Tag: Recovering Grace
-
Counting the Cost Book Review, Part 1
Since I left IBLP a decade ago, I’ve known that there were issues in the Duggar family, not just because we grew up in the same religious cult, but because of the extreme lifestyle they promoted on TV that was even too conservative for my family. And how was this family so buttoned up all…
-
How I Recovered My Life After Growing Up In A Cult
If you believe that you are in a cult and need help getting out, here are some resources that may help you. If you are in physical danger, call 911. Support Network ~ Am I In A Cult? ~ Grow Up Fundamentalist? “Oh my god,” I whispered to my dark room. “I was raised in…
-
Why I Left IBLP, Part 3
Read Parts 1 and 2 here. My mom and I showed up at the Pre-Excel room and asked for a meeting with Sara, Rachel and Emily. They agreed to sit down with us behind the stage curtain, and this time my mom did the talking. “Leona told me what happened, and she does not have…
-
Why I Left IBLP, Part 2
Read Part 1 here. I’m a drama-girlie. I was homeschooled so I didn’t have a chance to do theater, but I did do a lot of interpretive speeches in high school, which was as close as I could get to being a theater kid. The little skits that the Pre-Excel leaders and sometimes some of…
-
Why I Left IBLP, Part 1
My family joined IBLP when I was 8 years old, and it changed our lives for the worst…though, that’s not how my parents would put it. IBLP raised me to be a bigoted self-righteous girl believing that our group of people were the only real Christians going to Heaven. I generously gave religious advice to…
-
Highly-Controlled Friendships
One of the big reasons I loved attending IBLP‘s annual family homeschooling conference year after year (the Advanced Training Institute) was the freedom I had to pursue friendships with practically anyone I met there. I was a very friendly child, if a little awkward and out of practice due to limited social opportunities. In the…
-
Becoming Free Indeed Book Review
I appreciate Jinger’s willingness to speak out against the beliefs she grew up believing as a child, despite potential family conflict and disappointment from community who may disagree with her conclusions. She states repeatedly that she loves her family and does not share her deviation from their beliefs maliciously or to place blame on anyone…
-
Stories from HQ: Volunteering at IBLP Headquarters, Part 2
I was at lunch with my godmother a month or so after returning home from headquarters, right as the school year was beginning. Teenage life felt limiting and bland compared to what felt like my glory days as a staff member. I missed it. I’d cried the hardest in my life after it sunk in…
-
Stories from HQ: Volunteering at IBLP Headquarters, Part 1
IBLP sold solutions. Their slogan was “A New Approach to Life!” and it was an approach of do what we say and don’t ask questions. No wonder there were so many “problem kids” living at HQ sent there by frustrated parents who couldn’t figure out how to fix them. Human problems often aren’t curable by…
-
If Bill Gothard Returns to Leadership
Recently I came across a rumor that Bill Gothard has plans to be reinstated on the board of directors at the Institute in Basic Life Principles. When I read that Facebook post, something inside my gut twisted. I suppose I’m not surprised that he would try, but the idea that IBLP leadership would let it…
Leona Left Fundamentalism 