SGM-Mahaneygate: "A Statement from C.J. Mahaney"

Mahaney, C.J.  "A Statement from C.J. Mahaney." Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville.  22 May 2014.  http://www.sgclouisville.org/blog/post/a-statement-from-c-j--mahaney.  Accessed 22 May 2014.


A statement from C.J. Mahaney

For nearly two years now, I have remained silent about a civil lawsuit brought against various parties including myself. During that time, many have urged me to respond publicly and address the accusations against me. These pleas have only intensified over the last week in light of reports of testimony in a recent trial. I look forward to the day when I can speak freely. For now, the simple and extraordinarily unsatisfying reality—for myself and others—is that in the face of an ongoing civil lawsuit, I simply cannot speak publicly to the specifics of these events. Even with those constraints, however, let me be clear about this: I have never conspired to protect a child predator, and I also deny all the claims made against me in the civil suit.


I am deeply grieved for those who suffered abuse while part of Covenant Life Church, as well as those beyond the church who were abused—and I continue to pray for justice to be served on their behalf and for God’s healing grace in their lives. I’m saddened, too, by the confusion and damage that has resulted from public comments and speculation about these events. Still, my trust remains in the Lord, who comforts the brokenhearted and promises in his justice and in his time to right every wrong.


In the grace of the gospel,
C.J. Mahaney


Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville
May 22, 2014

SGM-Mahaneygate: Tullian Tchividjian Slams Mahaney, SGM, & Together 4 Gospel Leaders

Lee, Morgan.  "Tullian Tchividjian Blasts Sovereign Grace Ministries Handling of Sex Abuse Scandal; Prematurely Departs The Gospel Coalition."  The Christian Post.  20 May 2014.   http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.christianpost.com%2Fnews%2Ftullian-tchividjian-blasts-sovereign-grace-ministries-handling-of-sex-abuse-scandal-prematurely-departs-the-gospel-coalition-120062%2F.  Accessed 20 May 2014


Tullian Tchividjian is slamming Sovereign Grace Ministries for its handling of a sex abuse scandal, while announcing this week that his participation with The Gospel Coalition will unexpectedly end on Thursday.


Tchividjian, whose brother, Boz, is the founder of Godly Response to Abuse in a Christian Environment, a group that investigates sexual abuse in churches and ministries, spoke out against TGC's actions in light of the Sovereign Grace Ministries sexual abuse scandal.


C. J. Mahaney, who founded the SGM, along with other ministry leaders, was hit with a civil lawsuit last year alleging that they conspired to "permit sexual deviants to have unfettered access to children for purposes of predation and to obstruct justice by covering up ongoing past predation."


While the lawsuit was thrown out due to statute of limitations, Tchividjian said that unlike many of those connected to TGC who considered Mahaney a friend and claimed that he had "been the object of libel and even a Javert-like obsession by some," he saw the situation differently. In his eyes, given that Mahaney's brother-in-law and fellow former pastor at Covenant Life Church had confessed to knowing about sex abuse claims and withholding that information from police last week, the SGM pastor was guilty.


"Give me a break. These people, they're family. Of course he knew," Tchividjian told The Christian Post. "C. J. was, for many years, the micro-managing head of the organization and nothing happened under the umbrella of Sovereign Grace that he wasn't made aware of, so for anyone to say, 'Well he didn't know,' that's totally naive."


Tchividjian added that he was "pretty disturbed" when Don Carson, Kevin DeYoung, and Justin Taylor published a statement on TGC website in May 2013 which defended Mahaney, saying that it looked "like the good-old boys club covering their own."


"I thought it was premature. I thought it was insensitive. I communicated with the guys who wrote this statement that I was disappointed, that I thought it was unwise and premature and that they needed to clarify that their statement was not a statement from The Gospel Coalition, per se, but was their own personal statement," Tchividjian explained.


"There were some of us on the coalition, or who were associated with it, who didn't want to be associated with their defense of C. J.," he continued. "I've just been sort of disgusted by the whole thing."


Speaking about his departure from The Gospel Coalition, Tchividjian said his departure came with little warning, though he explained that he made the decision eight or nine months ago to leave in August.


A project started by New York City's Redeemer Presbyterian pastor Tim Keller and Canadian Reformed theologian D. A. Carson in 2004, TGC asked Tchividjian if they could host his blog in 2007. The Presbyterian pastor explained that his involvement with TGC had been limited to speaking at its conferences and his blog posts, though he was initially attracted to its vision.


"I think the original messaging of The Gospel Coalition, from when it was founded in 2007, has morphed," Tchividjian told CP. "Mine hasn't. My goal has always been in every post to preach the radicality of the Gospel of grace."
Yet while "no one from The Gospel Coalition formally reached out to me or questioned anything I ever posted or asked me to clarify anything I ever posted," Tchividjian noted that he began to feel a shift in the site's theology and how his doctrine was being received based on what other contributors were posting.


"I was told the other day that conversations about me and about what I had been saying had been going on for a year, which I didn't know about until the other day," said Tchividjian.


