Sovereign Grace Ministries Captures the Media Spotlight

Aside from a few ill-advised and, we fear, illiterate comments about Calvinism (Deb, read all Calvin's commentaries, sermons and Institutes a few times and then talk about Calvinism), there is merit in this review of Mahaney and the recent Wash Po article, notably, Tomczak's comments in the last paragraph.  Historically, we have a hard time avoiding the suggestion, if not conclusion, that SGM has exhibited strong cultic features as well as anti-intellectualist streams known throughout revivalist American history.  More on the latter as that emerges.

http://thewartburgwatch.com/2011/09/07/sovereign-grace-ministries-captures-the-media-spotlight/

Sovereign Grace Ministries Captures the Media Spotlight

Wed, Sep 07 2011

By deb

Le Mont Saint Michel

(taken by Deb)

“We as a family experienced a pattern of spiritual abuse, hypocrisy, harshness, deceit and some unfortunate threats that were not righteous for Christians and need to be repented.”

Larry Tomczak in a Washington Post article published on September 6, 2011

Since morphing themselves into Sovereign Grace Ministries, C.J. Mahaney and his lieutenants have been trying to capture the world’s attention with their distinctive brand of Christianity. At long last all that clamoring has attracted the attention of The Washington Post; however, this time this cadre of neo-Calvinists, accustomed to having complete control, have absolutely no control over the free press. These Calvinista leaders, who took full advantage of a new communication tool called the internet, have built a movement by promoting themselves while maintaining strict control over their own press (websites and blogs).
Michelle Boorstein, a Washington Post reporter, has been investigating Sovereign Grace Ministries, and her findings have just been published in an article entitled “Sovereign Grace Ministries, riven by conflict, seeks to change”. You can access Boorstein’s piece here.

The Post article begins as follows:

“When C.J. Mahaney took a leave of absence this summer from the helm of his 100-church denomination, saying he was guilty of “various expressions of pride,” conservative evangelicals nationwide took notice.


A college dropout who was once a hard-core partier, Mahaney went on to become one of the most-recognized and popular faces of neo-Calvinism, which teaches that man is lowly, sinful and in desperate need of spiritual oversight. Mahaney, with his perma-grin, distinctively casual style (shaved head, no jackets), and successful books and conferences, put a happy, hip face on the idea of discipline.


But inside his Gaithersburg-based Sovereign Grace Ministries movement, there was a growing sense that things had gone too far. Former church members said Mahaney had created something they thought was more like a cult.”


The Post reporter then points out that the tipping point for Mahaney appears to be Brent Detwiler’s hundreds of pages of documentation that, as Boorstein put it, “portrayed Mahaney as fixated on the sins of everyone below him, particularly critics”. She was also quick to point out that the documents reveal how C.J. Mahaney threatened to share sensitive information about a family member of Larry Tomczak (the movement’s co-founder) if he expressed criticism of the ministry publicly. It certainly appears that Mahaney wanted to silence Tomczak regarding a move toward Reformed theology. According to the Post reporter, Mahaney declined to comment for the article.


Boorstein informed the Washington Post constituency that C.J. Mahaney is currently attending Mark Dever’s church (Capitol Hill Baptist Church), which is Southern Baptist. Perhaps Washington Post readers will find this rather odd, just as we have. Why is Mahaney running from his own ministry?


The reporter further explained that two blogs have been extremely busy with commenters (many who remain anonymous out of fear) sharing “story after story of Sovereign Grace pastors being abusively controlling, shaming people who criticized clergy and dividing families when someone disagreed with a pastor. Some alleged that sexual abuse counseling had been poor, with victims being told to also scour themselves for sin.”


Larry Tomczak, who co-founded the ministry with Mahaney and was ousted by Mahaney two decades later, said (in addition to the quote at the beginning of this post):


“There has been something systematic in the handling of people that has deviated from biblical, pastoral norms and has had serious implications in many people’s lives. Lots of people have been waving flags. Hopefully, things are changing.”
Boorstein explains that SGM has brought in a Christian reconciliation firm to help SGM deal with Mahaney; however, the Ambassadors of Reconciliation (AoR) recently released their report explaining that the SGM Board, not AoR, should make decisions regarding C.J. Mahaney. The Post reporter went on to say that two Covenant Life Church pastors have stepped down; however, she left out one tiny detail — the two leaders who resigned are none other than Mahaney’s sons-in-law.


Calvinism has been gaining momentum in recent years, particularly among the seminary crowd. One of the most important statements in Boorstein’s article was made by Dennis Horton, a Baylor University professor of religion who studies resurgent Calvinism. He had this to say about the Neo-Calvinists: “Of all the groups, they are more susceptible to authority issues.”


We have stressed repeatedly in this forum that the priesthood of the believer has been marginalized by those who promote hyper-authoritarianism. Tragically, many of tomorrow’s church leaders believe they hold higher positions of authority than the average Christian. We believe that Sovereign Grace Ministries has been the forerunner of such authoritarianism and that the leaders, particularly Mahaney, are reaping what they have sown. Things are not always as they appear in Calvin land.


As the Post article rightly points out: “The Web is playing a powerful role in Mahaney’s woes even as his movement owes much of its popularity to it.” This point cannot be stressed enough! Sovereign Grace Ministries, more than almost any other ministry, has led the way in using technology to its own advantage. Now the internet appears to be the snare that has entrapped SGM and exposed them to a watching world. Had the personal testimonies of current and former SGMers not become available for public consumption, the iron-fisted control that elevated Mahaney above everyone else in this "family of churches" would have continued.


Boorstein ends with this poignant comment from Tomczak: “I think many people nationwide have been watching and waiting and hoping for this day to come. We can’t cover it up. Bring it out, change where change is necessary. Confess where there have been wrongs, repent, go forward, be redemptive.”


Commenters have started chiming in, and here is what HealingReign shared:
“I'm grateful to see this issue come to the forefront. We have such love for each other in the church, and to see it being twisted into a means to manipulate and control members of the church into submission to an overbearing leadership was very painful. The scars left by the misguided legalism in this denomination will take years to heal.”


I want to conclude with this "observation".

The Calvinistas (especially Mahaney & Co.), who believe so staunchly in the sovereignty of God, now appear to be running from the doctrine they so glibly preach.