Have you Shiny Happy People? Looking for more info? Start here.

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: love

What Grace Means to Me

16 December 2013, 06:00

Moderator

10

One of the things Jesus has been so faithful to show me throughout my journey of healing from ATI is the beauty of grace. Grace is something I never fully understood until recently. Although I had heard people talk about grace, my understanding of what it really meant ended at knowing that I was saved […]

No Condemnation!

5 December 2013, 06:00

Moderator

22

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 […]

When I was on Fire

7 November 2013, 06:00

Moderator

25

“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 […]

Hiding

5 November 2013, 06:00

Moderator

19

The world sees narcissists as loud and seeking attention, at least the ones we call “overt.” For the most part that’s true, but those who know even the overt narcissists also know that there is much that the world does not see. In fact, there is much no one sees. Some of the narcissists I […]

What’s Wrong with Guarding your Heart?

30 September 2013, 06:00

Moderator

30

I was raised in an ultra-Conservative Christian homeschool environment, during what I consider the heyday of the “guard your heart”/purity/courtship movement (90s and early 2000s). Needless to say, that teaching affected and continues to affect me deeply. What started out as a (presumably) well-intentioned effort by parents to prevent their children from experiencing pain, has […]

Does Jesus Love Me?

19 September 2013, 06:00

Moderator

3

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

Moderator

2

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 […]

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

19 August 2013, 06:00

Moderator

4

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 […]

The Dreaded “B” Word

12 August 2013, 06:00

Moderator

42

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

7

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 […]