Around the same time, Tchividjian founded his own ministry, Liberate, which he describes as connecting "God's inexhaustible grace to an exhausted world." Two months ago, he informed TGC editors that he intended to move all of his blog content to his new site, adding that "they seemed fine with that."


Last week, Tchividjian said he was informed via a friend on TGC's council that the group's leadership wanted his blog posts removed "ASAP." According to Tchividjian's contact, TGC leadership was hoping to have his content removed because the website was relaunching on Monday, but noted that part of its decision seemed to "be personal, some of it theological."


Tchividjian told his friend to inform TGC leadership that he already intended to remove his content in August, but that his site was not ready yet; after talking with leaders, his friend told him he had until Monday. TGC leadership ultimately gave him until this Thursday.


"My frustration was, I was never reached out to, called or emailed from any of the powers that be, saying, 'Hey listen, there are a couple of us that have some questions that have been raised, would you care to clarify?' said Tchividjian. "Or ask me questions! Or even invite me to this meeting, if my name was on the docket!"


Billy Graham's grandson said that he was also frustrated that he had never received personal feedback or criticism about the content of his posts from TGC leadership, saying that the thrust of everything he wrote was about God's grace and had never been "harsh" or "divisive."


"To me, it's somewhat disconcerting that 'Jesus plus nothing equals everything' is much more controversial in some Evangelical circles than 'Jesus plus something equals everything,'" said Tchividjian. "I've been widely known as talking about grace without 'buts or brakes,' that God's grace is much more radical than anything we could ever imagine and that we could never over-exaggerate it."


Tchividjian, who considers himself Reformed, said that as is, TGC was "not as big of a 'coalition' as it would appear."
"They want to say that they're very multi-denominational and all, but they're really not," said Tchividjian. "It's Baptist and Presbyterians, but it's a particular flavor of Baptist and Presbyterians, it's not even all inclusive of all Baptists and Presbyterians."


The Christian Post's attempt to reach The Gospel Coalition's Executive Director Ben Peays for comment was not returned by press time.

SGM-Mahaneygate: Jenn Grover: Update Re: SGM & Mahaney-Charismatic-Wingbats

http://www.dipity.com/JennGrover/SGM-Crisis/

19 May 2014 A.D. SGM-Mahaneygate: Torpedoes Amidship—SGM Ship Listing Badly & Sinking

19 May 2014 A.D. SGM-Mahaneygate: Torpedoes Amidship—SGM Ship Listing Badly & Sinking

Bailey, Sarah Pulliam. “Megachurch Pastors Leave Reformed Evangelical Network Amid Child Abuse Scandal.”  18 May 2014. http://www.religionnews.com/2014/05/18/megachurch-pastors-leave-reformed-evangelical-network-amid-child-abuse-scandal/.  Accessed 19 May 2014.  

Two pastors are no longer listed on a Reformed evangelical group’s leadership after a different pastor from their church confessed to covering up sex abuse claims. Pastors Joshua Harris and C.J. Mahaney have left the Gospel Coalition council after a trial involving child abuse in the church they have both overseen.

A criminal trial that concluded last week has raised questions about which pastors at Covenant Life Church, a megachurch in Gaithersburg, Md., knew what about the abuse in which years.

Nathaniel Morales, 56, was convicted Thursday (May 15) of sexually abusing three young boys between 1983 and 1991 when he was a youth leader.

Former Covenant Life pastor Grant Layman suggested while testifying about allegations against Morales that he withheld information from the police about the abuse.

“Did you have an obligation to report the alleged abuse?” public defender Alan Drew, who represented Morales, asked during cross-examination. “I believe so,” Layman said. “And you didn’t,” Drew responded. “No,” Layman said.

Layman, who is Mahaney’s brother-in-law, stepped down from his role at Covenant Life in March.

Mahaney founded Covenant Life in 1977 before passing the leadership of the church in 2004 to Harris, author of the once bestselling “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” book. Mahaney now leads Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville.

Mahaney and Harris are no longer listed on The Gospel Coalition website, which boasts of leaders such as Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City; and Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.

An employee of TGC said it will not be putting out a statement on the matter. Initial attempts to reach Mahaney and Harris were unsuccessful.

Harris, the current head pastor of Covenant Life, said in a tearful sermon Sunday (May 18) that he has asked the church’s board to consider placing him on administrative leave while the church continues to investigate the issue. “We have a zero tolerance policy of abuse of any kind,” Harris said, urging people to go to the police if they know of any abuse.

Harris said that because of a separate civil lawsuit, church leaders are unable to speak openly about what pastors who knew what when. “Right now, we’re still getting conflicting information,” Harris said. In a statement released last year, church leaders said they didn’t know about the abuse until “many years later.”

Nearly a year ago, several leading evangelical pastors and authors came to the defense of Mahaney who was accused in a lawsuit for covering up sexual abuse of children. Mahaney announced that he would pull out of a conference called Together 4 the Gospel due to ongoing lawsuits, though he was seated in the front of the audience with conference leaders.

