Controversy FAQ Interview Question 27

What's the point of the Hold Harmless agreement? Doesn't the bible prohibit against rash vows? Is the Hold Harmless ethical?

There's only one ACCD training that requires participants to sign a Hold Harmless, and that's our Breakthrough Training.

These questions really depend on who you talk to and how they interpret the Bible. What does the Bible say about making defamatory statements and then not walking it out according to Matthew 18? That is what often happens when people, without inquiring, determine according to their Biblical interpretation that the Hold Harmless is a rash vow or is unethical.

The Breakthrough Training Hold Harmless is not unethical at all; it's simply letting people know, in a highly litigious society, the depth of work that we do in the training room and that it can be emotionally rigorous. We were asked by team members in the early days of our ministry if there were something that would demonstrate that the Breakthrough Training has challenge to it. The Hold Harmless does that. The Hold Harmless is extreme so people look at it and ask, "What?" When they sign it, they have a sense that what they're coming into. They can be informed about it. Their support call talks about it. It is available for any potential participant to look at, prior to participation, per their request.

The Hold Harmless gives participants a sense of what goes on in the room. All of our homework for the Breakthrough Training, which participants fill out before coming to the Training, gives them that sense. We're setting up a greater context for responsibility. When somebody does a bungee-jumping course, they sign a hold harmless agreement. We have limited liability insurance, so we want to be responsible and let people know that if you have a psychological condition and you came into the Breakthrough Training on your own choice, we want you to take responsibility for that. And no matter why you came into the training, we want you to know that this next four days is going to be rigorous. The Hold Harmless is our taking responsibility for letting people know on a deep level that we're serious about what we're up to. We're committed to it. And we want them to be committed for the next four days.

People somehow assume that the Breakthrough Training Hold Harmless prevents participants from having recourse should there be something that they want to pursue with us out of an upset or an offense. In reality, that's not true; the Hold Harmless simply clarifies the path that we're agreeing to follow should there be an issue, because people reserve the right to arbitration and mediation in the Hold Harmless. Those possibilities are clarified. We have Biblical structures in place for people to have recourse. The Hold Harmless simply clarifies and defines it to a very efficient and Biblical model that we believe is far more Biblical than using the civil court system as the first route. It should be noted that no one has ever felt upset enough to seek arbitration, despite the Hold Harmless provision for that potential recourse.

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