Drew: “Did you have an obligation to report the alleged abuse?” Layman: “I believe so.”
Drew: “And you didn’t?” Layman: “No.”
Grant Layman's Testimony during the Nate Morales Trial
Information PointTrying to summarize in a couple of posts everything that has taken place in Sovereign Grace Ministries and what used to be the flagship church of SGM, Covenant Life Church, is a daunting task. Nevertheless, we are attempting to put together the Cliff Notes version for those who are unfamiliar with all that has played out in what SGMers once called a 'family of churches".
As indicated previously, SGM hired the Ambassadors of Reconciliation (AoR) in an attempt to deal with the escalating criticism of C.J. Mahaney and other leaders in SGM. What were the most grievous problems? From the beginning of the ministry, SGM leaders had implemented shepherding tactics that were often abusive to the flock. Not only that, patriarchy was preached and practiced in all Sovereign Grace churches. And finally, there had been accusations within SGM through the years about various kinds of abuse (sexual and otherwise) and the cover-up of that abuse. Those who agreed to participate in the reconciliation process, which took nine long months, hoped that AoR would bring true reconciliation. It was a hope that was dashed as soon as the lengthy report was released. It became obvious to us and many others that the Ambassadors of Reconciliation were nothing more than hirelings. SGM got exactly what it paid for… Despair began to set in for many who were hurt at churches in the SGM network.
However, it appears that something significant happened during this reconciliation process that SGM leaders most likely had not considered. If memory serves us correctly, we believe it was the grueling Ambassadors of Reconciliation process that helped alleged victims in SGM find each other and compare personal experiences. Some of the ones who had been hurt in this "family of churches" began to reach out to each other. They began to notice patterns in the way things were handled by the pastors and from their vantage point, it appeared that there had been a conspiracy by some SGM leaders to cover-up abuse and prevent alleged victims and their families from going to the authorities.
As mentioned in the previous post, Mahaney and gang moved SGM's headquarters and Pastors College to Louisville shortly after the AoR report was released. WelI, it wasn't long after their relocation that they would be served with legal papers.
The Lawsuits
These alleged victims sought the help of an attorney named Susan Burke. In late 2012, a lawsuit was brought against SGM and other parties for allegedly not reporting sex abuse that allegedly occurred decades before. The plaintiffs claimed that SGM leaders failed to report accusations of misconduct to the authorities. Later, a second amended lawsuit was filed which included horrible accounts of abuse. The civil lawsuit was dismissed on a technicality. Specifically, the statute of limitations had expired for some of the alleged victims (remember – they claim that their pastors talked them out of going to the police at the time the alleged crime occurred), and two of the plaintiffs should have filed their lawsuit in another jurisdiction. It didn't take long for three members of The Gospel Coalition – D.A. Carson, Kevin DeYoung, and Justin Taylor – to break their silence with a statement on May 24, 2013. Thank goodness not everyone in The Gospel Coalition was supportive of C.J. Mahaney because the following statement was quietly added:
This statement reflects the views of the signatories and does not necessarily speak for other Council members, bloggers, and writers for The Gospel Coalition.
The Together for the Gospel (T4G) guys – Al Mohler, Mark Dever, and Ligon Duncan – also released a statement in support of their close friend and colleague C.J. Mahaney. The statement first appeared on T4G's Facebook page, but they received so much pushback that they removed the statement, along with the many critical comments, and re-published it on the T4G website (which does not allow comments). Here is how we reported on the game the T4G guys were playing.
Churches Leave Sovereign Grace Ministries
SGM's Board spent a considerable amount of time working on the new polity structure that member churches would have to abide by. We believe this contributed to a good number of churches pulling out of Sovereign Grace Ministries. Covenant Life Church announced its decision to leave SGM in the latter part of 2012. On December 21, 2012, the SGM Board posted this information on its website regarding CLC:
Board Update: Covenant Life Church (12/21/12)
The pastors of Covenant Life Church have informed us of their church's decision to end their formal relationship with Sovereign Grace Ministries. Though we are deeply saddened by this news and would prefer that Covenant Life Church remain with us, we respect their prerogative to do what they believe is best for their church. Though no longer in formal association, we remain inseparably linked together in Christ and our common gospel mission for the glory of God.
