http://blogs.courier-journal.com/faith/2011/07/13/board-mahaney-fit-to-preach-faced-slander/#comment-2210
Board: Mahaney fit to preach, faced ‘slander’
There are some new turns in the saga involving C.J. Mahaney, the leader of a Maryland-based global church network.
As noted last week, Mahaney took a leave of absence as president of the network, Sovereign Grace Ministries, pending accusations of pride, hypocrisy, deceit and other sins.
The Sovereign Grace board now says it will continue a planned investigation, but it gave a strong vote of confidence to Mahaney, saying he is "a qualified minister of the gospel and this board approves his pastoral and teaching ministry." It plans to convene a temporary panel to give a preliminary evaluation of this assessment while also having a longer-term outside investigation. The board statement is here.
The Sovereign Grace board also said Mahaney’s main accuser, former longtime ministry colleague Brent Detwiler, engaged in "public slander" of Mahaney’s reputation by distributing his accusations broadly to all pastors in the network. It said that move denied Mahaney the chance to defend himself through due process.
Detwiler said in a statement he "worked extremely hard to only include factual information that could be substantiated by primary source material" and has repeatedly asked SGM leaders — with whom he had been corresponding for several months before this went public — to correct any factual discrepancies. "They have not done so," he said. His full statement is here.
Mahaney has strong ties to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and was among the main speakers at a conference last year that drew 7,000 people to the Kentucky International Convention Center.
Southern Seminary President Albert Mohler — who works with Mahaney in various organizations — gave a similarly strong vote of confidence in Mahaney earlier this week.
Sovereign Grace has nearly 100 churches, mostly on the East Coast but also in other locations nationally and worldwide.
As noted last week, Mahaney took a leave of absence as president of the network, Sovereign Grace Ministries, pending accusations of pride, hypocrisy, deceit and other sins.
The Sovereign Grace board now says it will continue a planned investigation, but it gave a strong vote of confidence to Mahaney, saying he is "a qualified minister of the gospel and this board approves his pastoral and teaching ministry." It plans to convene a temporary panel to give a preliminary evaluation of this assessment while also having a longer-term outside investigation. The board statement is here.
The Sovereign Grace board also said Mahaney’s main accuser, former longtime ministry colleague Brent Detwiler, engaged in "public slander" of Mahaney’s reputation by distributing his accusations broadly to all pastors in the network. It said that move denied Mahaney the chance to defend himself through due process.
Detwiler said in a statement he "worked extremely hard to only include factual information that could be substantiated by primary source material" and has repeatedly asked SGM leaders — with whom he had been corresponding for several months before this went public — to correct any factual discrepancies. "They have not done so," he said. His full statement is here.
Mahaney has strong ties to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and was among the main speakers at a conference last year that drew 7,000 people to the Kentucky International Convention Center.
Southern Seminary President Albert Mohler — who works with Mahaney in various organizations — gave a similarly strong vote of confidence in Mahaney earlier this week.
Sovereign Grace has nearly 100 churches, mostly on the East Coast but also in other locations nationally and worldwide.
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