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This Sovereign Grace Ministries lawsuit has been said to be the largest of its kind in evangelical churches in the last century. People need to be paying attention. The lawsuit came as a result of people sharing their stories on survivor blogs, eventually connecting, and taking action with an attorney. Blogger, Micah Murray got it right when he tweeted this:
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Hello??????? Is anyone listening?
This week has been a flurry of activity regarding the lawsuit. Let me show you some highlights. The big news was reported yesterday in which the judge dismissed most of the case due to a technicality because of the state’s Statute of Limitations.
Today, The Wartburg Watch reports that Attorney Susan Burke has released this statement:
We (the victims and the lawyers) all knew about the statute issue at the outset. But fighting for justice means doing so even against known obstacles. We had a conspiracy theory to overcome the statute but the Court rejected it. The victims are all brave and courageous people whose willingness to fight against evil has already made a difference in the world. Also, please realize going forward with a civil lawsuit does not in any way prevent criminal actions – perhaps may even make it more likely. And please keep praying, as we think the Court erred, and will be appealing her ruling.
All the best,
Susan L. Burke
As we can see, Susan does not have any plans to stop now. Let’s continue to pray for Susan and her team involved in getting the truth exposed.
If you have not taken a look at the second amended lawsuit, here it is. Please know that the visuals are horrific. Brace yourself: 2nd Amended Lawsuit Filing May 14 2013
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In response to the horrific sex abuse crimes he read about involving the Sovereign Grace Ministries lawsuit, Peter Lumpkins drafted up Resolutions on Sexual Abuse of Children to be presented at the upcoming Southern Baptist Convention. I applaud him for his efforts in protecting children. Here is the article. Be sure to read the comments. A brief excerpt follows:
For all its flaws, I just submitted the following resolution to the Resolutions Committee for the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Houston, Texas. As with all resolutions, it has but a small hope it will make it out of committee deliberations. I fully understand this dynamic. Nonetheless, the resolution raises the question which Southern Baptists must sooner or later officially address.
I am very encouraged by this resolution. Would this have happened had the brave plaintiffs not come forward? Maybe not. Reading the second amended complaint compelled Lumpkins to act. Do you see this positive ripple effect? Even if the plaintiffs eventually lose (I do not believe that to be the case), we are seeing some positive fruit. To the plaintiffs and their families reading – – – your pain was not in vain.
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Attorney Bill O’Neill who is working on the SGM case with plaintiffs’ attorney, Susan Burke, was interviewed on the Janet Mefford show. You can listen to the interview here.
Many people have been questioning why C.J. Mahaney is involved in this lawsuit when he has not been accused of sex abuse. Part of the interview discusses this.
“What is the allegation here of his [Mahaney’s] role in what happened here at Sovereign Grace?”
O’Neil responded:
“Well, from what we can tell, what everyone has told us is that C.J. Mahaney for many many years was the authority within the church and that there wasn’t a church rule or doctrine or habit or custom that he did not approve of and participate in, so as the head of the church, it seems that it’s impossible for someone to have that level of involvement and not know what was going on. Now some of that is going to be subject to our ability to question him in discovery and to gain access to their files, which we have not had the opportunity to do yet.” (h/t to TWW for Transcription)
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Bob Allen reported about Peter Lumpkin’s resolution at the Associated Baptist Press. Sex Abuse survivors’ advocate, Amy Smith is quoted in it as well. Here is an excerpt:
Lumpkins’ resolution urges “denominational servants, entity leaders and our trustee boards to sever all ties, whether official or unofficial, with any evangelical organization, fellowship of ministers, and/or celebrity leader who, presently or in the past, is facing criminal and/or civil litigation for neglecting moral or legal obligations to protect the little children whom Jesus said suffer to follow Him.”
. . . and
Lumpkins says such relational ties are “indirectly tarnishing the name of Southern Baptists everywhere and branding Southern Baptists as morally complicit in protecting probable sexual perpetrators against helpless children.”