Mahaney’s Covenant Life was the flagship for Sovereign Grace Ministries, an association of 80 Reformed evangelical churches, based in Louisville, Ky.

Mahaney took a leave of absence from the ministry in 2011 after other pastors in the Sovereign Grace network charged him with “expressions of pride, unentreatability, deceit, sinful judgment and hypocrisy.” Six months later, the group reinstated Mahaney, declaring full confidence in him.

The same month that a lawsuit was filed, Mahaney told the Sovereign Grace board that he would step down to focus on pastoral ministry. Two months later, Covenant Life voted to leave Sovereign Grace.

In a sermon a year ago, Harris acknowledged that he had been sexually abused as a child, telling the congregation amid the ongoing lawsuit, “Please don’t allow the circumstance to draw you away from faith in Jesus.”

SGM-Mahaneygate: More Bad News Today for C.J. Mahaney, SGM Comrades & Big Al Mohler

http://abrentdetwiler.squarespace.com/?SSScrollPosition=0


Joshua Harris Requests Leave of Absence until Issue of Not Reporting Morale’s Crimes to Police Is Fully Addressed

Sunday, May 18, 2014 at 5:10PM

I just finished listening to Joshua Harris’ sermon from this morning at Covenant Life Church.  
During his message he made several remarks about the Nathaniel Morales trial including an acknowledgement that he, Robin Boisvert (pastor), Kenneth Maresco (pastor) and Corby Megorden (administrator) knew about Morales’ sex crimes in the past. 


The clear implication of this acknowledgement, though not explicitly stated, was these four leaders did not report Morales to the police.  This is exactly what Grant Layman (former pastor) stated under cross examination at the Morales trial this past week. 


Harris made no mention whatsoever of Layman in his comments today even though he just honored Layman on March 31 when he resigned as a pastor at CLC after 31 years. 


Harris also made no mention of C.J. Mahaney, John Loftness, or Gary Ricucci.  In 2007, Morales told Layman he sexual abused boys in Covenant Life Church.  This past week, Layman told the court, the “pastoral team” of Covenant Life discussed this confession.  Loftness and Ricucci were CLC pastors at the time.  Mahaney oversaw the pastoral team and was mentoring Harris in his role as senior pastor.  These men also knew about Morales crimes but did not report. 
Harris told the church he asked and requested an administrative leave until this issue can be fully addressed.  The pastoral team (i.e. board of elders) is considering Harris’ request but no decision has been reached.  Harris indicated Maresco, Boisvert and Megorden are also prepared to take a leave of absence. 


There is so much more to this story that Harris doesn’t tell Covenant Life Church.  I’ll be working on a lengthy post all this week.  Lord willing it will be done by next weekend.  Pastors at Covenant Life Church have been covering up sexual abuse for over 30 years.    


In other news, Morales’ lawyer, Alan Drew has appealed the verdict.  That is typical.  I’ve been told there is very little chance the appeal will be granted.  The appeal means the two other trials of Morales will go forward this week.  That is a good thing.  More evidence will come out.

SGM-Mahaneygate: SGM Megachurch Pastor (+ CJ Mahaney) Confesses to Protecting Child Molester for Years

http://www.christianpost.com/news/megachurch-pastor-confesses-to-protecting-child-molester-for-years-119877/

By Morgan Lee , Christian Post Reporter

May 16, 2014|12:29 pm

A megachurch pastor confessed to covering up sexual abuse claims during this week's trial of a youth leader accused of molesting several boys. Nathaniel Morales, 56, was convicted Thursday of sexually abusing three young boys between 1983 and 1991.


Covenant Life Church former pastor Grant Layman admitted on Tuesday while testifying about allegations against Nathaniel Morales that he withheld incriminating information from the police about the abuse.


Public defender Alan Drew asked Layman if had an "obligation to report the alleged abuse?"


"I believe so," he replied.


"And you didn't?" asked Drew, to which Layman responded "no."


According to Brent Detwiler, who attended the trial and is a former Sovereign Grace pastor who now runs a watchdog blog about the ministry of which Covenant Life Church was part until 2012, Layman acknowledged that over the course of 1992 he learned that Morales had abused two boys, but did not go to authorities with these claims.


Detwiler added that the father of two of the boys "contacted the Covenant Life pastoral team again in 2007 when he learned that Morales was a pastor in Las Vegas, Nevada. The entire pastoral team talked about how to handle the situation with Morales. Layman was given the assignment to contact Morales. Layman talk to Morales by phone. During this conversation Morales admitted to the sexual abuse of boys but claimed he couldn't remember the details. None of the pastors at Covenant Life Church reported this confession of sex abuse to the police. They knew Morales was a serial and predatory sex abuser."


Morales' victims were relieved to learn that the perpetrator was headed to prison, where he faces up-to 85 years.
"I started crying. It was just, it was overwhelming to know that the struggle, the fight, the 25 years of trying to bring this forward, was worth it," victim Jeremy Cook, who was abused roughly 50 times as a teenager, told WJLA.