For more specifics on the actual vote at CLC, Christian Research Network reported the following:
Covenant Life Church (CLC) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, has decided to leave and disassociate from the Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM) family of churches. CLC, under the leadership of Pastor Joshua Harris, brought the decision of the pastoral team before the congregation in November. On 12 December, the congregation affirmed the leadership’s decision with 93 percent of voting members opting to leave SGM.
Though SGM recently relocated its headquarters to Louisville, Kentucky, CLC served as the original flagship church and formerly housed the organization’s offices on its campus. CLC’s decision to leave the denomination, then, no doubt will greatly impact SGM.
Even before the lawsuit was dismissed, at least 20 churches announced they would sever ties with Sovereign Grace Ministries. Since then, even more churches have disassociated from SGM.
Nate Morales Trial and Conviction
Perhaps the most incriminating evidence against Sovereign Grace Ministries and specifically Covenant Life Church surfaced during the trial of Nate Morales, who served as a youth group leader at CLC for 18 years. Remember, C.J. Mahaney was the CLC's senior pastor from the church's inception until 2004. WJLA reported the news as follows:
Nathaniel "Nate" Morales, a former youth group leader at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, was convicted Thursday of sexually abusing three young boys between 1983 and 1991.
What was very revealing during the Morales’ trial was Grant Layman's testimony. Layman had served as a pastor at CLC for many years and resigned several months before the trial was to begin. Here is how public defender Alan Drew engaged Layman:
Drew: “Did you have an obligation to report the alleged abuse?”
Layman: “I believe so.”
Drew: “And you didn’t?”
Layman: “No.”
For those of you who don't know, Grant Layman is Carolyn Mahaney's brother and therefore C.J. Mahaney's brother-in-law. Now that we know beyond the shadow of a doubt tht Layman knew Nate Morales was engaging in criminal activity and admitted under oath that he chose not to report it, we will leave it up to you to decide whether you think Mahaney had no knowledge of Nate Morales' crimes.
After the verdict had been read, Judge Terrance McGann had this to say to Nate Morales:
"You can't even bring your despicable self to admit your crime. So, you hide behind your phony self-diagnosis of amnesia. Mr. Morales, you are one pathetic human being."
Finally, here is how we reported on the outcome of the trial.
CrossWay Community Church – Charlotte
Some have claimed that SGM has taken steps to ensure that child sex abuse will not occur in Sovereign Grace churches. However, just a couple of years ago we were contacted by someone affiliated with CrossWay Community Church in Charlotte. Here is just some of what she wrote:
I was horrified to learn yesterday that there is a registered sex offender who molested a 5 year-old who is currently an usher at my former church (CrossWay Charlotte). He was there when we were there and he is still there. I asked someone who is still at CrossWay if they recognized his face. He did. I asked if he had heard anything about him being a sex offender. He had not. NO ONE KNEW except the pastors and a few of their chosen ones. They did not inform us as care group leaders or as parents. I was involved in children’s ministry and oversaw the bathroom monitors (security for kids during church) and I was not informed. My husband was a team leader on the church’s security team and he says he doesn’t recall ever being informed.
Dee sprung into action and immediately contacted CrossWay. She then wrote a thorough post describing her interactions with the church and her grave concerns. Have things changed in Sovereign Grace churches? This situation seems to indicate that not much has changed, especially with regard to their treatment of sex offenders. You be the judge…
Mahaney Resigns as SGM President a Second Time
Not surprisingly, C.J. Mahaney resigned a second time as president of SGM on April 12, 2013. Here is how Christianity Today reported the news:
C. J. Mahaney, founder of Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM), will step down as its president effective April 12 in order to focus on being a local pastor. The news comes shortly after the beleaguered network of churches asked a Maryland court to dismiss a lawsuit alleging its leaders covered up the sexual abuse of children.
Mahaney announced in a blog post that he "will be transitioning from the role of President" as SGM's proposed new polity structure "takes effect" and replaces his current role with a new executive director position.
Since that time Mahaney continues to serve as a local pastor at Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville.
