I am the writer from 4/20/2026 - I was curious, as time has gone on I continue to think of your blog and investigation, do you believe that there was or could have been any s**ual or child abuse within this organization? Maybe committed by Larson, or other members? Or is it strictly financial and emotional abuse, as described
Thanks for writing. Let me preface my response with two things. First, I have not been a part of the ABC denomination for more than two decades so I cannot give specific insight on the current state of affairs. I know only what some have told me of late, or can extrapolate from reports given. Second, I have known Gilbert Larson since I was fourteen and am now on my way to age 72. As a young man I worked with Gilbert out in the field one summer on a lengthy forest road project near Redding California. As a teen I spent considerable time during summers at his home as my father established meetings in Grants Pass Oregon. I know Gilbert well enough to say it is very doubtful he would be involved in any form of physical abuse or s*ual abuse. Gilbert Larson is a man who, in my opinion, has been taken with excess ego and exhibits, in my opinion, some narcissistic behaviors. He has a religious fervor which leads him to believe he has the right to dominate others through various forms of spiritual, psychological, emotional and financial abuse. I have found, by communicating with others about spiritual abuse, this is not uncommon of persons who place themselves in a position of religious authority. It is why Jesus warned us all about being too self-righteous. It is why Jesus targeted the Pharisees. From my view, the actions of Gilbert Larson are what Jesus warned us about. He, and my father, are very similar to Diotrephes in Third John. This is evidenced by the many people whose souls have been crushed over years.
There are many forms of abuse in this world, but the five most common are Physical, Emotional, Psychological, Spiritual, and S*ual. In every organization, including churches and the ABC specifically, there will be incidents of all these forms of abuse, either rampant or isolated. People are people. All persons, no matter how righteous the facade, are subject to some form of human frailty. Every form of abuse has one common denominator, though, and that is the goal of dominating another person, young or old, through subterfuge, manipulation, force, lies, fear, intimidation, etc…
You asked about child abuse in the past specifically. If you review some of the comments on this site you will find allegations of child abuse in the past by persons who grew up in the ABC, like myself. I cannot speak to any time since being cast out, intimating that my one sentence spoken was nearly an unforgivable sin. The ABC is not a place of love, just love bombing. What follows the love bombing, generally many years later, is torment if one should express a viewpoint different than the leadership has put forward. There is no “reasoning together” in the ABC and trying will bring much pain. As testament to that, when I was ambushed I was told I could not speak on my own behalf and explain my reasoning behind my offending words. It is love that sums up every commandment and this lack of true love in the ABC, and their doctrine of isolation, is what creates a toxic environment where many forms of abuse can occur unchecked. Those who remain, and accept the abuse, are suffering what is called “Stockholm Syndrome”.
As to specific incidents, I personally witnessed my stepmother tying up very young children, hand and foot. They were then made to lie for long periods on a cold concrete garage floor, lay isolated in an empty bathtub, or stand with their nose against a wall for many hours; always with a bag placed over their head. Even very young children were subjected to these cruelties. I witnessed one particularly egregious incident where a preschool age girl was placed out in the hot sun, on a concrete patio, in a small tent, for a whole day with no food or water. This was expected to rid her of her “rebellious spirit”. There were many similar incidents at my stepmother’s hands that I personally witnessed; too many to list here. My stepmother saw every child as having a “rebellious spirit”. She also believed once a child entered her home, they were “her child”, no longer the parent’s child, and it was her mission to remove that rebellious spirit from these children, even if that meant physical and mental torture carried out over very long periods of time. She taught, and advocated, this form of child rearing to the parents of the day so this harsh treatment happened to many children in the ABC. We were all young parents back then, impressionable, under considerable spiritual duress by the ABC, so this doctrine of rearing children with abuse permeated the understanding at that time. Most children walked away from the ABC when they were first able, seeing it as a place of torment. This is likely still the case.
