I already feel anxious about what the new plaintiffs will add. All of these alleged victims are very brave. I’m thankful for the first plaintiffs that blazed a trail, and gave courage to others to come forward. May the Lord cleanse His house of those who allegedly abuse others in His name.

Oh man… it takes a lot to shock you, Dee and Deb, so this has to be truly horrific.

This will be interesting but sad to see. By “named” it sounds like you are saying that that these “named” pastors are alleged to have been child molesters vs. just poorly handling cases of molesation? So far I think 2 pastors have been “named.”

Julie Anne just posted it, too.

“In my opinion, to read this, understand it, and remain a member of this organization is to willingly chose to align yourself with the devil.”

Every SBC member who gives money that supports SBTS needs to read lawsuit and see what Mohler and Dever have promoted and protected because SGM is “Reformed”. What he sees as “strong leadership” because this is what is behind the closed doors of a shepherding cult where your “leadership” is your Holy Spirit for you.

I have not read past page 15 yet. I am sick. Literally sick for these children. I owe it to them to read the whole thing but I have to stop and pray for those precious plaintiffs.

If this is all true, and I believe it is for several reasons, I pray for justice here on earth. These men are (alleged) monsters.

Never ever forget the laser like focus on “sex” at SGM.

Can we get a link to the lawsuit?

79 Sovereign Grace Ministries churches listed here:
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/churches/list-of-all-sgm-churches.aspx?pg=1&pgsz=25&so=

I’m afraid to click on the tab “What to Expect.”

Jesus…. That’s all I can say is: Jesus…..

Thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement. Please continue to pray for everyone involved in this case.

Well, SGM, are these charges too vague for you now? The church is going to stand in judgement if it does not expose and condemn this outright. Thank God there are a few brave souls willing to do so, even if they have to suffer for it. Thank you, Dee, Deb, and Julie Anne.

To the alleged victims: my heart breaks for you. I wish I could stand with you right now. I do in prayer. May justice be served here on Earth.

Hey, Ben Peays, Collin Hansen, Matt Smethurst, Kathleen B. Nielson, Joe Carter, John Starke, Josh Mathews, Bill Walsh, Hannah Moody, Andy Naselli, and Charles Anderson. Why doesn’t the Gospel Coalition report on this and stand up for the victims? We want to know why you hide evil people? Jesus had a lot of say about this.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/about/staff/

Absolutely horrific. Well, SGM motion to dismiss claimed they didn’t have details and specifics — they do now. I guess in their sheer arrogance they never thought these victims would have the courage to actually stand up and publicly testify to these horrific abuses that they endured. I think pastors overestimated their ability to intimidate and control. They were able to silence so many victims for so long and convincingly fool so many others they must have really believed no one would ever tell on them.

Janey wrote:

What’s so shocking is that the Gospel Coalition website is silent on this child sexual abuse complaint — and they still list C. J. Mahaney as one of their council members.

Humbly, of course.

How can they look in the mirror in the morning?

Humbly, of course.

How can they kiss their children and grandchildren?

HUMBLY, of course.

RB wrote:

Shortly before we were no longer with SGM, the Lord gave me a brief vision of a large, white boar when we were in church one day.

Large white boar? What is the symbology of a large white boar?

no words.

evil unfettered.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

(I skimmed many parts, but some of it was known via blogs; other segments confirm rumors that have been circulating for a long time. And yes, I know I should be saying “alleged” and “allegations,” but I can’t. Not anymore.)

Julie Anne wrote:

I think some of this has to do with statute of limitations. That is why I really would like to see a nationwide effort to remove statute of limitations.

State of California specially waived statute of limitations regarding the Catholic “Pedophile Priest” coverup scandal. A move probably applauded by the likes of SGM.

Simply awful. And would agree…the Gospel Coalition’s silence in sickening-to say the very least;)

dee wrote:

Headless Unicorn Guy wrote:

Any “PERSECUTION!” rumblings yet from SGM and the Calvinista Mutual Adoration Society?

They are getting their beauty rest.

HUMBLY, of course?

(Just that the usual reaction in such a situation would be to circle the wagons and scream “PERSECUTION!!!!” Doublepluswarmfeelies about Being Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake (Humbly, of course) and confirmation of their own Gospelly Righteousness. That Righteousness attitude is what triggers me more than anything else; the Morally Superior Certainty That I AM RIGHT AND I AM PURE AND I AM GODLY.)

HUG, I think white might have been because it’s been mostly about attracting White Anglo Saxon Protestants (WASP) to their good ol boys’ club, from affluent American Suburbia. Of course, they call it bringing the true gospel to un-churched areas. They have given God, the true gospel, Jesus Christ and good churches a bad name, imo. Was it here that I read about the thief who stole God’s hat?

Having covered trials in Canada (abuse, sexual abuse, rape) I understand shock. It is a human, natural and necessary defence against evil.

There is no statue of limitations in Canada for sexual abuse, the law is federal and applies to all provinces and territories.

Canada also has something called a ‘ban of publication’ or ‘publication ban’ that a judge can put in place in a criminal trial which prevents media from reporting graphic details, (names of victims and witnesses) until a verdict was rendered. (Minor victims cannot be named)

There were many times in courtrooms I wanted to throw up. The courage of the victims/survivors and those tasked to walk along side them to support them, kept me from doing so. The courage of victims/survivors cannot be understated. The dogged tenacity and determination of victims advocates, investigators and prosecutors is a light in a dark, dark world of harm, and through the long night of seeking justice.

