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Trapped in the Shadow of ‘God’s Anointed’: Breaking free from an Unbiblical Concept

5 May 2014, 06:00

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As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you…and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. —The Apostle John — 1 John 2:27 [NASB] You may have heard someone tell you God “anointed” him or her to be your leader. Or, perhaps, someone else pointed to another […]

How Could This Happen Here?

15 April 2014, 08:42

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Recovering Grace will observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month for the remainder of April. In April 2012 and 2013, we published some very difficult stories of sexual abuse in ATI [Advanced Training Institute] families. Some critics objected that these families were extreme outliers within the program, and that ATI and IBLP have never condoned sexual […]

On Feeling Betrayed, Validated, and Brave

3 April 2014, 06:00

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ATI Counseling Seminar photographed in Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, GA

And since your history of silence Won’t do you any good, Did you think it would? Let your words be anything but empty Why don’t you tell them the truth? Say what you want to say And let the words fall out Honestly I want to see you be brave Show me […]

Was It All Wrong?

27 March 2014, 06:00

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Okay, now we have left the legalist church/organization/teacher. Now what? Where do we stand? Do we throw out everything we learned? How do we sort out all of this? Does it all just need to go? I have been getting a lot of these questions lately. Doug Phillips and Vision Forum are gone. Bill Gothard […]

Gothard’s Biblical Inoculation

14 March 2014, 06:00

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Question: How do you ensure that your children don’t catch a deadly disease? Simple…inoculate them. In the 1700s, it was discovered that dipping a needle into the pus of a smallpox blister and then inserting that same needle into a healthy person prevented them from getting the disease. The infected dose was large enough for […]

Realization, Fear, and Action without Acquiescence: Joy Wood’s Story

13 March 2014, 06:00

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Joy and her daughters, c. 1980

Editor’s Note: Joy Wood, an IBYC staff wife from 1974–1980, tells in today’s post of her and her husband’s time with the Institute, and of their resignation when asked to promote “lies of omission” after the 1980 scandal broke. This narrative, combined with Joy’s reflections composed shortly after her family left IBYC, records a journey […]

Stolen Treasures

11 March 2014, 06:00

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published on March 11, 2013. A recent article on Recovering Grace, entitled “Moving On,” prompted me to think about the reason it is so difficult to move forward after being victimized by legalism. As I have worked with those hurt by legalism over the years, I have often heard stories about what […]

The GOTHARD Files: Failure to Reconcile 1981–ATI, part two

8 March 2014, 06:00

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Today’s post is a continuation of yesterday’s article. Accountability The LA Committee was launching its own massive last-ditch effort to hold Bill accountable. Using their personal funds, the committee drafted a unified letter dated January 19, 1981, with a list of 28 questions they wanted answered, stating that in spite of their removal from seminar […]

The GOTHARD Files: Failure to Reconcile, 1981–ATI

7 March 2014, 05:59

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With Bill Gothard back in his seat as president of IBYC, there could be little left to say about what happened next. Those of us watching these events unfold from the vantage point of thirty-plus years in the future are leaning forward in our seats, wondering how such obvious corruption of power could have been […]

A Call for Discernment

4 March 2014, 06:00

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Recovering Grace in many ways is a result of the efforts of other Christian leaders who throughout the 80’s and 90’s tried to warn of the dangers inherent in the teachings of Bill Gothard, the Advanced Training Institute, and the Institute in Basic Life Principles. Although many people involved with Gothardism did not listen, some of us […]