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

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Stories and accounts of the destruction caused by the teachings of Bill Gothard.

Yearly Archives: 2014

The Difference Between Horizontal and Vertical: Fifty Years of Yielding Rights and Not Taking Up Offenses

18 November 2014, 09:00

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Rebecca Davis of Here’s the Joy has written about the IBLP Basic Seminar’s teachings on “taking up an offense” and “yielding rights,” the way these concepts have permeated both her own experience and broader American Evangelical culture, and the teachings’ practical effects in culture. Links to and excerpts from Davis’s posts follow below. Taking Up […]

You Cannot Pay With Words

12 November 2014, 09:00

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My story is about a leader maintaining a double life for decades and then demanding to pay for his deeds with words and tears. He is outwardly sorrowful that his words and favor are no longer valid currency. My parents were regional and state leaders in the homeschooling movement for years before we joined the […]

Confident Statements Do Not a Solid Argument Make

6 November 2014, 09:00

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A former Advanced Training Institute (ATI) student and Life Focus veteran has tackled both the form and the substance of the IBLP booklet What the Bible Has to Say About “Contemporary Christian” Music: Ten Scriptural Reasons Why the “Rock Beat” is Evil in Any Form at his blog, Throwing Out The Bath Water. “Is there a […]

No Grace without Jesus

30 October 2014, 11:57

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There’s a new move away from the church these days. If that’s all it was, I wouldn’t be concerned. The church needs to get its act together in so many ways. We went from stuck in the past to stuck in the market. But I think that will happen over time. I think the church […]

When We Throw Stones

27 October 2014, 12:01

Micah J. Murray

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“Let him who is without sin throw the first stone.” That’s what they say, when religious leaders are questioned about their abusive and manipulative actions. “We all make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect. You wouldn’t want somebody airing all your dirty laundry, would you?” As if building an multi-million-dollar “ministry” or “church” on the backs of vulnerable followers […]

Why is that Person your Friend?

23 October 2014, 06:00

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A commenter recently asked an obvious question of another: “Why do you think that person is your friend?” That rang a bell in me. There are times, when reading the stories people send me, that I ask something similar in my heart. Why do you think that person is your friend? Why would you keep […]

The Principle of Self-Doubt

20 October 2014, 06:24

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I have been reading articles on Recovering Grace for a couple of years now, and the testimonies of others have been powerful tools for personal healing and for re-evaluating the way I think about life. One of the more common themes that I have seen in the comments on Recovering Grace articles is that people […]

Broken Glass – In Memoriam

16 October 2014, 10:45

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As I am going through this process of recognizing and healing from the effects of growing up with IBLP/ATI,  I find that daily life can often draw parallels to what I am feeling internally. I was washing a window in my kitchen today and realized that one of them is broken. It is pointless to […]

If Bill Gothard Is Wrong, Then What’s Right?

2 October 2014, 06:00

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by Don Veinot on May 8, 2014 When I posted Is Jesus a Sinner According to Bill Gothard’s Teachings? a few weeks back I could vividly recall Bill Gothard’s question to me the first time I went through the ramifications of his teaching with him. His response was, “Are you saying there is no authority over the wife and […]

Is Jesus a Sinner According to Bill Gothard’s Teachings?

29 September 2014, 06:00

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by Don Veinot on April 3rd, 2014 We often receive questions by mail, phone and email about Bill Gothard’s teaching on authority, which at one time was “Chain of Command” and later renamed “Umbrella of Protection.” Obviously the latter sounds more benign than the former, but they essentially come down to the same thing. Who is the […]