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

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The “False Teacher” Debate

10 June 2014, 06:00

Jay Rowland

In 2013, an interesting convergence of thought on Bill Gothard took place. A man named Shai Linne released a rap song called “False Teachers,” and he named twelve prosperity preachers, including Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes. (Gothard was not among those named.) Click here to read the lyrics and watch Linne explain why he wrote the song. […]

The Agent of Satan

4 June 2014, 06:00

Moderator

337

Over the past couple of years, several members of the Recovering Grace leadership team have gotten to know some of the former staff from the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts (IBYC, now IBLP). Most of them talk of the great love they had for the ministry and for Bill Gothard, and they speak with great […]

Authority vs. Faith in Brazil

23 May 2014, 06:00

Moderator

I first encountered Bill Gothard in the fall of 1957 when I was a sophomore at Wheaton College. He had just graduated that year and was enrolled in their graduate program. Bill was organizing college students who were willing to be Bible study leaders one evening a week under the auspices of a program working […]

Four Pre-Digital Reviews of Gothard’s Theology

20 May 2014, 07:00

Moderator

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 […]

Early Warnings of a False Authority

13 May 2014, 06:00

Jay Rowland

In the 1970s, supporters and critics alike recognized that Bill Gothard and his Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts (IBYC) were a phenomenon. God can use anyone or anything to bring people to himself, but are paying crowds proof of a teacher’s righteousness? It seems too few of our church watchmen wrote about—or truly studied—Gothard’s teachings. […]

Trapped in the Shadow of ‘God’s Anointed’: Breaking free from an Unbiblical Concept

5 May 2014, 06:00

Moderator

379

As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you…and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. —The Apostle John — 1 John 2:27 [NASB] You may have heard someone tell you God “anointed” him or her to be your leader. Or, perhaps, someone else pointed to another […]

Speaking Up Late in the Day

3 May 2014, 08:48

Moderator

Over the past two weeks and previous two Aprils, Recovering Grace has focused on personal narratives by former Advanced Training Institute (ATI) alumni who endured sexual assault, abuse, or harassment in the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) subculture, sometimes within a context of broader physical abuse, and almost always within a context of spiritual […]

Twelve Characteristics of Fundamentalist Societies that Shelter Sexual Abuse

30 April 2014, 09:00

Moderator

163

How could he have fooled so many people, so thoroughly? How did the abuse go on for so many years, unacknowledged? Whenever a leader at this level is ousted or steps down, questions like these come to mind. In the wake of revelations of sexual harassment and abuse pouring in from survivors of Bill Gothard’s […]

Readings on Acknowledging and Healing from Sexual Abuse

29 April 2014, 06:00

Moderator

Below are some links to readings that members of our community have found helpful on their paths to healing from physical and sexual abuse, especially abuse suffered at the hands of family members, authority figures, and other trusted individuals. In A Theology of Sexual Abuse: A Reflection on Creation and Devastation, Dr. Andrew Schmutzer describes […]

How Could This Happen Here?

15 April 2014, 08:42

Moderator

101

Recovering Grace will observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month for the remainder of April. In April 2012 and 2013, we published some very difficult stories of sexual abuse in ATI [Advanced Training Institute] families. Some critics objected that these families were extreme outliers within the program, and that ATI and IBLP have never condoned sexual […]