Pam Palmer, who attended Covenant Life Church for over 20 years, said that as a 2-year-old, her daughter was abused by a male teenager, and suggested that the church had its issues going to the authorities after hearing child abuse allegations.
"One of the pastors told us, 'don't go to the police.' They had a lot to protect. They had money, power and prestige," she said, before ultimately going to authorities herself.


The case also attracted attention from those curious to see if C. J. Mahaney, the former president of Sovereign Grace Ministries and founding pastor of Covenant Life Church, would comment or attend the hearings. Mahaney led the church for 27 years before leaving for a congregation in Kentucky in 2012.


In June 2011, Mahaney took a leave of absence from his role as president after being accused of having characteristics including "pride, unentreatability, deceit, sinful judgment and hypocrisy" by former pastors and leaders from SGM.


But after an interim board of directors was installed and an outside organization evaluated some of the accusations, especially those of former SGM board member Brent Detwiler, Mahaney was eventually found to be fit to serve and was returned to his leadership role.


In 2013, Mahaney resigned as president after lawsuits alleged that he and others were complicit in covering up sex abuse allegations in the church. Last summer, he announced that he would not be attending 2014's Together for the Gospel conference, which he helped co-found with Mark Dever, Albert Mohler and Ligon Duncan, but nevertheless was photographed attending and seated next to his fellow co-founders at the April event.


Layman is Mahaney's brother-in-law and stepped down from his role at Covenant Life Church in March.


SGM is made up of a family of about 90 churches in the United States, Canada, Bolivia, Mexico, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.


Morales is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 14, though Drew, Morales' public defender intends to appeal.

(UPDATE) SGM-Mahaneygate: SGM-CJ Mahaney & Convictions in Criminal Lawsuit Re: Child Sex Abuse

http://thouarttheman.org/

Nathaniel Morales of Covenant Life Church Convicted of Sexually Abusing Young Boys

Posted on May 16, 2014 by 2samuel127

00:00

00:00

12:32

Janet Mefferd interviews Brent Detwiler regarding the conviction of Nate Morales and how it ties in to Sovereign Grace Ministries.

From Jeremy Cook, one of the victims who testified against Morales:

All, I am trying hard to catch up on all the comments, as it has been a very busy 24 hours. But let me say thank you to you all for your words of encouragement. This has been a very long road, and the conviction today was vindication and also verification that from the legal aspect, this was all worth it, as this predator is and will remain off the streets where he cannot harm anyone else again.

But even more importantly, and in the midst of the attention and frenzy, my blessing through all of this is to serve God in hopefully inspiring others to speak up, tell their stories, and hopefully have their day too. The immense relief of facing my abuser, speaking the truth, and truly feeling that he had no power over me ever again, and that he cannot harm another again was one of the greatest feelings imaginable. Not that it has to be a day in court for every victim, but to stand up and speak the truth is a powerful thing, and an important step in healing.

The amazing opportunity that God has given me has been that I have already been able to encourage and empower others to speak up, and that was before I could speak so freely about this. This is an incredible blessing and proof of the amazing power of God to turn acts of evil into opportunities for good. I pray that anyone who has been a victim be empowered to step up and speak out. And I am thankful that God has carried me through these years to reach this day.

My goal is to help others take that step, and if I can help you with that, you can email me at another(dot)sgm(dot)survivor(at)gmail(dot)com.

“We cannot shrug our shoulders when children are sexually abused and our leaders in the church cover it up. It is evil to do so.

I’m a 5000 point Calvinist but the silence of neo-Calvinist leadership re: cover-up of sexual abuse under Mahaney’s watch is just awful.”

Matt B Redmond, author of “God of the Mundane.”

This story is taken from 7 ABC News in Washington D.C. and can be seen here.

ROCKVILLE, Md. (WJLA) – Nathaniel “Nate” Morales, a former church leader at the Covenant Life Church in Montgomery County, Md., was convicted Thursday of sexually abusing three young boys between 1983 to 1991.

A jury found Morales, 56, guilty on two counts of sexual offense in the second degree and three counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

Two hours after the verdict, victim Jeremy Cook was ecstatic:

“I started crying. It was just, it was overwhelming to know that the struggle, the fight, the 25 years of trying to bring this forward, was worth it.”

But Pam Palmer, whose daughter was reportedly molested by a teen church member back in the 1990’s, says Covenant Life Church is also to blame.

Palmer claims that the church’s pastoral team tried covering it up:

“How can you walk away from innocent children being abused and do nothing?”

In fact, during Morales’ trial this week, public defender Alan Drew asked Pastor Grant Layman: “Did you have an obligation to report the alleged abuse?”

Layman replied: “I believe so.”

Drew fired back: “And you didn’t?”

Layman answered: “No…we didn’t know.”

State’s Attorney John McCarthy says that his office cannot prosecute anyone unless crimes are reported – but that perhaps this is no longer the most effective method:

“I think we’ve come to realize that’s not the right way to deal with these matters…”

Cook adds: “Certainly I think there are people in Covenant Life Church that have a bit to answer for. They left this predator on the street when they had knowledge, and ultimately they’ll have to answer to that, whether it be to the courts, or whether it be to God.”