It’s good to see Lumpkins’ resolution taken seriously by this Baptist media.
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I recently met blogger and author, Zach Hoag after noticing that he also was interviewed on The Drew Marshall Show (interview here). We exchanged a few tweets and I like his style and his heart. He posted an excellent article definitely worth reading, The False Gospel of Reconciliation, in connection with the SGM fiasco:
“And reconciliation, rightly lived as part of God’s cosmic work to restore all things, always subverts the empire of unjust power and control. It messes with thrones and powers and rulers and authorities. It takes them to task.”* * * * *
This following article by Matt Redmond is a must read. Former Reformed pastor and author/blogger, Matt, really challenges his Reformed friends in this article: Answering Some Objections I’ve Gotten About the SGM Lawsuit. It is so good.
I want you to imagine what it must be like for a victim of abuse to continually hear about the speaking engagements of those who enabled the abusers or were themselves an abuser. To see them rise in popularity. To see them above criticism. When the Reformed community does not see any problem with CJ Mahaney speaking at conferences because he has denied the charges against him and none have to be proven in the courts, our cult of personality has reached an apex.
Yes, Matt!!!!! Thank you for your bold stance!
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This next ordeal disturbs me, frankly. Do you recognize any names in this screen shot?
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It has been interesting and sad to watch the responses to the court ruling on Twitter. Four C.J. Mahaney supporters retweeted the above Christianity Today article: Denny Burk (@DennyBurk), Kevin DeYoung (@RevKevDeYoung), Justin Taylor (@BetweenTwoWorlds), and Owen Strachan (@ostrachan). The title was poorly worded and misleading implying that the judged dismissed the entire case. That was not accurate.
I forgot to get a screen shot of Burk’s and Young’s original retweet, but this is my response to them shortly after their retweet. When I hit “reply,” their names Twitter handles automatically came up as being part of the conversation:
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Christianity Today later updated and corrected the misleading title, but did not remove the original tweet, nor issue a new tweet to reflect the new title. The revised title at the CT website is now: Judge Tosses Out Most of Abuse Lawsuit Against Sovereign Grace Ministries.
Since the original misleading tweet, Denny Burk and Kevin DeYoung have deleted their retweet. You can see Burk referring to that fact below:
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All of this twittering by these guys makes me curious. Why were they so quick to tweet that news? Did they tweet the news when the lawsuit became public? I don’t recall any of this group mentioning the lawsuit. They have been very quiet these past months. I’m sure it must have been painful to discuss, seeing their good friend going through something as horrific as this. But did they think about what the victims might be feeling as they observe Christian leaders/pastors retweet that seemingly “good” news? We’ve heard nothing from them during the whole case, but now all of a sudden they are tweeting about it when it looks favorable to their good buddy? I am not impressed. Again . . . . who is thinking about the survivors?
One of the lessons I learned early on in my case is there are a lot of pastors who are quick to defend pastors and dismiss anything negative from church members. That’s what happened with me when I called Grace Community and talked to a senior pastor. I offered to put him in touch with many other witnesses and he didn’t want to hear it. The same thing is going on here. I was also in a Twitter debate with Frank Turk. Same thing happened. He defended C.J. Mahaney. How many witnesses do these people need? Do they need medical records from mental health professionals to prove the trauma they endured? It makes me sick.
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Bill Kinnon and I had the opportunity/misfortune to exchange tweets with Frank Turk regarding the SGM story. Bill wrote about it here.
The attitude of many who purportedly swim in the same spiritual streams as Mahaney et al, is either that the rest of us are out to get SGM because we don’t like Mahaney, or we simply hate the beauty and truth that is NeoReformed theology.
