Many now wonder if there has been a habit of covering up and denying child and sexual abuse in evangelical churches in generalif there is something in the evangelical DNA that makes us hesitant to deal with accusations quickly, openly, and truthfully when there is the suspicion of grave sin in our midst. We recognize the critical importance of treating child sexual abuse seriously and its victims with compassion. SGC refused. 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. 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. "[2] Larry Tomczak withdrew from the Charismatic Catholic scene shortly before the creation of Covenant Life Church. 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. To this end, SGC has taken specific steps in recent years to better understand and address the risk of child sexual abuse. By March, 2013 approximately 20 churches had left Sovereign Grace Ministries. indicate that the churchs culture discourages people from reporting it. Others from the Sovereign Grace flock were grateful the story was being told. The information may be privileged, as it would be with an attorney. Susan Burke, the lawyer for the victims, has said she wants to file another lawsuit in Virginia. First, we have to be careful about harshly criticizing pastors who, in the 1980s and even into the 1990s, were confused and/or merely ignorant about the best way forward regarding such matters. To date the police have filed no charges against anyone in that case. A lot of the reporting involved spending hours in courthouses around the D.C. suburbs, digging through case files, a process that I actually enjoy. Of the many matters of concern, Denhollander says that Liebeler did not contact most of those raising allegations, nor witnesses on behalf of those making allegations. not knowing where to turn for independent investigations, With Gossip of the Gospel, the Church Grows in Nepal, Southern Baptist Convention Disfellowships Saddleback Church. A 2012 class-action suit was filed against and who has since renounced his faith, implied in an. Mahaney & Sovereign Church of Louisville Pulled Out of the Southern Baptist Convention When Asked About Sex Abuse Scandal but Continue Ennis testified before the Maryland Senate Committee that no one had testified during the Morales trial that the church had advised them not to report. Price, Televangelist Who Built LAs FaithDome, Dies From COVID-19, RZIM PR Manager Says She Was Shunned For Asking Questions. I talked to the churches in Maryland and Virginia very early on in my reporting process, letting them know I was doing the story, and I kept in touch with them about my progress until the very end, giving them chances to respond to my findings. SGC has also posted its full statement regarding this editorial.]. However, its history of being fired or not rehired by some ministriesas well as Tchividjians past public statements on SGM, which SGC says have prejudged and publicly indicted the ministrycould make a church understandably balk. On December 9, 2020 RC Sproul Jr incorporated SOVEREIGN GRACE FELLOWSHIP, INC. as a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation. Perhaps SGMs reporting process was indeed followed more times than not. Co-pastors Steve Witt and Bob Cohen invited an "Apostolic Team" the fall of 1980 to come and assist in "apostolic restructuring." Statutes of limitationswhich put time limits on when you can file charges or suecan be an issue for victims. Get the best from CT editors, delivered straight to your inbox! 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. In many cases alleged perpetrators or those who covered up, are still in leadership. Rather, the firm specialized in various forms of business litigation and business law, as did the attorney hired to investigate, Mr. Liebeler. WebSovereign Grace Church Midland, TX Website. Center in Louisville, Kentucky, became the focus of controversy when it invited Mahaney, the senior pastor at Sovereign Grace 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. Picking the right investigator matters. Layman was not on trial and was not given an opportunity to clarify his remarks in court. Since the scandal, more than 30 churches have left the denominationincluding Covenant Life and SGC Fairfax. As SGC put it in a statement to CT: SGC is a denomination consisting of 72 churches, each of which is individually constituted and governed by its own board of elders. We are as bewildered as anyone and simply dont have enough information to make a confident judgment on the matter. All Rights Reserved. As SGC put it in a statement to CT: Clearly, any specific allegations of child sexual abuse should be reported to criminal and child protection authorities, regardless of the passage of time. WebIn 2014, a civil lawsuit against Covenant Life Church and Sovereign Grace Ministries alleging a cover-up of child sexual abuse was dismissed in Maryland. A lawsuit complicates who is willing to talk to you, and I am sympathetic to that. SGC refused. 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. Both Tomczak and Mahaney spoke at New Frontiers' Bible Weeks and Stoneleigh Conference. 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. 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 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. And these lessons emphasize the importance of what she has been requesting for some time: an independent investigation into Sovereign Grace Churches. KingsWay Or who earnestly felt, as a matter of religious freedom, that secular authorities and courts shouldnt second-guess pastoral counseling decisions. But in these types of cases, which deal with minors and abuse, some court files are sealed, which is another obstacle. [13] Mahaney describes himself as a "former pothead. It was a growing fellowship of 200 people but lacked the apostolic oversight for greater growth. While tens of thousands flocked to campus, school officials met in a storage closet to make decisions that would honor what is happening.. HB 642, the first bill of its kind to be supported by the Catholic Church in Maryland, extended the statute of limitations to 20 years after the age of majority, but makes it much more difficult to implicate a church or civic organization in a child sex abuse civil suit after the plaintiff turns 25. What has the reaction from the church community been to you, and to your story? Above all, I think many of the families want Sovereign Grace to acknowledge publicly that mistakes were made. . 