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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.

Tag Archives: grace

No Condemnation!

5 December 2013, 06:00

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I remember the exact moment when I realized that Jesus loved me—and LIKED me—ALL the time, not just when I had performed correctly. My life seemed like it was falling apart around me. I was no longer able to control everything and come across as a “godly” person. I started having panic attacks, and because […]

One Way Love: An Antidote to Gothardism

11 November 2013, 06:00

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“The Bible is one long story of God meeting our rebellion with His rescue, our sin with His salvation, our guilt with His grace, our badness with His goodness. The overwhelming focus of the Bible is not the work of the redeemed but the work of the Redeemer. Which means that the Bible is not […]

When I was on Fire

7 November 2013, 06:00

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“What do I know of You, Who spoke the world in motion? Where have I even stood, but soil along Your ocean? Are You fire, are You fury? Are You sacred, are You beautiful? What do I know – what do I know of holy?” ~ Addison Road Once upon a time I thought that […]

But What About…?

24 October 2013, 06:00

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In the parable of the sower, Jesus spoke of three primary enemies of the sower’s intention for the seed.  I have used this little story as a structure for teaching about the enemies of grace.  First, there was the trodden ground, the hard path, where nothing could grow.  Then there were the predators, the birds […]

Overcoming Relational Aggression

14 October 2013, 06:00

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Is spiritual abuse and relational aggression happening to you? This is how it used to play out in my life. I just had you over to my house to talk and you pulled my movie collection off the shelf and shivered. I ask you what you are thinking; I would hate to miss any hidden message […]

Anti-Law

7 October 2013, 06:00

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Grace 101 Over the past several Grace 101 posts I have focused on the parable of the sower from Matthew 13 to give us a structure for looking at enemies of grace.  I started with the trampled or trodden path, the hard ground that would not let the seed take root.  But other enemies take […]

The Cave

26 September 2013, 06:00

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Once upon a time, there was a cave, and in this cave, there were a group of people who were captives. They had been there since birth and knew no other life. Indeed, they did not even know they were captives. These captives were chained in such a way that they were always looking at […]

From Rules to Grace

23 September 2013, 06:00

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In the past few years, since I have expressed many disagreements with the theology of Bill Gothard, ATI (Advanced Training Institute), and his parent ministry, IBLP (Institute in Basic Life Principles), I have invariably been asked how ATI had negatively impacted my life. Here is my story. My family joined ATI in the ‘90s. It […]

Does Jesus Love Me?

19 September 2013, 06:00

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Jesus loves me. I need to know this. Like, not some kind of empty platitude I say or others say to me. I need to KNOW this. Not like something I sing on a Sunday morning after watching my parents rush around, getting us ready for church. Looking like a perfect child, putting on the […]

Too Good to be True

16 September 2013, 06:00

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Grace 101 Let’s face it.  If we are pointing out enemies of grace, particularly those areas where the path is hard from years of tradition and wrong thinking, we don’t have to go any farther than our own minds.  I define the flesh as the system we developed to handle life.  Perhaps we could broaden […]