C. J. Mahaney, pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville, speaks at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, in 2013. An independent review by a qualified firm requires higher, not lower, standards than the less-defined and basic standards set out in Scripture., (Mohler stated that Denhollander had fundamentally changed his understand of the Sovereign Grace situation. The statistics I saw were one-in-four girls and one-in-six boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18. Unlike the hierarchical Catholic Church, evangelical churches often function independently. Some people I talked to say, yes, this is repression and it leads to abuse and acting out sexually. Daytona Beach's pastor Jesse Jarvis noted a leadership culture characterized by excessive authority and insufficient accountability as rationale for the church's departure. Stanley shares some insights from her investigation with TIME. WebMahaney resigned from the presidency of Sovereign Grace Ministries in 2013 in order to plant Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. A subsequent examination of the case, conducted by an independent investigator, found that the allegations of child sex abuse detailed in the lawsuit "likely never happened at all" (except for the two which had been promptly reported and prosecuted several decades earlier). Above all, I think many of the families want Sovereign Grace to acknowledge publicly that mistakes were made. The information may be privileged, as it would be with an attorney. Churches that advocate a conservative sexual ethic should address those messages. What has the reaction from the church community been to you, and to your story? To this end, SGC has taken specific steps in recent years to better understand and address the risk of child sexual abuse. Conversions credited to women evangelists sharing the good news one-on-one in conversations. Most importantly, as far as were able to discern, we believe this course, the theological capitulation it would represent, and the precedent it would set, would ultimately dishonor Christ and harm the cause of the gospel.. Child sex abuse in the Catholic Church is now widely knownSpotlight, a film about the Boston Globe journalists who documented the massive child molestation scandal and cover-up in the Catholic Church, is up for Best Picture at this years Oscarsbut similar abuses in evangelical communities have not received the same public scrutiny. Last year, she called the SGC saga one of the worst, if not the worst, instances of evangelical cover-up of sexual abuse and has since detailed objections to their previous investigations and defenses. 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." A few qualifications are in order. Some of the leaders at Sovereign Grace Ministries had outsized influence in evangelicalism at largeJoshua Harris, one of their former pastors, wrote a book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which as you point out is an evangelical cult classic and shaped how evangelical millennials grew up understanding sex. Predictably, the judge questioned her very legitimacy as a plaintiff. But it doesnt. [11], The organization of over 80 member churches grew out of the charismatic renewal of the 1970s under the leadership of Larry Tomczak. For more than 40 years, Sovereign Grace Ministries was a haven for evangelical Christians from around the D.C. metro region. On May 14, a second amendment was filed to the suit: [The suit] adds three new plaintiffs, making a total of 11. Judge Burrell found that any conspiracy to cover-up should have been brought within the time frame of the alleged abuse. By March, 2013 approximately 20 churches had left Sovereign Grace Ministries. Magazines, an expos of long-buried sexual abuse of children, The Sex Scandal that Devastated a Suburban Megachurch, Or create a free account to access more articles, Inside the Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse at Sovereign Grace Ministries. According to Ennis, the lawsuit originally asked for $50 million in damages, but as the deposition and discovery process went on, "the plaintiffs tried hard to settle out of court for a much lower sum". If, in fact, they are as guiltless as they have proclaimed, and if, in fact, the incidences are as few as they suggest, it would be great news for the evangelical community and the cause of the gospel. That being said, we call upon SGC to welcome an independent audit of how it has, in fact, processed charges when they have been brought to its attentionthis is precisely one of the points of contention. SGM adoption of an existing church begins with the development of a relationship with leadership and continues with dialogue to evaluate the doctrinal and practical compatibility of Sovereign Grace with the church desiring adoption. To unlock this article for your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. They were also friendly with Maranatha Campus Ministries for a period.