An Unfavorable Report about SGM Pastors College
When Mahaney and gang arrived in Louisville and re-established the Pastors College, they obviously got some kind of special consideration for the students enrolled in the PC. Then Jeff Purswell, head of the Pastors College, sent out a shocking letter, which we included in this TWW blog post: Did Southern Seminary Give "Baptist" Tuition Breaks and Academic Perks to SGM Pastors?
Here is Jeff's letter.
Dear Brothers,
I’m writing with some disappointing news. Southern Seminary has informed me that it is discontinuing the formal relationship between Southern and Sovereign Grace. This is a rather complex situation, and I’m unable to share all of the internal factors influencing their decision. Suspicions cast upon Sovereign Grace by the ongoing civil suit, and again by the recent Morales case, have unfortunately produced pressures upon various friends and partners of Sovereign Grace. Such factors appear to have played a role in this suspension.
My conversations with Southern representatives were nonetheless encouraging—they are grateful for Sovereign Grace’s influence and for the pastors who are studying at SBTS, and they hope this continues. This change involves only the formal degree-completion agreement between our organizations.
Here are the main implications of this development:
•The key point is this: Future students from Sovereign Grace no longer qualify for automatic credit transfer or for an SBTS scholarship under the degree-completion program.
•Fortunately, students who have already had their Pastors College credits transferred to SBTS retain those hours.
•Students from Sovereign Grace continue to be welcome to apply to SBTS and may submit transcripts and request to have credits transferred from the Pastors College (or any other institution). These will be treated on a case-by-case basis, just like any other student. The status of the Pastors College as an academic institution from which SBTS will consider transfer credit has not changed.
•Students from Sovereign Grace may apply for financial aid from SBTS. These will also be treated on a case-by-case basis, like any other student.
•In sum, there is no longer a special agreement between SBTS and Sovereign Grace. Pastors College graduates may pursue degrees, credit-transfers, and financial aid like any other student, just not under the auspices of any agreement with SBTS.Officials at SBTS communicated that they want to do all they can to keep from penalizing current students who transferred credits from the Pastors College. They also desire to give students as much information as possible so that they can anticipate tuition costs. Moreover, they hope that Sovereign Grace students will continue to consider SBTS as they plan their academic futures.
This is obviously a disappointing development. However, we as pastors should not be deterred from continuing to grow in our biblical and doctrinal understanding, whether that be informally or formally, through SBTS or another institution. We continue to appreciate SBTS and are grateful for the relationship we have enjoyed over the past couple of years, and it is possible that that relationship could be reestablished in the future. Even moreso, I am grateful for the blessing of the Pastors College and its unique mission to equip men for pastoral ministry within our family of churches. In God’s mercy, the college was built without reliance upon any single institution, and it will continue to be so.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or anyone on the Pastors College staff.
Yours in Christ,
Jeff (Purswell)
We will leave you to speculate what this means and how it will impact the Pastors College in the future.
Josh Harris Resigns Leaving CLC in the Lurch
Covenant Life Church – where it all began – grew to be a megachurch and was a huge source of funding for Sovereign Grace Ministries. Severing ties with SGM had a huge negative impact on SGM's operating budget. In recent years CLC has had its own challenges because reliable sources have told us that many members have left the church. And, of course, CLC's senior pastor Joshua Harris has resigned from the pastorate in order to pursue a seminary degree. Who will replace him, and what does the future hold for Covenant Life Church?
**********************
The bottom line from our perspective is that churches affiliated with Sovereign Grace Ministries have a specific DNA. The pastors who have worked in this system also possess that DNA. SGM perhaps more than any other denomination has exhibited harmful 'shepherding' behavior and a patriarchal approach to ministry. For quite a while it seemed that those in Sovereign Grace Ministries knew the secret to church planting. In recent years, the organization has come under tremendous fire. As more revelations are being revealed about SGM (particularly Grant Layman's testimony), one has to wonder what the future holds for Sovereign Grace Ministries as well as for the churches that have pulled out (such as CLC).
We hope this overview has been helpful to those of you who don't know much about Sovereign Grace Ministries. We would be glad to answer any questions you may have.
first….
Second!
__
“If happy lit’l bluebirds can fly over da rainbow, why oh why can’t I?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjpE7Nve78Y
—
The exchange between Drew and Layman is chillingly similar to the exchanges heard in
The Place of Justice at the old city of Nuremberg (1945-1946).