Morales is accused of “preying on” three young members of the church at group sleeoovers and in their homes. Representatives from the Maryland state attorney’s office said the youngest victim was 11 years old at the time, and that the abuse continued until he was 18 years old.

Officials said in a statement following the verdict Thursday that “the abuse was not reported until 2009, when Detective Sally Magee was informed, despite awareness of the abuse among the church leaders.”

“Sexually abusing boys who trust you because of your prominence in your faith community is unforgivable,” said Ramon Korionoff, spokesman for the state attorney’s office. “These grown men have shown a lot of courage to come forward in reporting these incidents of sexual abuse during their childhoods. It lets other victims of abuse in our community know that they can come forward and justice will be served.”

Morales faces up to 85 years in prison.

Authorities said he is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug.14.

Read more: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/05/nathaniel-morales-of-covenant-life-church-convicted-of-sexually-abusing-young-boys-103175.html#ixzz31qDFrGkt

 Follow us: @ABC7News on Twitter | WJLATV on Facebook

SGM-Mahaneygate: (VIDEO) Nathaniel Morales Trial: Victim Jeremy Cook Testifies

SGM-Mahaneygate: Brent Detwiler on Radio (15 May 14) Re: C.J. Mahaney & Criminal Action

Mr. Brent Detwiler will be on the Janet Mefferd Show today, 15 May 2014, from 4:15-4:30.  We presume it is EST.

http://www.janetmefferd.com/


Or, http://www.janetmefferd.com.php53-9.dfw1-2.websitetestlink.com/player.html

SGM-Mahaneygate: Criminal Sex Abuse Trial, SGM-Coverup, & Mahaney's Staunch T4G Allies

http://thouarttheman.org/2014/05/14/mahaney-has-no-clothes/

Mahaney Has No Clothes!

Posted on May 14, 2014 by 2samuel127

““But the Emperor has nothing at all on!” said a little child. “Listen to the voice of innocence!” exclaimed the father; and what the child had said was whispered from one to another. “But he has nothing on!” at last cried all the people. The Emperor was vexed, for he knew that the people were right; but he thought, “The procession must go on now!” And the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever to appear holding up a train, although, in reality, there was no train to hold.”

-Hans Christian Andersen

00:00

00:00

23:27

Al Mohler praising C.J. Mahaney:

00:00

03:41

10 Fast Facts Regarding Grant Layman & the Nate Morales Sex Abuse Trial

1) Grant followed C.J.’s evil counsel to cover up.  (Grant Layman is the brother in-law of C.J. Mahaney and until recently a pastor at Covenant Life Church.)
2) Morales’ crimes were never reported to police by C.J., Grant or other CLC pastors who knew.
3) Parents and youth at Covenant Life Church were not alerted to the predatory and homosexual activity of Morales.
4) The school administration at Montgomery County Christian Academy where Morales taught and groomed victims was never told about his abuses by CLC leaders.
5) Other youth were abused as a result of all these criminal delinquencies.
6) Grant lied to detectives in order to conceal the conspiracy.
7) CLC and SGM leaders have denied all wrong doing.
8) Joshua Harris just commended Grant on Feb 23 for his personal integrity and ending his pastoral service well.  
9) C.J., Joshua, Grant and other pastors at CLC have covered up the pedophilic actions of other sex abusers with multiple victims at CLC.
10) The above have used a cadre of high priced lawyers and law firms to block every attempt to bring them and abusers to justice.

Brent Detwiler’s Report on Day 1 & 2 at the Criminal Trial of Nathaniel Morales


“I’m attending the entire trial this week. Here’s a brief report from Monday and Tuesday.


Eight counts of sex abuse and sex offense by Nathaniel “Nate” Morales were scheduled to be tried this week in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Maryland with Judge Terrence J. McGann presiding. Three of those counts were postponed because Daniel Bates, one of the victims, had a recent “serious medical procedure” according to the Judge and could not participate. Assistant States Attorney Jessica Hall indicated the State would retry Morales on those counts at a later date.


Most of Monday dealt with the selection of 12 jurors with 2 alternates. Around 2:00 PM Assistant State’s Attorney Hall and Defense Attorney Drew made their opening arguments.


Hall argued that Morales was a respected leader in Covenant Life Church who held a position of trust and authority with access to children that he could groom to be victims. She noted that Morales was outgoing, gregarious, esteemed and trusted. Also that he was in the worship group and functioned as the unofficial youth director.


She also outlined the crimes committed against Samuel Bates, Jeremy Cook and Brian Wolohan by Morales. Each time she ended her individual summaries by saying the victims or parents went to the CLC pastors and the pastors “covered up” and “ignored the heinous crimes that had been done” to these boys.


Defense Attorney Drew concerned himself with dates and times and the fact that no one reported any of these crimes to the police until Samuel Bates contacted Detective Sally Magee in October 2009. He did not seek to disprove, challenge or undermined any of the allegations against Morales.


