing but a deep mutual love between us...Lance would not have left at all without my blessing....
  • Not one person on the church staff has ever "gone amillennial."
  • Dave Maddox's departure from the college has nothing to do with Grace Church, unless Dave has told you something he has never said to me....
  • In all the years you have been at Grace Community Church, we have never had to set up chairs outside to accommodate overflow crowds. The church's attendance leveled off when the worship center opened and has not declined since then.
  • This Sunday, on a holiday weekend that traditionally has seen low attendence, we had capacity crowds for both morning services. ...The bleak picture you paint of Grace Church is simply untrue.
  • Professionals Say
  • Signs of Hunger
  • Recent Research
  • A Mom Says

Rosemary Shy, MD , FAAP
Director, Children's Choice of Michigan Ambulatory Pediatrics
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Wayne State University, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Mich

"It is dangerous to do it the way he describes," Pediatrician Dr. Rosemary Shy says of Ezzo's technique. "It puts these babies at risk for jaundice, at risk for dehydration, and at risk for failing to thrive, all of which we’ve seen." -- Wilson, Steve, "Baby Care Controversy," WXYZ-Detroit, November 14, 2004

 

Arnold Tanis, MD, FAAP
1999 recipient, John H. Whitcomb Outstanding Pediatrician Award, presented by the Florida Pediatric Society and the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

"There is no scientific basis whatsoever in their philosophy....It is contrary to what nature intended.

… Read More

Watch Your Baby's Signs of Hunger

Although Babywise says to feed a hungry baby, it usually instructs parents to observe a time interval between feedings, or a certain order of events, such as only feeding the baby after she wakes up. There's another way to tell that your baby is hungry. You can watch your baby for her own signs of hunger.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends watching for the following early signs or cues by which your baby lets you know when she's hungry.

  • Small movements as she starts to awaken
  • Whimpering or lip-smacking
  • Pulling up arms or legs toward her middle
  • Stretching or yawning
  • Waking and looking alert
  • Putting hands toward her mouth
  • Making sucking motions
  • Moving
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Maternal use of parent led routines associated with short breastfeeding duration.

Published Feb 12, 2014
Brown A, Arnott B (2014) Breastfeeding Duration and Early Parenting Behaviour: The Importance of an Infant-Led, Responsive Style. PLoS ONE 9(2): e83893. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083893

"Results: Formula use at birth or short breastfeeding duration were significantly associated with low levels of nurturance, high levels of reported anxiety and increased maternal use of Parent-led routines . Conversely an infant-led approach characterised by responding to and following infant cues was associated with longer breastfeeding duration."

Raising Emotionally Healthy Children - 2014 Video

This KET Special Report looks at the importance of social and emotional development in the first years of life, featuring experts on infant and child development in Kentucky.

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Our first child was born in the summer of 09, and I promptly began trying to apply the Babywise method. The book had been highly recommended by a distant relative, and promised structure and sanity amidst the exhaustion and upheaval I felt as a new mother. However, our baby did not respond the way the book promised he would if we followed the schedule. All my attempts to adhere to the book led to deep frustration, arguments with my husband (who knew better than to let a book dictate our newborn's schedule), feeling like a failure, and the worst--resentment of my infant. Why couldn't he sleep and eat like the book said he should be doing? The Ezzos presented their arguments as infallible.
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Babywise and Preparation for Parenting

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Key Documentation

LIVING HOPE EVANGELICAL FELLOWSHIP:
Excommunication Statement

GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH:
Statement about Ezzo - Materials

GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH:
Statement about Ezzo - Character

CHRISTIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE:
"The Cultic Characteristics of Growing Families International"
(originally titled "More than a Parenting Ministry")

CHRISTIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE:
"GFI"
(orginally titled "A Matter of Bias?")

CHRISTIANITY TODAY:
Unprepared to Teach Parenting?

CHRISTIANITY TODAY:
Babywise Publisher Plans Contract Cancellation

AMERICAN ACADEMY of PEDIATRICS:
Media Alert