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. WebSovereign Grace, an association of 80 Reformed evangelical churches, is based in Louisville, Ky. Advertisement Maryland Judge Sharon V. Burrell dismissed the lawsuit "[30][31], Early in 2012, Sovereign Grace Ministries announced their intention to relocate their headquarters from Gaithersburg, Maryland to Louisville, Kentucky, citing Louisville's lower cost of living as well as the growing connection with the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in town. 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. 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. When the Penn State scandal broke, prominent evangelical leaders were very, very quick to call for accountability, to call for change. They are a tool to see if there was a cover-up. 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. 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. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. created insular communities led by a [51] The plaintiffs claimed that church leaders, including Mahaney, did not report accusations of misconduct to the police. 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. Im sure they wish it could all just go away too. 2023 ChurchLeaders.com, All rights reserved. Search firm Vanderbloemen reviewed texts, emails, and videos but did not talk to former staffer who made accusations against Andy Wood. If this is true, it raises many questions. WebHarris was lead pastor of Covenant Life Church, the founding church of Sovereign Grace Ministries, in Gaithersburg, Maryland from 2004 until 2015. Mark Galli is editor in chief of Christianity Today. 6) People withdrew from us, or fell silent. Regarding the alleged pedophile ring at the church's school Ennis testified that. Until youve experienced your life ripped open by false accusations, please consider that what happened to us can happen to anyone. Controversy has surrounded SGCpreviously Sovereign Grace Ministries, or SGMand its founder C. J. Mahaney since at least 2012, when SGMs flagship congregation faced a lawsuit alleging a sexual abuse cover-up, which was later dismissed on procedural grounds. June 26, 2014: The Maryland Court of Special Appeals dismissed the appeal of the civil lawsuit, saying the appeal was filed prematurely before there was a final judgment by the lower court. But regardless of the public discourse, we are strongly committed to ensuring a safe environment for the children in our churches., In a statement to TIME, Mark Mitchell, the executive pastor of Covenant Life Church, said that along with the broader educational community the church had learned much over the last few decades about how to respond to reports of abuse and care for victims and families. And very few leaders are willing to take that step even today., In her statement, Rachael Denhollander listed four lessons from the Ravi Zacharias scandal that ought to be abundantly clear. First, it ought to be clear that, and ministry leaders are not equipped to conduct investigations into allegations of sexual abuse within their ministries. [49] In 2011, Sovereign Grace Music's album Risen charted at No. Given the prominence of Sovereign Grace, especially in Reformed evangelical circles, this puts the gospel we preach under a cloud. 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. [61] As of January 2018, two years later, no such lawsuit has been filed. The Long Waits, Short Appointments, Huge Bills. It was 2011, five years after her family had left Covenant Life Church. '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. [67][68] "Between 1990 and 2007 at least five members of the churchs staff were told of Moraless abuse. [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. 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.. The lawsuit ended up being dismissed because of the statute of limitations. ", Mayo said, at the close of her Senate Committee testimony, "I was burned by sexual abuse in the early 70s; were being burned by the false accusation of it now. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Jessica is a content editor for ChurchLeaders.com and the producer of The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast. . Many of them had been anonymous in their class-action lawsuit, and I wanted the survivors to have agency in deciding whether or not to talk to me. Can Bubble Tea Bring Gen Z into the Chinese Church? The case was dismissed by a lower court with prejudice since the statute of limitations for a civil suit in Maryland had passed. In its explanation against an outside investigation, as in earlier statements, the SGC writes multiple times that authorities and previous inquiries have never found credible evidence to support the suspicions against them. We would do well in all our churches to conduct open and frank investigations on any matter (especially sexual abuse) that (a) brings into question the integrity of the ministry and (b) contains substantial charges and witnesses that strongly suggest were not dealing with frivolous accusations. Since its publication, I have also been hearing from people who want to share with me stories of abuse from other ministries. (Ennis testified that in addition to her personal involvement with the Palmer situation she had a professional background as a Research Manager for a news organization). Denhollanders fourth and final point was that expert investigations should not be feared, but welcomed. She said. 