avatarM.Arterburn

Summary

Misty, Steve's wife, responds to an article criticizing her husband, defending his character, acknowledging his human imperfections, and emphasizing his commitment to personal growth and helping others despite life's challenges.

Abstract

Misty, identifying herself as the wife of Steve, addresses an article that she believes contains partial truths and negative assumptions about her husband. She emphasizes Steve's integrity, noting his honorary doctorates and his decision to pursue a doctoral program, which he had to discontinue due to family commitments. Misty points out that Steve uses "M.Ed." to maintain transparency about his qualifications, which he earned despite struggles with ADHD. She clarifies that Steve does not endorse "reparative therapy" but supports therapy for those in need, as evidenced by their own commitment to weekly therapy sessions. Misty invites the author of the article to consider Steve's humanity, his past regrets, and his current efforts to navigate the complexities of life, including parenting and public scrutiny. She concludes by expressing her hope for a more empathetic and understanding approach from the author.

Opinions

  • Misty believes the article in question contains twisted truths and assigns negative intent to Steve.
  • She defends Steve's use of "M.Ed." as a sign of transparency and acknowledges his academic struggles due to ADHD.
  • Misty asserts that Steve's work, including radio programs, books, and speeches, is part of his commitment to helping others.
  • She emphasizes that Steve's views may evolve over time and that he is open to learning and growth.
  • Misty rejects the notion that Steve supports "reparative therapy," instead highlighting their personal commitment to therapy.
  • She suggests that criticism of Steve should be balanced with recognition of his efforts to overcome personal challenges and contribute positively to society.
  • Misty expresses a desire for the article's author to move past offense and wish Steve well, considering his personal losses, regrets, and dedication to self-improvement.

Just accidentally stumbled upon this piece today. I don’t actually know who you are, but I wanted to chime in. I’m Misty, Steve’s wife - we just celebrated our 17th anniversary a few weeks ago. We’ve seen articles like this written, and though we know this will happen occasionally, it is nonetheless painful. I trust you are writing in good faith, to call out what you believe to be corrupt or duplicitous. I can understand that, especially if you’ve been hurt by corrupt and duplicitous people in your life. Most of us have. Or we’ve been those people, ourselves. I would contend that each of us is on a learning curve throughout life and hopefully growing more wise, less cynical, less judging. More able to see that each of us has regrets, hindsight of 20/20 in many cases, and often dreadful grief about things we’ve said or done. I can imagine you do, as I do. Much of the writing in this article contains partial truths with much twisting and assigning of negative intent. Steve is referred to as Dr. sometimes and has been awarded two honorary doctorates in his life, but he never refers to himself as Dr. Arterburn. He has always wanted to pursue a doctoral program and so enrolled in one he thought he could try - in hopes of accomplishing this before his 60th birthday - but was unable to keep up - as we are raising our children and involved in so much already. He adds M.Ed. to his name in order to be transparent. Steve struggled in school with ADHD, struggled to learn another language among other challenges- He earned his Masters in Education not because it was “easy” but *easier for him* because he was actually good at it, creative, and capable in that arena. He is still teaching today, often large groups of people in churches or at conferences or other events, writing books, speaking on radio, etc. He is not a supporter of “reparative therapy,” but is always in support of therapy for anyone in need. We ourselves have gone weekly for years and plan to forever, because life presents challenges and we want to keep growing and addressing our own blind spots. If you turn on radio and listen to Steve’s program today, you will surely hear something you don’t like - I often do because I am a different person from him. But it doesn’t make him bad or reveal ill-motives, It makes him someone who has thoughts different from yours - who is offering those thoughts today from his own path - understanding that his thoughts may change over time - who may be wise or unwise today, who might be right or may be wrong and who has room to learn, who may be ahead in his thinking or who may be misinformed on a topic - are you ever? This article you’ve written here would suggest so - and I do not say that in a malicious way toward you. I invite you to step back from offense, and instead consider wishing someone well who has suffered in life like you or anyone else has - who misses and admires his brother Jerry more than anyone could ever know - who regrets aborting his baby today as sorrowfully as ever - who has been gutted by betrayals and abandonments in marriage - who is trying to be the best dad he can be today and it is hard raising teens - who is in a very public forum and open to much criticism - who gets it wrong many times but is genuinely trying to learn and offer something helpful to others who struggle as he has. I may have been better off to let this article go without reply - maybe tomorrow I will regret that I wrote. But truly, I’m trying to reach out, human to human, and offer a different perspective. I do wish you well.

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