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Forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service for 1979 show that the institute apparently has spent $17 million on land and buildings. That includes the 3,000-acre development in Michigan as well as the 200-acre property at the Oakbrook, Illinois, headquarters. Total assets for the organization in 1979 were $24 million. IRS forms for tax-exempt organizations are available for public inspection.

Other questions revolve around large sums of money paid to departing employees. In two cases, employees were given $55,000 checks to reimburse them for the equity they said they lost because they sold their houses before coming to work for Gothard, and Gothard didn't want them to buy houses after they were in the institute's employ. Payments for such purposes are unknown elsewhere among Christian organizations—and in the business world as well. In another case, Gothard's brother-in-law, Phil Garvin, was given an $11,000 salary bonus to fix up his house.

The fact that employees had been asking to be paid for lost equity in their houses led to the board's decision last summer to require all departing employees to sign a legal form freeing the institute from all further responsibility to them after they left. This has brought more irritation to some employees, who question whether that is the biblical way to handle things; but relationships between Gothard and many of his staff and former staff have deteriorated to the point where such precautions are necessary. At any rate, it appears that the signing of legal forms will not be enough to shield the institution from the concern and the frustration of many of the people who have been closest to it.

This article originally ran in the February 6, 1981 issue of Christianity Today. At the time, Tom Minnery was assistant news editor for the magazine.

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also available on our site today:

Exegeting Bill Gothard | Three Christian apologists evaluate the conference speaker's life and teachings.

A Matter of Basic Principles is available at Amazon.com.

The website for the Institute in Basic Life Principles gives more information on the organization. You can also learn about Bill Gothard's life and ministry at his official website.

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March (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47