28 Comments

1. 

   Josh McDonald May 1, 2012 Reply

   Outstanding work this month RG Leadership crew. Thanks for what you do and how you are helping. Let us continue praying for more healing and grace for those hurting and in need.

2. 

   Grace May 1, 2012 Reply

   Thank you RG team for all you do to bring healing and grace to our lives. I have been immeasurably blessed by you all, and the authors of the articles who have shared their lives so publicly! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I pray that God blesses your lives.

3. 

   Eric May 1, 2012 Reply

   Well done.

4. 

   Eliza May 1, 2012 Reply

   Well said. Thank you for publishing this very difficult series.

5. 

   Anonymous May 1, 2012 Reply

   do you have the LA Times article from April 5, 1982 on this?

   • 

     BeverlyB May 1, 2012 Reply

     Hi Anonymous, I did a quick search and it looks like you have to purchase the article from the LA Times archives, but it's not very expensive ($3.95 for the pdf). Here's the link I found for the article: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/663742282.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+5%2C+1982&author=RUSSELL+CHANDLER&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+%281923-Current+File%29&edition=&startpage=B3&desc=Moral%2C+Morale+Questions+Rock+Gothard+Ministry

     • 

       Anonymous May 1, 2012 Reply

       Thanks! :)

       • 

         Moving Forward May 8, 2012

         Interestingly, it seems that the author of that 1982 article is now an instructor at World Journalism Institute . . . I wonder if he is interested in doing a 30-year follow up to his story? =)
         
         http://www.worldji.com/people/view/103

       • 

         BeverlyB May 8, 2012

         That's an interesting thought!

6. 

   Tammy May 1, 2012 Reply

   Thank you Recovering Grace for getting the word out about this painful and difficult subject as well as exposing the inapproriate behavior of Bill Gothard that apparently has been ongoing for a very long time. May each person who shared continue to find healing and may others find healing as they read their stories.

7. 

   Maddy May 1, 2012 Reply

   I agree with Tammy. Thank you Recovering Grace for the work you are doing. You are aiding a multitude to recover and heal, of whom I am one. Please continue to shine light on what has been hidden and silenced.
   
   Thank you also for your work to reveal the truth of His grace, the work He did for us, and to silence the voice of legalism that so many of us were held in bondage to.

8. 

   James May 3, 2012 Reply

   I emailed the [email protected] address and asked for a response the HQ abuse article. I got a response yesterday (5-2):
   
   Thank you for your inquiry. We are preparing a response and will send it to you as soon as it is done.
   
   Bill Gothard

   • 

     Renee May 10, 2012 Reply

     Though I personally had a very positive ATI/IBLP experience this is wrong that it happened. It will be interesting to see how he responds.

   • 

     Another Hannah May 27, 2012 Reply

     Will definitely be interested to see his response when he responds.

     • 

       Heather July 3, 2012 Reply

       IF he responds. Wouldn't put it past him to conveniently forget.

9. 

   Jay Rowland May 3, 2012 Reply

   Gothard originally called his "Umbrella" the "Chain of Authority." Interestingly, CNN published a story during April detailing how sexual abuse (rape) in the military is aided by abuse of authority. The women who reported being raped were dismissed from service for being "crazy." Said one woman, "I couldn't trust my chain of command to ever back me up." http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/14/health/military-sexual-assaults-personality-disorder/index.html
   
   To a large degree, any child or wife abused in an "authoritarian" home, further hidden under authoritarian spiritual leaders, suffers the same despair regarding authority. If help does not come from the authority, then help must come from outside.

10. 

    Erika May 8, 2012 Reply

    I can't thank you enough for all you guys are doing on RG. It has been huge in my healing process as I deal with the lies, abuse, trauma, etc. from my years in ATI. Thank you!

11. 

    "Hannah" May 8, 2012 Reply

    Don't people take a risk to post publicly, anyway? Isn't the commentor responsible for how much info they reveal about themselves? Unless RG disclosed the commentor's e-mail address, I can't see how they were responsible. Just my opinion.

