[8] It has also been described as a cult, due to its unorthodox teachings, systemic control of members, and allegations of covering-up child sex abuse. Mahaney as President", "C.J. They were also friendly with Maranatha Campus Ministries for a period.[17]. This move towards Reformed (or Calvinist) doctrine is illustrated by Sovereign Grace's partnerships with Reformed theologians--such as John MacArthur, Mark Dever, and John Piper--in events like the Together for the Gospel Conferences. The court also found that the "Covenant Life School" sued by the plaintiffs did not exist during the time frame of the alleged abuse.[59][60]. R. Albert Mohler Jr., a leading evangelical and Christian conservative, said for the first time that he regrets his embrace of C.J. [51] Larry Tomczak, a co-founder of SGM, who left the organization in the late 1990s, was alleged to have abused and assaulted a child in the form of administering corporal punishment over a period of twenty-five years. Price, Televangelist Who Built LAs FaithDome, Dies From COVID-19, RZIM PR Manager Says She Was Shunned For Asking Questions. This step should still be taken. May 29, 2013: Plaintiffs file a motion for reconsideration, arguing that the statute of limitations shouldnt apply because the claims of conspiracy did not surface until August 2011. They know it may be too late to get justice for all of the Sovereign Grace plaintiffs, but they want the laws to change for future victims. Another church plaintiff was never abused, (her sister was abused by her father who was prosecuted in 1987), but that plaintiff claimed the church had incarcerated her, ruining her life. This is an oversimplification, but basically, if a church member confesses abuse to a pastor, or the knowledge is received from a victim in a pastoral capacity, the minister may not be legally obligated to report the abuse. WebThe April 12-14 gathering held at the KFC Yum! 1) We received online threats that flyers would go out to our neighbors, informing them of the pedophile at our address. Perhaps SGMs reporting process was indeed followed more times than not. We are as bewildered as anyone and simply dont have enough information to make a confident judgment on the matter. "[71] Regarding the accuracy of the plaintiffs' claims, SGM released a statement saying that "SGM is not in a position to comment on the specific allegations at this time, but upon review it appears the complaint contains a number of misleading allegations, as well as considerable mischaracterizations of intent."[72]. At the same Senate hearing another individual, Terry Mayo, also testified. 'This resulted in the victims family being corrected when they should have been gently cared for as sufferers,' he said, according to the Washingtonian Magazine article. That means reporting suspected abuse to authorities immediately, instead of handling it internally. The day after the magazine hit newsstands, I got a card from Covenant Life Church, signed by some of the elders, saying the pastors prayed for me that morning. [41] In 2002, the group adopted its next name of "Sovereign Grace Ministries. The case was dismissed by a lower court with prejudice since the statute of limitations for a civil suit in Maryland had passed. It was a growing fellowship of 200 people but lacked the apostolic oversight for greater growth. This does not mean we can verify every word Denhollander has written; only that she has so carefully documented so many of the disputed matters that we have concluded that this whole affair needs a fresh, independent investigation to clear the air. As of January 2018, two years later, no new lawsuit has been filed. I started with one family, and then I met with another, and from there, I was able slowly to gain introductions to others. The two churches formed an informal church-planting partnership. To put it simply: Sovereign Grace Churches (SGC; formerly Sovereign Grace Ministries) and its individual churches and leaders, present and former, who have been accused of failing to adequately respond to past incidents of child and sexual abuse should submit to a thorough, truly independent investigation. Joshua Harris, who was Mahaneys successor and proteg and who has since renounced his faith, implied in an interview with The Washington Post that concerns over SGC leaders handling of sexual abuse allegations contributed to him stepping away from the church. May 14, 2013: A Second Amended Complaint is filed, adding three more plaintiffs alleging abuse. In this case, however, the facts being questioned and the witnesses being marshaled do indeed suggest that there are crucial questions that need to be answered if there is to be healing and closure. Now, both sides, must live in limbo for now., SGM also recognized that this conclusion was unsatisfactory as well: I realize that the courts dismissal of the suit does not answer the question, What now? executive director Mark Prater told SGM church members in October 2014. They stay one year and returned to DC leaving behind a team to monitor and build North Coast Church. What observations can you share now about the state of sexual ethics in the evangelical church more broadly? The Asbury Revival Is Over. No matter how great the passion for an obviously righteous cause, no fallen human being possesses absolute moral authority, and it benefits neither the victims of sexual abuse nor the name of Christ when believers publicly condemn one another without the facts. indicate that the churchs culture discourages people from reporting it. The sad reality is that sexual abuse is widespread everywhere, not just in religious communities. What challenges did you face getting the reporting? What Happens Now? Picking the right investigator matters. 