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

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Tag Archives: itc

The Raising of a Christian Narcissist

17 September 2012, 06:00

Moderator

50

My family joined the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) in the early ’90s, shortly after attending a Basic Seminar, at the invitation of a family which has in recent history become a household name. I was in my early elementary years at the time. I didn’t really understand why we were making so many abrupt changes […]

I Kid You Not!

20 August 2012, 06:00

RyanR

27

Shortly after  I joined the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) staff in 1992, I went on a two-week ministry trip to Moscow, Russia, that was preceded by a very long car ride from Oak Brook, Illinois, to JFK airport.  Somewhere between this car trip and returning from Russia, I learned a very important rule […]

Life Focus: Isolation Instead of Relationship

11 August 2012, 06:00

Moderator

45

As a teenager I was sent to an Advanced Training Institute (ATI) young men’s program called Life Focus. Life Focus was not explicitly advertised as a program for the troubled youth or “rebels” of ATI, but, functionally, that is what it  was. The young men in Life Focus were regarded as and spoken to as […]

He Was Supposed to Protect Us

2 July 2012, 06:00

Moderator

12

The relationship between my step-dad and myself has always been a little different than a normal father-daughter relationship. For most of my life, I thought of him only as my dad, never putting “step” in front of it, because he was the only man to ever fill that spot in my life. I started using […]

Somebody SHOULD Have Despised My Youth!

18 June 2012, 06:00

WendyA

23

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12) I remember frequently hearing this verse during my years with Bill Gothard’s Advanced Training Institute (ATI). It was often quoted to the young people at various […]

Life Inside

7 May 2012, 06:00

Moderator

37

My family joined ATI when I was five in 1984. We were members of the pilot family program (the first 100 families). I don’t know what ATI is now, I only know it as it was for me: A very strict Christian home school program. I hear they have changed some things, but that doesn’t […]

A Difficult Journey

17 April 2012, 06:00

Moderator

61

“I want to die, I want to die! I can’t take it anymore!!” I remember screaming that as loud as I could in the middle of the woods while punching a tree until my fists bled and I slumped down on the ground from exhaustion. I was 10 years old and felt so hopeless I […]

My Year as an LIT

7 March 2012, 06:48

Moderator

46

At the age of 15, I had already been heavily enslaved to a serious eating disorder for five years. According to my psychologist/counselor at the time, the eating disorder was accompanied by Borderline Personality Disorder and clinical depression. He prescribed three different medications that gave me headaches and made me more irritable–they didn’t really solve any […]

Contradictions and Confessions

22 February 2012, 06:00

Moderator

12

The Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) Training Centers (TCs) seemed to be a breeding ground for hypocrisy. Especially for those who were in leadership. I will admit to being a part of that group. I was a staff member and I did things that were against the rules. All the time. If you happened […]

Forced Fasting

8 February 2012, 06:30

Beverly

33

In daily life at the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) Training Centers and Headquarters, it was always understood that the kitchens were to be closed on Sundays. The explanation I was given when I first arrived at the Indianapolis Training Center (ITC) in 1995 for my year of service with EQUIP was that the […]