Tales From Training Centers | Recovering Grace

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

Living and thriving through the grace of God.

A closer look at the teachings of Bill Gothard by the Elders of Calvary Bible Church in Fort Worth, TX

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

The truth about what happens behind the scenes in IBLP.

Our response to Bill Gothard's November 2011 letter addressed to "all past and present ATI students."

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Category Archives: Tales from Training Centers

Sonic Bloom: Untruth With An Agenda

21 March 2013, 06:00

Danielle Klueber

The author, other IBLP staff members and directors, and Bill Gothard in the Indianapolis South Campus green house

There is no denying that Bill Gothard has a persuasive way of presenting “newfound” products, ideas, and beliefs. Many trust that he is truthful in these things. They assume, as I did, that he would never purposefully deceive. During my time with IBLP (the Institute in Basic Life Principles) I was witness to a very [...]

Parents in a Potemkin Village: Six Weeks in the Moscow Training Center

14 January 2013, 06:00

Diana Hall

A panoramic view of the Moscow Training Center assembled from four snapshots taken in Fall 1995

We entered the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) homeschool program when I was fifteen, and not much about my life changed. Our family attended functions here and there and added the Wisdom Booklets to our home school curriculum, but the more unique ATI teachings did not have much effect on us. Before we joined ATI we [...]

Life Focus: Isolation Instead of Relationship

11 August 2012, 06:00

Administrator

As a teenager I was sent to an Advanced Training Institute (ATI) young men’s program called Life Focus. Life Focus was not explicitly advertised as a program for the troubled youth or “rebels” of ATI, but, functionally, that is what it was. The young men in Life Focus were regarded as and spoken to as [...]

What Have You Done with My Daughter?

14 July 2012, 06:00

Administrator

My first experience with anything Bill Gothard was the Eternal Vision program. My then 18-year-old daughter, who had for years rejected God, had been amazingly touched by God in a Denny’s parking lot. This girl was beaming with joy, sleepless from excitement, and so new and fresh. I urged her to visit some people we [...]

Creating a Rebellious Heart

21 March 2012, 06:05

Administrator

Two short months before leaving for Russia, I was blessed with the opportunity to travel Europe with my mom, both grandmothers, and my aunt. It had been a lifelong dream of my 88-year-old grandmother, and I relished every second of it. One of the days that had the most impact on me was the trip [...]

My Year as an LIT

7 March 2012, 06:48

Administrator

At the age of 15, I had already been heavily enslaved to a serious eating disorder for five years. According to my psychologist/counselor at the time, the eating disorder was accompanied by Borderline Personality Disorder and clinical depression. He prescribed three different medications that gave me headaches and made me more irritable–they didn’t really solve any [...]

Contradictions and Confessions

22 February 2012, 06:00

Administrator

The Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) Training Centers (TCs) seemed to be a breeding ground for hypocrisy. Especially for those who were in leadership. I will admit to being a part of that group. I was a staff member and I did things that were against the rules. All the time. If you happened [...]

Forced Fasting

8 February 2012, 06:30

BeverlyB

In daily life at the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) Training Centers and Headquarters, it was always understood that the kitchens were to be closed on Sundays. The explanation I was given when I first arrived at the Indianapolis Training Center (ITC) in 1995 for my year of service with EQUIP was that the [...]

Sensitivity vs. Callousness

24 January 2012, 06:00

Administrator

Callousness Sometimes Won The leadership at Advanced Training Institute (ATI) training centers could be incredibly insensitive in dealing with personal tragedies and misfortunes. Especially if those situations affected, in any way, the performance of one’s duties at the training center. Sometimes, just the fear that leadership would misunderstand or react insensitively to a situation could [...]

Snooping, Spying, and Snitching: A Training Center Status Quo

10 January 2012, 06:45

Administrator

Former ATI students share stories of how they were watched, spied on, and tattled on regularly At Advanced Training Institute (ATI) training centers, students and staff quickly learned not to expect privacy in any activity. E-mail, telephone conversations, and even letters and packages from home were monitored for contraband and for forbidden contacts, especially with [...]