Drew Barnard
I’ve been writing and podcasting about authority and how it’s been abused, specifically in the Gothard/IBLP context. For some, I imagine my choice to focus on abuses of authority has seemed a bit edgy, an odd choice in an era where church authority is already under a lot of attack. … Read More
I recently wrote a post that reviewed Jinger Duggar Vuolo’s process of disentangling truth from error in her upbringing in the Bill Gothard / Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) movement. In this post I’d like to address what I think has been the most harmful and abused of Gothard’s … Read More
There have been too many stories of “deconstruction” lately. The pattern is simple: a young, conservative Christian zealously promotes the faith, only to hit a crisis of doubt that leads to an end of faith. The most famous example of this is Joshua Harris, the prominent purity culture figure who … Read More
It happened last minute: the King’s Singers were backstage just two hours before their scheduled performance at Pensacola Christian College (PCC) when they were informed that their appearance had been canceled. In all their years of performing, the group had never been canceled for anything other than bad weather or … Read More
We’re nearing the end of the year. And today we briefly step away from the usual grind to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family and friends. As we look forward to good food, holiday traditions, and relaxed times of fellowship, it’s easy to feel thankful for life and God’s blessings. We … Read More
We often struggle to communicate as deeply as we’d like. But this difficulty is especially pronounced when it comes to having hard conversations. When disagreements happen, it’s tempting to run away. Then the next time we’ll foolishly charge into the situation, hurting relationships and just making things worse. Peacefully handling … Read More
I’ll confess I never really thought it could happen. Even with the influx of new conservative justices, it just didn’t seem feasible that a monumental ruling not far from its fiftieth birthday could actually be overturned. But on June 24th, the Supreme Court made a ruling that prompted simultaneous celebration … Read More
I just wrote a post where I argued that we make life too complicated. We allow ourselves to get bogged down in vague doubt instead of doing what we know to do. But we also have a problem with clinging to simplistic narratives. Sometimes our Christian rhetoric starts to seem … Read More
I’ve been struck by something lately. I often hear someone talk about something they know they shouldn’t be doing, rather sheepishly. Or maybe it’s something they should be doing but aren’t. What’s striking is that often the solution really isn’t that complex. It’s clear which path is right. But somehow … Read More