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Articles about how Bill Gothard mishandles the Bible to support his legalistic viewpoint.

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Whelp, there it is: 15 Signs of False Humility

29 August 2013, 06:00

Stephen Smith

The leader of a Texas sect once wrote a letter to me in which he said that he wished he could open a vein for me in order to save my soul. That sounded quite nice, though I already follow Jesus—a point I had (fruitlessly) made in several private Facebook messages back and forth with […]

Life Isn’t a Role-Playing Game: Part Three

22 August 2013, 06:00

Moderator

This is Part Three of a three-part personal story. Click here to read Part One; Click here to read Part Two. After much thought and prayer, I settled on pursuing a marketing degree at a local, small Christian engineering and flight school called LeTourneau University. Most of my first two years were spent obsessed with […]

The Dreaded “B” Word

12 August 2013, 06:00

Moderator

During the healing process of leaving ATI (or any other legalistic group) and discovering Jesus Christ and His gospel, there is often a very painful transition for individuals as they must face all the lies they believed, lies which are often coupled with a long history of injustices and abuse. I like to compare this […]

Experiencing Freedom

1 August 2013, 06:00

Moderator

I remember the day I was saved. It was after church on a rainy night, by my little bed, just before being tucked in. That was the day I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me. I wasn’t a horrible sinner, being not quite five, but I knew that I did and […]

Anniversary Milestones

25 July 2013, 06:00

Moderator

Dear Recovering Grace Reader, This week marks the second anniversary of the launching of Recovering Grace. It hardly seems possible that a little over two years ago, our website was only a germ of an idea being shared among a large number of former students of Bill Gothard and his Advanced Training Institute and Institute […]

Convictions or Preferences?

15 July 2013, 06:00

Moderator

In the circle within which I used to walk it was popular to express one’s convictions. In fact, we were taught to use the word “conviction” rather than “preference,” because it would be stronger when talking with others. A conviction was considered to be a word from the Lord, after all. You know, the Holy […]

A True Shepherd’s Heart

11 July 2013, 06:00

Moderator

My family joined the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) when I was 13 years old. My dad was a pastor and my parents had been familiar with the Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP), the Basic Seminar, and the Advanced Seminar for many years, so when their homeschooling friends told them about ATI and its “new […]

The Pressure of Perfection

4 July 2013, 06:00

Moderator

“If you would just do it right!” This was the oft-repeated mantra in my family. It usually happened when something went wrong and my dad was angered by it: simple things like a broken dish, a dirty room, or sibling squabble, or more complex things like a broken window or childhood injury. If we had […]

When The Church Prefers Perpetrators

17 June 2013, 06:00

Moderator

Occasionally Recovering Grace likes to offer other articles and resources that our readers may find helpful in their road to recovery. The following linked article is very thought provoking and one that everyone should read and ponder. After all, Jesus came to care for the broken and needy, not protect the proud and haughty. “The […]

Remember Your Brethren in Bonds

13 June 2013, 06:00

Moderator

In 2 Timothy 3:12, it is written, “Yea, and all who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” I don’t remember much persecution, at least not the kind that the Bible talks about. Sure we were ultra conservative and occasionally got some strange looks from people who had no idea what we were talking […]