"Teachings and actions must square with each other."
--Dwight Eisenhower, on character in leadership
Revised Apr 2007
Growing Families International [GFI] has been controversial within the Christian church for a long time. With the publication of Babywise, the Ezzos extended their controversial method into the secular world.
To illustrate that the present-day controversy is the consequence of Ezzo's own repeating patterns of behavior and questionable advice. Concerns about medical misinformation and of a propensity to circulate rumors and lies about critics and former associates have dogged the Ezzos almost from the beginning of their ministry, and over time the Ezzos have operated with less and less accountability.
To assist parents and church leaders in evaluating whether Gary Ezzo is the leader and role model they want to follow and/or introduce to their congregations.
Corrections and additions may be directed to Kathy Thile
GFI---Growing Families International, The Ezzos' for-profit company
CRI---Christian Research Institute, a leading Christian cult research and apologetics teaching organization
GCC---Grace Community Church, the large California church pastored by Dr. John MacArthur where Ezzo was employed and from which he launched GFI. GFI promotional material that speaks of Ezzo's 10 years as "Pastor of Family Ministries in Sun Valley, California " are referring to his position at GCC.
LHEF---Living Hope Evangelical Fellowship, Ezzo's place of worship after leaving GCC, pastored by Ezzo's friend and former GFI staff member Dave Maddox.
CT---Christianity Today, a well-respected monthly news and features magazine
GKGW--"Growing Kids God's Way", the centerpiece of the Ezzos' parenting curriculum, includes a manual and audio or videotapes, usually studied in weekly classes for 18 weeks.
The Timeline
Part One 1966-1998
(Note: for clarity, some listings have been grouped by topic rather than by date)
Not much is known about Ezzo's early life or employment background before the late 70's. On a GKGW (2nd ed.) teaching tape Ezzo refers to having some kind of farming or sheepherding background.
Fall of 1966 - Summer of 1969 -- Gary Ezzo took several classes at Mohawk Valley Community College but did not get an AA degree.
1974 - 1977 - Approximate time of Anne Marie Ezzo's employment as an RN at Concord Hospital. Biographical paragraphs on the back of GFI materials through the mid-90's described Anne Marie's work experience as a "background in pediatric nursing." Concord Hospital could not verify the claim.
Source: More Than A Parenting Ministry footnote #57, CRI Vol 20/Number 4 1998 April-June
When this claim was questioned, GFI dropped it instead of substantiating it.
Ezzo and his church in New Hampshire
By late 1979 -- Ezzo was considered to be one of the leaders/elders of His Vantage Point Church in Laconia, NH (This church came to be known as Lakes Region Bible Church.)
1980/1981 -- Ezzo became pastor-teacher of this church
1982 or 1983 -- Ezzo was asked to step down
from leadership in this church amid complaints of authoritarianism,
exclusivism and divisiveness.
Sources:More
Than a Parenting Ministry, Christian Research Journal
Vol 20/Number 4 1998 April-June and A
Matter of Bias?, Christian Research Journal Vol
21/Number 2
Ezzo in California
Ezzo and his family--wife Anne Marie and two daughters--moved from New Hampshire to Southern California.
1983 – Ezzo entered Talbot School of Theology full time to pursue a Master of Arts in Ministry degree in a program designed for candidates without a bachelor's degree.
1984 – The Ezzos started teaching parenting classes at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley CA.
1985 – Having accepted a staff pastor position at GCC, Ezzo filled out an employment application, listing a degree he did not earn (the AA), and specified a major and a grade point average.
In 2000, an embattled Ezzo justified the misrepresentation in a letter circulated to supporters by saying that it "suited the purpose for which the information was being requested which was simply establishing an educational benchmark for 1985."
Sources: "Unprepared to Teach Parenting", Christianity Today, November 13, 2000; GFI ministry letter on file, dated 2001.
