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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.

Tag Archives: recoveringgrace-org

Four Pre-Digital Reviews of Gothard’s Theology

20 May 2014, 07:00

Moderator

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A SUMMARY REPORT Bill Gothard’s Institute In Basic Life Principles by David Henke, September 1993   In 1985, a colleague gave me access to his files so that I could fill gaps in my own files. One of the files that he had was on Bill Gothard’s ministry. I copied it for the sake of […]

2013 Year in Review

6 January 2014, 06:00

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Dear Recovering Grace Reader, We hope and pray that you have had a blessed holiday season. As we move into 2014, we’d like to take this opportunity to share with you how God is continuing to use our website to help others, as well as to look back at our top 10 posts of 2013. […]

The Blessings of God

17 October 2013, 06:00

Wendy B

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Bill Gothard’s courtship literature promises rewards to those who do courtship right and consequences for those who date — rewards and consequences that are not promised in Scripture. I’ll take examples from Gothard’s recent courtship teaching, then share my own experience with courtship and dating. In the article “What Is Courtship?” Gothard lists the Foundational […]

Issues of Concern—Bill Gothard and the Bible (1984)

2 September 2013, 05:00

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A Report by Ronald B. Allen, Th.D. Professor of Hebrew Scripture Western Baptist Seminary, Portland, Oregon May 30, 1984 The week that I spent at Basic Youth Conflicts in 1973 (Portland) was one of the most difficult of my life. In this seminar I was regularly assaulted by a misuse of the Bible, particularly of […]

Fellow Fundamentalists Denounced Gothard’s “Chain of Command” (1974)

26 August 2013, 06:00

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In the November 1974 issue of “The Projector,” a newsletter for Christian Fundamentalists, editor Dr. Dayton Hobbs challenged Bill Gothard’s “Chain of Command.” You can read the entire issue here: http://www.theprojector.org/projectors/nov1974.pdf As with most issues of “The Projector,” much attention is given to separation from non-fundamentalist influences. (Dr. Hobbs did not foresee how severely Gothard […]

He Freely Gives Grace

21 July 2012, 06:00

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Somebody SHOULD Have Despised My Youth!

18 June 2012, 06:00

WendyA

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Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12) I remember frequently hearing this verse during my years with Bill Gothard’s Advanced Training Institute (ATI). It was often quoted to the young people at various […]

Grace in Gothard’s Economy: Sanctification with Compounding Interest

18 May 2012, 06:00

Jay Rowland

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Grace. Historically, most theologians and Christian teachers view it simply as favor bestowed upon man by God. A supernatural intervention that, though we don’t understand its workings, changes the outcome of our lives. For example, most Christians would view grace something like this: My repentance + God’s grace = Salvation My sorrow + God’s grace […]

No Place for Shame!

16 May 2012, 06:00

Joshua B

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Talking about my family’s involvement in ATI & IBLP is something that is so incredibly difficult for me, mostly because my family refuses to talk about and would like to pretend that it never happened. It wasn’t until I was 25 years old and found myself having panic attacks, intense feelings of shame, and anxiety, that I […]

Life Inside

7 May 2012, 06:00

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My family joined ATI when I was five in 1984. We were members of the pilot family program (the first 100 families). I don’t know what ATI is now, I only know it as it was for me: A very strict Christian home school program. I hear they have changed some things, but that doesn’t […]