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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.

Tag Archives: bill-gothard

My Year as an LIT

7 March 2012, 06:48

Moderator

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At the age of 15, I had already been heavily enslaved to a serious eating disorder for five years. According to my psychologist/counselor at the time, the eating disorder was accompanied by Borderline Personality Disorder and clinical depression. He prescribed three different medications that gave me headaches and made me more irritable–they didn’t really solve any […]

The Art of Manipulation

5 March 2012, 06:00

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“Joseph, I wouldn’t be surprised if God caused the plane to crash in order to punish you for not honoring your mother.”  That’s what my mother said to me in the summer of 2002. I was 25 years old and it was the night before 4 of my friends and myself were to board a […]

Why Subtle Differences Matter

24 February 2012, 06:00

Jay Rowland

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Looking at Recovering Grace’s recent “Response to Bill Gothard,” I wonder how many readers will brush over the handful of paragraphs that try to explain the seemingly small differences between Gothard’s definition of grace and the definition used by almost all scholars. At least two times, the authors alert the reader that the difference in […]

On Being a Shoe Salesman….

15 February 2012, 09:30

Seth S

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Dearly beloved–let us beware! There is a Shoe Salesman among us! So I work in a shoe store. Quiet, and unpretentious, I do little more than get the boxes off the top shelf, match mates up from our back storage room, and ring up sales. Tada! That is about it. Recently however, thanks to two […]

I Kissed Courtship Goodbye!

13 February 2012, 06:00

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When I was in my early 20’s I spent about 13 months working at an ACE school in Mexico. It so happened that one of my brother’s friends, a guy I had met previously at the IBLP (Institute in Basic Life Principles) Dallas Training Center, lived there as well. His family would frequently have me […]

Who Speaks for the Church? (An Excerpt)

10 February 2012, 06:00

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From time to time, we at Recovering Grace like to republish the work of others who have contributed to the discussion of Bill Gothard and his teachings. This is particularly true when a third party perspective of someone not closely involved with IBLP or ATI is provided, as in the following excerpt. This excerpt details […]

Forced Fasting

8 February 2012, 06:30

Beverly

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In daily life at the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) Training Centers and Headquarters, it was always understood that the kitchens were to be closed on Sundays. The explanation I was given when I first arrived at the Indianapolis Training Center (ITC) in 1995 for my year of service with EQUIP was that the […]

Uniquely Me!

6 February 2012, 06:00

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Journal Entry, September 2009– “I want more!! I really thought I could be happy with this life…but I was wrong. I feel like I’m going to explode. This isn’t me– *sigh* I don’t think it is, anyway. The sad part is, I don’t really know who “me” is…but it’s not this person, I’m sure of that. I […]

My Journey Toward Healing (So Far)

2 February 2012, 06:00

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This is my story of how I have found healing from my experiences in Bill Gothard’s Advanced Training Institute (ATI) and Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP)–and in my family, as it was under the influence of these organizations. You may not agree with how I came to find healing; you may not agree with my […]

A Response to Bill Gothard

30 January 2012, 06:00

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The year 2011 was an interesting chapter in the legacy of Bill Gothard, the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), and the Advanced Training Institute (ATI). Through what we believe is the hand of God at work, many of those who were raised under Gothard’s teachings began to reach out to–and compare notes with–others who […]