    • 

      Tammy May 11, 2012 Reply

      I agree with you Hannah. This is a public forum. Nobody forces anyone to comment that I am aware of. People post of their own freewill and share what they desire.

12. 

    Moving Forward May 8, 2012 Reply

    I am so grateful this is finally coming out. I only wish there was a way to chronicle and poignantly expose IBLP's emotional manipulation, which preys especially on uneducated low-income families and results in a devastating loss of resources (money, time, energy) and cripples personal, spiritual, and academic growth. For shame, BG.

    • 

      VC May 8, 2012 Reply

      So true.

    • 

      Maddy May 10, 2012 Reply

      Bingo

13. 

    Wendy Blake May 9, 2012 Reply

    Gothard, continuing his reign of manipulation and controlling behavior.

14. 

    Raquel May 9, 2012 Reply

    Seeing that note at the top, just makes we want to say that Bill Gothard needs to either step forward and address the readers and writers publically, or quit snooping around. Christ-honoring leaders speak up instead of attempting to silence the public.
    
    I, for one, refuse to be held captive anymore. "For freedom Christ died" and because of Jesus, I am free today! It has been a long process and I have so much to still work through, but God has been so good. I know Jesus like I never knew Him in ATI, and if it weren't for Him, it is all possible that I would be dead or living in a psychiatric ward.
    
    I am not bitter at my past, but I do feel righteous anger at the incredibly bad theology and "principles" we were fed by people who seemed to be a step closer to God than the rest of us.
    
    But I will no longer follow along with "giving a good report" about life under ATI/IBLP/Gothard. It is wrong to give a good report when it is a blantent lie!
    
    Thank you RG for sharing these stories and publicizing the truth! Keep up the good work, and don't let Bill Gothard keep you from saying what needs to be said.

15. 

    Confused May 10, 2012 Reply

    Is Bill really reading through all these articles and postings? For real? And is he just ambivilant towards the trainwreck he has created...or perhaps he just doesn't care? I would really like to know...

    • 

      Heather July 23, 2012 Reply

      I'm going to go out on a limb and say that although I don't think he's excited or happy about the misery he's caused, he cares more for his own reputation and pride than he cares for us. Perhaps he's even in denial about what he's done, and in a way, I can't blame him for thinking this. Imagine how indescribably difficult it would be to realize and accept that everything you have lived, taught, preached, etc.. is a lie, much less confessing that to your followers? I say this not to defend him in ANY way at all, but to perhaps shed some light on the issue. I know my parents refuse to consider that ATI isn't God's truth, for pretty much the same reasons I've listed above. Pride, denial, fear of being wrong, etc... In a nutshell.
      
      If they ever ask me again to prove to them that BG's teachings aren't Scriptural, I intend to simply smile pleasantly, and say, 'no, YOU prove to me that they ARE Scriptural.' and leave it at that. I know good and well they won't bother trying, and if I tried (again) to talk to them, it would go in one ear and out the other, so there's no point wasting anymore time. There'd be a chance that my comment would bug them enough to actually search the Scriptures eventually, which is what I hope for.

      • 

        Chris Symonds December 7, 2012 Reply

        Heather I have tried challenging my ex girlfriends parents on IBLP and ATI teachings they simply shut me out and wont respond. What is sad is they have criticized others for taking these teachings too far then carry on practicing them in secret.
        
        It is almost like they are above defending their beliefs to outsiders.
        
        Question: does IBLP teaching shunning outsiders or those they deem to have fallen into sin?

        • 

          Samuel Lundmark December 7, 2012

          Yes, IBLP teaches a version of shunning.
          
          If you can label someone a fool, you can say, "Answer not a fool according to his folly." That can end of a lot of legitimate conversations.
          
          Gothard teaches how to silence critics by basically accusing them of evil.
          
          And parents are taught specific steps for shunning their children.