The first witness called to stand was Samuel’s and Daniel’s mother, Grace Charlene Bates. Of greatest importance, she testified they went to Grant Layman in 1992 and told him about the sexual abuse of Samuel. This fact was not disputed by the Defense. Grant was a pastor at Covenant Life Church. C.J. Mahaney was the senior pastor.


Samuel Bates was called to the stand next. He described the terrible abuses he suffered at the hands of Morales for the jury. He explained he didn’t initially tell others because of shock, shame, confusion and embarrassment. He tried to pretend it never happen. He tried to forget it ever happen. He also fought off Morales on occasions even punching him in the face.


In 1992 he told his parents, Scott and Charlene Bates about then abuse. Afterward, they went to Grant Layman and told him about the abuse. None of this was contested by the Defense Attorney Drew under cross examination. Upon completion, the court was adjoined on Monday.


Court resumed on Tuesday at 9:30 AM.


Victim Brian Wolohan was the first one called to the stand. He too described for the jury the horrors he suffered at the hand of Morales. He too stopped Morales on occasions by yelling at him, pushing him away, telling him to leave, or stating he did not want this. He told of Morales coercing him to comply with the abuse by saying he (Morales) would otherwise have to go the men’s room at the local Mall, have random sex and then die of AIDS.


Brian told an older adult, Bob Rosencrantz about Morales’ abuse in late 1991 or early 1992. Bob then told his parents, Dick and Marsha Wolohan. Dick went to one of the pastors at Covenant Life Church to tell them about the alleged abuse. He could not remember which pastor specifically. This led to a meeting with Morales in a park behind the Wolohan house with Dick and Grant Layman or Robin Boisvert. Dick couldn’t remember which one. Morales denied the sexual abuse of Brian at this time.


Dick Wolohan took the stand next. Morales went to Teen Challenge in 1992 for alcohol abuse and homosexuality. Teen Challenge was not told about his sexual abuse of children. Dick, Brian and Kevin Wolohan went to visit Morales in the summer of 1992. During this time, Morales confessed to Dick that he had sexually abused Brian Wolohan. Defense Attorney Drew did not dispute this confession.


Pamela Plaisted was next. She was engaged to Morales for a short time while the sexual abuse of these boys was transpiring. She testified that people were “drawn to Nate like a magnet” because of his charismatic personality. She also thought it odd that Morales wanted to do sleep overs with boys while they were engaged.


Grant Layman was sworn in next. Under oath he told the jury he did not report the crimes told him by Scott and Charlene Bates 1992 that were committed by Morales against their son, Samuel Bates. He also stated that within one year, he learned of the sexual abuse of Brian Wolohan and did not report it to the police either.


Under cross examination by the Defense Attorney Drew (which was surprising), he was asked “Did you have a responsibility to report to police” the crimes committed against Samuel Bates and Brian Wolohan. To this Layman said, “I believe so.” Drew responded, “Did you report to police?” Layman answered, “I didn’t do it.”


It should also be added that Scott Bates, the father of Samuel and Daniel Bates, contacted the Covenant Life pastoral team again in 2007 when he learned that Morales was a pastor in Las Vegas, NV. The entire pastoral team talked about how to handle the situation with Morales. Layman was given the assignment to contact Morales. Layman talk to Morales by phone. During this conversation Morales admitted to the sexual abuse of boys but claimed he couldn’t remember the details. None of the pastors at Covenant Life Church reported this confession of sex abuse to the police. They knew Morales was a serial and predatory sex abuser.


Rachael Bates-Paci took the stand next. She is a sister to Daniel and Samuel Bates. She was the one who discovered Morales was in full time ministry. This alarmed her. She told her father, Scott, who went to the CLC pastors.


The third victim, Jeremy Cook took the stand toward the end of the day. He described the terrifying and demeaning experience of being sexually abused by Morales. He was afraid he would be ostracized by the pastors and all his friends in Covenant Life Church if they ever found out what happened. He also feared being expelled from the Christian School where Morales was a teacher and Vice Principal. Morales was in a position of power and well respected. He had no hope anyone would believe his story.


In 1993, Jeremy Cook finally told Samuel Bates and his parents about the abuse. Samuel talked to Grant Layman about the abuse of Jeremy. Layman assured Samuel that “They [the pastors] would take care of it.” Yet under oath, Jeremy said Layman “never talked” to him about the abuse. Under cross examination, Defense Attorney Drew asked Jeremy, “To the best of your knowledge did they [the pastors] take care of it” [i.e. report it to the police, etc.]. Jeremy responded with a firm, “No.”


The last person to take the stand was the lead investigator, Detective Sally Magee. She verified all the basic facts and described the times and place of her meetings with the victims and other parties.


Tomorrow morning, Nate Morales’ former wife, Marcia Jo Griffeth, will be taking the stand to testify against him. She learned of his crimes in October 2012 when he was arrested. She divorced him in December 2013. She is a wonderful woman. Tomorrow she will present evidence of his guilt.


After she finishes, either Assistant State’s Attorney Jessica Hall or Amanda Michalski will make closing arguments. They have been working together throughout the hearing. So will the Defense Attorney for Morales.


