Up to 20 Churches Leaving SGM; Mahaney Response Compared to Watergate Scandal

Up to 20 churches have decided to no longer be under the direction of Sovereign Grace Ministries because of disputes over the leadership capabilities of the group's president, Pastor C.J. Mahaney, and its executive board, say former and present associates.

A pastor who was at one time a close adviser to Mahaney compares the behavior by the SGM's leadership team, including Mahaney, during the fallout due to the controversy, to that of President Nixon and his staff during the Watergate scandal of the early '70s.

"I also expect C.J., the Leadership Team, the interim Board and the current Board will all get full pardons like Nixon by those who fill their shoes," stated Brent Detwiler, who has offered his opinion and documented what transpired at SGM in his blog over the last two years. He told The Christian Post on Tuesday that as one of the original leaders at SGM, he was considered Mahaney's right-hand man.

"Up to 20 churches have decided to no longer be under the direction of Sovereign Grace Ministries because of disputes over the leadership capabilities of the group's president, Pastor C.J. Mahaney, and its executive board, say former and present associates...

" The church network, which moved its headquarters last year to Louisville, Ky., was hit with a lawsuit last November filed by former SGM church members claiming a cover up of child physical and sex abuse, allegedly at the hand of some leaders. SGM has asked a Maryland judge to dismiss the lawsuit, which plaintiffs want to attain class-action status, claiming that the courts cannot get involved in a church's internal affairs. Attorneys representing the network also say the suit should be tossed due to the vague nature of the allegations. Mahaney, Tomczak and John Loftness, who resigned as chairman of the SGM board in February, are among those named in the lawsuit. A judge is expected to rule on whether to accept the case or not in May."

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Ping for later

Another Crazed Charismatic Preacher Falls. Note may be Reformed but not calvinist. Reformed has been influenced by the teachings of Finney to the point too many Reformed Churches are no longer recognizable. If this Church operated under the sovereignity of God, this pastor would have understood arrogance, pride and humility. Sovereign Grace Ministry has become a misnomer for C. J. Mahaney - Church Growth Movement has gone to his head

I have three sisters who go to Covenant Life Church. I figured as far back as 2007, that CJ would move the church headquarters to Louisville KY because his pals are all located there and Montgomery county has become a communist country overrun with foreigners.

I would never have cared to go to a church under CJ stewardship but I enjoyed his services from time to time over the years. If you keep him at the right distance, he’s an ok guy. But I can see how people who were up close and personal with him could get twisted—if CJ made a mistake. Which it appears he did.

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