Moderator | Recovering Grace

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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.

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Bill Gothard’s Tornado That Didn’t Happen

29 August 2012, 06:00

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May 2, 2008, marked a major milestone in my life. It was the end of my first year of college, and I had long planned a 50-mile bike ride to celebrate. That morning, however, tornado sirens started wailing and I was obliged to seek shelter. I didn’t think much of those tornado sirens until weeks […]

Life Focus: Isolation Instead of Relationship

11 August 2012, 06:00

Moderator

As a teenager I was sent to an Advanced Training Institute (ATI) young men’s program called Life Focus. Life Focus was not explicitly advertised as a program for the troubled youth or “rebels” of ATI, but, functionally, that is what it was. The young men in Life Focus were regarded as and spoken to as […]

Behind Every Good Man…

30 July 2012, 06:00

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The concept of authority is central to Bill Gothard’s teachings. So much so, that I remember performing a coronation ceremony crowning my dad “king” of our family as a Wisdom Booklet project. I was 16 at the time, and struggling with authority being defined as dad’s complete control over every aspect of my life. My […]

How to Spiritually Manipulate Young People in Six Easy Steps

27 July 2012, 06:00

Moderator

Step 1. Present a test that supposedly measures one’s love for God. Every Christian young person desires to love God, of course, and will be excited to confirm their commitment to their Savior! Step 2. Present scripture out of context that insinuates that one is God’s enemy if they fail the test. This heightens the […]

Here’s The Courtship; Where’s The Love?

25 July 2012, 06:00

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When I was twelve, my parents came home and said, “Just so you know, you’re never going to be allowed to date.” This was fine by me; I was more into books than socializing. In fact, although I had a speech prepared on why I didn’t date, I never did get to use it. Still […]

Celebrating our First Anniversary

23 July 2012, 06:00

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In the summer of 2011, a small online group of people began regaling each other with funny stories of their past experiences growing up in the homeschool environment of ATI (the Advanced Training Institute). It didn’t take too long for friendships to form and a sense of “coffee shop” type community to bond them. It […]

He Freely Gives Grace

21 July 2012, 06:00

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What Have You Done with My Daughter?

14 July 2012, 06:00

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My first experience with anything Bill Gothard was the Eternal Vision program. My then 18-year-old daughter, who had for years rejected God, had been amazingly touched by God in a Denny’s parking lot. This girl was beaming with joy, sleepless from excitement, and so new and fresh. I urged her to visit some people we […]

If Mama Ain’t Happy . . .

9 July 2012, 06:00

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I was in high school when I first went to a Basic and Advanced Seminar, and my family enrolled in the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) homeschool program. Prior to that, my folks hadn’t attended a Basic Seminar in nearly a decade. While they appreciated what they had learned the first time around, they didn’t implement […]

Father’s Day and the Mystical Hedge of Protection

6 July 2012, 06:00

Moderator

On Father’s Day 2012, Bill Gothard made an interesting choice of subject matter for an email to fathers subscribed to his email list (click here to read it). While we recognize that his intent was to encourage fathers, we feel that there were several issues within the email that are greatly troubling. And while we […]