The Baptacostalist Hillbilly, C. J. Mahaney,
survives and his hand-selected and sovereign Board returns Mahaney to
permanency on the same board. We are
not, in the least, surprised by a breakdown in a relationship between Mahaney
and Harvey, the hapless and troubled Board member who governed SGM during Mahaney’s temporary
exile. Further, the relationship between
Mahaney and Harris is over too. Mahaney
embodies the attributes, en toto, of
a classical narcissist under the DSM-IV.
Anywho, here’s the latest on the Hillbilly. The non-Confessional Baptyerians love him, as do other Ana
Thursday
Jun 28, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 3:19PM
To the SGM Board of Directors:
John Loftness (Chairman), Paul Buckley
(Vice Chairman), Ron Boomsma, Craig Cabaniss, Ian McConnell, Mickey Connolly,
Ken Mellinger, Al Pino, Phil Sasser
You need to be honest with the SGM
pastors and churches regarding your vote in Annapolis last month to return C.J.
as the permanent President of SGM. You made this decision without their input
or knowledge. You must also tell them a majority were in favor but a minority
were opposed like Paul and Ian.
Furthermore, you must make known that
the majority prepared a false statement for public release saying there was
unanimity on C.J.’s return but this did not occur because the minority opposed
such a deceitful statement pledging to go public and correct the misinformation
if released.
This is not a new occurrence. The same
kind of deceitful activity occurred with the interim Board when they presented
decisions as unanimous when in fact it was not the case. Craig and former Board
Members like Aron Osborne and Pete Greasley will tell you so if they are
honest. Contact them.
You should also know that C.J. and
Dave have had a falling out because C.J. feels Dave did not defend him
adequately and did not denounce me, Larry Tomczak, etc. more harshly. It is a
sad fact that most of you don’t know about this breakdown in relationship. I’ve
encourage Dave to be honest with you and not allow C.J.’s mistreatment of him
to go unaddressed. It is a continuation of the sinful patterns in C.J.’s life
already identified and acknowledged.
You should also know that C.J. and Ken
Sande have had a falling out. Ken confronted C.J. on his deceit, etc. and C.J.
sinfully reacted by effectively dumping Ken as a friend and counselor. Their
relationship is fractured but C.J. has not informed you of this reality either.
Therefore, contact Ken since you are responsible for C.J.’s measuring C.J.’s
grow in grace. As I’ve said many times, if you correct, disagree, or oppose
C.J. in any significant way you will suffer for it. Scores and scores of
leaders have experience this harsh reality over the last 30 years.
You need to provide much more
accountability for the Leadership Team. For instance, Board Members don’t know
how or if Dave Harvey’s responsibilities have been cut back so he can get his
priorities right and focus on his family. This was your responsibility to
define. And Board Members don’t know if Dave has made changes in managing his
family or how each of his children are doing? There has been no accountability
from the Board and yet the issues in Dave’s family are ever so serious.
Or how about compensation packages? It
is not encouraging that Board Members don’t know what C.J.’s salary and
benefits are at this point in time. That should have been divulged and
discussed already. So too a reduction in salaries and benefits for all the Leadership
Team since the cost of living is lower in Louisville. Why has this gone
unaddressed?
Last July, Tommy Hill promised me all
of this would be addressed by AoR in their report. It was not. You need to
release the new compensation packages for the Leadership Team. People should
see the new numbers in comparison to the old numbers so they know the Board is
serious about addressing excesses and walking in the light with its donors.
Lastly, what has C.J. (and other
leaders in SGM) specifically done to implement the recommendations from the
Three Panel Reviews last December and the AoR report from April? I don’t know
of any attempts to follow up with anyone in my large relational network. There
have been no attempts at reconciliation to my knowledge. You must chart C.J.’s
efforts and give occasional reports on his progress. The same is true for all
executive employees of SGM (e.g. Bob Kauflin) and former employees (e.g. Gene
Emerson). There must be accountability because C.J. has a long history of
ignoring recommendations or assignments given to him for reform and
reconciliation.