“•The key point is this: Future students from Sovereign Grace no longer qualify for automatic credit transfer or for an SBTS scholarship under the degree-completion program.
•Fortunately, students who have already had their Pastors College credits transferred to SBTS retain those hours.”
Can someone please explain this to me? Perhaps Al Mohler? Is the SGM pastors college accredited? Has it ever been accredited?
How in the world can they transfer credits? Did SACS know about this special agreement?
@ Muff Potter:
Yes. He was just following the example of his anointed leaders so he is innocent.
“The bottom line from our perspective is that churches affiliated with Sovereign Grace Ministries have a specific DNA. The pastors who have worked in this system also possess that DNA.”
YES! And the SBC leaders from Mohler to Dever affirmed this cultic shepherding cult DNA and implanted it into the SBC. Mohler told reporter Peter King that ‘Mahaney shows strong leadership which the bloggers do not like’. Of course, that CJ religion blog article was scrubbed off the internet when Mahaney fled SGM. That seems to be the sort of power Mohler wields here.
Excellent summation Deb. I am breaking the rules and reposting this.
The bottom line from our perspective is that churches affiliated with Sovereign Grace Ministries have a specific DNA. The pastors who have worked in this system also possess that DNA. SGM perhaps more than any other denomination has exhibited harmful ‘shepherding’ behavior and a patriarchal approach to ministry. For quite a while it seemed that those in Sovereign Grace Ministries knew the secret to church planting. In recent years, the organization has come under tremendous fire. As more revelations are being revealed about SGM (particularly Grant Layman’s testimony), one has to wonder what the future holds for Sovereign Grace Ministries as well as for the churches that have pulled out (such as CLC).
I wanted to share Dr. Ronald Enroth’s well-known books on abusive churches (which he has, bless him, now made available for FREE) in case a reader would be helped by reading them:
1. Churches That Abuse
http://www.ccel.us/churches.toc.html
2. Recovering From Churches That Abuse
http://www.ccel.us/churchesrec.toc.html
Lydia wrote:
Try looking up their accreditation, if any, on the state website for that area. It lists the accredited schools.
Does anybody know the current number of students in their pastor’s college? I’m also wondering about the current attendance at Mahaney’s Louisville SGM church.Does SGM financially support the church? How do they pay all those pastors? I’m also wondering what all those pastors do with their time.
SBTS is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Sovereign Grace’s Pastors College is described as follows:
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/about-us/pastors-college.aspx
So SBTS was taking in men who had gone to Pastors College, a non-accredited school of something, and letting them be in the M.Div program. It would be curious to find out if these men going from Pastors College to SBTS had any other education besides that 10 months.
I also seem to recall that some Southern Baptists were a bit upset about how their donations were being used to fund the educations of men who were not going to be pastors of Southern Baptist churches.
Yeah, there was a big stink over this on some blogs frequented by SBTS students and alumni. Word had it that Mohler was getting some uncomfortable questions about the pastors college and Mahaney.
Why has no one in the SBC held Mohler accountable for this relationship with the “Pastors College”? Is my understanding that “Pastors College ” students only had to have a high school diploma correct? Were my Cooperative Program gifts supporting students from SGM? Wow!
@ Doc in Fairhope:
This might help you understand the history.
http://thewartburgwatch.com/2014/06/30/did-southern-seminary-give-baptist-tuition-breaks-and-academic-perks-to-sgm-pastors/
@ Doc in Fairhope:
Yes and Mohler still has a job there as President of an “academic” institution.
@ Doc in Fairhope:
Here is some more information from another source, Brent Detweiler
“Two other things have changed with the termination of this agreement. First, students from the PC were automatically accepted into SBTS. They didn’t have to apply for admission on their own merits. A high school diploma wasn’t even required. That has changed. Now, I doubt anyone without a four year undergraduate degree will be accepted into their graduate level degree programs.