Please pray for the plaintiffs lawyers.
To receive so many calls, to hear so many stories of abuse, and alleged SGM institutional coverup; then to choose, compile and file, takes it’s toll on even the most experienced child abuse lawyers.

I think evil is banal.
To read the dreariness of alleged repeated behaviour across states, across churches, across ‘doctrine’, across time; to read again of the utter disregard for the value of those created in the image and likeness of God, to read of grooming, silencing; the selfishness and hubris of power, and the choices of men in leadership seemingly accepted as a normal is difficult to wrap my thoughts around.

First Amendment claims don’t cut it with this amended filing, these are not ‘vague allegations’ putting ‘the spiritual and doctrinal affairs of SGM and the local churches directly at issue.’

@ Patrice:

Thank you for writing this! In total agreement. The truth is that some of us, through no fault of our own, will never completely heal from the damage that’s been done to our minds and lives. For us, there is no such thing as God “making it up to us 10 times over” – that’s impossible/unrealistic in this life.

I say this as an optimist, someone who’s often full of mysterious cheer and untamed silliness/zest for life.

dee wrote:

@ Headless Unicorn Guy: Are you doing OK? I have been praying for you.

Things have mellowed down a bit. I’m able to sleep again. Still getting what could be anxiety attacks, but if so they’re manifesting differently than anxiety attacks in my past (I used to have them on a regular basis some 30 years ago, and the symptoms were very consistent). And since the prostate cancer scare began, I’ve gotten hit by some $8000 in emergency expenses (home repairs; plumbing/heating/cooling all wearing out at once) and just last night a contact some 2000 miles away called me up begging me to let him move out here and crash on my floor indefinitely (“There HAVE to be jobs where you are!”) — he fell on hard times some years ago and was being evicted that night.

@ Bene D:

I think evil is banal.
To read the dreariness of alleged repeated behaviour across states, across churches, across ‘doctrine’, across time; to read again of the utter disregard for the value of those created in the image and likeness of God, to read of grooming, silencing; the selfishness and hubris of power, and the choices of men in leadership seemingly accepted as a normal is difficult to wrap my thoughts around.

yes – as Hannah Arendt famously wrote re. Adolf Eichmann.

After reading the lawsuit, I think it’s safe to say that, barring mass conspiracy, SGM is really, fully, finally, permanently sunk. There’s just no way I can think of that anybody could possibly get around what was in those allegations. And per mass conspiracy, that doesn’t usually work…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d18qlGLh1ew

@ former SGM 1990s:

“I also know that God can make it up to you ten times over”
****************

And when this doesn’t happen, then what? A sincere question, based on reality.

This is from SGM official statement

“Our careful review of the allegations to date has not produced any evidence of any cover-up or conspiracy. If we discover otherwise, our Board will immediately report it to the authorities and see that it is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Without minimizing the serious nature of these allegations nor the grievous harm individuals may have experienced, we understand that it is possible for people to be wrongly accused. We thank God for the judicial system where these allegations can be brought, a defense made, and a verdict rendered through a fair and just process.”

/ It is sickening to me that this is what SGM puts out as their official statement. Nowhere do they say anything about these poor children who have clearly been harmed, or how they are praying for these victims, or how sickened they are if these types of things occurred in any SGM churches. Instead SGM simply runs the children over in an effort to circle the wagons.
This is not reflective of the God that we serve or of his heart for the little ones.
May The Lord bring healing and comfort to these survivors, and may he have mercy and show true grace to these men who have become blind to their sin./

@ Patrice:

hi patrice.

i’m allergic to the christian version of spin around, clap 3 times, abracadabra, poof!

And the process and poof tied to your character and spiritual maturity.

I realize this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I’d be hesitant to too quickly affirm the truth of every allegation. We learned in the satanic abuse scandals of the 1980s and 1990s that allegations of mass child abuse aren’t always true. It’s not generally due to any mass conspiracy, but simply because memory is unreliable.

I don’t doubt that there were abuses. That the church was involved in silencing victims of familial abuse and that inappropriate contact may have occurred between older and younger children during home groups seems likely. But, when allegations of group abuse involving top leaders that went entirely unreported until recently start arising, I just can’t take off my skeptic hat. Again, I don’t think it’s that anybody is willfully lying, or that anybody is out for some kind of smear campaign, but that we know that memory is often unreliable and that people can be quite easily induced–by the most well-meaning professionals and from reading reports of others’ experiences–to “remember” things that never occurred.

I know that the scandals of the 1980s and 1990s followed the same pattern: initially, there were isolated instances of more “mundane” abuse, which then morphed into more and more stories of increasingly horrific abuse involving more and more people. It worries me that these stories seem to be following the same trajectory, because that trajectory tends to signal mass panic/hysteria, not truth-telling. As much as I dislike the authoritarian stance of SGM and think they indeed woefully mishandled the sexual abuse cases that people have known about for years, I don’t want to see all of their leaders caught up in a witch hunt. When you start getting more and more stories of more and more serious and bizarre abuse as a case goes on, I do think it’s important to step back and consider if maybe it is another case of false memories/reports.

@ Lori:
We aren’t just “getting stories”, though- this is a lawsuit.