[17]. But we also see this as an opportunity for SGC to become a positive example for the rest of the evangelical community. While tens of thousands flocked to campus, school officials met in a storage closet to make decisions that would honor what is happening.. '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. As a result, the case was dismissed. [26], As of 2008 the group identified itself as "a family of churches passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ with a strong doctrinal basis that is evangelical, Reformed, and continuationist. The plaintiffs claimed that WebWhile in seminary, Bruce and his wife Hien attended a Sovereign Grace church in downtown Orlando and sensed that the LORD was calling them to be a part of Sovereign Grace Churches. Rachael Denhollander: Will Sovereign Grace Take the Ravi Scandal to Heart? A number of developments in the lawsuit against Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM) have taken place since I first covered it for RD back in early March. June 14, 2013: While the motion for reconsideration is still pending, plaintiffs file an appeal with the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. That means reporting suspected abuse to authorities immediately, instead of handling it internally. 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. Speaking up after the hard work has been done is easy, said Denhollander, who is an attorney known for being the, to publicly accuse USA gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. C.J. The theological focus gradually shifted during the mid 1990s and it was later suggested that the increasing New Calvinism of PDI was a major factor in Larry Tomczak's departure from the movement. Books like I Kissed Dating Goodbye promote courtship. RZIM issued a. following the report, but has yet to announce any changes in leadership. This is a serious problem that damages the gospel and pushes the most vulnerable away from hope and refuge. 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. The feedback from the victims and their families has been overwhelming positive, and Im thankful for that. In February, following a landmark Houston Chronicle investigation into abuse among Southern Baptists, SBC president J. D. Greear called for an inquiry into whether Mahaneys congregation, SGC Louisville, met denominational standards in their response to abuse. The Thompsons signed an NDA at the time, and the executrix of Zacharias estate has yet to release them from it. In this case, it is not a tough call at all. 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. The Christianity Today article publicly mischaracterizes Sovereign Grace and C. J. based on accusations of which Rachael had no involvement and which are not true and have never been true. WebThe Sex-Abuse Scandal That Devastated a Suburban Megachurch. The sad reality is that sexual abuse is widespread everywhere, not just in religious communities. A little more transparency might go a long way. Antonio Santarsiero / EyeEm / Getty Images. (Covenant Life is no longer a part of the Sovereign Grace network.). Defense Attorney #1 affirms the seriousness of the allegations and notes that they were tough to read. He states that we have not yet gotten to the merits of these allegations, some going as far back as 1982, but if the case were to proceed and we did get to the merits, they would, however, be vigorously contested. [44][self-published source?]. Mahaney, Sex Abuse, Failure to Report, Statute of Limitations, Sovereign Grace Ministries, Lawsuit, Pedophiles, T4G The Washingtonian released a new article after spending many months investigating Sovereign Grace Ministries, CJ Mahaney, and the many cases of alleged sex abuse named in the lawsuit brought on by victims (named When a pastor, staff member or volunteer has reason to believe a child is the victim of abuse or neglect, our policy requires those individuals to report it immediately to civil authorities, he said. on Oct. 13, 2002. And for the sake of SGC and for the integrity of evangelical churches everywhere. Third, said Denhollander, Failure to get expert help, or commissioning a poor investigation (as RZIM did in 2017) crushes and silences victims, and leaves abusers in power, while giving a false sense of security. In 2017, Zacharias settled a lawsuit with a woman named Lori Anne Thompson, who said that Zacharias had used his spiritual authority to groom her for a sexual relationship. "[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. Is justice possible? Picking the right investigator matters. This article has been updated the story with clarifications since it original publication. For six years nowand more intensely in the last few weekscharges and counter-charges (see links below), accusations and defenses have been conducted in public forums and in the courts, without a satisfactory conclusion. Whats worse, these unseemly events reverberate outward, mixing with the #ChurchToo discussion and lingering anger over the Roman Catholic Church abuse scandal. . Upon graduation he attended Sovereign Grace Pastors College in Gaithersburg, MD (now located in Louisville, KY). You take care not to re-victimize victims. False criminal charges can result in a jail term or hefty fine, however.". has broken with the ministry as a result. The allegations included closets and rooms that did not match those in the school building. TIME: How did you decide to investigate the sexual abuse in Sovereign Grace Ministries? [58], All charges brought by the Maryland plaintiffs were dismissed by Maryland Circuit Judge Sharon Burrell, permanently barring plaintiffs from ever bringing those or related charges in Maryland civil court again at any time in the future. There is an institutional effort to protect against child abuse, the Child Safety Protection Network, but it does not do investigations. On one level, I understood that, but I was also talking to victims who had their lives irrevocably changedthey couldnt just move on. 