Second, the tuition rate doubles for PC students. It goes from $254 per credit hour to $508 per credit hour. Let me explain. The Southern Baptist Convention subsidizes the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. ”
http://www.brentdetwiler.com/brentdetwilercom/sgm-pastors-college-on-life-support-southern-baptist-theolog.html
@ Doc in Fairhope:
From Mirele
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/about-us/pastors-college.aspx
So SBTS was taking in men who had gone to Pastors College, a non-accredited school of something, and letting them be in the M.Div program. It would be curious to find out if these men going from Pastors College to SBTS had any other education besides that 10 months.
I am trying to reconcile this statement (copied from above)” This statement [of support for Mahaney by Carson, DeYoung, and Taylor] reflects the views of the signatories and does not necessarily speak for other Council members, bloggers, and writers for The Gospel Coalition” with the statement on Jen Grover’s timeline that The Gospel Coaltion blocked most people who tweeted #istandwithsgmvictims. Can anyone shed light on TGC saying Carson, DeYoung, and Taylor’s statement didn’t represent all of TGC but then blocking people who tweeted in support of the victims? Was anyone who posts here blocked?
I wrote about SGM, The Gospel Coalition in this post.
https://wonderingeagle.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/some-thoughts-on-ministry-success-being-an-idol/
dee wrote:
And Purswells letter in the post sounds like earlier SGM non accredited PC students were grandfathered in. How many? Are they still there? And how is this fair to SBC students who needed proper credits to be admitted?
And who all knew about this agreement before it finally became public?
The trustees at SBTS are yes men?
I also wrote this about child sex abuse and SGM.
https://wonderingeagle.wordpress.com/2015/04/09/how-i-learned-evangelical-christianity-is-struggling-with-child-sex-abuse-an-incident-at-milwaukees-elmbrook-church-in-1999/
From Detwilers link above:
Up to 35 credit hours transfer from the Pastors College to SBTS. An M.Div. in Christian Ministry at SBTS requires 94 total credit hours, so hypothetically a PC graduate is over a third of the way towards an M.Div. (The briefer but more demanding Advanced M.Div program requires only 86 credit hours). Of the remaining 59 credit hours, 41 are elective hours in the Christian Ministry program. (In the Advanced M.Div program, only 21 of the remaining 51 credit hours are elective hours). Transfer credit will depend upon the actual work completed in the PC.
Would someone please explain how this is ethical if the student has no bachelors and is transferring credits from a non accredited pastors college?
@ Abi Miah:
Everyone who used the hashtag #IStandWithSGMVictims was blocked by TGC. There were tons.
https://twitter.com/search?q=IStandWithSGMVictims&src=typd
Of course, your beloved blog queens were amongst that group along with Janet Mefferd-a very conservative talk show host. Look at my picture on Twitter and see the words in the green button.
https://twitter.com/search?q=IStandWithSGMVictims&src=typd (Proudly blocked by TGC)
We even had a TGC Blocked Party
https://twitter.com/search?q=Blocked%20by%20TGC&src=typd
TGC looooves CJ.Some admirers even shave their heads to look like him. See the picture at the top of this post.
http://thewartburgwatch.com/2015/04/22/kevin-deyoungs-controversial-post-calling-some-bloggers-weeping-prophets/
Al Mohler, RC Sproul, Thabiti Anyabwile, John Piper, The great bald Head Apostle, and very special BFF Kevin DeYoung.
lydia wrote:
Could it be the $200,000 given to SBTS? I might be wrong. Surely they do not care about money-do they? Oh cynical, cynical me.
I went to Brent Detwiler’s site and read about a dozen of his earliest’s posts from 2011 and the related comments. I noted how many comments were silencers purportedly being concerned for Brent, that he was hurt and should examine his motives, that he was losing sight of what was important, i.e. the gospel. Instead they should have been outraged about CJ, SGM, CLC, et al.
These comments were specious, no one trustworthy should quibble with the method used here to expose the truth about such outrageous behavior and corruption. Especially when there is no other avenue available, when all other attempts have been suppressed.
Bill M wrote:
You are a wise man. Let me tell you a story and then tell you what I think about Brent.
Years ago, we had a legal recording of a pastor admitting to something that the church denied. We played it for the elders. Were they concerned? Yes, about us for sinning by recording!! They didn’t care about the real sin.
Brent Detweiler has released hundreds of emails that he kept from his time in SGM. Instead, the detractors are going after him instead of the truth. That is the a sign of abusive behavior throughout a wide swath of the Calvinista world.