In a Twitter back and forth with Spiritual Sounding Board’s Julie Anne Smith, me and fiery writer & Calvinist gadfly, Frank Turk (who, despite our profound theological differences, I consider a friend), Frank made this Tweet comment about the present debacle
@kinnon @DefendTheSheep Like I said: I admire the starch it takes to find a sex offender when the charges of spiritual abuse can’t work out
It would appear that Frank and many of his NeoReformed brethren see the lawsuit as simply another attack on poor C.J. — and their shared NeoReformed/Complementarian doctrine.
And therefore the tragedy is compounded as many of the NeoReformed appear most concerned about protecting the belief in the veracity of their doctrine. They don’t appear to really care about what happens nor what has happened to the victims of the cult-like behaviour of C.J.Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries.
Whether they mean to or not, they seem to be saying,
‘Screw the victims, C.J. believes the right stuff.’
Yup, that’s what it sounds like to me, too.
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Later in the day, Bill sent me the definition of the word, “incorrigible.” Check it out and you tell me if it applies:
Incorrigible — Not able to be corrected, improved, or reformed.
This is now my new favorite word to describe those who remain silent about abuse. They are completely incorrigible.
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I leave you with this excellent tweet from Boz Tchividjian, a founding member and Executive Director of G.R.A.C.E (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment).
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Spiritual Sounding Board 
A statement by Pam Palmer, aka SGM Not, and the mother of Renee Palmer Gamby
Yesterday, the defendants evaded their day in court on technicalities. This ruling was not judged on the merits of our claim. It does not indicate anything about the truth of the horrific facts of our Second Amended Complaint, nor the guilt of those responsible. Justice is a slow process and this is not the end of that process – we are in this fight for the long haul.
The legal difficulties for SGM, et al is NOT going away anytime soon. We will be appealing this decision. And as reported recently on the news and internet, a criminal investigation is forthcoming. God is faithful and this is ultimately His fight. He hates evil done to the least of His — that definitely includes little, innocent children.
I am so proud of the young women and men, who have stood up, told their stories and joined this legal battle, knowing that criticism or difficulties would come — and they did it anyway, as a step of empowering for themselves and for protection of other little children. That is love. That is being Christ-like. That is true courage.
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Thank you, Julie Anne, for this re-cap and all you continue to do as an advocate for those abused by those claiming spiritual authority.
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^^^^^Amen, Pam! Sending hugs to you and Renee and the other plaintiffs and family members. Please be encouraged by the happenings outside of SGM as a result of your (collective) courage. This is not just about SGM, this is about sex abuse in church and others are taking note and taking action. Who knows how many children will be protected now as a result of policy changes within churches? Think of how many sex abuse cases will be averted because of your courage.
These church sex abuse cases are a mockery to Christ. You are bringing truth back to the forefront. I’m proud to know you, stand with you, and speak out with you.
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Pam, agreeing with Julie Anne! I am very grateful, and have the upmost admiration for the courage and commitment of all the victims and their families. It may be a long, hard row to hoe, but already bearing fruit in exposing and preventing these tragedies. Thank you. May justice flow like a river!
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God Bless you and your family, Pam.
Julie Anne, I also thought that their tweeting of the dismissal was curious since they have been so silent for so long. But they needed the CT article to tweet. Not their own words. Ever notice that? What manly men.
And I like the clever tweet at the top of your post with the protip. How true.
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Amos 5:12
For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes
and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
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Thank you for this summary, I’ve had a little trouble following the case, so it’s nice to have it kind of laid out here. Much appreciated.
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Do you see this positive ripple effect? Even if the plaintiffs eventually lose (I do not believe that to be the case),…
They’d better win and win big, otherwise this sounds like somebody defeated smugly claiming “a moral victory” or “a symbolic victory”.
And Julie Anne, the night the dismissal was announced I dreamed of C.J.Mahaney standing there with an expression I saw all too often on the possible sociopath in my family: The gloating grin of triumph — “I WIN!”
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Thanks a lot for covering this, Julie Anne. It is shameful that people in the neo-Reformed movement are defending SGM/C. J. (or at least trying to shield them from public criticism.)