Circa 1985 -- Anne Marie Ezzo authored and circulated a 4-page paper titled "Parent Controlled Feeding". Although contradictory at some points, it included:
- a sample timetable for "the first four weeks" which laid out feedings at 4 hour intervals
- instruction to keep nursings to 20-30 minutes "maximum"
- advice to consider formula supplementation if the baby, by three weeks of age, isn't able to go 3-4 hours between feeds.
- advice on stretching the time between feedings by use of a pacifier or other distractions.
Source: Copy of original document on file (view scan of page 4)
1986 -- GKGW videos first distributed
1987 -- The Ezzos formed GFI as a nonprofit corporation along with five other Grace Community Church couples.
1989 -- The nonprofit corporation was dissolved and GFI became a for-profit corporation
1989 -- The version of Preparation for Parenting that was circulating at this time including teachings which:
- criticised demand feeding (the practice endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics),
- criticised mothers who respond to their babies' cries, calling these practices incompatible with scripture, practiced by an "extreme fringe," primitivistic, humanistic, based in evolution, emotional, idolatrous, unhealthful, harmful to marriage, and the cause of health and developmental problems.
- advised parents that by three weeks the baby should only be feeding every three to four hours, with formula supplementation as necessary to achieve those intervals.
- instructed that the baby was to be sleeping through the night by six weeks, enforced by letting the baby cry if necessary.
Source: quotes on file from Preparation for Parenting c 1989
1990 -- Ezzo's "Growing Kids
God's Way" radio broadcast began in the Los Angeles area and by '91 it was going
out on multiple stations. In January '92 Ezzo claimed
it would be on over 100 stations nationwide by April of
92.
Source: Letter from Gary Ezzo on file
1990 – The 3rd edition of Preparation for Parenting: A Biblical Perspective was self-published and taught that:
- spacing feedings 3 to 4 hours apart would cultivate self-control in the infant and counter-act his desire for immediate gratification (p. 16)
- as a general rule, feedings should be spaced at 3-4 hours intervals.
- hunger patterns would "begin to line up" with scheduled mealtimes. If not, formula supplementation was recommended to maintain the plan.
- By 8 weeks, the baby would sleep through the night and receive 5-6 feedings daily.
- A table showed 4-5 feedings as the average number of feedings for 8 week olds according to an informal survey of users
View more quotes from Preparation for Parenting, 3rd Edition
1992 -- Eric Abel was GFI's Director of Ministries. The Abels were also among the five couples who originally co-founded GFI with the Ezzos. Abel's wife Julie was featured prominently on teaching videos and during the weekly radio programs.
Abel resigned this position in September of 1994 due to unresolved concerns about Gary Ezzo's integrity and lack of accountability.
Source: A Matter of Bias, Christian Research Journal Summer 1998 issue.
1992 – Dr.
Robert Bucknam was in a pediatric residency
program at Children's Hospital in L.A.
Source: Medic Data
Dr. Bucknam received co-author credit on Babywise in 1993.
1993 – 1st edition of Babywise was self-published by GFI. This edition was nearly identical to Prep for Parenting, except that:
- Explicit religious language was removed
- Dr. Robert Bucknam added a foreword, praising the earlier Ezzo material which had so impressed him, and denigrating "instincts," advice to feed more often as a solution to hunger, and the practice of feeding at two hourly intervals (p.11)
- For babies from 0-8 weeks of age, the book recommended 3 to 4 hour feedings.
- It instituted a unique method of describing feeding intervals, from the end of the previous feeding to the start of the next. This allows the book to refer to shorter intervals. However when you add back in the 30 minutes for feeding, the interval is still 3-4 hours as in earlier editions.
- This edition touts a benefit of fewer feedings: fewer diapers to change. (pp. 133-134.)
Note: fewer wet and soiled diapers indicates less intake.
August 16, 1993—Christianity Today
published the first national article voicing concerns:
The
Brave New Baby by Thomas S. Giles
Article Summary:
- the growing popularity of Preparation for Parenting is described
- reports of infants with low weight gain and emotional withdrawal are described
- the concerns of various health care professionals are noted
- various church leaders express concerns over dogmatism and state their opinion that the program needs modification
- Ezzo's response is described
August 20, 1993 - GFI responds to this article by sending a letter and response sheet to supporters.