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. At one point, she was asked to leave a church because of the types of issues she was pursuing: The reason I lost my church was not specifically because I spoke up. After eighteen months, an independent investigator concluded her accusations likely never happened. Mahaney's Sovereign Grace Ministries", "Up to 20 Churches Leaving SGM; Mahaney Response Compared to Watergate Scandal", "C. J. Mahaney, Joshua Harris Resign from Gospel Coalition after SGM Abuse Conviction", "Pastor Joshua Harris, an evangelical outlier, heads to mainstream seminary", "Transitioning to Sovereign Grace Churches", "What's Happening with Sovereign Grace Music", "Sovereign Grace Music | Biography & History", "Sovereign Grace Music | WeAreWorship USA", "Suit accuses Sovereign Grace Ministries of covering up alleged child sexual abuse", "Tennessee Pastor Accused of Abuse in Lawsuit", "Charismatic Leader Explains Corporal Punishment Abuse Charges", "Evangelical leaders stand by pastor accused of abuse cover-up", "Sovereign Grace Ministries, Class-Action Civil Lawsuit involving Child Sex Abuse", "sovereign-grace-sex-abuse-case-appeal-dismissed-by-marylands-court-of-special-appeals", "DOE v. SOVEREIGN GRACE MINISTRIES INC | FindLaw", "Maryland Judiciary Case Search Disclaimer", "dismissed with prejudice related claims - Bing", "Inside the Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse at Sovereign Grace Ministries", http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/970485/22706864/1368737527397/Doc+1+-+Original+Class+Action+Complaint+Oct+17+2012+1.pdf?token=BiBmeMyFBh6nTwPilyc0zvmfUJY%3D, "Maryland delegate's effort to allow child abuse lawsuits clears hurdle", "The Sex-Abuse Scandal That Devastated a Suburban Megachurch", "Nathaniel Morales trial: Victim Jeremy Cook testifies", "Nathaniel Morales of Covenant Life Church convicted of sexually abusing young boys", "Judge calls former church youth group leader Nathaniel Morales a 'cowardly pervert' before sentencing him to 40 years in prison", "Megachurch Pastor Confesses to Protecting Child Molester for Years", "Covenant Life Church pastors face scrutiny over ex-church member's abuse", "Sovereign Grace Ministries: Courts Shouldn't 'Second Guess' Pastoral Counseling of Sex Abuse Victims", Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America, Christian Reformed Church in North America, Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, Covenanting Association of Reformed and Presbyterian Churches, Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, Evangelical Assembly of Presbyterian Churches in America, Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches, Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church, Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals, Free Presbyterian Church of North America, Free Presbyterian Church Synod of the United States, Korean Evangelical Presbyterian Church in America, National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly, Reformed Presbyterian Church Hanover Presbytery, Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States, United Reformed Churches in North America, Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sovereign_Grace_Churches&oldid=1142030629, Christian organizations established in 1982, Evangelical denominations in North America, Reformed denominations in the United States, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from January 2022, Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations, All Wikipedia articles needing clarification, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from April 2013, Articles with self-published sources from July 2011, Articles that may contain original research from September 2016, All articles that may contain original research, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 03:55. They were tired of rehashing it. What does a young boy think if a male church member sexually assaults him? There are obvious lessons evangelicals ought to be learning from the horrific abuse perpetrated by Ravi Zacharias, says victims advocate Rachael Denhollander. I pray that God gives us all grace to respond wisely and biblically. Our interaction with civil authorities has been instrumental in shaping our policies and procedures for the protection and care of children. On March 8, 2016, two individuals testified before the Maryland State Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee regarding the Sovereign Grace Ministries lawsuit. Denhollanders fourth and final point was that expert investigations should not be feared, but welcomed. She said. "[38], In January 2015, Joshua Harris, leader of SGM's former flagship church, Covenant Life Church resigned as lead pastor, saying he planned to attend Seminary to pursue more formal education and connection to other branches of Christianity. So many of the leaders applauding the step RZIM took today, were silent in urging that this step be taken, and remain silent regarding an organization still co-laboring alongside them or in their communities, wrote Denhollander in a, Denhollander was referring to the independent investigation Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (, ) commissioned in September of last year. No One Knows. [39], Sovereign Grace Churches was known as "People of Destiny International" until 1998. Mahaney, one of the churchs founders, was one of the church leaders cited in a 2012 lawsuit as allegedly covering up sexual abuse for years. 