Have you Shiny Happy People? Looking for more info? Start here.

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.

Author Archives: Moderator

ATI Teachings or Family Application: Which is the Culprit?

13 October 2011, 06:06

Moderator

23

  By the time I was 20 years old, I thought: •       That I had to obey my parents in every way, or suffer attacks from Satan too strong for me to withstand. •       That it was possible to disobey my parents without realizing it. •       […]

Hannah’s Story

10 October 2011, 06:00

Moderator

11

My mother was from an abusive home. My father’s was devoid of affection. They wanted something radically different for their family. In 1980, my parents credited their first Institute in Basic Life Principles Seminar with saving their marriage. My brother was born shortly after, when I was 6.  When Bill Gothard later started a home […]

A Call for Discernment

7 October 2011, 11:02

Moderator

58

Recovering Grace in many ways is a result of the efforts of other Christian leaders who throughout the 80’s and 90’s tried to warn of the dangers inherent in the teachings of Bill Gothard, the Advanced Training Institute, and the Institute in Basic Life Principles. Although many people involved with Gothardism did not listen, some of us […]

Choosing Forgiveness

3 October 2011, 06:00

Moderator

11

When I was 19 I worked for two years to save up enough money to go to Moscow, Russia.  I went with the home school program I was involved in, the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) and I worked hard. Much to my surprise I was quickly singled out as someone with bad intentions. One of […]

Story of a Destiny

29 September 2011, 06:03

Moderator

6

A little star was forming, developing, reaching to become all that the Biggest Star in the solar system meant for it to be. A Mentor star came alongside the little star, and offered to help. The little star shared its secrets and its struggles, and waited to be told how to become the great star […]

Sweeping the Stairs: An Exercise in Will-Breaking

27 September 2011, 06:15

Moderator

21

It was 1995. I was 20 years old. I had recently arrived at the Moscow Training Center in Moscow, Russia, and was eager to begin my first day of “ministry.” I was assigned to the housekeeping detail. The woman in charge was giving me instructions for sweeping a flight of stairs at the training center, […]

A Christian “Utopia”?

24 September 2011, 06:00

Moderator

3

I have a vivid memory of a certain walk I took near the end of my four-year stay at the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) Headquarters campus. I was walking up the sidewalk, taking in the fresh air, and the most revolutionary thought crossed my mind: IBLP is just a small corner of the […]

“Just Get Over It”

22 September 2011, 06:04

Moderator

13

Imagine that you and I are in a horrific car accident. Our car is “T-boned” on the driver’s side. We roll down an embankment and land topside down. Our vehicle is in the ditch, making it hard for other drivers to see that we are in trouble. Finally, a police officer sees the wreck, stops, […]

Who Is God? . . . a Follow-Up

17 September 2011, 01:00

Moderator

3

I hadn’t planned to do a “follow-up” on this topic. But over the past few days, my thoughts keep returning to it. Through the years as I’ve interacted with other former students of the Advanced Training Institute, I’ve seen most of them go through a phase of what would seem to be spiritual shutdown. We […]

Judging 101

16 September 2011, 06:00

Moderator

31

I sat in the middle seat of the wood-grained station wagon, peering over the blue leather seats ahead of me, trying to get the best view I could out of the front windshield. I was on mission with my family to complete an ATI homeschool assignment for that day: “As a family, drive to a […]