SGM-Mahaneygate: Teb Kober Speaks at SGM 2011 Pastors Conference

http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/blogs/sgm/post/Ted-Kobere28099s-sermon-and-some-initial-observations-on-Sovereign-Grace-Ministries.aspx

Ted Kober’s sermon, and some initial observations on Sovereign Grace Ministries

November 11, 2011 by Dave Harvey

 

Yesterday morning, Ted Kober of Ambassadors for Reconciliation gave a message titled “Forget Not All His Benefits” at our Pastors Conference. The audio is below.


Right click to download: Forget Not All His Benefits
At the end of his message, Ted also gave a preliminary overview of what his team is learning about Sovereign Grace Ministries. Those comments, which start at the 49-minute mark of the audio, include these observations from their initial research and interviews:

1. SGM has been blessed to grow over the last three decades.
2. SGM has been effective in their focus on church planting and witness.
3. SGM’s quick growth has not been accompanied by the appropriate development of structure, process, and policy (and he lists several examples).
4. A number of people have expressed hurts and anger over the way discipline has been handled within SGM churches.
5. When significant charges were brought against the chairman and several board members, SGM had to develop processes in the midst of conflict. This is extremely difficult. Ideally a system is in place so everyone knows what to expect, but this was not the case for those bringing or receiving allegations.
6. No matter who assisted SGM during this crisis, they were going to be criticized. Nobody could come into the middle of a crisis and design a system that satisfied everyone, and everyone will be able to find something to criticize. This is to be expected in the middle of a conflict.

For more information on contribution to the Group Reconciliation and evaluation process, see our November 10 blog post.