This should not be viewed as a Reformed vs. non-Reformed issue. I’m a Calvinist Presbyterian who accepts complementarian. It is true that the revelations of abuse will damage the neo-Reformed movement, but the best way to deal with it is for SGM to publicly acknowledge wrongdoing and be as transparent as possible even if it doesn’t survive as an organization. You can’t “fix” stuff like this in-house.
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As someone who has also had dealings with Frank Turk, you have all my sympathy. He’s a nasty guy who thinks allegations of spiritual and sexual abuse are occasions of high hilarity. Also, he has no problem with deleting comments that prove him wrong, as I personally discovered. Really, it’s a waste of time trying to communicate with him.
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I know, Jeff. I am a sucker with a capital “S.” Maybe it has to do with that promise I made to myself years ago that if I see or hear of abuse, I will call it out. I have a problem. Oh well. At least it helps me to blow steam even if it falls on deaf ears or blind eyes.
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Hi Karl: Welcome!
I know some of my readers would say it is a Reformed vs non-Reformed. I will say that I have seen a pattern among the Neo-Reformed (or New Calvinist) group from which this belongs. The pattern I see is that as long as someone has the “correct” doctrine, other issues like abuse are overlooked.
I mention it briefly in this post in reference to the tweets. Other bloggers have been watching to see what these guys would do when the lawsuit was filed. We’ve been watching them like a hawk to see how they respond. There has been nothing since the beginning of the lawsuit. If you attempt to discuss SGM lawsuit on their blogs, they either don’t allow it or control the conversation very heavily. In the meantime, they continue to invite C.J. to speak at their churches/conferences. In most cases of sin, if there are witnesses, the sin is dealt with. Not so with the case of CJ and his church leaders. The SGMSurvivor site (and former SGMRefuge site) have been going on for 5 years with witnesses telling their stories, but they are discounted among the Neo Calvinists. Meanwhile C.J. gets a free pass, gets to leave his church during the midst of the storm and have a safe haven at Mark Dever’s church (in which he also gets to preach while on this season of reflection). Say WHAT?? And then CJ moves his entire empire (without much communication allowed) to Louisville to be by his bud, Al Mohler who also turns a blind eye.
So, when I happened upon the Christianity Today tweet (with the misleading title), it floored me that the first retweeters were (Burk/DeYoung). With the absence of any discussion earlier, now the retreat made it seem like they were saying: “woohoo, CJ won – let’s par-TAY.” That was done in such poor taste. And meanwhile, the survivors have been watching them all along and get to feel another slap in the face. It’s disgusting behavior. It’s almost as if the survivors do not exist. What kind of love is this?
All that to say: the fact that all of these guys are Neo Calvinists is notable. Very notable.
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Perhaps a theological connection would be that Reformed churches tend to have a focus on doctrine and church authority stronger than, say, the average Baptist church. This is not in itself a bad thing if a church has a proper mindset and acknowledges that, e.g., church discipline isn’t about the elders lording it over people and there are good and intelligent Christians who disagree with you. There *is* a lot of intellectual snobbery among Calvinists, which can lead to a tendency to assume that people who are well-educated and agree with you are more important than others. On the other hand, there are very good conservative Presbyterian churches that have a loving and respectful environment.
What people are thinking is: C. J. is right about a lot of stuff, so if he did anything wrong, it can’t be *that* bad. But this is almost a form of Donatism in reverse, since it assumes that all biblically faithful churches are necessarily moral. The truth, though, is that a minister might preach the whole counsel of God and properly administer the sacraments when he is a secret atheist who is sleeping with the church secretary.
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Karl – I have seen the snobbery you speak of, but I also know of pastors – in fact a couple who read here who are Calvinist and they have hearts of gold when it comes to protecting the sheep and speaking out against church abuses. Pastor Jeff Crippen is a powerful voice among the Reformed group who speaks out about the way church treats victims of domestic violence. I keep going back to: why is there not ONE among that (Neo Calvinist) group who will speak out? It’s ironic that this same group is hot on the subject of “biblical manhood,” yet I find them to be biblical wusses.
