Some of my most vivid memories from my times at IBLP Headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, center around “work parties.” For those who aren’t familiar with this oxymoronic term, a “work party” is when a bunch of students “volunteer” to work after hours on a specific project so that it can be completed on deadline. The TC might provide refreshments in compensation for this extra work — but that was generally the only compensation offered for these opportunities to “go the extra mile.”
One work party that I vividly remember centered around an MTIA mailing that had been promised to subscribers several days before it was actually ready for mailing. It was announced at that morning’s staff meeting that a work party had been organized for that evening, and that volunteers should meet in the mail room at 6:30 p.m.
One thing you have to understand about “volunteering” at a TC is that if you were not “voluntold” (that is, required to volunteer) to participate in a project, then you gained social prestige among other students and brownie points with the leadership for choosing to give up your free time to benefit the ministry. People who volunteered were “more committed” — and possibly “more spiritual” — than those who didn’t.
We gathered that evening, and were told that the reason for the work party was that the machine that stuffed and sealed envelopes was not working, and so we would be folding the mailer, stuffing it into envelopes, and sealing them by hand. The mailing absolutely, positively had to be at the post office the next morning.
There were ten or twelve of us volunteers, with several thousand mailers to assemble. As I recall, there was a letter to fold, a book or booklet (I think it was the book How to Conquer the Addiction of Rock Music), and a couple of other inserts. We quickly figured out how to most efficiently divide the work, but it was still nearly midnight when we finished. This was a very typical work party.
Interestingly, work parties were one of the few times when the young people actually socialized together in ways that seemed very normal. The students still didn’t interact extensively with the opposite gender, but the atmosphere was more relaxed than usual, and there was far less constraint between the boys and the girls than there was at other times. There was usually a lot of conversation, sometimes several going on at once, and some joking and even some very mild (and usually unintentional and completely innocent) flirting.
But there were several things about these work parties that raised concerns for me. Partly because, at age 24, I was older than the typical apprenticeship student, and partly because the whole setup seemed to exploit these young people who were there to support the ministry.
In addition to rising early for personal and house wisdom searches and sitting through the morning staff meeting and the mini-meetings that took place at lunch and supper, these students had already worked an eight-hour day. Most had been up since 5 or 6 a.m., and would rise at the same time the next morning, meaning that they would have only about five hours of sleep over the course of two full work-days.
Keep in mind that most of us were not adults. The ages ranged from 14 or 15 to about 26, and most of the students were around 17 years old. Some of them were still ostensibly in school, and were expected to spend some time each day working on their academic studies. I doubted whether, had these children been at home, their parents would have allowed them to work such grueling schedules.
The students were not generally compensated for these extra hours of work. Many of them were actually paying to be at the training center, and those few who were paid staff were paid little — usually whatever minimum wage was at the time.
Work parties could be fun, of course. The relaxed atmosphere, the fellowship, the camaraderie of working together toward a common goal — these were all powerful incentives to participate. But the overall consequences were often negative — tired people dragging through the next day’s tasks, pride over one’s “servant’s spirit,” and, occasionally, reprimands for letting the atmosphere get too relaxed. Why no one expected exhausted teenagers to get a little silly and rambunctious after a 19-hour workday was, and still is, a complete mystery to me.
I remember more than one work party during my time at HQ. But from what I recall, most of them were "voluntold". I'm glad to see they lightened up on that a bit.
I think I turned 18 the same week I joined IBLP staff so I too wasn't a child at the time. But when I came on staff, I was told that Dr. Gothard wanted new staff to know the "blessing of struggling" so we would only be paid $100 per week, whereas all other staff members were being paid minimum wage. Dr. Gothard was really proud of this concept, and announce a a meeting that he had the legal department (which was comprised of students that liked politics, but to my knowledge had no formal legal training) looking for loopholes in the minimum wage regulations so that IBLP could continue this practice. I unceremoniously got a raise a few months later to minimum wage. I guess they never found that loophole.
I remember when the Training Center I lived at forbade outdoor recreation time except for a few specified hours on the weekend. When I first arrived, it was not uncommon for large groups of both sexes to play volleyball or four square in the evenings and weekends when time permitted. It created a relaxing atmosphere and helped, in my opinion, to ease the stress of daily living under the strenuous rigors of ATI. It was a sad day when the word came down from up above that too many people were squandering their free time paying outdoors. Many of these people were young teenagers being expected to live the life of a grown adult, to work like an adult, and to make the dcisions of an adult. When this last vestige of teenagerhood was stripped away and reduced to a few hours once a week on Saturday, the entire atmosphere at this particular Training Center changed. It became unbearable and I did eventually leave. But I always, even as a child who began her ATI Training at the age of five, questioned the idea of homeschooling to sending a young teenager away and splitting up the home. The unrealistic expectations placed upon the ATI youth are just really, really sad.