I know of only one major incident of s*ual abuse discovered among the leadership of the ABC, but that was many decades ago. That elder’s name is on the "Ordination Certificate" I was given back in the 70's. I was told he went to prison but know very little of the details since I lived far away from the happenings and little has been said of the details of that incident. There have been a few other isolated incidents among individual members but, certainly, this is not a universal issue in the ABC, or a part of their doctrine.
As stated earlier, the core of all forms of abuse is domination of a person, young or old. There is considerable spiritual, psychological and emotional abuse of persons of all ages in the ABC with the intent to dominate their life. This is evidenced in the comments others have submitted. Based on some of the correspondence and comments received I strongly believe this is still the case. If you read the underlying core of the ABC doctrine, it is the capture of men’s souls through instruction that the ABC has the exclusive franchise on salvation through Greek interpretation using a book they now claim they are the sole publisher of. They have charts and graphs showing their method of salvation and teach the only way to protect oneself from future damnation is to become a member of this particular denomination then submit to them completely. This they perpetrate on others so they can dominate their lives then extract a tithe that goes only to a few top leaders and is not used to help others. A part of their doctrine stated tithe and offerings must only be used “for the ministry”. The “ministry” being defined as the teaching of the use of multiple Greek study books. The complete failure of the “Mexican Ministry” shows this method of study is only valid when English is a first language to the exclusion, based on ABC doctrine, of non-English speaking individuals.
I don’t believe the physical abuse of children still rises to the levels it did in the very beginning, but I am certain there still remains among the membership various forms of harsh discipline, which could still be considered abusive. The ABC quotes Pr. 13:24 as their doctrinal basis for this harsh discipline. What is missing in this interpretation is the Psalms were written from the perspective of a shepherd, not a whipmaster. A shepherd did not “spare the rod” but the shepherd also never used the “rod” to beat the sheep. He instead used it to gently nudge and guide the sheep down the correct path and only pulled back with the crook end of the rod when a sheep was headed for immediate danger. He never afterward tried to beat instruction into the sheep. At one of the last men’s meetings I attended in Vancouver, one of the elders had prepared large thick wooden paddles with a large hole in the center, suggesting these should be used on our children since they inflicted much more pain. I do not know how many took those paddles with the intent to use them, but I left that meeting without one.
The isolationist, cultish, doctrines of the ABC, which have seen very little change in the last nearly sixty years, condones and encourages spiritual, emotional, psychological and financial abuse and these abuses have destroyed many people and families. The five most important things Jesus spoke about are Justice, Mercy, Faithfulness, Love and Tolerance. The greatest of these is Love, and Tolerance is a direct equal to Love. I find there was an extreme deficit of these five most important things in the ABC in the past and this deficit existed up to moment I was ambushed. My speaking out against these harsh “disciplines”, at the IHOP encounter, are what led to my final ouster. I doubt much has changed so it more than likely remains the same in the present. This lack of true Godly love is baked in. It is this “leaven” that has caused some to be puffed up with false pride that leads to these men dominating other’s souls. As to the elders (leaders), they are admonished not to “lord over” in the writings of Peter:
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. I Pe. 5
This notion is usually rebutted with the words following stating “the younger” must “submit”. But they completely miss the later words showing we must ALL clothe ourselves with humility and put away our false pride. Elder and younger alike.
In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
Lording over another person, in any manner, is abusive behavior. It is domination. It is spiritual, psychological and emotional abuse. This is often coupled with financial abuse after the domination is complete. There is a great deal of “lording over” in the ABC. Their view is they have the only key to the door of salvation, as “discovered by my father” using a series of modern books, such as Panin’s New Testament and Stegenga’s Greek Concordance. The top leaders use fear, intimidation, threat, secrecy, manipulation and inflicted guilt to control others and remain in control and in power. They perpetrate their own view and will on the people, while diminishing any other viewpoint. These are all abusive behaviors.