Your last statement was a zinger, to be sure!
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Sure, Jeff is great! I providentially found him on SermonAudio. I’d add that Boz Tchividjian’s brother, Tullian, is the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, and Boz himself is a member of the PCA. There are also complementarians in the PCA who oppose abusive Bible-twisting.
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As someone who has also had dealings with Frank Turk, you have all my sympathy. He’s a nasty guy who thinks allegations of spiritual and sexual abuse are occasions of high hilarity.
Just an A-hole, sicko sense of what’s funny, or more sinister than that?
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Julie Anne – After reading your response, and thinking about it, I take back what I said about it being a waste of time to communicate with Frank Turk. You’re not a “sucker.” It’s not a waste of time to confront Turk or anyone else on their hard-heartedness, especially on an issue like this.
HUG – As I say above, I think it reveals a very hard heart even beyond his general nastiness and “sicko sense of what’s funny.”
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Karl, Exactly! As your example highlights:
“The truth, though, is that a minister might preach the whole counsel of God and properly administer the sacraments when he is a secret atheist who is sleeping with the church secretary.”
So you can have perfect doctrine, so what, it is ‘how’ you live out what you believe–about God, Christ, the Church, Mankind, etc.–is really what matters. This is the heart of the matter.
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I will say that I have seen a pattern among the Neo-Reformed (or New Calvinist) group from which this belongs. The pattern I see is that as long as someone has the “correct” doctrine, other issues like abuse are overlooked.
Just like the Communists with their Purity of Ideology.
(And even their own spin on Predestination with the Inevitable Dialectic of History!)
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I have to say this…First a disclaimer, I am not violent, aggressive, resentful or a trouble maker. Never really been involved in any physical altercations in my life. However, if my now 26 year old daughter came to me and disclosed to me that when she was a toddler, someone who she could name in the church (or anywhere as far as that goes) touched her, molested her, or worse, raped her, if that person was still alive and breathing, there would be nowhere he could hide, not to face a confrontation with me. That person probably would be involved in multiple lawsuits, one he may have filed himself, for being beat to within an inch of his life. And for those that might want to comment about my violent response to such a matter…save it. When it comes to my kids, there is no statue of limitation.
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Now see, people – – – that ^^^^^^ is what I call Biblical Manhood!! Thank you, Raymond.
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All of this twittering by these guys makes me curious. Why were they so quick to tweet that news? Did they tweet the news when the lawsuit became public? I don’t recall any of this group mentioning the lawsuit. They have been very quiet these past months.
Simple.
It’s the cackling crow of triumph over the destruction of The Enemy.
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“If that person was still alive and breathing, there would be nowhere he could hide…”
I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.
Sounds to be like Raymond would be, understandably, very *puts on sunglasses*, “Taken” aback.
Sorry corny I know, but I couldn’t resist. I amuse myself sometimes, and I love that movie.
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A side note to my response above…Had I been invited to a meeting inside the church 23 years ago so a perpetrator could apologize to my then 3 year old daughter for touching her inappropriately, the perpetrator and the pastor to this day would be on a total liquid diet. This stuff is crazy. How are these guys allowed to get away with such hideous crimes. Where are the men at????
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It’s worse than that Raymond. It wasn’t really so the perp could apologize to the child. It was so the child could forgive the perp. Sounds similar, but it’s really not. The pastors saw the ordeal not so much as an incident requiring justice for the child, but as an “opportunity” for the child to forgive, even though the perp wasn’t REALLY repenting.
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Oh, and I am right there with you Raymond. I’m known by friends and coworkers alike to be very laid back, non-violent, non-confrontational. I also have a very deep comapassion for children though and a deep sense of justice, and I think I may have some real difficulty restraining myself as well if this were my son or daughter (even though I don’t yet have kids) we were talking about.
