MatthewS | Recovering Grace

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Articles about how Bill Gothard mishandles the Bible to support his legalistic viewpoint.

Personal testimonies of finding true freedom through God's matchless grace.

Living and thriving through the grace of God.

Stories and accounts of the destruction caused by the teachings of Bill Gothard.

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Author Archives: MatthewS

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 19: Recovering Right Focus (Part 1)

15 November 2012, 05:00

MatthewS

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 19: Recovering Right Focus We continue our Thursday series blogging through “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” The first post in the series is here. This chapter is about our focus. Spiritual abuse tends to leave people self-focused. They become preoccupied with doing things right and keeping those […]

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 18: Renewing the Mind

7 November 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 18: Renewing the Mind We continue our Thursday series blogging through “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” The first post in the series is here. Even after we leave an abusive system, we are likely to continue to struggle with damaging habits of thought. “God’s stance toward us […]

Lucky Charms

1 November 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

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We did not eat sugary breakfast cereal when I was a kid, so I never acquired a taste for the oh-so-healthy bowl of fancy shapes known as Lucky Charms. In college, I began to play roller hockey and was introduced to the fanaticism that some hockey players have for a different sort of lucky charm. […]

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 17: How to Escape a Spiritual Trap

25 October 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 17: How to Escape a Spiritual Trap We continue our Thursday series blogging through “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” The first post in the series is here. What makes a good trap? A trap has to be easy to get into and hard to get out of, […]

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Introduction to Part Three

18 October 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

We continue our Thursday series blogging through “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” The first post in the series is here. Next week we move on to Part Three, which is focused on recovery. Let’s review where we are and how we got here. There is a summary of Part One and introduction to Part […]

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 16: The People Get Devoured

11 October 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 16: The People Get Devoured We continue our Thursday series blogging through “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” The first post in the series is here. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore […]

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 15: Spreading “The Gospel”

4 October 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 15: Spreading “The Gospel” We continue our Thursday series blogging through “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” The first post in the series is here. Are we spreading the heavenly message that was announced with “Peace on earth, good will towards men,” or are we recruiting people to […]

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 14: “No Admittance”

20 September 2012, 10:30

MatthewS

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 14: “No Admittance” We continue our Thursday series blogging through “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” The first post in the series is here. Jesus broke the “can’t-talk” rule. He stood up against the religious leaders on behalf of those who were being spiritually oppressed when he cleansed […]

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 13: The Weight of Religion

13 September 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 13: The Weight of Religion We continue our Thursday series blogging through “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” The first post in the series is here. What about the backlash of too much grace? What if we give people too much grace and not enough pressure to perform […]

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 12: Straining Gnats, Swallowing Camels

6 September 2012, 13:30

MatthewS

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 12: Straining Gnats, Swallowing Camels We continue our Thursday series blogging through “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” The first post in the series is here. Jesus used an evocative word picture when he told the Pharisees that they strained out gnats even as they swallowed camels. Gnats […]