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." This step should still be taken. At his sentencing, she made a compelling speech calling for his just punishment while also extending her forgiveness. Unlike the hierarchical Catholic Church, evangelical churches often function independently. May 14, 2013: A Second Amended Complaint is filed, adding three more plaintiffs alleging abuse. For the church? 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 Facebook post on Feb. 12. This is a serious problem that damages the gospel and pushes the most vulnerable away from hope and refuge. 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. Web12914 Shelbyville Rd Louisville, KY 40243 Sovereign Grace C.J. One of them, Kings Cross Church, has left SGC since sending its letter. Freelance journalist Tiffany Stanley, a 2015 National Magazine Award finalist, spent 10 months uncovering reports of child rape and molestation in Sovereign Grace churches over the last three decades, particularly in the community of the then-flagship Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland. [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. WebSovereign Grace Churches says no to outside investigation of abuse allegations News Bob Allen | April 17, 2019 An evangelical church-planting network accused of covering up June 14, 2013: While the motion for reconsideration is still pending, plaintiffs file an appeal with the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. Multiple people have accused Sovereign Grace Churches (SGC) of covering up sexual abuse, and other reports indicate that the churchs culture discourages people from reporting it. That child was abused at age 2 by a babysitter whose case was criminally prosecuted in 1993. And this was a complicated story to unravel and tell. [45], Sovereign Grace Churches also operates Sovereign Grace Music, based in Louisville, Kentucky, where contemporary worship albums have been released every few years since the 1980s. The apologists version of events was that Thompson and her husband were trying to extort money from him. With Gossip of the Gospel, the Church Grows in Nepal. But that healing cannot begin until we all know the exact nature and extent of the wound; until all the facts are out in the open; until the truth that liberates can be known; and most importantly, if and when it is pertinent, there is repentance. Underpinning much of these teachings is a patriarchal understanding of Christianity, where men are in charge. Al Mohler, a leading figure in the Southern Baptist church, is publicly apologizing for supporting C.J. 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.. That means reporting suspected abuse to authorities immediately, instead of handling it internally. [19] In the mid-1990s, while Tomczak was still involved in the group's leadership, religious anthropologist Dr. Karla Poewe wrote that "Vineyard is particularly attractive to the young and intellectual People of Destiny serves a Catholic constituency" although participants at that time would not agree with this assessment,[20] contrasting PDI with the Vineyard Church. 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 [69][70], In November 2013, SGM issued a statement saying that, years after pastoral counsel was sought, "allowing courts to second guess pastoral guidance would represent a blow to the First Amendment. The victims are still with us. Denhollander also responded to several reasons SGC has cited for not conducting an independent investigation, among them that 1) such an investigation implies at the outset that the SGC is guilty and 2) such an investigation would violate church autonomy. 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. [43], Church planter Fred Herron described the PDI/SGM church planting method of founding new churches: a pastor leads a group of members to relocate to a different city and form, or plant, a new church. On July 6, 2011, Mahaney announced that he would be taking a leave of absence as a team reviewed charges brought against him of "pride, unentreatability, deceit, sinful judgment, and hypocrisy." In her Feb.12 statement, Denhollander listed three SGC churches that have sent letters calling on SGC leaders to conduct an investigation. All the perpetrators from my story were maleseveral were teenage boysand they were members of a ministry that advocated strict sexual mores. North Coast thrived and grew until its ultimate demise decades later. [57] 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. In the Palmer case, brought by Renee Palmer Gamby, Ennis testified that. Speaking up after the hard work has been done is easy, said Denhollander, who is an attorney known for being the first of more than 400 women to publicly accuse USA gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. The first church adoption was in Cleveland Ohio. But we also see this as an opportunity for SGC to become a positive example for the rest of the evangelical community. In a perfect world, those power dynamics would not be abused, but as Christians teach: Were not living in a perfect world. [40] British restorationist leader Terry Virgo states that Larry Tomczak and C. J. Mahaney, leaders at the time, had become "increasingly uncomfortable" with the "People of Destiny International" name, and it was shortened to "PDI Ministries". for less than $4.25/month. 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. WebCJ Mahaney has broken his silence on the two-year sex-abuse scandal that has rocked Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM), a coalition of 80 Reformed evangelical churches. Inside the rise and fall of Sovereign Grace Ministries. But it doesnt. I started with one family, and then I met with another, and from there, I was able slowly to gain introductions to others. Every institution that desires to pursue truth and accountability must sift through these questions, and numerous Christian experts are available to help properly exegete Biblical standards of justice and accountability, she wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. It also notes that since plaintiffs had failed to file a Third Amended Complaint, the case is closed. Fast forward to January 31, 2018, when Rachael Denhollander, an attorney and advocate for victims of sexual abuse, was interviewed by Morgan Lee for Christianity Today. Since then, five other albums have charted, the highest being From Age To Age (2012) at No. Denhollander also responded to several reasons SGC has cited for not conducting an independent investigation, among them that 1) such an investigation implies at the outset that the SGC is guilty and 2) such an investigation would violate church autonomy. Modesty is important. 