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Guess what I am saying JoeJoe, it would have never reached the pastor’s office.
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JoeJoe, As you can tell I too have a compassion for kids. That compassion gets multiplied 1000 times when it’s your own.
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Agreed. No need for a conference with the pastor. Hearing with a judge would be more appropriate as I would have pressed charges already. I would not want to tempt myself by being in close quarters with the abuser either. There is too great a chance I’d break bones and then get charged with attempted homicide. Not saying the guys doesn’t deserve it, just that I don’t want the risk of going to jail or being sued either. That’s just me though.
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I totally agree Joe,Joe…as stated I too am very laid back, non violent and my daughter was not molested. But had she been, I am not sure what my actions may have been. I just know that it would not have been good for the perpetrator. And it still wouldn’t be good for the perpetrator if I found out today. It just wouldn’t be OH WELL too much time has passed!!!
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Hey guys, I absolutely cannot stand people taking advantage of the weak and defenseless. From children to old folks horribly wronged. It makes me insanely furious. I would not let it go. I would be like a dog with bone. The guy who did it, does not want to ever be alone with me.
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Raymond gives Matt a high five…. ^5
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Well, folks, apparently there are some real men who read my blog. Woohoo!
I feel like sending these comments to all of those people who talk about Biblical Manhood – you know, some of the same ones who tell wives to stay in violent marriages, who give a free pass to pastors whose churches are filled with sex abuse cases. They don’t know what real men are.
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I am not involved in any way with SGM or the crisis spoken of here, but I have been following the whole thing from the beginning. I am a childhood sexual molestation survivor. My perpetrator was never brought to justice for his crime. I have been interested in the case because somehow it seems very important to me that these men pay for their crimes. Reading the responses here make me think about the one (and only) time I told my father (not my perpetrator) about the abuse. I was 16 at the time I told him and the assault had happened around ages 4-5. He immediately expressed doubt and told me that it is very common for children to subconsciously invent false memories. I am now 27 years old and the trauma still affects nearly every aspect of my life. I wonder how things might be different if he had reacted with the same sense of justice and protection as the men commenting here. Thanks for being real men.
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Kristin – Your story made me cry. Your dad made a terrible mistake in not believing you. The pain of not being heard or not being believed by people you love and trust, especially your father, is heart-wrenching. I’m so sorry that you’ve had to live with that. Our parents can fail us. Mine did. But God can provide others in our lives to fill some of those voids. I hope you have those kind of people in your life or that God will bring them to you. cyber hugs to you!
And gentlemen: you know, the real men who read here – – thank you!
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Kristin,
I’m sorry your father doubted you when you told him, and even more sorry for the abuse you went through in the first place. Children very rarely invent stories of sexual abuse. My wife and I are in the process of adopting through our state. During our training in order to be approved for adopting, we were instructed that when a child tells us about abuse they suffered, we should never doubt it. We were told to first seek clarification, especially with younger children, in order to make sure we understand properly. Kids don’t always have the language skills to communicate what has happened to them. It was suggested that we also write down exactly what the child says so that we can then communicate exactly what was said to the child’s caseworker. From there, any investigation needing to be done is handled by the state. Point being, if a child says they were abused, you don’t blow it off, you get clarification if needed and called the proper authorities, whoever that is in your situation.
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JoeJoe – You are right about trusting children. I don’t know if you saw the Perfect Storm post, but in it, I quoted from Marci Hamilton who is an attorney who is working hard to get Statute of Limitations reformed across the nation. Here is part of the quote: numerous scientific studies have established that children rarely make up child sex abuse.
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JA-
I did get to read that. I agree completely. I would think that on some non-violent issues, that statutes of limitations could be a good thing. When it comes to things like violence and abuse, the psychology in play is so much more complicated. I’m glad there are people like Marci who are trying to get those laws changed. In the case of sexual abuse, it protects the abuser, not the victim. So many kids hide their abuse out of fear. Fear of being abused again and fear of not being believed.