- They accused Christianity Today's reporter of deliberately misleading the public.
- They claimed that 92% of mothers using the program breastfeed and more than 99% of the babies on the program sleep through the night by 8 weeks, linking these outcomes to use of the material,
- They expressed doubt that the negative experiences descrbed in the article could be linked to use of the material.
- They stated that even if there were a hundred babies who had failed to gain weight adequately, it would be statistically insignificant in comparison to the success stories.
Source: Ezzo's August 20, 1993 letter and response sheet on file
Fall 1993 – 4th edition of Preparation for
Parenting published
Source: Ezzo's statement in "The Brave New Baby", Christianity Today
September 1994 — Eric Abel resigned as GFI's Director of Ministries over concerns "about the integrity of the company and its leadership." Abel remained at GFI in a different capacity through February of 1996 while seeking other employment. During this period he and his wife Julie removed themselves from their public role with the company because of their integrity concerns.
Sources: Abel Family Public Statement & Eric Abel, email on file, 5.19.06
Ezzo and Grace Community Church
Spring 1993 -- Grace Community Church elders
"asked Gary Ezzo to be more accountable to them"
Source:
Oct '97 GCC
Elders' Statement Regarding Gary Ezzo and Growing Families
International
June 1993 -- Ezzo announced plans to resign from the pastoral staff at GCC but to continue as a lay elder.
Mid-1995 — GCC's pastoral staff met with
Gary to discuss concerns about doctrinal and biblical
content of GFI materials. Gary "promised to make
changes in his material to alleviate everyone's concerns." The promised changes were never
submitted to the pastoral staff. Instead, Gary resigned
as an elder and withdrew from GCC completely.
Source
GCC
Statement Regarding Gary Ezzo and GFI
July 18, 1995 — Gary's pastor at GCC, Dr. John MacArthur, wrote to Gary upon Gary's resignation from the elder board to accept his resignation and summarize the issues. MacArthur expressed his personal affection for the Ezzos but noted dissatisfaction with Gary's behavior:
Source: letter dated July 18, 1995 from John MacArthur to Gary Ezzo, provided by GFI
July 8, 1995 — Gary, who maintained a presence on an America Online (AOL) message board for discussions amongst Christians about the Ezzo method posted to a group of women:
Wow, talk about women and emotions. (I read all the responses.) I feel like I walked into the hen house during egg laying..."
"...I do have other more important activities to fill up my day, than the go nowhere debates with emotionally charged demand feeding mothers talking about demand feeding practices."1995 -- Babywise published by Multnomah.
March 1996 - Eric and Julie Abel, former co-founders of GFI, ended all remaining ties with GFI.
Sources: Abel Family Public Statement & Eric Abel, email on file, 5.19.06
May 14, 1996 – "Religious Parenting Programs–Their Relationship to Child Abuse Prevention" The Child Abuse Council of Orange County appointed a religious task force to evaluate GKGW following complaints by area health care professionals who had observed dehydration, slow growth and development and failure to thrive among babies on Ezzo programs. Examples of findings:
- "There is some concern that
high risk parents may experience difficulty effectively
utilizing the program"
--Kathy McCarrell M.S.W., Executive Director Exchange Club Child Abuse Prevention Center - "I am uncomfortable with the Ezzos approach
to
this topic for two primary reasons. I feel they
have a point
to make and choose numerous "proof texts"
from Scripture
to make their point, not the broader teaching
of Scripture. Secondly,
I sense they claim to have a corner on the truth,
making anyone
with a differing perspective suspect.....without
juding their
motives, it appears that the Preparation for Parenting
material
reflects the Ezzos' perspective on infant feeding
rather than
a theologically accurate or balanced view of parenting."
--Doug Haag, Associate Pastor of Family Ministries, EV Free Church of Fullerton, CA - "The issues of
control and authority seem to override the elements
of compassion,
child advocacy, and real developmental needs in
"Preparation for Parenting".
