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The Continuing Saga—Recent Developments with IBLP and Bill Gothard

18 November 2015, 11:13

Moderator

147

It has been more than 18 months since Bill Gothard resigned as president of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP). Since then, there has been relatively little public communication or activity from either Bill Gothard or IBLP, leading some to wonder whether the 50-year saga of this organization was coming to an end. Although for various […]

An ATI Education, Chapter 2: Is It Just Me?

19 October 2015, 06:00

Sara Jones

102

“ATI is not user-friendly.” That was the opinion of one former Advanced Training Institute (ATI) student, now an adult, who skimmed over the materials that our parents had to work with. He was right. The Wisdom Booklets are the foundation of Gothard’s homeschool curriculum. There are 54 of them, and at a glance, they’re pretty impressive. […]

An ATI Education, Chapter 1: Under the Umbrella

15 October 2015, 06:00

Sara Jones

How do we grow in wisdom and character? How are we protected from temptation? How does God give us direction for our lives? Say it with me, ye thousands of Gothard’s alumni: “By staying under authority.” Authority is the foundational principle of Gothard’s worldview. “Our faith multiplies as we see how God speaks to us […]

An ATI Education: Introduction

12 October 2015, 06:00

Sara Jones

If a woman doesn’t cry out when she’s raped, God holds her equally guilty with her attacker. This biblical mandate is familiar to every student and parent who went through Bill Gothard’s Wisdom Booklet #36. Reading it as a bald statement like that, it’s hard to believe that a thinking Christian would admit to believing […]

Recovering Grace in the Media

17 September 2015, 21:12

Moderator

In the past two weeks, two major investigative reports were released in the media, both of which were focused on aspects of Bill Gothard and the IBLP and ATI organizations. Both of these reports utilized Recovering Grace spokespersons as sources. We found both of these articles to be exceptionally well-written, and their content to be much deeper […]

Stolen Dreams

24 August 2015, 07:14

Sara Jones

Through IBLP and his “homeschool” program (the Advanced Training Institute), Bill Gothard stifled hundreds of dreams in the name of godly living. As the first wave of apprenticeship students reached teenager-hood beginning in the 1990s, all of us naturally needed to explore and develop our own gifts. But as we sat through Gothard’s sessions in […]

Church Celebrities Who are Above Criticism: Bill Gothard

1 July 2015, 06:00

Moderator

145

“He deprives the trusted ones of speech And takes away the discernment of the elders.” (Job 12:20) In a post put up a couple weeks ago, I recounted how, in the late sixties, my dad, Joe Bayly publicly criticized Bob Jones University. He did so in his monthly column in ETERNITY Magazine. It was also […]

Failure to Repent: Tell It to the Church

27 June 2015, 21:27

Moderator

256

June 24, 2015 Rev. William Gothard [mailing address redacted] Dear Bill, With much prayer and consultation, as called for in Proverb 12:15, we are informing you in writing and as a follow up to our May 29 conference call that it is necessary to take our involvement in seeking your repentance to the next level, […]

Of Music and Football

26 June 2015, 06:00

Moderator

“So you’re Caleb,” my high school guidance counselor said as she handed me the results of my Pre-ACT test. “You did really well.” I didn’t just have the best scores in my class, I was among the best in the nation. She told me I could write my own ticket, if I would apply myself, […]

The Characteristics of a Sexual Groomer

23 June 2015, 07:54

Moderator

When I think back over my life, and what happened to me when I was 20, when I met Bill Gothard, I think of this quote from the character of Rosa Dartle in David Copperfield. With my good, acute memory that never allows me to forget, I can put myself back in that room, that […]