A few observations to close. At no time over the past two days, did Morales’ lawyer ever challenge the veracity of any of the crimes alleged by the victims. Nor did he challenge the testimony provided by Grant Layman and Dick Wolohan that Morales confessed to them that he was a sex abuser. Maybe Defense Attorney Drew will contest the testimony of all ten material witness tomorrow but thus far he has not done so.


I’ve been writing about the conspiracy to cover up sex abuse in Covenant Life Church and Sovereign Grace Ministries by C.J. Mahaney, Joshua Harris, Grant Layman and many other leaders. There is now NO QUESTION this has occurred. These men knew about Samuel Bates, Brian Wolohan, and Jeremy Cook. Never once did they report these crimes to the police. In each case, they covered up the heinous crimes in the words of Assistant State’s Attorney Jessica Hall.


I assume that’s why none of the pastors have attended the trial thus far. Nor has any leader or pastor from Sovereign Grace Ministries including the Executive Director, Mark Prater.. I find that utterly reprehensible. The entire pastoral staff of Covenant Life Church should have attended the trial to hear the evidence against Morales and against them.


Furthermore, they should have been here to support the victims and hear their anguished testimony. Tomorrow, they should be present to beg everyone’s forgiveness and begin the process of public confession, calling C.J. Mahaney to account, and making restitution to the victims.


Tomorrow afternoon the jury will begin deliberations. I will write again once the proceedings are concluded.”

00:00

00:00

03:24

00:00

00:00

06:05

00:00

00:00

05:34

 

00:00

00:00

05:05

Here is an email I received from an assistant of Wayne Grudem after I had written him urging him to not speak at C.J. Mahaney’s church:

Dear Todd,

My name is John Paul Stepanian, and I am Dr. Grudem’s assistant as well as a student here at Phoenix Seminary. One of my jobs is to see to Dr. Grudem’s correspondence on his behalf.

Thank you for your inquiry regarding Dr. Grudem speaking at CJ’s church.  Dr. Grudem has the challenging task of weighing many worthy and intriguing requests.  His current research, teaching, speaking engagements and family commitments have filled his schedule, and unfortunately he will be unable to answer your questions directly.  Please accept his regrets.  Dr. Grudem has asked me to personally respond to these requests on his behalf.

Dr. Grudem is speaking at CJ’s church specifically so that he can signal support for CJ in the face of unjust accusations.  No further communication on this subject will be responded to.

May God bless your continued work for His kingdom.

Sincerely,

John Paul Stepanian
MA to Dr. Grudem
Phoenix Seminary

On behalf of:
Wayne Grudem, Ph.D.
Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies
Phoenix Seminary

Carl Trueman on Celebrity Preachers:

“The moral and legal responsibility of every Christian — and especially every Christian leader and minister — must be to report any suspicion of the abuse of a child to law enforcement authorities. Christians are sometimes reluctant to do this, but this reluctance is both deadly and wrong.

Sometimes Christians are reluctant to report suspected sexual abuse because they do not feel that they know enough about the situation. They are afraid of making a false accusation. This is the wrong instinct. We do not have the ability to conduct the kind of investigation that is needed, nor is this assigned to the church. This is the function of government as instituted by God (Romans 13). Waiting for further information allows a predator to continue and puts children at risk. This is itself an immoral act that needs to be seen for what it is.

A Christian hearing a report of sexual abuse within a church, Christian organization, or Christian school, needs to act in exactly the same manner called for if the abuse is reported in any other context. The church and Christian organizations must not become safe places for abusers. These must be safe places for children, and for all. Any report of sexual abuse must lead immediately to action. That action cannot fall short of contacting law enforcement authorities. A clear lesson of the Penn State scandal is this: Internal reporting is simply not enough.”

-Al Mohler, “The Tragic Lessons of Penn State – A Call To Action”

T4G’s Original Statement of Support for Mahaney:

“We have stood beside our friend, C. J. Mahaney, and we can speak to his personal integrity. We can make no judgment as to the truthfulness of the horrifying charges of sexual abuse made against some individuals who have been connected, in some way, to Sovereign Grace Ministries and its churches. …

We must take any responsible action to protect the vulnerable, and we must act immediately to inform legal authorities of any charge or claim of sexual abuse, and do so without delay. Our first response must be to call the police, to act to protect the child or young person, and then to proceed to biblical church discipline when the facts demand such a response.



If a Christian leader is accused of any wrongdoing, those to whom he is accountable must investigate the charges and then deal responsibly with the evidence. If a criminal accusation is made, Christians have a fundamental duty to inform law enforcement officials. This does not, however, preclude or mitigate the church’s responsibility for biblical church discipline.



A Christian leader, charged with any credible, serious, and direct wrongdoing, would usually be well advised to step down from public ministry. No such accusation of direct wrongdoing was ever made against C. J. Mahaney. Instead, he was charged with founding a ministry and for teaching doctrines and principles that are held to be true by vast millions of American evangelicals. For this reason, we, along with many others, refused to step away from C. J. in any way. We do not regret that decision. We are profoundly thankful for C. J. as friend, and we are equally thankful for the vast influence for good he has been among so many Gospel-minded people.



