Not So Shiny Not So Happy People

How Bill Gothard, Church, and Family Taught Me Christianity Doesn't Work

By: Clint Heacock

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Not So Shiny Not So Happy People is Clint Heacock's brutally honest and poignant story of growing up in a family living under the teachings of Bill Gothard. Clint spent years pursuing the victorious Christian life he had been taught to expect. He watched helplessly as the rigid interpretation of Christianity taught by Gothard inflicted severe damage on his family. He graduated from Bible college, served in pastoral roles, and earned two master's degrees and a Ph.D. in theology while still searching for that supernatural level of living promised in the New Testament. Ultimately, Clint decided that Christianity isn't true and embraced a new level of truth and self-acceptance, but not without the hard work of personal reconstruction faced by any committed believer who leaves their faith.

"Clint was a child of his time. He did kid things and teen things and adult things. He was neither saint nor sinner. He was just a person like the rest of us. But that is not the story of Christianity. In that religion, no one is just a person, and humanity is not something to be embraced but to be overcome. That poisonous indoctrination starts early, and, like interest on bad debt, is compounded daily. What happened to Clint throughout his life is the inevitable result of being immersed in the idea that humans are broken and need a supernatural rescue. Clint's struggles from his childhood through his time as a military chaplain is all the proof one needs that there is no supernatural cleanse from the reality of humanity. Sincerity is not enough. Deep study is not enough. Strong commitment is not enough. Prayer is not enough. The Christian God never has enough. But eventually, Clint did, and his story is one that resonates with so many of us."—David Johnson, Host of The Skeptics and Seekers Podcast

"With many leaving the evangelical church, our stories of deconstruction and deconversion are too often silenced by those in the church who claim we were never committed enough. In Not So Shiny, Not So Happy People, Clint Heacock debunks this criticism by sharing his story of faith transition. From his traumatic experience learning about the Rapture at an early age to indoctrination within the Institute in Basic Life Principles to becoming a pastor, Heacock spent decades deeply committed to Christianity. He tells of his internal struggles and cognitive dissonance within evangelicalism and provides readers a nuanced look at what it means to be part of the generation of 'nones.'”—Cait West, Author of Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy

"What I value about Clint’s book is that it’s another fascinating personal story of someone who has experienced deconstruction, and what this does is normalize it. It helps us realize that this is what personal growth can look like. It pulls it out of the dark realm of error and heresy and into the light of healthy development. It’s another installment in the 'I’m not alone, and I’m not going crazy!' category."—David Hayward, aka "NakedPastor," Author and Artist

"Clint Heacock is a pioneering figure in the expanding exvangelical community as it grows in numbers and influence across the United States and worldwide. His popular Dismantling Doctrine Podcast has enlightened countless confused and traumatized evangelical Christians and helped them through the difficult process of deconversion and re-entry into the wider world. Now his candid, unflinching memoir, Not So Shiny, Not So Happy People, will inform many more and shine a light along their path out of abusive evangelical churches and sects. Clint’s journey has been a courageous one as he has reached beyond religion to find the humanity in himself and in us all."—Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman, Co-Authors of Holy Terror: The Fundamentalist War on America’s Freedoms in Religion, Politics, and Our Private Lives