Please let me know you will address
all these matters in a forthright way. In particular when will you inform SGM
that you have already voted to reinstall C.J. as the permanent President of SGM
and deceitfully planned to put out a public relations message that was untrue.
Regards,
Brent
Post Script
I literally finished writing my last
sentence when I received your post, "Board Update: Defining Sovereign
Grace Leadership; Positioning C.J. Mahaney as President."
Let me quickly respond to this one
statement.
“As we take these steps, it is
important for you to know of the Board’s strong endorsement of C.J. to continue
in this role of President. C.J. was the object of an enormous amount of gossip
and slander during this past year, and that has damaged his reputation,
undermined his ability to lead, and created an atmosphere of suspicion in some
quarters of our family of churches…. This comprehensive process has clearly
confirmed C.J.’s fitness to lead and his exceptional character as he has
graciously endured major trials.”
As a Board you continue to act on your
own. Even this release of information was forced upon you because the word was
getting out to SGM pastors that you made a decision for C.J. to return as
President two weeks ago without their knowledge and without their input. This
press release is a piece of damage control. How can you make a secret decision
to install C.J. as the long term President when C.J. promised he would only
return as the short term President and not enter into discussion with the SGM
pastors before doing so. Your independence is incredulous. You don’t want their
input or their accountability.
You also continue to lie. You know
there was not unanimous support for C.J.’s return as President when you voted
at the June 11-14 retreat in Annapolis! You conceal that in this communique
instead of being honest and telling everyone the Board was divided. Instead,
you followed through on your deceitful presentation that the Board was united
in this decision. The hardline majority persuaded the soft minority to go along
with the ruse even though men like Paul and Ian promised to expose it.
Unbelievable! No one should trust any of you. This is just more SGM spin and deceit.
Furthermore, you are completely
mistaken when you say C.J. was “the object of an enormous amount of gossip and
slander.” That is without foundation. I’ve been his main accuser and everything
I’ve written is rooted and grounded in fact. Show me where I’ve made a point
without providing evidence? That is why you didn’t allow me to present my case
against C.J. before objective jurors and threw together the corrupt Three Panel
Review where my participation was block and confined. There has been no comprehensive
review of C.J. or SGM as you assert. My charges have never been heard or
evaluated. C.J. is not the object of gossip and slander; he is the object of
countless witnesses whose testimony is right and true. He should not be a sr.
pastor let alone the President of SGM.
You have now drawn a line in the sand.
You dismiss churches with concerns for C.J. when you say gossip and slander
“created an atmosphere of suspicion [regarding C.J.] in some quarters of our
family of churches.” That is so bogus. What has been created is an atmosphere
of godly discernment pertaining to C.J.s long standing patterns of serious sin
against many people. It is just like you as SGM to silence pastors and churches
by labeling them “suspicious” when all they are doing is asking hard questions
(which you and C.J. won’t answer), requiring genuine accountability and calling
for personal and corporate reform. Once again you play the gossip and slander
card in order to disparage critics and prevent them from knowing the truth or
speaking the truth. You love to censure people and control their lives while
you protect the guilty.
As a Board it is clear from this
statement today that you are committed to castigate people instead of listening
to people – pastors included. You express no concerns for C.J., yourselves or
SGM in this post. None. You focus all your attention on the supposed evils of
others. Nothing has changed. The SGM elite remain superior to all others and
therefore blame everyone else while you totally vindicate C.J. You present C.J.
as the victim rather than the victimizer – as the abused rather than the
abuser. You have it all backwards.
Like the old and interim Boards (with
the exception of Joshua Harris) you’ve determined to take no responsibility for
the systematic problems that exist in SGM and especially its top leaders. Only
those leaders and churches who leave the movement in the days ahead have really
learned from the past. No one should accept C.J. as President on the basis of
his character but also because he is breaking his firm promise not to return in
this capacity. His determined decision was based upon the counsel of many other
leaders, his own limitations in gifting, and his primary calling as a pastor
and preacher. You skip over all his past statements about why he would not
return as President. As we know so well, it is nothing for C.J. to go back on
his word. I think of his three promises to provide a thorough response to my
documents and his promise to make a confession to the SGM pastors at the
Pastors Conference last year. He breaks promises as quickly as he makes
promises. Here are his words.
