Reaching Those Who’ve Been Hurt by the Church, Part 2 of 3

***Last week (Part 1) we made the “awareness” case. This week (Part 2) and next (Part 3) we get more practical, sharing the remaining nine of ten essentials for reaching those who’ve been hurt or disillusioned by the Church. For a full version of this article see here. 2) Empathy: It’s at this point that we, as believers, have a … Read More

Should We Judge a Movement By Its Abuses?

“Now, it is undeniably true that some of the more fundamentalist forms of Christianity— Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox— can do serious psychological and emotional damage to people… It’s wrong for Christians (or Jews, Muslims, and any other religious believer) to be so defensive about attacks on our faith that we deny that people within the religion can use its teachings … Read More

A Critique of Gothardism, Part 2 of 5

As an exercise in discernment, this series critiques the teaching associated with the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), Advanced Training Institute International (ATI), and specifically their founder, Bill Gothard. His teaching includes a myriad of distortions and this post addresses examples under the first two of six main areas (listed at the end of Part 1): the use of … Read More

A Critique of Gothardism, Part 1 of 5

Over the next five weeks, as an exercise in discernment, I’ll critique the teaching associated with the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), Advanced Training Institute International (ATI), and specifically their founder, Bill Gothard. I believe Mr. Gothard’s teaching as a whole is a great example of a shrunken, distorted, and slightly Gnostic Christianity—in short—how not to be. As I … Read More

The Double Helix of Faith and Family, Part 4 of 4: The Discipleship Imperative

I mentioned in part two of this series that my mom’s parents brought a spiritual strength and stability to our family just by their proximity. And, when they left the area, a healthy spiritual influence was lost. I also explained that this was one of the factors that contributed to my mom’s lack of spiritual support and vulnerability to “bad religion.”[1] I … Read More