2023 ChurchLeaders.com, All rights reserved. SGC has also posted its full statement regarding this editorial.]. WebSovereign Grace, an association of 80 Reformed evangelical churches, is based in Louisville, Ky. Advertisement Maryland Judge Sharon V. Burrell dismissed the lawsuit I immediately urged that an independent investigation be conducted and agreed that CJ needed to step down from public ministry until that took place, he stated. North Coast thrived and grew until its ultimate demise decades later. The following month RC Jr announced that Sovereign Grace Fellowship was a 501 (c) (3) church and donations are tax-deductible.2 Later he announced Sunday church services would begin in his Fort WebThe Sex-Abuse Scandal That Devastated a Suburban Megachurch. That is not a message that evangelical leaders want to hear, because it would cost to speak out about the community. A 2012 class-action suit was filed against A pastor who was at one time a close adviser to Mahaney recently compared the behavior by the SGM's leadership team, including that of Mahaney, during the fallout after the controversy, to that of President Nixon and his staff during the Watergate scandal of the early '70s. During the first week in April, Sovereign Grace said the Louisville congregation heard from the SBC workgroup tasked with evaluating concerns over affiliated churches abuse responses, and the elders responded quickly. Actually, she was charged and imprisoned by state and federal authorities for crimes of fraud, theft, drug possession, drug trafficking, and weapons concerns. The lawsuit ended up being dismissed because of the statute of limitations. But in these types of cases, which deal with minors and abuse, some court files are sealed, which is another obstacle. Web12914 Shelbyville Rd Louisville, KY 40243 Sovereign Grace I cant speak to all of evangelicalism, but I can say there are troubling messages sent to sex-abuse survivors in church cultures that prize abstinence until heterosexual marriage. The church was among an initial list of 10 that were alleged to have displayed a wanton disregard for the seriousness of abuse.. That puts this proposal squarely in the category of more-harm-than-good.". On March 8, 2016, two individuals testified before the Maryland State Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee regarding the Sovereign Grace Ministries lawsuit. [35] Additionally, the Sovereign Grace churches in Indiana and Altoona, PA, Sarasota and Daytona Beach, FL and Charlottesville, VA cut ties with the movement during this period. That bill was signed into law by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan on March 4, 2017.[64]. These survivors are women and men in their twenties, thirties, and forties, whose marriages have been affected, who have been in psychiatric inpatient treatment, who live in terror of their own kids going to a sleepover. Yes, we have been the target of misinformed critique in both the secular and Christian media, and more will likely come, he stated. has broken with the ministry as a result. Fifth, we acknowledge that a primary challenge churches face is not knowing where to turn for independent investigations. Ennis testified that, "A third plaintiff eventually withdrew her allegations, admitting they were false.". [12] Tomczak co-founded the church with C. J. WebSovereign Grace Ministries is an evangelical, Reformed, and charismatic network founded in 1982 that has about 80 member churches, located mostly in the U.S. SGM also Another ministry that recently faced accusations, Associated Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE), turned to a private investigator. The ultimate reality that I live with is that if my abuser had been Nathaniel Morales [a church member at Covenant Life Church convicted of child sexual abuse] instead of Larry Nassar, if my enabler had been [an SGM pastor] instead of [MSU gymnastics coach] Kathie Klages, if the organization I was speaking out against was Sovereign Grace under the leadership of [Mahaney] instead of MSU under the leadership of Lou Anna Simon, I would not only not have evangelical support, I would be actively vilified and lied about by every single evangelical leader out there. The allegations included closets and rooms that did not match those in the school building. Lawyer, former gymnast and #MeToo activist Rachael Denhollander has called the Sovereign Grace scandal one of the worst, if not the worst, instances of evangelical from his role as President, or to "call into question his fitness for gospel ministry. [Basically, the two plaintiffs whose claims were not time-barred had sued in the wrong state and could refile in Virginia.]