Our heart goes out to anyone who has ever suffered abuse of any kind. Our emphatic encouragement would be for anyone who has ever suffered such abuse or knows of anyone made vulnerable to such abuse to contact law enforcement officials without delay. We must then allow the law enforcement agencies and the courts to do their proper work. When criminal charges are filed, the public is then presented with evidence upon which it can draw a responsible judgment. On matters of protecting the vulnerable, Christians know what judgment must be made. We side with the victims.

Our hope and prayer is that Christ’s healing and health will come to all parties involved in this matter and that justice and righteousness will prevail for all. May every true victim of any injustice be vindicated. May every doer of wrong be exposed. And may all of us speak no further than we can responsibly speak.



Those who minister in the name of the Lord Christ bear an inescapable duty to live and to minister in a way that is above reproach. Those who teach, reminds James, will face a stricter judgment. [James 3:1] May everything we do, everything we teach, and all that we are be measured against that standard.



Together for the Gospel,
Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, Albert Mohler

The Gospel Coalition’s Statement of Support For Mahaney:

Over the past several months we have remained publicly silent about the lawsuit filed against Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM), which alleged a conspiracy to cover up sexual abuse.

Many have asked why we have not spoken publicly. Is this a conspiracy of silence, a way to whitewash accusations against a friend? Is it a way to stand with the powerful and to make a mockery of the weak? Is it simple cowardice? Why hasn’t more been said?




…It needs to be said in no uncertain terms that the actual acts alleged in the lawsuit are utterly evil—an offense against a holy God and an act of hatred against innocent children. They are horrifying and revolting. Apart from repentance, they are damning. There is no excuse, at any time or in any place or for any reason, for the use of children for sexual pleasure. Pastors who learn of such abuses should contact the appropriate authorities immediately, institute church discipline, and apply the whole counsel of God (including both law and gospel).




…So the entire legal strategy was dependent on a theory of conspiracy that was more hearsay than anything like reasonable demonstration of culpability. As to the specific matter of C. J. participating in some massive cover-up, the legal evidence was so paltry (more like non-existent) that the judge did not think a trial was even warranted.
…Another reason we have remained silent is because we have detailed charges from one side, but essentially no defense from the other side. Scripture warns us about what often happens in such a situation: “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Prov. 18:17). Can anyone say with certainty who is innocent and who is guilty in these multiple allegations spanning several decades?




…We are not ashamed to call C. J. a friend. Our relationship with C. J. is like that with any good friend—full of laughter and sober reflection, encouragement and mutual correction. He has regularly invited—even pursued—correction, and we have given him our perspective when it is warranted. While the admission of friendship may render this entire statement tainted in the eyes of some, we hope most Christians will understand that while friends should never cover for each others’ sins, neither do friends quickly accept the accusations of others when they run counter to everything they have come to see and know about their friend. We are grateful for C. J.’s friendship and his fruitful ministry of the gospel over many decades.




…Our prayer is that one day—and please, Lord, soon—all who face injustice of any kind will see the Lord bring forth his righteousness as the light, and his justice as the noonday (Ps. 37:6).



 Don Carson, Kevin DeYoung, Justin Taylor



This statement reflects the views of the signatories and does not necessarily speak for other Council members, bloggers, and writers for The Gospel Coalition.”




Here is John Folmar, Senior Pastor of United Christian Church of Dubai, the church I formerly attended but quit for issues of conscience dealing with the promotion of Mahaney’s books:

00:00

01:40

Folmar’s “Go to book” for new believers in his church! Jesus opposed pedophilia, but I don’t see a whole lot of opposing going on by John Folmar. Actions speak louder than words my friend!




These “leaders” display either an appalling lack of discernment or a love of fame and fortune which overrides any concern for the brothers and sisters they are pastoring.  Either way one must question the wisdom of continuing to follow these celebrities.









Comments on sgmsurvivors.com from a former Sovereign Grace church member:



“I am so incredibly disgusted by these pastors, especially the fact that they are hiding behind lawyers.

 I am also humbled by the brave people testifying in court. I can’t imagine what that is like. Thank you for carrying about others enough to put Morales away to keep this from happening again.



 I do believe that this should be enough for CLC to close its doors. It’s time. I do believe had the pastors come clean and confessed all of this when they split with SGM and pursued genuine change, things could have been different. Instead, they have issued SGM-like statements that don’t really seem to paint an accurate picture of what happened.



 Eric Simmons should resign and if no other suitable pastor is available, they should close the doors at Arlington, too. Eric needs to find other ways to use his gifts. Though his sin was committed at a young age, it undermines the very trust necessary to pastor. In an SGM/GC model where pastoring is reduced to preaching, it might not seem like a big deal, but the role of pastor carries an intrinsic predisposition for people to trust him and they probably would not trust if they knew the truth.



 And, is there really anyone, whether loyal to SGM or not, who does not believe that CJ was not aware and likely giving direction about these things?”




“I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”  

 Ezekiel 34:15-16