--Margie Deutsch, M.S. in Early Childhood Development, IBCLC
Ezzo and World Magazine
May 25/June 1, 1996 -- WORLD Magazine published The Ezzos Know Best, subtitled "Controversial Parenting Curriculum is Sweeping the Church"
Summary:
- Describes attraction of the program to Christian parents
- describes praise offered up by various people and organizations
- describes concerns offered up by various people and organizations
After this article was published, Ezzo pressured WORLD to retract statements in the article.
He "sent letters to World editor Marvin
Olasky suggesting the magazine consider asking for Maynard's
resignation. He asked Maynard's church elders to take
disciplinary action against him."
Source: "Unprepared
to Teach Parenting" Christianity Today
Ezzo and Dr. Steve Rein
In fact, Ezzo wrote up two 'markedly different' versions of the 'verbatim' interview transcript. The second version was noticed in an unlinked document on GFI's website by Dr. Steve Rein, a Christian father and statistician (and owner of Ezzo.info.) Dr. Rein had collected articles about the Ezzos' materials and sponsored a small message board for open dialogue on website space allotted for his personal and research use by the university where he worked. When Dr. Rein drew attention to the second version of the 'verbatim' transcript, Ezzo attempted to press criminal charges against Rein for "hacking." Authorities investigated and concluded that the complaint was unfounded. No charges were filed.
Ezzo would later (in 2001) send a ministry response letter to GFI supporters telling them he had "heard" that Dr. Rein had lost his position over this, adding, "we have no reason to doubt that."
Because GFI ministry associates are still [as of 2009] circulating gossip of that nature, I offer the information that Dr. Rein did indeed take a position at another university at the close of the school term, and that his departure was unrelated to Gary Ezzo's complaints. For several years Dr. Rein had been seeking to relocate his growing family nearer to their extended family on the West Coast, so when an advantageous position at a prestigious university in California was offered, he accepted it. He left his former university on good terms and continued to work on projects for them from a distance for a period of time after his departure.
Sources: "Unprepared
to Teach Parenting", Christianity Today; GFI's 2001 extended response document on file; and correpondence on file from Dr. Steve Rein
July 1996 -- WORLD's writer Roy Maynard issued a personal response, calling the "verbatim" transcript inaccurate and "threaded together in such a way as to distort my words, views, and journalistic methods."
April 1997 -- WORLD eventually published a mild apology in "We Could Have Done Better," but reiterated that it stood by the fairness of the article and their journalist.
Spring 1997 -- GFI's ministry newsletter
devoted a full page to publicizing and praising WORLD's apology.
Source: "Gary Ezzo's thoughts on
World Magazine", The Community Perspective, GFI, Vol.2
No.1
Later, Ezzo would again use WORLD's mild apology to dismiss the whole affair.
"Does it seem strange to you, the reader, that all of the terrible things cited by Mrs. Terner could have taken place with Roy Maynard or World Magazine and yet, few months later [sic], World Magazine publishes an apology to GFI."
July 11 1996 -- ABC World News Tonight television featured a report on Ezzo's method, by religion reporter Peggy Wehmayer, herself a Christian.
July 1996 -- GFI published a response on its website denouncing the report as part of the media's "War Against Moral Truth" but did not address the issues raised.
Ezzo sent back a photocopy of their letter with terse comments jotted in the margin.
The Kuhlmanns
replied that perhaps there had been a mix-up in GFI's correspondence
department. Ezzo sent another photocopy of their letter
with a Post-it note saying their letter was "so badly flawed in its assertions that any
other type of response is rendered useless...."
Source: Kuhlmann/Ezzo correspondence
Ezzo and Grace Community Church cont'd
August 22, 1996 -- Having resigned from GCC's pastoral staff in 1993, and from its board of elders in 1995, Gary sent
an email to a donor to the radio ministry of GCC containing false, negative
information about the church. GCC's concern mounted when these same rumors
began coming back to them from around the world. It
appeared, said GCC elder Philip Johnson, that Ezzo
was conducting a "private smear campaign."