I didn't spend as much time as some others at training centers, since I was the oldest of a very large family and "my family needed me". However in the one month I spent at the Oklahoma City Training Center, and then later four months at the Moscow Training Center, I did see this pattern... both times I was PAYING to be there, somewhere around $100-$200 per week, but was worked pretty much to the bone. 18 hour days were not at all uncommon. Nearly every moment of every day was scheduled, especially when I was at OTC. In both places, you could not leave the training center without permission in advance. I was an adult (18 at OTC, 22 at MTC) but we were not treated like adults. We were given adult responsibilities but the lack of freedom, of children. Like children, we were expected to obey without question... but they worked us harder than most adults. Because an adult will do their job then go home and have free time. We had chapel/wisdom search, then breakfast, then our ministry work all day, then work in the kitchen or around the training center and/or an evening meeting or training session, then bed! And then work parties in the evenings or on weekends were pretty common too! Both times I lived at a training center, I ended up getting quite ill in the last week(s) I was there, from all the stress.
I remember SO many of these work parties in my 2 yrs at HQ. I actually thoroughly enjoyed them, because as you said, the atmosphere was more relaxed. Though I don't remember a single "party" that ended before midnight... always followed by an 8+ plus normal work day. Those were exhausting times!
Regarding min. wage... I guess they found a loophole. When I was there, we were getting something called "volunteer wage" which was MUCH less than minimum. $50 a week. And to think it was "worth it all" to get that pat on the back at morning staff meeting when Mr. Gothard would say "here's our team from last night's collating party!"
I was going to say that IBLP found the ultimate loophole when instead of paying you to do their work, they changed their business model so that you paid started paying them for "opportunities" under the guise of training.
So in 1992, if you worked in the kitchen and cooked food for IBLP lunches it was considered labor and you were paid for it, but it's my understanding that at some point, IBLP created "educational" programs, so students did the same work but now it cost the students $400/month. I really hope I am mistaken in that regard.
It was only $40 a week when I was there in 2003-2004.
The work parties were common occurrences, yes. As were through-the-night obligations to meet a deadline. I very much bought into the "I am serving the Lord!" mindset. Looking back, it makes me sad. I would literally work from 8:30 am until the next morning. If the deadline was met, this allowed me the space to retreat to my apartment and nap. I can remember two specific times that I became quite ill during my employment by IBLP. I came down with a "flu" and was sick for about a week - I now believe I had mono or something equally serious) and another time I was out for two weeks with what I now recognize to have been massive depression and exhaustion. Interestingly, I wasn't cared for, checked on, or treated in any way. At one point during the flu/mono illness, I was so sick with fever and pain I thought I was going to die.
After 4 years of "being on staff" at the IBLP HQ, I got up the courage to ask for a raise. I was offered a 25 cent hourly increase, bringing my wage up to $4.25/hr. I was humiliated.
At the ITC we regularly got 5 hours of sleep a night. We just ate chocolate-covered coffee beans to stay awake. I went home so sick that it took me months to recover.
And only a few of the staff at ITC were paid. Most paid $100 a week for the privelege of working there.
I emember that work-to-the-bone and pay for the privilege thing. I was a new Christian who didn't know any better and I bought into it entirely as being a missionary. I remember after I inherited some money, I found out the Flint building was shutting down, and I wanted to be involved somehow, so I volunteered to come and do whatever work was needed. Things were so disorganized at the time that I ended up with fewer duties than most people would have--but while I was there I was approached by someone in leadership who said they believed that I had not come with good heart motives, and I needed to prove myself. I'd once previously been accused, to my absolute horror, of defiance, because I had dared to question a decision (apparently, new believer that I was, I didn't realize that mature Christians cannot make mistakes and cannot be asked to consider the possibility of going easy on a sinner). I was deeply hurt by the accusation, and remember telling this person that if I'd had something less than a desire to serve, I'd have taken my inheritance and gone to Europe or something. After that, I started questioning whether or not the things I was seeing represented the loving God Who had saved me and set me free or not. I picked 'not.'
While I didn't attend any of these institutes, the church in which I ended up had leadership that was informed by them. I understand why given that, in a supernatural way, God saved and delivered hundreds of hippies (of which I was one). The need to provide some semblence of structure into these young lives would have been overwhelming for the son of a farmer who pastored that church.The"close discipleship" came to an end about 20 years after I got saved in an unfortunate implosion of a church split with all the recriminations, accusations,and hurt feelings. I am still in that church and have worked through the rather unchristian attitudes expressed by everyone including my pastor, my friends that left and even me. My pastor still can elicit strong feelings and I need to be aware of things returning to the former state. I haven't left because there is still much work to be accomplished and I have a call to pursue it in this church that some would call slightly disfunctional. There is so much more to this story but I am convinced that the Truth is so much more important.
