MatthewS | Recovering Grace

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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.

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The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 2: Spiritual Abuse Is Not New

14 June 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 2: Spiritual Abuse Is Not New We continue our Thursday series blogging through “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” The first post in the series is here. Are the spiritual relationships you have bringing the rest Jesus promised or do you find just more toil and weariness? […]

Spiritual Alchemy

8 June 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

A thousand years ago in Europe, alchemists served as philosophers, scientists, and magicians all wrapped up into one. They mixed, stirred, bubbled and distilled chemicals in the search for the fabled philosopher’s stone–the substance that would have the power to turn metals like lead into silver or gold. Their mission was doomed from the beginning, although […]

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 1: “Help Me…”

7 June 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Chapter 1: “Help Me…” We continue our Thursday series blogging through “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” The first post in the series is here. What is Spiritual abuse? How does it occur? Are you a victim? The chapter begins with a meeting with Jeri, who had sought […]

Introduction to The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse

31 May 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

Today marks the beginning of a new Thursday series blogging through the book The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse by David Johnson and Jeff Van Vonderen. Many thanks to the team of former ATI parents and students who have consented to contribute to this series. Their input has been invaluable. If you’d like to read along, […]

A Tale of Two Abigails: Part Two

28 October 2011, 06:00

MatthewS

This is the second of two articles examining the biblical character, Abigail. To quickly summarize the first article (found here), Abigail was a hero. Her quick thinking and action saved lives. David praised God for using her to save him and others from needless pain. From the Pages of Scripture This article looks at Bill […]

A Tale of Two Abigails

7 October 2011, 08:57

MatthewS

The first Abigail is a wise and beautiful hero, an inspiration to women and men everywhere. Her quick thinking, deliberate action, and diplomatic speech saved many lives. We meet this Abigail in a delightful story told in 1 Samuel 15. Sadly, many of us raised under the Institute in Basic Life Principles and ATI’s teachings […]

The Unfair Bonus

12 August 2011, 06:00

MatthewS

Jesus must have enjoyed short stories. He used parables frequently. One of those stories appears in Matthew 20:1-16. It arrested my attention recently and I wondered how someone would tell the story in today’s world. Perhaps something like this: The strangest bonus Jim ever received was for a large project he worked on for six […]

Unredefining Grace

29 July 2011, 06:00

MatthewS

God saved us by his grace (Eph 2:8-9). There is nothing that we did to earn his favor. Spiritually, we were dead! Salvation is a free gift that God freely chooses to give us out of his incredibly huge wealth of kindness. The apostle Paul was so consumed with thinking about God’s grace that he […]