An Austin pastor and his twin brother, who are charged with beating an 11-year-old nearly to death, belong to a church that advertises itself as "indepen- dent-fundamentalist" and "Old Fashion."
Capitol City Baptist Church members stick placards with Bible verses in their yards. They knock on neighborhood doors, looking for converts, and are affiliated with other independent Christian organizations, including SWAT Team for Christ, a national street evangelist group.
The church pastor -- and the father of the two defendants -- said he doesn't allow corporal punishment. But the church preaches strict adherence to the King James version of the Bible, which includes passages on corporal punishment.
"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child," a verse from Proverbs says. "But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."
Other versions of the Bible contain similar passages. But such beliefs, and what police allege is the 22-year-old brothers' overzealous adherence to that philosophy, have put a national spotlight on the roughly 300-member South Austin church near Ben White Boulevard and South First Street.
Joshua Thompson, a pastor who oversees a separate Spanish-speaking congregation that meets at the church, is accused of beating Louie Guerrero for 1 1/2 hours with a tree branch because the child misbehaved during a Bible class. Police say Caleb Thompson, Joshua Thompson's brother, who helps their father minister the main congregation, restrained Louie during the lashing.
Louie, who underwent a blood transfusion and suffered kidney failure as a result of his injuries, is expected to recover.
The brothers, who each face a felony charge of injury to a child, were released on $25,000 bail Wednesday evening. If convicted, they could face life in prison.
"I have not talked to my sons about this," their father, Pastor Hank Thompson, said Wednesday. "Almost everything I teach is to love your children and how to train your children. If I believed my son did what you guys are saying, I would have turned him in myself."
Members of the church gathered Wednesday night for a regularly scheduled service.
"Jesus, what a friend for sinners," about 50 congregants sang at the beginning of their service inside the brightly lit sanctuary.
Before the service, at least one member said he's leaving the congregation because of the abuse allegations.
"It's sounds just awful, and there is no reason for it," said Howard Bennett, who has lived across the street from the church for 50 years and recently began attending services there.
"I knew the boys who they say were involved really well and can't believe they did it," he said. "I just can't go back there because I don't want to be part of that mess. It's just too much."
Other church members said the incident is being blown out of proportion. Parishioner Jimmy Vath said he's standing by the brothers.
"It definitely has made it more difficult for us to practice our faith," Vath said as a woman drove by the church, honking and shouting, "Shame on you," out the car window.
The Rev. David Beatty Sr., pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in New Braunfels, said his church also accepts only the King James version of the Bible and adheres strictly to its passages on corporal punishment
"We believe in it," Beatty said. "That's what the Bible teaches."
But Beatty, who also runs the church's school, said children are not physically disciplined, despite a written policy that endorses spanking.
"My feeling is whenever a child gets to the point where he needs a spanking, that's up to the parents to do that," he said.
Corporal punishment within a church has drawn the attention of law enforcement before in other parts of the country. In January, a pastor and 10 members of an Atlanta church were indicted on charges of child abuse for allegedly beating two boys during services.
Jeff Adams, a researcher for the State Bar of Texas' Center for Legal History, said he met several leaders of Capitol City Baptist Church while doing missionary work in San Luis Potos, San Luis Potos, not far from Mexico City.
"I'm kind of moderately evangelical, and I kind of noticed a lot of backward attitudes," Adams said. "They were really strong disciplinarians."
The elder Thompson said he has an "absolutely no corporal punishment" policy at his church. "I don't let anybody in that church touch any kid for any reason," he said.
David Muralt, one of the church's Sunday school teachers for 10 years, said he's been told never to spank a child.
"I have not witnessed anyone disciplined corporally at this church," Muralt said.
The boy said he was taken from the church and beaten at Caleb Thompson's home.
Joshua Thompson's Spanish-speaking congregation, which uses the same building as Capitol City Baptist Church, is separate, and Hank Thompson said he doesn't know what goes on there. If his sons disciplined Louie, the elder Thompson said, "I believe they would have used a small switch. Anything any bigger than that is dangerous."
Bruce Willenzik has lived less than 300 yards from Capitol City for 20 years.
"They seem to keep to themselves," Willenzik said. "Except when they come around in groups, beating on doors, trying to convince you that they have the way and to join the church."
In June, the congregants engaged in an argument with a transvestite while sermonizing to revelers on Sixth Street, according to a SWAT Team for Christ online newsletter. On New Year's Eve, they had 91 members on the street.
"We sang the Lord's songs in contrast to the world's music," street preacher Gerald Sutek wrote in the newsletter. "The enemies of the Lord knew they were whipped, and a few were captured by our Captain."