. WebMahaney resigned from the presidency of Sovereign Grace Ministries in 2013 in order to plant Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. We call for a fresh and thorough independent investigation not because we believe those accused are guilty of every one of its critics charges. Despite continued calls for an independent, third-party investigation into Sovereign Grace Churches (SGC) and its response to abuse allegations, the network has officially taken the option off the table, calling it inappropriate, impractical, unjust and impossible.. A former ministry partner of Mahaney turned critic, Brent Detwiler, has been chronicling the controversy for many years and claims that 100 pastors, 300 small group leaders, 40 churches (including his own), and 12,000 members have left SGC churches largely over what they claim has been abusive and deceitful leadership. She testified that the defense had refused to settle out of court requiring that the case be heard in court on its merits. About 80 churches from the United States and around the world remained in the organization. WebAt Sovereign Grace, abuse culture was literally a part of the teachings. [61] As of January 2018, two years later, no such lawsuit has been filed. (Covenant Life is no longer a part of the Sovereign Grace network.). Given the substantial nature of the accusations, given the prominence of SGC and Covenant Life Church, given the aborted court case on procedural grounds, given the crucial questions left hanging in the air, a new independent investigation is in order for all those churches that have been involved in these events over the years. Mahaney are still revered, still headlining conferences, and still running churches, with powerful evangelical allies on their side. [52] [53] [54] Tomczak was investigated and no charges were filed against him. That assumption isnt true. The Thompsons signed an NDA at the time, and the executrix of Zacharias estate has yet to release them from it. In the course of the interview about Nassar, Denhollander said that evangelical churches in general have a habit of shoving sexual abuse under the rug: We are very happy to use sexual assault as a convenient whipping block when its outside our community. WebMaryland's Court of Special Appeals has dismissed a case which alleged that leaders of Sovereign Grace Ministries had attempted to cover up a sex abuse scandal at the About half of U.S. states specifically require clergy to report child abuse, but still others exempt them, through whats known as clergy-penitent privilege. One of them, Kings Cross Church, since sending its letter. We remain persuaded that an investigation of the sort weve been challenged to authorizeboth in good faith and otherwiseis inappropriate, impractical, unjust, and finally would be unsatisfactory to all interested parties, the 2,300-word statement concluded. 6) People withdrew from us, or fell silent. And this was a complicated story to unravel and tell. But Denhollander argues that the resulting Thaler-Liebeler report: was conducted by a firm and an attorney with no known or recorded experience in criminal law or investigative work. WebSovereign Grace Churches (SGM; previously Sovereign Grace Ministries and People of Destiny International, PDI) is a group of Reformed, neocharismatic, Evangelical, Mahaney & Sovereign Church of Louisville Pulled Out of the Southern Baptist Convention When Asked About Sex Abuse Scandal but Continue But it doesnt. RZIM UK has broken with the ministry as a result. An independent investigator reported that Morales was never a paid employee of Covenant Life Church. And precisely for that reason, SGC has an opportunity to set an example for all evangelical churches that are facingor, sad to say, will one day have to facesimilar controversy. In a perfect world, those power dynamics would not be abused, but as Christians teach: Were not living in a perfect world. Second, churches neednt seek an independent investigation over every charge brought against them; and to be sure, there are cases where its a tough call as to whether to seek an independent investigation. It would cost to take a stand against these very prominent leaders, despite the fact that the situation we were dealing with is widely recognized as one of the worst, if not the worst, instances of evangelical cover-up of sexual abuse. Does this kind of circumscribed sexual environment give way to more sexual abuse? We desperately need a fresh and thorough independent investigation by an organization that specializes in these matters and is acceptable to accusers and SGC, and to any current and former SGC churches, who have been involved in these events, in the hope that the resulting report and any resulting apologies and actions could start a healing process, no matter how partial, in the manner that past high-profile apologies by ABWE, BJU, New Tribes Mission, and the Christian and Missionary Alliance have done. Her reporting was subsidized in part by a Fund for Investigative Journalism grant. On Feb. 13, Sovereign Grace Churches leadership team pushed back against Denhollander's insistence that a third-party review of Sovereign Grace is necessary, stressing that her words and those of others have "profoundly damaged the reputations and Gospel ministries of innocent pastors and churches." It has its roots in a charismatic prayer meeting in Silver Spring, Maryland, then Washington, DC called Take and Give (TAG), which grew into Covenant Life Church, the former flagship of Sovereign Grace. Private devotion, community service, and entertainment arent what the local congregation is for. The allegations against CLC co-founder Larry Tomczak bring to mind his bizarrely titled 1982 book God , Mahaney, the former head of Sovereign Grace Ministries. On December 9, 2020 RC Sproul Jr incorporated SOVEREIGN GRACE FELLOWSHIP, INC. as a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation. Rather, the firm