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. While two of the links in Denhollanders post are broken, you can read the churches statements. 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). Mahaney reinstated at Sovereign Grace", "Controversial church with Southern Baptist ties moves headquarters to Louisville", "Sovereign Grace Ministries Relocating Headquarters to Kentucky", "Maryland megachurch secedes from Sovereign grace ministries", "Flagship Church Votes to Leave C.J. 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. So too the despicable acts carried out by Loftness and Ricucci. 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. 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. [47][48] Kauflin employs many other songwriters and pastors from other churches to aid in the songwriting process for Sovereign Grace Music. 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. [50], In late 2012, a lawsuit in Montgomery County, Maryland was brought against Sovereign Grace Ministries, making accusations of a conspiracy to cover-up child sex abuse. 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. His accuser was plaintiff Heather Thompson Bryant. Rather, the firm specialized in various forms of business litigation and business law, as did the attorney hired to investigate, Mr. Liebeler. [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. Public defender Alan Drew asked Layman if he had an "obligation to report the alleged abuse?" That means reporting suspected abuse to authorities immediately, instead of handling it internally. It is for this reason that I have repeatedly recommended that Sovereign Grace Churches, Institute in Basic Life Principles, and several other organizations, welcome this same process, and provided recommendations of ways this can be done without violating principles of church autonomy. 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. SGC refused. To share this article with your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. But we also see this as an opportunity for SGC to become a positive example for the rest of the evangelical community. Evangelical churches are plagued with serious problems related to how we respond to and counsel victims of sexual assault. Im also thinking about Buzzfeeds recent story on Jesus People USA and Kiera Feldmans 2012 investigation of abuse in a Tulsa megachurch. indicate that the churchs culture discourages people from reporting it. This echoed one of the highest-profile past defenses of Mahaney and SGM, when Reformed leaders Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, and Albert Mohler wrote in 2013: If the filing of civil litigation against a Christian ministry or leader is in itself reason for separation and a rush to judgment, no ministry or minister is safe from destruction at any time. Long Waits, Short Appointments, Huge Bills. [57] Denhollanders fourth and final point was that expert investigations should not be feared, but welcomed. She said. For nearly six years now, an open wound has been festering in the evangelical community. Perhaps the number of incidents when pastors decided not to report abuse is small. "[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. RZIM issued a public apology following the report, but has yet to announce any changes in leadership. 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. There are obvious lessons evangelicals ought to be learning from the horrific abuse perpetrated by Ravi Zacharias, says victims advocate Rachael Denhollander. The lawsuit ended up being dismissed because of the statute of limitations. To date the police have filed no charges against anyone in that case. Search firm Vanderbloemen reviewed texts, emails, and videos but did not talk to former staffer who made accusations against Andy Wood. We are as bewildered as anyone and simply dont have enough information to make a confident judgment on the matter. Ennis went on to testify that an "extensive and undoubtedly expensive" investigation was conducted by the Montgomery County Police Department but no charges were ever filed. Does this kind of circumscribed sexual environment give way to more sexual abuse? He was in the hospital because his back was so bad he couldn't walk. Susan Burke, the lawyer for the victims, has said she wants to file another lawsuit in Virginia. Co-pastors Steve Witt and Bob Cohen invited an "Apostolic Team" the fall of 1980 to come and assist in "apostolic restructuring." In the initial months, the accused were labeled child sex offenders and the story of the abuse, truth be damned, was aggressively promoted in news, radio and social media. The court also dismissed for lack of jurisdiction all of the claims against the remaining 2 defendants residing in Virginia. , one of the churchs founders, was one of the church leaders cited in a 2012 lawsuit as allegedly covering up sexual abuse for years. [56] An appeal of the lower court's decision was heard by the Maryland appellate court in May 2014, and the lawsuit was again dismissed when the court found that the Plaintiff's attorney had filed the appeal too early. 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. 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 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. Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. An independent investigator reported that Morales was never a paid employee of Covenant Life Church. Web(SGC, formerly known as SGM, formerly known as PDI, formerly known as GOB,) Sovereign Grace Churches has been plagued with the continual bleeding of members "[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]. 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. Therefore, all of the claims by the Maryland plaintiffs were dismissed in May 2013 because the statute of limitations had expired, 3 years after each turned 18; the claims by two Virginia plaintiffs were still within the statute of limitations. [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. The experts I spoke to didnt say these statistics are worse in evangelical churches, but they did say that abusers could prey on trusting religious communities, which give them access to children. The law as it stands, does both. On May 14, a second amendment was filed to the suit: [The suit] adds three new plaintiffs, making a total of 11. Conversions credited to women evangelists sharing the good news one-on-one in conversations. [9][10] Besides the North American congregations, there are also congregations in Australia, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Great Britain, Germany and Mexico. Our interaction with civil authorities has been instrumental in shaping our policies and procedures for the protection and care of children. 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. [41] In 2002, the group adopted its next name of "Sovereign Grace Ministries. A lawsuit complicates who is willing to talk to you, and I am sympathetic to that. [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. 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. 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. That suit wouldnt involve all the original plaintiffs because some are too old to file suits. Four other congregations with female pastors were also determined to be not in friendly cooperation with the SBC, as well as one removed over its abuse response. [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 And especially for the sake of the gospel., Subscribe to CT
