Personal Stories | 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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Uniquely Me!

6 February 2012, 06:00

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Journal Entry, September 2009– “I want more!! I really thought I could be happy with this life…but I was wrong. I feel like I’m going to explode. This isn’t me– *sigh* I don’t think it is, anyway. The sad part is, I don’t really know who “me” is…but it’s not this person, I’m sure of that. I […]

Freedom from Strongholds

16 January 2012, 06:00

Seth S

I grew up in your typical ATI family. My Dad was a pastor, and my Mom stayed at home and home-schooled all ten of us kids. Bless their hearts, their intentions were noble. Trying to keep us un-spotted and free from worldly influences, they simply had no clue they were raising a son like me! […]

The Glory of Hair

9 January 2012, 06:00

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Gothard was not shy about what he found to be attractive on a woman’s head–long hair, soft curls. I heard girls reacting to that all the time. There were girls who couldn’t get their hair to hold a curl. One friend said to me, “Look how limp my hair is, and I had it all […]

The Gift of Peace

19 December 2011, 04:00

Ileata

I was lying in a hospital bed recovering from an emergency D&C. I had given birth to a beautiful baby that morning in a free-standing birth center with a midwife. After he was born, things had gotten complicated. His placenta had grown into the muscle wall of my uterus and wouldn’t detach. So, after some […]

Life Unexpected

5 December 2011, 06:00

Cyndi

Having been raised for 13 years in the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) home school program I was confident of a successful marriage. I followed the formula. I waited for God’s Best. I saved my first kiss until after engagement (though I’m sure I should have saved it for the wedding day). I had my parents’ […]

Keeping Up Appearances.

21 November 2011, 06:00

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I am a survivor of Gothardism. I fully believe ATI is a twisted system of unrealistic rules and regulations. Even more, it gives abusive parents the tools and justification they need to rationalize their behavior. Let me start at the beginning. I went to public school from preschool through first grade. After that, my family […]

Dear Dad and Mom

7 November 2011, 06:00

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As many of you are aware, Recovering Grace was born from the hearts of children, now adults, raised using Bill Gothard’s home-school program, The Advanced Training Institute (ATI). We reached adulthood and realized that life was not what we were told…that there are not seven steps to health, wealth and general prosperity. That no […]

Once a Child Always a Child???

31 October 2011, 06:00

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When I was 15, a lifelong dream was fulfilled–I finally got to go to a Bill Gothard seminar. My parents had been going annually for years and I was ecstatic that I was old enough to attend. When my parents first went, they were astonished at the practical nature of Gothard’s teachings. He had a […]

My Heart’s Cry ~ Part One

24 October 2011, 06:00

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I was born into a family with parents who sought to please and honor God. When I was 3 months old we were on the mission field! Love for people has always been a particular characteristic of my family. I can’t think of a time when my family was not involved in some kind of […]

Hannah’s Story

10 October 2011, 06:00

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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 […]