The plaintiffs claimed that Fifth, we acknowledge that a primary challenge churches face is not knowing where to turn for independent investigations. Nathaniel Morales, who was convicted in 2014 of molesting multiple teenage boys, was a youth group volunteer and not employed by Covenant Life Church in Maryland, Mahaneys former congregation. The lawsuit ended up being dismissed because of the statute of limitations. She is among the evangelical voices calling for an independent investigationrecommending GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment)and criticized SGCs recent announcement. I pray that God gives us all grace to respond wisely and biblically. C. J. Mahaney, pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville, speaks at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, in 2013. And especially for the sake of the gospel., Subscribe to CT
You wrote that Susan Burke, a leading abuse litigator who is defending the Sovereign Grace victims, has called this case the toughest shes ever worked on. [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. Denhollanders fourth and final point was that expert investigations should not be feared, but welcomed. She said. Susan Burke, the lawyer for the victims, has said she wants to file another lawsuit in Virginia. But that didn't spare us from a witch hunt. 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. During the hearing, Judge Burrell referred to an affidavit filed by Brent Detwiler supporting the claims of the plaintiffs as "vague and irrelevant". WebSovereign Grace, an association of 80 Reformed evangelical churches, is based in Louisville, Ky. Advertisement Maryland Judge Sharon V. Burrell dismissed the lawsuit 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. Since the scandal, more than 30 churches have left the denominationincluding Covenant Life and SGC Fairfax. 1 Song. SGC refused. But it doesnt. In summary, Mahaney and his staff covered up the crimes committed by Truesdale and Griney because they were friends and well-known church members. Sovereign Grace Church Pearland, TX Website. Public defender Alan Drew asked Layman if he had an "obligation to report the alleged abuse?" So while we may deeply regret the failure to report something that happened in 1984and rightly acknowledge it as damaging to victim and communitywe have to take into account this reality. (CTs sister publication, Church Law & Tax, also offers resources to help churches reduce the risk.). WebC.J. With congregations numbering in the thousands, SGMs churches including Sovereign Grace Church in Fairfax, Va. and Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Md. 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 decision followed multiple new allegations of sexual abuse against Zacharias (the first known accusation dates back to a lawsuit Zacharias settled in 2017). 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. 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 May 14, 2013: A Second Amended Complaint is filed, adding three more plaintiffs alleging abuse. WebSovereign Grace Churches (SGM; previously Sovereign Grace Ministries and People of Destiny International, PDI) is a group of Reformed, neocharismatic, Evangelical, When the Penn State scandal broke, prominent evangelical leaders were very, very quick to call for accountability, to call for change. 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. WebControversy has surrounded SGCpreviously Sovereign Grace Ministries, or SGMand its founder C. J. Mahaney since at least 2012, when SGMs flagship congregation faced a 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. 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. 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. 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. Mayo testified that her husband was one of the accused in the Sovereign Grace lawsuit and that "she and her husband had experienced the nightmare of false accusations." January 2013: A First Amended Complaint is filed, adding five more plaintiffs alleging abuse and adding CLC and other defendants. [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. The information may be privileged, as it would be with an attorney. 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. It also notes that since plaintiffs had failed to file a Third Amended Complaint, the case is closed. Im also thinking about Buzzfeeds recent story on Jesus People USA and Kiera Feldmans 2012 investigation of abuse in a Tulsa megachurch. It was 2011, five years after her family had left Covenant Life Church. 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. From just the past year, Im thinking of reports about Josh Duggar of 19 Kids and Counting and Bill Gothard, a Christian homeschooling advocate. 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. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. 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, The feedback from the victims and their families has been overwhelming positive, and Im thankful for that. When the denomination came under scrutiny in 2019 following revelations of abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention, SGC refused again, saying. North Coast thrived and grew until its ultimate demise decades later. [41] In 2002, the group adopted its next name of "Sovereign Grace Ministries. [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. 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. The decision followed multiple new allegations of sexual abuse against Zacharias (the first known accusation dates back to a lawsuit Zacharias settled in 2017). Steve Witt's father had been influential in Larry Tomczaks salvation and transfer from Cleveland to DC area. That means reporting suspected abuse to authorities immediately, instead of handling it internally. 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 Get the best from CT editors, delivered straight to your inbox! Mahaney as President", "C.J. [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. The apologists version of events was that Thompson and her husband were trying to extort money from him. Documentation was found showing the family of one plaintiff was immediately advised to notify authorities. What Happens Now? The first church adoption was in Cleveland Ohio. It is our sincere hope that this brief statement has done both by speaking truthfully, respectfully and in a way that honors God. [Basically, the two plaintiffs whose claims were not time-barred had sued in the wrong state and could refile in Virginia.]. 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. Maryland'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 Bethesda-Covenant Life Church. 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. A few qualifications are in order. [51][55], The plaintiffs only asked the court to determine whether or not there had been a conspiracy to cover up abuse. Our interaction with civil authorities has been instrumental in shaping our policies and procedures for the protection and care of children. For many years, PDI did not adopt existing churches, but later altered its policy. In 2018, Denhollander publicly called on SGC to launch an independent investigation into the claims of sexual abuse. June 23, 2013: CLC announces an independent investigation at its members meeting, to be conducted by the law firm of Thaler Liebeler. 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 In 2013, in a lawsuit against our church, a woman accused my husband and three others of molesting her twenty-five years earlier. "[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. 3) Online forums ripped us to shreds. 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. Actually, she was charged and imprisoned by state and federal authorities for crimes of fraud, theft, drug possession, drug trafficking, and weapons concerns. Perhaps there are reasons the report failed to disclose a number of disturbing facts. One of them, Kings Cross Church, since sending its letter.