Have you watched Shiny Happy People? I finally got around to watching Season 1 of the documentary-style show on Prime this summer. The season revolves around the Duggar family, who are featured in the popular TLC reality show, 19 Kids and Counting. The family was famous for having 19 children, with a following of viewers who tuned in to watch The Duggars navigate their daily lives.
What you may not have realized about the family was that they were avid members of an organization called Biblical Life Principles Institute (BLPI), which came to light in 2015, when Josh Duggar, the oldest of the Duggar kids, was accused of misconduct, among other charges, and then later sentenced in 2021. The organization had a heavy-handed, rules-based approach to religion, with an emphasis on submission of women and homeschooling the next generation of the BLPI army (Espada, 2023).
Prior to watching, I’d not heard of BLPI. The show and individual stories are good reminders. There are many healing and safe Christian spaces, yet we must always be aware that no human on this earth is perfect. No church is perfect either, and there are unsafe people, even at church, though most are trying their best to serve Jesus and their community. The tricky thing is that in these situations, sometimes it sounds like the Bible, but they’re actually counterfeit versions of true faith in Jesus. If ever in doubt, here are a few things to look out for:
* Abuse of Authority: There’s a great book called Doing Church by Alexander Venter that breaks down church leadership styles. One is a top-down approach (Doing Church: Building from the Bottom up (Soft Cover), 2011). Similar to what we learned about BLPI, some churches take leadership too far with a top-down approach, and their paradigm believes that the church is over everyone and everything. This doesn’t mean that all top-down leadership is corrupt, but attempts to control a congregation and its members are red flags. Additionally, if a church or ministry is all about a leader instead of Jesus, that’s also a red flag.
* Be Aware of Groupthink-As we watched in Shiny Happy People, everyone just seemed to be along for the ride and drinking the Kool-Aid, though they seemed like well-intentioned people. Groupthink occurs when members of a group believe things with known vulnerabilities, yet they don’t speak up or leave out of fear. When someone does speak up, they’re treated like an outsider and sometimes even treated as evil, or going against God. To avoid groupthink, leaders can step back at times and allow input from others (Psychology Today, 2024). By functioning more like a living organism, leaders allow for a healthier church body (Doing Church: Building from the Bottom up (Softcover), 2011). Healthy churches are okay with reasonable questions about faith and the church.
* Personal Discernment-Live your own individual relationship with Jesus, so you can better discern the truth. Find faith for yourself, not other people. If your gut is telling you something is off, it probably is or isn’t the right fit for you. In most groupthink situations, members often feel that something is wrong, but they keep it to themselves(Psychology Today, 2024). Be cautious of anyone who insists you have to follow rules that don’t appear in your Bible, or discourages you from pursuing a career, education, or creative pursuits. While a church leader may offer advice, you are capable of considering their counsel and ultimately making a prayerful decision about your life.
Doing Church: Building From The Bottom Up (Softcover). (2011, January 21). Alexander F. Venter. https://alexanderventer.com/product/book-doing-church/
Espada, M. (2023, June 2). The True Story Behind Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets. Time. https://time.com/6284603/shiny-happy-people-duggar-family-true-story/
(2025). Media-Amazon.com. https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjYwNTc1M2MtM2YxMi00YzYyLTkxY2ItY2I3OWE3NDBmNDVmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjkwOTAyMDU@._V1_.jpg
Psychology Today. (2024). Groupthink. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/groupthink
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