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 Mahaney pulls out of Louisville pastors conference", "Sovereign Grace Ministries, riven by conflict, seeks to change", "The Sex-Abuse Scandal That Devastated a Suburban Megachurch - Washingtonian", Mark Altrogger and Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, PA Leave SGM, "Gospel Bluesman Offers God's Love in Sin City", "A letter from Larry Tomczak on his reconciliation with C.J. 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. Conversions credited to women evangelists sharing the good news one-on-one in conversations. 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. But Maryland limits when you can sue over child sexual abuse; you can be no older than 25. If true, perhaps there are reasons these people werent contacted. Again, we are deeply concerned about this matter in part because we want to make sure justice is done for all the alleged victims. 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. [11], The organization of over 80 member churches grew out of the charismatic renewal of the 1970s under the leadership of Larry Tomczak. That suit wouldnt involve all the original plaintiffs because some are too old to file suits. 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. Lets set an example for all churches to follow, bringing healing to victims and churches alike. And these lessons emphasize the importance of what she has been requesting for some time: an independent investigation into Sovereign Grace Churches. 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. [28][vague], In the summer of 2009, Detweiler, who had left the SGM board in 2009, released a series of documents detailing numerous grievances with Mahaney, including concerns about Mahaney's leadership style. Mahaney. 2) Anonymous calls were made to business clients, threatening them for doing business with us. (Covenant Life is no longer a part of the Sovereign Grace network.). Third, we are asking SGC to strongly encourage any churches and leaders in its orbit who remain under suspicion to seek an independent investigation, and for accused former SGM churches to agree to one as well. Our interaction with civil authorities has been instrumental in shaping our policies and procedures for the protection and care of children. 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. And for the sake of SGC and for the integrity of evangelical churches everywhere. She also imagined that 18 people witnessed the abuse, and she listed them by name. Perhaps there are reasons the report failed to disclose a number of disturbing facts. None notified the police. Rather than engaging with the mountains of evidence that I brought, because this situation was one of the most well-documented cases of institutional cover-up I have ever seen, ever, there was a complete refusal to engage with the evidence. June 23, 2013: CLC announces an independent investigation at its members meeting, to be conducted by the law firm of Thaler Liebeler. But when it was within our own community, the immediate response was to vilify the victims or to say things that were at times blatantly and demonstratively untrue about the organization and the leader of the organization. Did Pharaoh Have Free Will? The decision followed multiple new allegations of sexual abuse against Zacharias (the first known accusation dates back to a lawsuit Zacharias settled in 2017). That bill was signed into law by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan on March 4, 2017.[64]. The Catholic Church has been taken to task over abuse for decades now. Why Pastors Are Stepping Down", "C.J. Documentation was found showing the family of one plaintiff was immediately advised to notify authorities. The beloved drink is both an attraction and a generational divide. What observations can you share now about the state of sexual ethics in the evangelical church more broadly? The law as it stands, does both. WebAt Grace Community we sing about, celebrate, preach and endeavor to live in the good of that gospel (I Corinthians 15:3). Rachael Denhollander, an attorney-advocate made famous through her testimony against gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, lives in Louisville and has researched the SGC case in detail. Experiencing the Spirit The dynamic power of the Holy In Maryland, unlike some states, there is no statute of limitations for bringing criminal charges in felony sexual abuse cases, which is why Nate Morales went to jail decades after he abused boys at Covenant Life Church. It took months to establish trust with those involved. They did the same with the crimes committed by Suzanne against her sister, Shannon. There are obvious lessons evangelicals ought to be learning from the horrific abuse perpetrated by Ravi Zacharias, says victims advocate Rachael Denhollander. So it would likely involve only two of the survivors from my story. Mark Prater told SGM Church members in October 2014 State scandal broke, prominent evangelical were! Is willing to talk to you, and to your inbox years later, no lawsuit! And simply dont have enough information to make a confident judgment on the matter, especially in Reformed circles! Was indeed followed more times than not risk of child sexual abuse Wikipedia. Incorporated Sovereign Grace network. ) stories of abuse from other Ministries one-on-one in conversations 2013 approximately 20 had! 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