Layman was not on trial and was not given an opportunity to clarify his remarks in court. , says victims advocate Rachael Denhollander. "[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. 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. Its time for healing to begin. Some of these allegations confront abuse that is decades old. May 14, 2013: A Second Amended Complaint is filed, adding three more plaintiffs alleging abuse. 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. In the case brought by Robin Roe (pseudonym), Ennis testified that. Moreover, there is not a single instance of a Sovereign Grace pastor or staff member ever being charged withmuch less convicted ofsexual abuse or covering up abuse in our 35+ year history.. While there is a specific process by which a charge may be submitted against an elder by any current or former SGC church member, SGC leadership has no authority to mandate an investigation by an outside authority upon all of our churches. With each perhaps, were left with another question or three. Subscribers receive full access to the archives. 4) Minor children, suffocated by public reaction, suffered horribly. 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. That is not a message that evangelical leaders want to hear, because it would cost to speak out about the community. 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. She didn't remember the alleged abuses before her thirties, and then believed she was recovering lost memories. 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. 2) Anonymous calls were made to business clients, threatening them for doing business with us. [49] In 2011, Sovereign Grace Music's album Risen charted at No. This brought her faith into prominence; so naturally, we at CT wanted to interview her. Get the best from CT editors, delivered straight to your inbox! WebAt Grace Community we sing about, celebrate, preach and endeavor to live in the good of that gospel (I Corinthians 15:3). 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. WebHer investigation, The Sex Scandal that Devastated a Suburban Megachurch , chronicles the inside story of crimes against children in D.C.-area Sovereign Grace churches, It was 2011, five years after her family had left Covenant Life Church. Others from the Sovereign Grace flock were grateful the story was being told. 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. Predictably, the judge questioned her very legitimacy as a plaintiff. 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 pastors and ministry leaders are not equipped to conduct investigations into allegations of sexual abuse within their ministries. On February 13, SGC followed up with a 2,800-word defense/explanation of many of the charges swirling around this case, and noted: The decisions of Rachael and others to publicly pronounce SGC and its pastors guilty of sexual abuse and conspiracy, on the basis of false allegations and with no direct knowledge of SGCs history or the facts, have profoundly damaged the reputations and gospel ministries of innocent pastors and churches. The Thompsons signed an NDA at the time, and the executrix of Zacharias estate has yet to release them from it. All Rights Reserved. 7) Questions harassed us: Could we lose everything financing a defense? The two churches formed an informal church-planting partnership. Because many churches are ideologically committed to the theories that lead them to handle abuse so poorly, many church leaders are very sincere, yet sincerely wrong. Why Pastors Are Stepping Down", "C.J. 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. For more than 40 years, Sovereign Grace Ministries was a haven for evangelical Christians from around the D.C. metro region. Perhaps the number of abuse victims isnt as high as it seems. Mahaney announced "that he would step down as president of SGM's beleaguered network of churches. An internet lynch mob can go on forever, but the law should protect innocent people from legal charges they cant defend, like those from the distant past. On December 9, 2020 RC Sproul Jr incorporated SOVEREIGN GRACE FELLOWSHIP, INC. as a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation. Conversions credited to women evangelists sharing the good news one-on-one in conversations. 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. Still a number of its explanations for past events remain inadequate and leave too many questions unanswered. North Coast Church formerly called Crossroads Christian Community was founded in 1980. This is a serious problem that damages the gospel and pushes the most vulnerable away from hope and refuge. In a perfect world, those power dynamics would not be abused, but as Christians teach: Were not living in a perfect world. Your investigation focuses on sexual abuse in one evangelical network, but it begs the question: how widespread is sexual abuse in evangelical churches more broadly? 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. The apologists version of events was that Thompson and her husband were trying to extort money from him. That puts this proposal squarely in the category of more-harm-than-good.". 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. I pray that God gives us all grace to respond wisely and biblically. Magazines, Digital The situation we were dealing with was a not-so-veiled reference to SGM. 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. 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. And we are hardly ready to conclude SGC and the accused congregations and leaders are guilty of every charge brought against them. [67][68] "Between 1990 and 2007 at least five members of the churchs staff were told of Moraless abuse. (CTs sister publication, Church Law & Tax, also offers resources to help churches reduce the risk.). The feedback from the victims and their families has been overwhelming positive, and Im thankful for that. 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