Featured Article | Recovering Grace

Have you Shiny Happy People? Looking for more info? Start here.

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.

You are here:

Home
Featured Article

Category Archives: Featured Article

Gothard’s Biblical Inoculation

14 March 2014, 06:00

Moderator

Question: How do you ensure that your children don’t catch a deadly disease? Simple…inoculate them. In the 1700s, it was discovered that dipping a needle into the pus of a smallpox blister and then inserting that same needle into a healthy person prevented them from getting the disease. The infected dose was large enough for […]

Realization, Fear, and Action without Acquiescence: Joy Wood’s Story

13 March 2014, 06:00

Moderator

Joy and her daughters, c. 1980

Editor’s Note: Joy Wood, an IBYC staff wife from 1974–1980, tells in today’s post of her and her husband’s time with the Institute, and of their resignation when asked to promote “lies of omission” after the 1980 scandal broke. This narrative, combined with Joy’s reflections composed shortly after her family left IBYC, records a journey […]

Stolen Treasures

11 March 2014, 06:00

Moderator

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published on March 11, 2013. A recent article on Recovering Grace, entitled “Moving On,” prompted me to think about the reason it is so difficult to move forward after being victimized by legalism. As I have worked with those hurt by legalism over the years, I have often heard stories about what […]

Bill Gothard Resigns from IBLP Presidency

6 March 2014, 21:53

Moderator

194

On March 6, 2014, Administrative Director David Waller communicated via email to ATI families that Mr. Gothard has “resigned as president of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, its Board of Directors, and its affiliated entities.” Mr. Waller indicated the board’s desire to appoint interim leadership, and named Chris Hogan as one who “will play […]

Today Is Our Day of Prayer

6 March 2014, 06:00

Moderator

In our article yesterday, Recovering Grace called for today—March 6—to be a corporate Day of Prayer. We are asking our readers, friends, and current family of IBLP/ATI to spend time praying on behalf of Bill Gothard, IBLP, Recovering Grace, and all involved in these difficult events. We encourage everyone to pray, regardless of where your […]

Recovering Grace’s Response to IBLP Board Action

5 March 2014, 06:00

Moderator

Dear Recovering Grace Reader, On Thursday, February 27, at 9:20 p.m. EST, World magazine broke the news that the board of directors of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) has placed Bill Gothard on administrative leave while they undertake a review of the allegations we have published on our site in recent weeks. We received the […]

A Call for Discernment

4 March 2014, 06:00

Moderator

Recovering Grace in many ways is a result of the efforts of other Christian leaders who throughout the 80’s and 90’s tried to warn of the dangers inherent in the teachings of Bill Gothard, the Advanced Training Institute, and the Institute in Basic Life Principles. Although many people involved with Gothardism did not listen, some of us […]

Silencing the Lambs: Twisting Matthew 18

3 March 2014, 06:00

Moderator

132

A Response to Rediscovering a Forgotten Truth The day was Valentine’s Day 1976. Bill Gothard and his brother, Steve, had some surprising confessions to make to the staff of IBYC: they had “defrauded” staff secretaries. In the months prior to this, some of the young ladies had sought out the help of other staff members […]

The Question of Grief: “Who am I now?”

28 February 2014, 13:00

Moderator

Photo credit: Charlie Johnson

Beginning September 12, 2013, the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado received more than its yearly precipitation in just a few days. Rivers that normally flowed from one to three feet deep were ten or more feet above their flood stage. Eighteen miles of Highway 34 between Estes Park and Loveland were […]

Defrauding: What does it mean?

27 February 2014, 06:00

Moderator

159

In February 1976, Bill Gothard confessed to the poorly-defined offense of “having ‘defrauded’ staff secretaries.” In a July 1980 meeting of the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts (IBYC) board, it was confirmed that Bill Gothard was responsible for the “physical and emotional defrauding of several of his personal secretaries.” In February 1981, Bill once again […]