“In light of all of this, here is how
I think I can best serve you in the days ahead: as I step back into the role as
president, I will do so only temporarily. I think it would be wise for SGM to
have a new president who has gifts better suited to serve Sovereign Grace in
this next season…. After supporting the [interim] board through these important
transitions, I hope to return to what I believe is my primary calling from God
– pastoral ministry and the pulpit. This plays a significant role in why my
return as president is temporary. Let me explain. I think preaching and
pastoral ministry are where grace is most evident in my life and where my
leadership is most effectively expressed. Others seem to agree. And I think I
have neglected this call to preach for a number of years as I have endeavored
to serve as president. Over the past five years many faithful friends have
brought this concern to my attention and impressed upon me the importance of
preaching as a primary means of my serving and leading. However moved I was by
their concerns and encouragement, the many responsibilities of the presidential
role would quickly preoccupy me again and the effect of their counsel would
subside. Over the past six months I have seen more clearly than ever the wisdom
of their counsel. So I think the most effective way I can serve Sovereign Grace
is by planting a church and leading a local congregation through faithful
expository preaching and teaching…. I
simply can’t wait to get started. And I can proceed into this future
confidently when our new board and president are in place. So that is what I am
returning to do and why my return as president will be temporary.” (C.J. Mahaney,
A
note to those in Sovereign Grace Ministries, January
25, 2012)
The fact remains that C.J. is
disqualified from ministry in the sight of God and in light of holy Scripture.
No one in the history of SGM has ever been treated with such favoritism. Ed
Keinath from AoR told people he and Ted Kober were gravely concerned for the
“blind loyalty” shown C.J. They had each of you in mind.
I wasn’t planning on posting my
initial correspondence above but it is now necessary to do so. I’ve also
include my email to Dave Harvey from this morning.
From: Brent Detwiler [mailto:abrentdetwiler@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2012 9:48 AM
To: Dave Harvey
Subject: Falling Out with C.J.
Importance: High
Hello Dave,
I’ve been told about the break down in
your relationship with C.J. because he feels you did not defend him adequately
and did not denounce me, Larry T, etc. more harshly. This comes as no surprise.
You need to bring this to the immediate attention of the entire Board to whom
you and C.J. are now accountable. Be honest with them. Don’t cover up for C.J.
Put an end to the enablement. You must tell the Board about this mistreatment
of you. Dave, you know full well that nothing has changed with C.J. Your
assessment and my assessment from 2004 are as relevant today.
Dave’s Assessment
To correct CJ, or to
challenge his own self-perception, was to experience a reaction through
e-mails, consistent disagreement (without seeking to sufficiently understand),
a lack of sufficient follow-up and occasionally, relational withdrawal. Along
with this, CJ was poor in volunteering areas of sin, temptation or weakness in
himself.
Brent’s Assessment
1.
Can become resentful,
distrustful or withdraw when he feels misunderstood, judged, or sinned against
by others.
2.
Can judge or prematurely
come to conclusions about others based on limited or incomplete information.
3.
When correcting or
disagreeing can communicate his assessment or perspective too strongly or
categorically.
4.
Can lack gentleness and
not perceive the unhelpful effect of his words, actions or decisions upon an
individual.
5.
Can be difficult to
correct and help because he often disagrees with or has a different perspective
on illustrations.
6.
Infrequently makes us
aware of specific sins or the correction others are bringing to him.
I have little hope you and C.J. will
be transparent with the Board. I imagine this will be glossed over and made to
sound like a trifle when it is serious. Please turn the corner on a new lease
in life but doing what is right.
Regards,
Brent
