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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.

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A Pastor’s Confession

13 January 2014, 06:00

Moderator

I was the pastor of an ATI church. There. It’s out. I said it. So much within me is shouting, “No! No!” But it’s the truth. Somehow the church I served became an ATI (Advanced Training Institute-influenced) church. It was never my plan or desire, but I was naïve. I thought I could invite Gothard […]

Where Healing Begins

9 January 2014, 06:00

Moderator

This is where the healing begins This is where the healing starts When you come to where you’re broken within The light meets the dark, the light meets the dark Sparks will fly as grace collides with the dark inside of us So please don’t fight this coming light ~Tenth Avenue North “Healing Begins” I […]

Life Focus: A Sister’s Perspective

18 November 2013, 06:00

Carolynn

I was 13 when my parents chose to send my brother to Life Focus. Josh was the first in our family—at age 16—to experience an apprenticeship program, and the whole family was both excited and apprehensive. What would the Indianapolis Training Center (ITC) be like? (My parents attended a short admissions seminar there several years […]

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff

31 October 2013, 06:00

Moderator

I grew up on the West Coast and have noticed a pattern where families from California who were enrolled in the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) tended to be a bit more lax in their way of going about the program, compared with the experiences of families in the Midwest and elsewhere. Perhaps that had a […]

The Blessings of God

17 October 2013, 06:00

Wendy B

Bill Gothard’s courtship literature promises rewards to those who do courtship right and consequences for those who date — rewards and consequences that are not promised in Scripture. I’ll take examples from Gothard’s recent courtship teaching, then share my own experience with courtship and dating. In the article “What Is Courtship?” Gothard lists the Foundational […]

“Rocky” Arguments and a Double Standard

3 October 2013, 06:00

admin

Many people over the years have expressed concern with the way Bill Gothard misuses Scripture—not to mention basic logic—in his attempts to validate his dogmatic pseudo-spiritual requirements for “successful” living. A friend of mine recently shared a document (pictured) obtained while attending an IBLP (Institute in Basic Life Principles) conference on effective communication. In […]

Issues of Concern—Bill Gothard and the Bible (1984)

2 September 2013, 05:00

Moderator

162

A Report by Ronald B. Allen, Th.D. Professor of Hebrew Scripture Western Baptist Seminary, Portland, Oregon May 30, 1984 The week that I spent at Basic Youth Conflicts in 1973 (Portland) was one of the most difficult of my life. In this seminar I was regularly assaulted by a misuse of the Bible, particularly of […]

Fellow Fundamentalists Denounced Gothard’s “Chain of Command” (1974)

26 August 2013, 06:00

Moderator

In the November 1974 issue of “The Projector,” a newsletter for Christian Fundamentalists, editor Dr. Dayton Hobbs challenged Bill Gothard’s “Chain of Command.” You can read the entire issue here: http://www.theprojector.org/projectors/nov1974.pdf As with most issues of “The Projector,” much attention is given to separation from non-fundamentalist influences. (Dr. Hobbs did not foresee how severely Gothard […]

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 […]

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

19 August 2013, 06:00

Moderator

This is Part Two of a three-part story. Click here to read Part One. During my early high school years, I was very blessed to find an incredible youth group with leaders who valued relationships over rules and encouraged guys and girls to know each other more intimately as friends instead of remaining isolated from […]