Source: Questions About Growing Families International, Grace Church and Gary Ezzo
September 1, 1996 -- Dr. John MacArthur, senior
pastor at GCC, corrected the
false information and warned Gary to set the record
straight immediately -- wherever and to whomever he
had spread the false information.
Source: Questions
About Growing Families International, Grace Church and
Gary Ezzo
September 17,
1996 -- Accordingly, Gary sent an apology to MacArthur and
to the donor. However, Gary's organization later claimed that "Gary's error
was not in the veracity of the facts shared, but in the
amount of information communicated."
Source: GFI response document
October 1996-- Ezzo published "Growing Kids God's Way--Why it's Right" , a lengthy article written to express strenous objections to the "purposeful distortions" contained in an article by Rebecca Prewett, a Christian woman whom he characterized as deceptive and untrustworthy by reason of her former connection with La Leche League International (a breastfeeding support organization.)
After introductory comments, the article offers 3 short paragraphs of positive things about the classes and the organization including the claim that "one of the most notable highlights of this program is the Ezzos' advanced research on healthy infant nighttime sleep." The remaining several pages of the article are mainly devoted to casting doubt on the integrity of Rebecca Prewett.
Early 1997—Eric and Julie Abel (former
GFI Director of Ministries) requested to be removed
from GFI materials (e.g. teaching videos) in order to
complete their disassociation from GFI.
Source: Abel Family
Website
January 12, 1997—Conservative Christian parenting ministry Focus on the Family said rigid adherence to the GFI materials could result in child abuse but tactfully concluded that "whether to use or not to use the Ezzos' material remains, in the final analysis, a judgment call."
By late
1997 this
statement was strengthened
to say Focus does "not recommend" the material.
March 1997: Boulder Weekly article "Wise Advice for Babies?"by Eric Patterson included a claim from Babywise co-author Robert Bucknam that research would soon be published to support Babywise's principles:
Babywise credits no one as the book's primary lactation expert. Bucknam says he was not at liberty to give her name. "But, yes, she is certified and highly regarded in her area of expertise," he adds. ...Bucknam also says that University of Virginia and University of Arizona research, soon to be published in major medical journals, will support Babywise's principles. (When asked twice, Bucknam would not divulge the names of the principal researchers or the journals where this research will be published.)
The research never appeared.
Herald: Some critics say you are not qualified
to give such advice regarding infant feeding. What
are your qualifications as well as those of Anne
Marie Ezzo? When you say Anne Marie has a "background
in pediatric nursing," what specifically do
you mean? (i.e. education, where employed, and when,
etc.)
Ezzo: Again, who are the critics? What are
their families like? Are they sought after by young
parents as role models to be emulated?
"In God's Hands" was later republished by iVillage: Ezzo Parenting: Threat to Baby's Health?
March to October 1997-- Christian education expert Dr. Kent McClain and a committee from his former church in Arizona conducted a review of GKGW. The process included reading the GKGW materials and viewing the teaching videos and comparing them with other parenting materials. Dr. McClain spoke with Gary Ezzo by phone and set up a meeting. When McClain got to LA, Ezzo "cancelled the pre-arranged meeting."
The critique offered 4 areas of concern:1) Missing Biblical Cornerstones
The program, which purports to be God's plan for raising children, fails to cover essential biblical teachings such as: the knowledge of redemption/salvation, how to walk by faith, the exercise of prayer, family devotions, etc.
2) Mishandling of Scripture--Fact vs. Opinion
It is difficult to distinguish between the Ezzos' opinions, actual fact, and biblical principle. They periodically create the impression that their own ideas of parenting are Scriptural or moral, when they may not be.
3) Presence of Legalism
The program has a tendency of making parenting applications more significant than the biblical context allows. The material routinely moralizes parenting suggestions, forcing them to become decisions of right and wrong.
