The Indianapolis Training Center has been applauded as a paradigm for state-church partnerships, but is linked to a controversial, cult-like evangelist.

faith-based program for juveniles is under investigation by Indiana authorities following allegations of abusive treatment.

   The Indianapolis Training Center, praised by former Mayor Stephen Goldsmith and other boosters of President Bush's faith-based initiative, is a youth counseling center operated by evangelist Bill Gothard. The Indiana Civil Liberties Union is mulling a lawsuit after numerous complaints surfaced alleging physical violence, confining of youngsters for weeks at a time, and questionable body contact involving children and "team leaders."

   The story broke in mid-February with an expose by WISH-TV in Indianapolis. They confirmed that the local Public Defender contacted Child Protective Services after learning that one youngster was "spanked 14 times with a board ... locked in a prayer room for days at a time and had three leaders -- who are teenagers -- sit on her stomach, legs and shoulder restraining her."

   The news team also talked with others in the program "who allege the same abuses. Some former residents are voicing new concerns for the other children inside."

   Some of the youngsters are confined to the facility after being placed there by courts.

   It is unclear exactly how much funding the ITC receives from public sources. WISH investigative reporter Karen Hensel said that the center "is not licensed by the state. It doesn't have to be because it's a religious institution and doesn't take public fund." Nor does the institution "have to follow state guidelines for staff or disciple (and) state law on child abuse."

   But an AANEWS investigations reveals that public money has benefited entities tied to evangelist Bob Gothard, who is also criticized -- even by other religious groups and leaders -- as a stern, cult-like figure.

   ¶       Indianapolis City Councilman Steve Tally said that he wants all public funding of the ITC to stop. He referred to the allegations as "shocking," adding that even hardened criminals are not subject to the corporal abuses and punishment being handed out at the Indianapolis Training Center.

   "In my view, extra-familial corporal punishment, denial of bathroom privileges, confinement and isolation has a greater potential for harming the child," Tally told WISH-TV. "It is not the way to gain good behavior or a clear indication of the societal consequences for misbehavior."

   ¶       Marion County has stopped sending youngsters to Gothard's Indianapolis program. Juvenile Court Judge James Payne had included the ITC as an option for parents, who may also send troubled youngsters to the Girls School or the Boys School. Payne told reporters, "Any time a child is harmed or injured it's cause for reflection to look at what's going on and try to make it better and that's what we'll do in this case..."

   ¶       Pastor Gothard's program has been cited as a paradigm for faith-based community outreaches. Stephen Goldsmith, former Mayor of Indianapolis, praised the controversial evangelist in his book "21st Century City," where he described the role of religious groups and other "mediating institutions" in civil society. Goldsmith noted, "Only hardened skeptics have trouble accepting the idea that widespread belief in a Supreme Being improves the strength and health of our communities...," and went on to describe how his administration encouraged the involvement of churches and other houses of worship in a battery of activities.

   "The Indianapolis Training Center provides a remarkable example of how government can work with faith-based organizations," waxed Goldsmith. "The center was established by Bill Gothard, the founder of a Christian ministry that conducts teaching seminars across the country. Gothard proposed purchasing a closed hotel in the city and converting it into a training facility for young men and women, where they would participate in a biblically based program designed to instill character. We encouraged this participation, and Gothard brought in young people and their families from around the world."

   But Goldsmith did not mention Gothard's controversial background, including cult-like programs and regimens for families that have been criticized even by co-religionists.

   Gothard was born in 1934, and obtained a Bachelor's and Master's degree from Wheaton College. He was fascinated by working with wayward youth and dysfunctional families, although he himself never married. One minister openly criticized Gothard saying, "There have been reports of major problems developing from this position, but the real problem is that his (Gothard's) ministry has become a family minister and he has never had a family. He is the coach who never played the game."

   During the 1960s, Gothard developed a series of training seminars known as the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts, which later morphed into the Institute in Basic Life Principles. This was the era of the "pop therapy" movement, and Gothard's seminars were packing auditoriums across the nation. Today, IBLP employs a staff of nearly 300 people at its Oak Brook, Illinois headquarters, and has annual revenues of nearly $20 million. The Institute operates a plethora of training regimens for children, families and ministers.

   A biographical source says that "more than 75 cities worldwide have become part of Gothard's 'International Association of Character Cities.' " One was Indianapolis, and in 1992, Stephen Goldsmith invited members of a Gothard institute to come to the city and "work in low-income, high-crime areas..."

