A growing controversy at the Central Indiana church where Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith still serves as a campus pastor is starting to reverberate more widely in the Indiana political world, with the potential to ensnare a rising GOP political star.

It all started in late October when the adult son of Life Church's lead pastor was arrested on seven felony counts related to child sex crimes. Beckwith has described the lead pastor, Nathan Peternel, as his "spiritual brother in arms" and the two work together and have their own podcast called "Jesus, Sex and Politics."

The arrest of his son Jonathan Peternel, 24, quickly led to other former church members speaking about their own experiences with Nathan Peternel, as detailed by national news site 24Sight News , run by veteran Indiana politica

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