SGM-Mahaneygate/Maresco's Confession: "Just Say It: `I'm a Dumb Ass'"

We pull one section from a family meeting of Ceej (C.J.) Mahaney’s church (from which he fled), Covenant Life (CLC), Gaithersburg, MD.  The meeting occurred last Thursday night, 28 Jun 2012. The various Elders put forward a confession of their manifold wickednesses.  Here’s an old hand, Kenneth Maresco.  We will interlineate our commentary in red bold.  Go ahead and say it, Maresco:  "I've been an ignorant Dumb Ass year in and year out, like old Ceej."

http://www.brentdetwiler.com/brentdetwilercom/2012/6/30/will-cj-mahaney-and-other-sgm-leaders-follow-the-example-of.html

1. Kenneth Maresco - An Arrogant View of Our Church (Yes, a bunch of uneducated enthusiasts who are, at base, sectarians and schismatics who start a hothouse Pentecostalist religion thinking “they are the best brand” on the streets.)

Several of the categories we want to acknowledge relate to pride. The first is pride in our church. AoR observed is that we valued humility, which was a good thing, but that we could also be proud of our humility. AoR wrote, “some were proud of their accomplishment in humility. They talked about it in such a way as to distinguish themselves from people outside their fellowship...” (p. 14).  (Duh??!!!)

Some might prefer to call these Dumb Shepherds of dumb sheep being misled.
We'll stick with a different metaphor, "Dumb Asses"

Mahaney & Co. for decades thought that
ignorant Dumb Asses would be learned,
astute, deliberative, balanced, and with historic sense
and depth.  Now, the truth emerges.

We are grateful for all that God has done in our church these past 35 years. (Which is what?  Create a pack of proud churches thinking they’re the best thing afoot?  And leading others to that view?  To the 100s left in the destructive wake of pride?  Including 100 disillusioned and broken Pastors in the wake?) And there is a godly way to be grateful for all that the Lord has done and continues to do in and through Covenant Life. But, at times, we have also stepped over the line (Maresco, you say “stepped over the line?”  Again, "stepped over the line?"  How about “lived and established a community that inhabited and lived over the line as proud and arrogant people?”  This is a substantial understatement that fails to comprehend the foundational hubris of being led by “Dumb Asses” without educations and yet talking publicly) to think too highly of ourselves as a church. (Any reasonable inquirer would have seen this with ease with some limited exposure)  There have been public and private communications that have put us in a good light compared to other leaders, churches or denominations. (Yada yada yada, blah, blah, blah.) We’ve been proud of the rightness of our doctrine, the goodness of our practice or the uniqueness of being Reformed-Charismatics. (You still think that.)  In pride, we have thought and acted as though we were better than others. (Ya think?)  The past year has been particularly helpful in curing us of this view. (And ya think Mahaney thinks that...that he's been cured...or is he still in a fugitive status from CLC?)

I’d like to speak personally to this issue. I have spoken to numerous men in their 50’s (What's it like to be in your 50s and discover you've been arrogant and proud for so long?  Well, better now to see it than at the Final Judgment where there will be no errors, deception, coverup and deceit.  What's it like to get a wake-up lesson in your 50s?  How's Harvey doing these days too?) who have been here a long time who have told me that the events of the past year have had a draining effect on their spiritual lives.  I am in my 50’s and in the past year, I have faced the same temptations.  (And you’ve been around SGM for years and are just seeing this?  There’s no other conclusion but that Dumb Asses have led this pack of enthusiasts and utterly proud Dudes thinking “they’ve arrived." Hah!  And Maresco is just learning this in the “last year?”  Ya been blind for years?  It took Brent Detwiler to open your eyes?  Maresco, nice little confession, but trust and confidence is gone.) I moved here to work for People of Destiny International (Clearly, you weren’t too bright then and, clearly, you weren’t very well educated either, like Mahaney and Tomczak), I was hired by John Loftness and Larry Tomczak, I came on staff at the invitation of C.J. Mahaney and I worked for Sovereign Grace for many years. I have been on staff of this church since 1991. The disappointments of the past year have been very deep and very painful. (And Maresco, what’s your view of your new SGM leader, Mahaney?  His fugitive status?  Very poor resume, by the way.  I wouldn't have posted this but would have by-passed it.)

As I have sought to sort through, issues of grief, disappointment, self-pity, and guilt, I have recognized that one category in my soul where I have experienced personal conviction relates to this issue of pride. And this has helped me with some of my disillusionment because genuine repentance brings hope.

Part of the pain of this year is that some of my old idols are being displaced. (Like the long, sustained, eery, excessive--and stupid--praise of C.J. Mahaney, hand-clapping and phone piety?) God has helped me see that I sinned in my thinking (Though Detwiler's expose of manifold wickednesses) about our church and our movement of churches. I proudly thought we were the best. (And stupidly and ignorantly so in manifold wickedness and narcissistic supremacism, despite centuries of faithful Churchmen and Churchwomen.  Heavy reading would have taught you that, Maresco, rather than living virtually your entire ministerial life in arrogance and pride.  Dumb ass.  You and the whole lot of your leaders didn't think you needed learning.  Add that to your self-assessment.  Go ahead, Maresco, say this:  “I was a big dumb ass for years and years.”)

And as that idol has been removed I have been confused and disillusioned, and forced to worship God alone. That has painful but it has been good. (Add this, Maresco:  “It’s been helpful to see what a stupid ass I’ve been, like Mahaney, a fellow Dumb Ass.) Whatever is not for the glory of Jesus Christ must be shaken, it must be removed.

I have repented before God and confessed my sins to him. He is faithful and just to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. (A good start.  Good place to be.  Nontheless, you are not qualified to lead anything.)  But I want to confess to you, because as a leader I know that my pride affected you in different ways.  (Add this to the case:  “Yes, I have been party to extending the proud dumb ass culture to 90 churches and 28,000 adherents.  I repent in ashes and dustcloth.)  I want to ask you to forgive me for my contribution to this error and for whatever ways I/we as leaders contributed to this sin in your life.  (Maresco, you are forgiven, but given your historic failues, you are unqualified for ministry.  How can you be this stupid for years and years and expect a place of leadership?)  I am sincerely sorry. (Forgiven indeed, but disqualified from leadership due to historic failures.  Return to the pews or go back to school for several years.)  I/we have repented are committed to leading in the days ahead seeking to remove this leaven of pride from our leadership and church culture. (Maresco, you can start by calling on Mahaney to repent of his arrogance, pride, ignorance like your own, and need to repent in dustcloth and ashes.  Maresco, case closed.  You’ve been an historic dumb ass misleading 1000s.  Maresco, you can't just say the above and expect credibility, after decades of arrogance, pride, hubris and impoverished thinking and leadership.  If folks follow you after this, their bust for being as dumb as you.  If you're offended by this, Maresco, you haven't repented.)