   The following year, Gothard established the Indianapolis Training Center, which incorporate the plans and materials from the Institute in Basic Life Principles into its regimen. The Indianapolis Star reported that some families, attracted by the "intensive family counseling" which was offered, complained when they were made to view over a dozen IBLP "religious tapes."

   Gothard also operates a huge center in downtown Flint, Michigan as part of his "CharacterFirst!" outreach. ILBP purchased the Ramada Plaza Hotel in 2000 using funds contributed by an anonymous donor. According to the Flint Journal Newspaper, Gothard insists that the CharacterFirst!! program does not involve or promote religion. The regimen is also now being used in more 800 schools across the country, and the state of Arkansas has reportedly mandated use of the Gothard character development program. In Florida, two lawmakers have introduced bill that would require public elementary schools to incorporate Gothard's CharacterFirst! program into their curriculums.

   More bizarre, though, is a "paramilitary-like training center" located at a former college campus in Texas. This is part of Gothard's ALERT program (Air Land Emergency Resource Team). According to IBLP, "The plan calls for teaching character in all their public schools and, at the same time, enrolling thousands of outstanding high school boys in the Arkansas ALERT program. These young men would learn personal disciplines, character qualities, practical skills and basic life principles. They would respond to needs throughout the state and enlist welfare recipients to work with them on special projects..."

   Other parts of Gothard's strange philosophy incorporate biblical literalism, an stern emphasis on authoritarian regimentation, and pop-psychology.

   ¶       Gothard teaches that those with physical deformities were made by God in order to glorify himself. He also presents a program for "birthing godly children," and encourages pregnant moms to read the Bible to their embryonic offspring as a way of inculcating religious virtue. Gothard is also a promoter of the "birth order" theory of human personality where he combines psychology and biblical tales.

   ¶       Gothard critics charge that he promotes bizarre beliefs concerning everything from how to dress to divorce and family relationships. G. Richard Fisher of the Personal Freedom Outreach says that Gothard's teaching are "dangerous," and points to "dogmatic assertions" made in seminars and other materials. These include urging men to keep track of their wives menstrual cycles "and use it as a reminder of the sufferings and death of Jesus," and telling women to avoid wearing skirts that happen to have a slit down the side. "Gothard opposes women working outside the home," notes Fisher.

   ¶       "Spiritual warfare" and "binding" of "evil spirits" figure heavily in Gothard's theology. He also teaches the notion of "ancestral demons," that possession by the devil or demonic spirits can be passed down through generations. This concept is finding a wide and growing audience with Christian charismatic circles (see "American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land of Plenty," by Michael W. Cuneo.

   ¶       Gothard also believes that Old Testament notions of menstruation are relevant today. Men and women should refrain from sex during "unclean" periods of the monthly cycle, instead devoting themselves to "prayer and fasting." Other "unclean" times are the period of 40 days after the birth of a son, 80 days following the birth of a daughter and any evening prior to worship.

   ¶       Like many totalistic evangelists who feel that they interpret the word of God and find application in all facets of their follower's lives, Gothard places considerable emphasis on "Authority" and "Chain of Command." One critic notes, "Gothard teaches that children are to obey parents even when they know God's will is different," and requires that parents "consent unanimously in the son's or daughter's selection of marriage partners."

   Another, formerly a follower of Gothard noted, "He had an answer to everything. I was having problems at work and Mr. Gothard pointed out that I had failed to submit to the authority of my boss and work the eighty hours a week he demanded... Marital problems, chalk that up to rebellious music, television and failing to follow God's plan of courtship instead of dating."

   One Gothard pamphlet concentrates on the relationship between father and daughters. It includes an official-looking document grandly titled "A COVENANT BETWEEN A FATHER AND DAUGHTER," along with " A COVENANT BETWEEN A FATHER AND SON." Female children are pressured to sign the document, essentially committing their emotional affections exclusively to the father until the patriarch consents to having them transferred to a biblically-chosen husband. One former Gothard follower said that it was "traditional" among those under the evangelist's influence "for the father to give a ring (which looks like an engagement ring), to the daughter as a symbol of the covenant between them."

   The state investigation into the Indianapolis Training Center is scheduled to be completed by early summer. In the meantime, the accusations raise serious warnings about uncritical endorsements and other support from politicians anxious to bring religious groups into the social services mix. Horror stories about what transpired at the ITC continue to emerge. In addition to the paddling accusations, another former resident tells of being forced to the ground and handcuffed by a group of men. Like others rebelling against the "chain of command," she too was isolated for weeks in a "prayer room."

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