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. So too the despicable acts carried out by Loftness and Ricucci. It took months to establish trust with those involved. In a perfect world, those power dynamics would not be abused, but as Christians teach: Were not living in a perfect world. At the same Senate hearing another individual, Terry Mayo, also testified. We recognize the critical importance of treating child sexual abuse seriously and its victims with compassion. Does this kind of circumscribed sexual environment give way to more sexual abuse? Right up until the article went to press, I was getting negative emails from some church members, but those messages seem to have dissipated. In 1982, shortly after planting a church in Cleveland, Mahaney, Tomczak and Detweiler formed People of Destiny International as an umbrella organization for their various ministries. We are simply unable to perform what some people are demanding., The SGC leaders also wrote that Sovereign Grace has a detailed, well-defined polity with clear avenues to pursue biblical justice, saying that an outside investigation would set aside the biblical principles underlying all these polity provisions and structures and submit all our churches and their leaderships to the processes and judgment of a single, functionally unaccountable organization or individual, who would be empowered to pass judgment on every SGC church without recourse., Back in 2013, faced with the lawsuit, SGM took a First Amendment defense, saying courts shouldnt second guess pastoral guidance.. However, none of those named supported her stories of abuse. Others from the Sovereign Grace flock were grateful the story was being told. Maryland State Senate Committee Hearings (March 2016), Hocken includes SGM in his list of restorationists; see Stanley M Burgess, Eduard M van der Maas (eds), Wagner includes SGM in his list of apostolic networks; see Stanley M Burgess, Eduard M van der Maas (eds), Learn how and when to remove this template message, "KEEPING THEIR EYES on the CROSS; Gospel truth draws at Covenant Life", The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, "C.J. All Rights Reserved. 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 victims are still with us. STANLEY: More than one church leader assumed the victims and lawyer Susan Burke brought this story to me, as a kind of trial-by-media stunt. [46] Sovereign Grace Music is directed by worship leader Bob Kauflin, former member of Christian band Glad, and is known for lyrics that are founded in biblical doctrine. WebAt Grace Community we sing about, celebrate, preach and endeavor to live in the good of that gospel (I Corinthians 15:3). Inside the rise and fall of Sovereign Grace Ministries. Survivors and non-survivors alike need legal protection. Mahaney announced "that he would step down as president of SGM's beleaguered network of churches. Grace Community Church Ashburn, VA Website. To clarify the context: The focus on SGC and these accused churches and leaders is not because the charges and counter-charges are especially grievous, but only because the controversy is so public. All of the others who were named in the lawsuit, including Covenant Life Church pastors in Maryland, Sovereign Grace employees, and Fairfax Church in Virginia, were also investigated by law enforcement and no charges were brought. Pastors are not mandatory reporters in the State of Maryland. But in these types of cases, which deal with minors and abuse, some court files are sealed, which is another obstacle. I started with one family, and then I met with another, and from there, I was able slowly to gain introductions to others. This year, as evangelicals ramp up their response to abuse, top leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention have joined the scrutiny over Mahaney and his current congregation, SGC Louisville, which is also affiliated with the SBC. She went on: When you support an organization that has been embroiled in a horrific 30-year cover-up of sexual assault, you know what that communicates to the world and what it communicates to other enablers and abusers within your own church. [65], In a different case in 2014, Nathaniel Morales, a youth mentor at Covenant Life Church, who "led youth bible studies, directed worship teams, and even attended sleepovers,"[66] was convicted of abusing four boys between 1983 and 1991. 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. On December 9, 2020 RC Sproul Jr incorporated SOVEREIGN GRACE FELLOWSHIP, INC. as a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation. In 2018, Harris disavowed I Kissed Dating Goodbye and discontinued its publication. Web12914 Shelbyville Rd Louisville, KY 40243 Sovereign Grace Of treating child sexual abuse in Sovereign Grace FELLOWSHIP, INC. as a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation Grace were. Judicial Proceedings Committee regarding the Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville, speaks at Southeastern Theological... 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