I remember when I arrived at MTC, I was looking forward to teaching English. That was what I signed up for. That was why people in my church back home generously donated the money to pay for my trip (the airfare plus the $200 per week I was paying for room and board at MTC). Then I was told that I would be teaching English only one day per week, and the rest of the time I would be working in the kitchens and on the housekeeping staff. I was rather indignant, and tried to appeal this decision, saying that I had specifically signed up and was paying good money, donated by the folks back home, to teach English in the schools, I wasn't paying for the privilege of working in the kitchen! I could work in the kitchen at home! I was given a huge guilt trip about my "lack of a servant's spirit" and "rebellious heart". Eventually the lingo and misuse of Scripture worked their spell on me and I repented, and spent most of my time there working in the kitchens. It seemed that whoever was assigning the work was determined to teach me a lesson, because my very first job in the kitchen was scrubbing the cockroach-infested old heaters. It was absolutely disgusting and probably a health risk. I spent the first month doing absolutely the most menial and disgusting jobs that could be found, but I did them cheerfully because I knew that was the only way to be "promoted" to doing anything better. What really broke my heart though was that we were not allowed to play with or spend time with the orphans who were living at the training center. I was told that they didn't want the kids getting attached to us, as we would be going home within a few months. How silly... the kids could understand we wouldn't be there forever, but what's wrong with having a friend or someone to play with in the meantime? Kids make friends at camps all the time, knowing they'll probably never see each other again. But anyway, I love kids and had come to Russia specifically desiring to work with kids... but was instead scrubbing heaters and unpacking vegetables down in the walk-in coolers and endlessly vacuuming or mopping floors and so forth, and wishing I could talk to or play with some of the kids at least in my free time, but no. It was such a strange and alien and controlling place to live. I spent four months in Russia but experienced so little of the actual place and the culture. I really want to go back someday, to really get to experience the place and the people and culture.
Robin, what a gross misuse of your church's giving. =(
Your experience wasn't unique, either, Robin. I had much more 'freedom' than you, as an 'english teacher,' but was still constantly frustrated that my contact w/the very people we were supposed to be serving was so restricted. I was supposed to go straight to school and back, with any other visiting with students/their families approved well in advance. (as i'm sure you recall) The emphasis at that time was not 'go out and minister,' but 'bring them in to the MTC, this is our place of ministry.'
Also, more along the lines of this post: I taught 4-6 days a week. I was given no materials to teach from, and therefore was wracking my brains putting together lesson plans for 8-15 lessons a week, w/no prior teaching experience. =) However, if I had a day off, I was expected to show up for work duty. At some point I just said, 'look if I'm going to be representing ATI as a 'teacher' of any sort, I need time for preparation!' What with obligatory morning and evening meetings every day, dorm time w/roomies seen as ministry, Saturday ministry and Sunday church, it just wasn't working out... I was never disciplined for this small 'rebellion', thank God, even if it was a constant source of irritation for some of those 'in authority.' =) (Oh, BTW, yes, I worked also. I enjoy physical labor, enjoyed learning about radiator systems as I helped replace the entire system in one of the buildings one fall before school started. The question was sheer physical overload and trying for responsibility in the task I'd been given as a 'teacher.')
I too went to the MTC with the intent on teaching English. I stated in the muddy basement, where I was told to sweep up the dirt. Mop and then sweep again. After two weeks I was "promoted" to cleaning a stairwell. I hated that job - no one ever said "excuse me" or sorry when they would run through the wet steps. Their shoes would create mud and I would have to start all over again. Finally after a month or two I was put on a Teaching Team. Thanks to a good friend, who put in a good word. ;) Being off campus and in the schools were the BEST times of my teenage years. I have good memories of those outings.
I was in the first Equip. I went thinking I would some how be getting college credit, and that I was paying for an "opportunity" to get training in working with troubled youth. I think we did a lot less work than some groups, and I didn't mind the times we did have to work around the center. When I ran out of money to pay ITC for my labor (never did get any college credit,) I went to Mr. McWha. I was told not to worry about it and that I could still stay. I was also able to attend the chalk art classes for free. There were so many things that disenchanted me with B.G.'s regime, at least the money was not one of them. I wish I could thank Mr. McWha for making a very bad experience a little better.
[...] one who seems to have benefited most from the teaching on single service is Mr. Gothard himself, as he gained lots of free labor (not to mention those who actually paid to be there) to staff his training centers around the [...]