We will be focusing on Sexual Abuse Awareness in the month of April. If you have a personal story to share, please message us: support@recoveringgrace.org.

We will be focusing on Sexual Abuse Awareness in the month of April. If you have a personal story to share, please message us: support@recoveringgrace.org.

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

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

Living and thriving through the grace of God.

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

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.

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

The truth about what happens behind the scenes in IBLP.

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."

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

Tag Archives: fear

Book Review: “He Still Moves Stones”

20 May 2013, 06:00

Diana Hall

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“Legalism is a dark world” (Lucado 118). In his book, “He Still Moves Stones,” Max Lucado speaks to circumstances of loss and pain in order to address the question of “Where is God when I hurt?” I was shocked to find that one of these chapters was about pain caused by legalism. I’m not sure [...]

From Clear Conscience to Clear Thinking: Journey from Guilt to Grace!

16 May 2013, 06:00

Administrator

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While many entered the world of ATI (the Advanced Training Institute) as teenagers or young adults, I was one of those who began my journey quite young. Even though I didn’t understand my parents’ new found zeal for “Wisdom Booklets” on my first day of school, I gradually came to accept them as a regular part of [...]

When We Criticize The Church

13 May 2013, 06:00

Micah J. Murray

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We were sold a package deal. Truth and lies, hope and despair, real and fake — all tied up in a neat package with a bow and sold to us with the label of “Christianity.” The men in the suits with all the words told us that what they taught was true. They said it [...]

When the Courtship Crashes

2 May 2013, 06:00

Lindsey B

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“Lindsey? Do you miss them?”  The swing creaked as I pushed a blonde boy who attended our church.We came from different families, backgrounds, and were far apart in age, but today I’d been drawn to play with him by one thing in common. Our friends were gone. “Yeah.”  “Did you tell them not to come [...]

What Forgiveness Isn’t

29 April 2013, 06:00

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6 myths that may be keeping you from letting go by Denise George I listened quietly as my friend Jamie told me the frank details of the sexual abuse she’d suffered as a child. “I hate my father!” she blurted out. “He abused me for more than a decade!” Jamie cried. “But my pastor said [...]

Set Free by Grace

26 April 2013, 06:00

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It was around 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning in June 2011. I was home for the weekend from the eating disorder hospital where I was in treatment. Asleep in bed, I woke up when my phone beeped for a text message. The name on the screen put fear in my heart. Terrified, I opened [...]

The Danger and Damage of Gothard’s Principles

24 April 2013, 06:00

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Though I left my family’s home three years ago, Bill Gothard’s twisting of Scripture still haunts me as a young adult today. The way the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) and its secondary programs are set up, they might work in a perfect world, but in the broken reality of this world, they operate with many [...]

When Asking “Why” Does Not Bring Answers

22 April 2013, 06:00

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Editor’s note: The following testimony references Bill Gothard’s “Why Did God Let It Happen?” teaching. This teaching has been delivered in several different formats, many of which do not directly reference sexual abuse. However, the Counseling Sexual Abuse document that was distributed at ATI (Advanced Training Institute) counseling seminars applies this teaching directly to sexual [...]

How “Counseling Sexual Abuse” Blames and Shames Survivors

18 April 2013, 06:00

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Versions of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) document “Counseling Sexual Abuse” were distributed at Advanced Training Institute (ATI) Counseling Seminars for over a decade. The document speaks for itself, but Recovering Grace would like to point out how victim-blaming and/or callous dismissal of abuse survivors’ pain is built into almost every one of [...]

A Life Defined By Externals

15 April 2013, 06:00

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My story is an interesting one. Until I found Recovering Grace I did not know there were many others like me. When I was eight years old my mom and biological father divorced. Even as a child I understood why their divorce was necessary. People say I was born an adult. Within a year my mom re-married a [...]