I only learned just last year that a very close friend of mine was molested as a young child, something I had never had any inclination of before. This friend was able to move on and find healing through God, and has even been able to forgive those who failed to protect her (a true testament of the power God can have in one’s life. I also understand that the one’s who doubted her have also conveyed that they were sorry and regretted it, and they also have since passed away). She is today one of the most compassionate, friendly, godly women I know. She never got justice though because she wan’t believed when she was a child. Her abuser has long since passed away, but I do wonder how many more children he may have abused, and if any of those could have been prevented had my friend been believed. That’s why we mustn’t blow off accusations like this. Sadly, there is nothing we can do to change the abuse somebody has already suffered, but we can change the future and prevent others from suffering the same abuse at the hands of the same perpetrator.
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I heard about this scandal only a few days ago and read the 2nd complaint. I would consider myself loosely connected with the Neo-Calvinist group having attended Piper’s church for years, now at a smaller Reformed church. I agree with all of you here about the seriousness and the severe consequences appropriate for anyone who would molest/beat a child. And I agree that the “ha – charges are dropped” type tweets were inappropriate considering it was only a techinical thing, not an acquittal. And nothing about this matter is light or funny.
But as for the silence of other leaders, why is that not appropriate at this stage of the game? Isn’t SGM innocent until proven guilty? Surely with such accusations leveled, there should be caution used toward those men and their ministries. But other prominent church leaders would be unwise to jump on the condemning bandwagon until the evidence has been gathered and presented to the court. Reading that complaint, I could not imagine how those things could have been made up. But I still will not say they are true until they have been proven. Would any of us want any different if accusations are made against us?
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Hey, can you link the screen caps of the tweets back to the original tweet on twitter? That’d be very helpful. That way you provide both the original link and the screen cap in case it gets deleted from twitter.
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Christine, they are already clearly guilty for having covered up this stuff for years. Silence of the other evangelicals is better than coming out in favor of Mahaney, but as Boz Tchividjian said, at LEAST we should be expressing outrage at the thought that this could happen in a church and IF the charges are true then Mahaney is NOT a fit leader. Then at least Mahaney would know in his own heart whether or not he would be guilty in the eyes of his friends and the church, if they knew all the details.
But as for now, Mahaney thinks his buddies are all in his pocket.
We should not be discouraging victims from speaking out and giving them the impression they would never be heard or would be publicly humiliated and ostracized for doing so.
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“Would any of us want any different if accusations are made against us?”
Yes. If the accusations against me are true I would want justice done unless I was hell bent on getting away with it and preserving my image. I would not be fighting to keep my place in ministry or expecting my friends to stick up for me when I have done wrong.
Support your accused friends in private and commit yourself to the truth before your friend (because the truth is the only thing that saves either of you), but don’t stick your neck out publicly making poor argumentation for your friend’s innocent by citing your own witness of his ‘integrity’ as if that matters. Even criminals think they have integrity and so do their friends because they’ve groomed them that way. That doesn’t mean they didn’t fail spectacularly when you weren’t looking or behind closed doors or when just ‘little people’ were looking. Insisting they didn’t fail because you’ve never seen them do wrong is foolhardy. That’s exactly what T4G and The Gospel Coalition have done.
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Also Christine, if you think silence is a good option for these evangelical leaders, please read this:
http://netgrace.org/where-are-the-voices-the-continued-culture-of-silence-and-protection-in-american-evangelicalism/
And listen to this:
http://www.janetmefferdpremium.com/2013/06/06/janet-mefferd-radio-show-20130606-hr-3/ (it’s only about 20 minutes and worth your time)
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Terrier gal, what do you know – Burk removed all tweets related to this from May 13th. This is not the first time he has removed comments.
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Imagine that…
The more I watch these “christian” men’s behavior, (not just him but farrrrr too many of them) the more I wonder why they think women are upset and yearning for REAL leadership.
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