specialized in various forms of business litigation and business law, as did the attorney hired to investigate, Mr. Liebeler. But that didn't spare us from a witch hunt. RZIM issued a public apology following the report, but has yet to announce any changes in leadership. "[42], In December 2014, executive director Mark Prater announced that the group's name would change to "Sovereign Grace Churches", to reflect its newly changed structure. But it seems to me that a workable compromise would be to do what states like Texas and West Virginia and North Carolina do: Clergy-penitent privilege exists, but not in cases of child abuse. It was not a cursory or flippant statement by any means, but one of nearly 8,000 words and, from our point of view, devastating in its detailed comments on the many aspects of the case. Furthermore, the effort to try such a case in the court of public opinion prior to any decision rendered by an authorized court is likewise irresponsible. There are obvious lessons evangelicals ought to be learning from the horrific abuse perpetrated by. Later in 2012, the movement's former flagship, Covenant Life Church, departed from SGM, a decision supported by an overwhelming 93%[34] of voting members. "[65] Subsequently, Covenant Life Church former pastor Grant Layman [Mahaney's brother-in-law] said, while testifying about allegations against Nathaniel Morales, that he [Layman] had not reported the abuse to the police. What has the reaction from the church community been to you, and to your story? Denhollander has championed GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment), led by Boz Tchividjian, a Liberty University law professor and grandson of Billy Graham. If I were a defendant, absolutely convinced of my innocence, I would be frustrated by this outcome, wrote TWW. But their influence is widespreadas Stanley points out, Wayne Grudem, an evangelical theologian at Phoenix Seminary, once described Sovereign Grace Ministries as an example of the way churches ought to work., In response to the Washingtonian investigation, executive director of Sovereign Grace Churches Mark Prater pointed TIME to a lengthy statement he made in 2014 denying that Sovereign Grace leaders conspired to cover up sexual abuse. We are grateful that SGC says (in its statement to CT), It is our desire to walk transparently, to grow in our ability to better address this risk, and to honor Christ in the way we care for those who have experienced abuse. We assume that is true of every one of the churches involved in these events. A team arrived in April of 1981 of 11 people, including Tomczak and family. Since the lawsuit was dismissed on procedural grounds, and not on the merits of the case, there was never a legal investigation of the charges. Pride? And especially for the sake of the gospel. Perhaps the number of abuse victims isnt as high as it seems. If this is true, it raises many questions. Witnesses (I was one) were prepared to testify under oath to that fact. So too the despicable acts carried out by Loftness and Ricucci. [14], In 1981, Brent Detweiler, pastor of Indiana Christian Fellowship in Indiana, Pennsylvania, asked Mahaney and Tomczak to provide oversight and accountability for his church. Statutes of limitationswhich put time limits on when you can file charges or suecan be an issue for victims. Sovereign Grace Churches (SGM; previously Sovereign Grace Ministries and People of Destiny International, PDI) is a group of Reformed,[2] neocharismatic,[3] Evangelical, restorationist,[4] Christian churches primarily located in North America. Above all, I think many of the families want Sovereign Grace to acknowledge publicly that mistakes were made. . The current statute gives survivors sufficient time for litigation, and a lifetime to bring charges to criminal court. Covenant Life Church former pastor Grant Layman admitted on Tuesday while testifying about allegations against Nathaniel Morales that he withheld incriminating information from the police about the abuse. Browse 60+ years of magazine archives and web exclusives. Maryland's highest civil court, the Court of Appeals, denied certiorari on September 24, 2014, permanently ending the case. So it would likely involve only two of the survivors from my story. 7) Questions harassed us: Could we lose everything financing a defense? To repeat: While we find Denhollanders and Detwilers allegations compelling, we are not ready to say each of their charges is the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Ravi Zacharias Hid Hundreds of Pictures of Women, Abuse During Massages, and a Rape Allegation, Complete access to articles on ChristianityToday.com, Over 120 years of magazine archives plus full access to all of CTs online archives. Rachael Denhollander: Will Sovereign Grace Take the Ravi Scandal to Heart? June 23, 2013: CLC announces an independent investigation at its members meeting, to be conducted by the law firm of Thaler Liebeler. The article quotes Plaintiff's attorney, Susan Burke, saying that she "plans to file a new suit in Virginia against the Fairfax church on behalf of at least two plaintiffs." Layman was not on trial and was not given an opportunity to clarify his remarks in court. Indeed, Covenant Life Church (which left SGM in 2012 amid the allegations) did commission an independent investigation to look into how sexual abuse reports were handled at its church. 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