Here is the evidence it is true. If it wasn’t, Brent would have had his butt sued off a long time ago. The only way to win a lawsuit is to show that Brent is lying. My guess is that he is not. I believe the documents that I see on Detweiler’s site and also believe that his detractors do not care one fig about abused children.
dee wrote:
Pastor at former church preached a sermon, in it the connection was made between cynicism and skepticism and both were lumped together as sinful.
I’ve had the pleasure over the years of working with some folks that I would classify as wise. One of the main tools in their tool belt was skepticism.
By the way the sermon was on wisdom, of all things. After that I started wandering the hallways instead of listening to the message.
dee wrote:
Well, yes, they don’t want records kept, and they certainly don’t want records released for accountability purposes. They want to control the information flow and the communication channels.
I don’t expect a lawsuit because discovery would be way too interesting. I think they all breathed a big sigh of relief when the judge threw it out on the statute of limitations running out. What was really outrageous was that the Gospel Glitterati pretended the suit was dismissed on the merits!
The funniest thing about the Pastors College/SBTS pact was that finally someone at SBTS-friendly blogs had something besides slobbering praise for Mohler and Mahaney. If I were an alum, I would be livid, and I don’t think Mohler would sell the credibility of the institution for 200k. I believe there is more to the story, and I also suspect that the “partnership” was the only hope of viability for the PC which was the only hope of preserving a pipeline of young church leaders loyal to Mahaney.
Gram3 wrote:
So has anyone pinned articles and names to their walls with string running back and forth showing all the interconnections?
When I read a novel one the of first difficulties I have is getting the cast of characters straight. The co-mingling that goes on here with these celebrities is boggling to the mind.
Gram3 wrote:
Ees Party Line, Comrades (chuckle chuckle).
dee wrote:
Dating back to The Calvin Himself.
Remember Servetus?
Bill M wrote:
The Crossway authors list is a good place to start. I sincerely believe there is a clause or clauses in the author’s publishing contracts that prevents them from speaking out in any way that might disparage one of their authors. I don’t have any information, but I’ve wracked my brain trying to think of a reason for these men to do the things they have done. Not just silence, but overt advocacy in the SGM fiasco. Crossway publishes the ESV Bibles, which are the approved pew Bibles in the YRR churches and many others, and Crossway “partners” with at least TgC (haven’t checked the other Usual Suspect Organizations.)
dee wrote:
I think there is even more to it than that. What is the golden calf of instituions of higher learning? FTE’s? A few years back someone who should know pointed me in this direction with the seminaries during an interesting discussion.
SBTS is the flagship of the SBC and Mohler has been hailed as the brilliant boy wonder since 1993. But what does one do when the numbers are dropping off consistently over the years? One brings in undergrad (Boyce 1998) and tries that as a feeder insitution(nevermind the charter is not for bachelor’s degrees) and increases FTE’s and happily accepts women for Bachelor’s degrees. But there used to be quite a few women there at Carver, the once incredible music program (which is gone) and other places.
So now even bigger problem is that half of the population has not exactly been welcomed or encouraged into the post grad programs. And what would women do with it, anyway? And we know that nowadays more women are entering college than men. Including post grad.
Over time these decisions take their toll on the bottomline. I think Mohler was hoping to increase numbers of grads in the M.Div program through the SGM PC. And I think he wanted it kept quiet.
@ Bill M:
It always takes an insider to really blow the whistle loud. And thankfully it was someone like Brent who kept every single email/piece of paper and acted as sort of the SGM Archivist during his career there.
But I doubt the silencers are using any different tactics than what Brent used when he was in the inner ring. So while I praise his efforts, I keep in mind he was in the inner ring of a shepherding cult since the early days. IOW, when it comes to Gathering of Believers/PDI/SGM, IMO, there really were no glory days when it was good.
At the same time, I praise his efforts and I am thankful he did not pay one bit of attention to the silencers.
Lydia wrote:
I applaud Brent. I read all 600+ pages of his first public rendering of the issues, and I got on his email distribution list and have followed his chronicling of this since then. he is making a huge difference. SGM is where it is, I believe, largely due to his exposing it.