Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear

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It is clear that Jinger has no real grasp of the deconstruction movement or the real reasons people left IBLP and Christianity.

This really just reads like a promotion for Masters Seminary and Grace Community Church, but using Bill Gothard's teachings as an easy punching bag, given the widespread criticism of his theology. Ahead of the release of her new book, Becoming Free Indeed, the former TLC star claimed she “grew up terrified of the outside world.” That is the anti-gospel. It's legalism at its worst. And even though I learned it secondhand, it still did decades of damage to my faith. I didn't realize that you live the your entire Christian life by grace through faith in Jesus.

Jinger, 28, opened up about writing her latest book in a YouTube video titled, “The Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Done” on Monday, November 7. While introducing her memoir, she noted that it is not a “tell-all about my family” but rather an inside look at her “spiritual journey.” She specifically called out abandoning the teachings of IBLP minister Bill Gothard, which she called “wrong” and hurtful. Alongside sadness that the show was ending, I felt grateful to have been a part of it. I had countless wonderful experiences thanks to the show. … There are dozens of places and cultures I wouldn’t know anything about if not for the show,” Jinger wrote, confessing that she also felt “relief” to no longer be in front of the camera. “In many ways, the show’s end was the last leg of a journey that 10-year old me could not have dreamed would occupy so much of my life.” We wholeheartedly agree with TLC’s decision not to renew Counting On and are excited for the next chapter of our lives,” the message continued. “We look forward to continuing our creative journey in Los Angeles and seeing what the future holds.” Find this title with Libby, the award-winning and much-loved app for local libraries, by OverDrive.

However, only two members of her super-sized family came to the comments section to share their support. I personally don't drink, but I don't have a problem with other Christians, it's their liberty to drink if they so choose,” she said in the new interview with People. I, like many, grew up watching the Duggar family on TLC. As a Christian, I can't say I was fascinated in how the family operated because frankly it terrified me. I knew then that there is no way we were interpreting the Bible the same way.

Growing up home schooled, I was always fundamentalist-adjacent though I was not raised in fundamentalism. This is why I feel compelled to read memoirs like Vuolo's and Jessica Willis Fisher's. Even though their communities would have totally rejected my family, home schooling put us in the same circles in a way. There were probably some IBLP families in my home school co-op, and I noticed a sharp divide in high school between families that were educating their children toward independence, college, and careers, and families who were educating their children toward dependence in a Gothard-like "umbrella of authority."

Vuolo here offers a "theological memoir" of how she left Bill Gothard's Institute in Biblical Life Principles (IBLP) without leaving the Christian faith. It's not a tell-all about, well, Growing Up Duggar (the title of her previous book), thank goodness, because there are still quite a few minors in the Duggar household. Jinger made her reality TV debut in 2008 when the show was called 16 Kids and Counting . After multiple additions to the family over the years, the show was eventually renamed 19 Kids and Counting . However, after eldest brother Josh Duggar ’s child molestation and cheating scandals, TLC pulled the plug on the show. The Counting Onalum married Jeremy Vuolo in November 2016 after a whirlwind courtship, and the pair share two daughters: Felicity, now 4, and Evangeline, now 2. According to Jinger, her relationship with the former soccer player, 35, contributed to her finding freedom — but their romance wasn't always easy. I'd be remiss to say she also mentioned abortion being a sin which as of March 8, 2023 is a little ironic considering her sister had one a few weeks ago in a red state where she had to go before a board to justify it (don't argue with me, it will be listed as such by insurance.)During the interview with People on Wednesday, Jinger got candid about her "cult-like" upbringing with her parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. My determination to guard my heart made it difficult for Jeremy to figure out whether I liked him. ... He, of course, assumed that I'd shared these things with my sisters. But I hadn't," she wrote. "I hadn't told Jessa or any of my other siblings how I felt about Jeremy." Jinger remembered feeling “a lot of pressure” from the outside world when she began her courtship with Vuolo. “Jeremy was the last guy to ask my father if he could court me,” she wrote, admitting that she felt “a bit intimidated” by her now-husband at first. “He was unlike the previous guys in nearly every way.” The cousin also hit out at the Duggars multiple times during Josh’s child pornography trial and subsequent sentencing to 12 years in prison.

The Counting Onalum married Jeremy Vuolo in November 2016 after a whirlwind courtship, and the pair share two daughters: Felicity, now 4, and Evangeline, now 2. According to Jinger, her relationship with the former soccer player, 35, contributed to her finding freedom — but their romance wasn’t always easy. I wasn’t expecting (or desiring) this to be a theological treatise, but early on the author refers to this book as her theological journey. Something she (rightly) calls IBLP out on is proof texting, or only using a verse or two without context to prove a point. However, she continues to reference a verse or two here or there, falling into the same trap of proof texting. What did help me untangle my faith from fear was the same as what did this for Jinger Vuolo. It was Scripture. Studying God's Word and especially committing it to memory (not because someone made me but because I wanted to) helped me to meditate on it deeply and understand that God's love isn't based upon our performance, our adherence to rules we believe will make us holier than others, and it doesn't ebb and flow with how well I think I am performing. God's love is pure and holy and free. And I have it completely through faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing—not pants or haircuts or attending school—can separate me from His love in Christ. Jinger committed to studying the Bible—truly understanding it—for the first time. What resulted was an earth-shaking realization: much of what she'd always believed about God, obedience to His Word, and personal holiness wasn't in-line with what the Bible teaches. Jinger does a fantastic job of showing exactly how Bill Gothard exercised control over the IBLP community. She recalls the "Gothard's girls" and the rumors of abuse that swept through IBLP circles.Our servers are getting hit pretty hard right now. To continue shopping, enter the characters as they are shown