4) Questionable Views of Child Development
The materials display a questionable understanding of child development. Many of the discipline suggestions are not age appropriate.
Dr. McClain updated the critique in 2001: click here for the web version.
Download the PDF version here.
Ezzo and Grace Community Church, cont'd
October 16, 1997— Grace Community Church issued a public statement "A Statement Regarding Gary Ezzo and Growing Families International" to explain why GCC is no longer affiliated with Gary Ezzo and GFI and why they no longer use or endorse GFI materials. The document mentioned the elders found no biblical justification for various teachings Ezzo portrayed as biblical, and noted concerns with the way Ezzo had handled criticism.
Gary Ezzo has declined to listen to concerns from essentially friendly critics--including fellow elders, pastors, and even co-workers in the GFI ministries. His responses to the elders of Grace Church have reflected a repeated tendency to avoid accountability....In at least one case he assured a group of concerned elders that he would seek resolution of a long- standing conflict--then later refused to do so. His departure from Grace Church left a disturbing number of conflicts unresolved and concerns unaddressed.
At the same time, Gary has been known to respond with exaggerated and even false accusations against his critics. [Emphasis added]
October 26, 1997—The Ezzos' initial public response to GCC's statement insisted that they were "under the care and guidance and spiritual authority of the elders" at Living Hope Evangelical Fellowship (LHEF) and promised that these elders would conduct a "thorough investigation." Two of the three elders were on GFI's staff.
November 11, 1997— The Final GFI response to Grace Statement disputed -- at great length -- matters such as the dates of meetings and whether the GCC elders had pursued resolution aggressively enough. It was "reviewed" and "approved" by elders at LHEF. It was originally available GFI's website. View here.
December 11, 1997— GCC elder Phil Johnson who framed GCC's statement responded to common questions about the situation in "Questions about GFI, Grace Church, and Gary Ezzo"
Feb 1998 — GFI called on Ken Sande of Peacemaker Ministries to assist in reconciliation meetings with GCC elders.
March 20, 1998 —The reconciliation meetings
resulted in a revised statement by GCC elders "A
Statement Regarding Gary Ezzo and Growing Families
International"
In a comment
on this revised statement, GCC elder Phil Johnson
stated that during the meetings Ezzo indicated a desire
to rectify character-related issues mentioned in the
original
statement, so in good faith GCC agreed to retract
their earlier statement in favor of a briefer, vaguer
statement.
May 13, 1998 — Ezzo made use of this milder statement to minimize the seriousness and ongoing nature of GCC's concerns in a diplomatic statement to followers.
Source: "Grace Church /GFI Ministry statement" originally published on GFI's website.
Specifically, we reported that he had shown a pattern of resisting accountability, and that he was not always truthful. (We had become aware of several instances in which Mr. Ezzo twisted the truth, ranging from a false claim that he held a degree he had never really earned, to the spreading of false reports about our church in a manner that appeared to be deliberately divisive.)
Mr. Ezzo subsequently met with one of our elders and expressed a desire to rectify our major concerns about his character. He assured us that he was making himself accountable to a group of men he trusted--the pastor and elders of Living Hope Evangelical Fellowship (LHEF).
In the
interest of seeking peace, we issued a revised and
abbreviated version of our public statement. In
that revised statement, the concerns we had raised
about Mr. Ezzo's integrity and accountability were
no longer expressly mentioned, pending further action
on Mr. Ezzo's part to mitigate or allay those concerns.
After the revised statement was issued, however,
Mr. Ezzo made no further attempt to address the
larger concerns we had raised about his personal
character.
We have nonetheless been able to verify that LHEF's discipline of Mr. Ezzo involves the very same issues we raised in our initial public statement: Gary Ezzo's lack of truthfulness and his refusal to be held accountable. It is not without significance that the men who have excommunicated him are the same men to whom he claimed to be making himself accountable. This has clearly become a pattern of behavior with Mr. Ezzo. LHEF is at least the third church Mr. Ezzo has left with questions pending about his character.
