Gene Emerson, former regional leader in SGM and senior pastor of KingsWay Community Church in Midlothian, VA, was arrested on May 29 for the solicitation of prostitution in Chesterfield County, VA. He was arraigned on June 9. He was found guilty and sentenced on July 9. He is a close friend of C.J. Mahaney’s and known for carrying out vengeful assignments given him by Mahaney.
From the time of his arrest to the present, Emerson has sought to deceive everyone around him, including his dear wife and family, with a myriad of lies. That is not surprising. He has a history of deceit well known to former and current Sovereign Grace leaders like Mahaney, Dave Harvey, Bob Kauflin and Mickey Connolly who have actively covered up for him since 2008. These men and others share responsibility for Emerson’s further apostasy because they were not willing to deal with his abusive and corrupt character in the past. This is a simple case of sowing and reaping for Emerson and leaders in SGM.
[Postscript - July 13, 2018: Emerson deceitfully hid his arrest, arraignment and conviction from his family and the KingsWay elders. Matthew Williams wrote ABC 8News on August 25, 2015, “Our pastoral team did not learn of Mr. Emerson’s conviction until July 21, 3 days after he left for Bolivia. When we confronted him upon his return from Bolivia, he immediately tendered his resignation.” You can read the newspaper article here.]
Now everything is crashing down around Emerson because the evidence is coming out. For 3½ months he has sought to deceive people by claiming he stumbled upon a prostitute in his pursuit of a massage because he was under stress from work. That is nothing but a wretched excuse and cover. He has also insisted he is innocent of all legal wrong doing and blamed the police for setting him up and making an unlawful arrest.
Emerson was intent on having sex with a prostitute and there is reason to believe this was not the first time he sought out a prostitute. The evidence suggests he was familiar with how to set up an appointment and follow through with his intentions. More will come out in the days to come.
Over the past two weeks, I have been in contact with the Chesterfield County Police Department. If Gene comes to repentance, he will return to them and ask forgiveness for maligning their methods, which were entirely in keeping with the law. The undercover operation was carried out with skilled professionalism.
[Postscript - July 13, 2018: Here is the transcript of Emerson soliciting the undercover police woman and interacting with the detective who made the arrest. Law enforcement provided it to me when Emerson publicly slandered them for entrapment. The transcript is graphic and proves beyond all doubt that he intentionally sought out a prostitute - something he has adamantly denied. In fact, Gene now says he cannot remember anything that happened during his solicitation in the motel room. He has used these outrageous lies to deceive those not familiar with the evidence.]
I planned to finish a thorough post on this whole matter for the weekend. That won’t be possible now. Things have come up. I will resume my work next week. In the meantime, however, I’ve included remarks I posted over the past week.
Brent Detwiler says:
August 17, 2015 at 12:58 pm
Gene Emerson’s claim that he is innocent is a lie. That should not surprise anyone. I hope to post this weekend. Please remember Jenny in your prayers. Thanks!
Brent Detwiler says:
August 20, 2015 at 6:09 pm
Over the past week and a half, I have interacted with Detective N. Necolettos and his supervising officer over Vice and Narcotics, Lieutenant J. Profita, regarding Gene Emerson’s deceitful misrepresentation to Kingsway Community Church that he was purportedly entrapped by the vice squad for the solicitation of prostitution. Nothing could be further from the truth as is clear from this arrest report and other evidence including a video of his words and actions. Emerson was intent on having sex with a prostitute that was an undercover police woman. The operation was carried out with the highest legal integrity. The Chesterfield County Police Department is not a hole in the wall operation. It employs over 600 men and women. It is a first rate force.
Emerson has now fabricated a story that he stumbled onto this operation in pursuit of a simple massage. He attempted to use this lie with Detective Necolettos and he is doing the same with the people of Kingsway Community Church.
Last Sunday, Matthew Williams, interim sr. pastor, told the church, “And in light of his claim of innocence, we support his [Gene’s] right to consider taking further legal action.” I can assure you, the Chesterfield County Police Department does not fear a lawsuit from Mr. Emerson. Gene is not innocent and he will not be taking any further legal action. In my opinion, this is all part of his attempt to deceive and cover up. It is an empty boast.
On Monday, I posted here: “Gene Emerson’s claim that he is innocent is a lie. That should not surprise anyone.” It should not surprise anyone because there is a history of deceit and treachery by Gene clearly laid in my documents [e.g. in The Untold Story] and other writings. Matthew Williams claims Gene is a man of integrity but he knows better. I have provided him all the evidence in the past.
The people of Kingsway Community Church have been misled for many years. Sovereign Grace Ministries is verifiably corrupt now. I hope my old friends in the church will finally take action, demand all evidence from Gene and his lawyer, talk to the police, have the church attorney file a FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] for the video and/or audio, publicly rebuke Gene (1 Tim 5:20) for his continuing and audacious deceit, deal with Gene’s sins against others in the past, find new pastors, and leave Sovereign Grace Ministries. In other words, put Jesus Christ first and return to him as your first love before he entirely shuts down the church in righteous judgement. This is a merciful appeal.
Brent Detwiler says:
August 21, 2015 at 8:33 am
Five months ago, I posted “Hush Fund Set Up by Top SGM Leaders to Meet the Demands of a SGM Pastor Whose Son Was Sexually Abused.”
Here is the introduction.
“Two years ago a “hush fund” masquerading as a benevolence fund was deceptively set up by Mark Prater (Executive Director for SGM), Paul Buckley (Chairman of the SGM Board), and Tommy Hill (Director of Finance & Administration for SGM) in order to surreptitiously meet the demands of a SGM pastor whose son was sexually abused by the son of another SGM pastor in the same church.
“The fund came about because the father of the victim was thinking about joining the sex abuse lawsuit against SGM if SGM did not agree to reforms and if he did not receive restitution monies from SGM for harms done. Insurance lawyers told SGM leaders they would lose their liability coverage if payouts were made thereby arguably admitting fault. Instead, SGM lawyer Chip Grange suggested a plan whereby monies be raised for the victim’s family as “a collection and private gift to help him avoid eviction.” This plan was approved by C.J. Mahaney and the SGM Board of Directors and implemented by Mark Prater.
“As a result many SGM pastors who knew the pastor and father of the victim were contacted and asked to give benevolence to the family. Prater, Buckley, Hill and the Board deceived these pastors into giving personal and church monies to a benevolence fund that effectively functioned as a hush fund. The pastors had no idea what was really going on behind the scenes. They were intentionally deceived in the matter.
“People inside and outside of SGM must come to grips with the corruption that characterizes the leadership of SGM starting with C.J. Mahaney. He was the President of SGM when this hush fund was set up. No one should be supporting or following any of these men. As I’ve demonstrated countless times, you cannot believe anything they tell you.
“What follows is a presentation of hard evidence starting with the initial letter from the pastor who was the father of the victim (henceforth referred to as Pastor-Father of Victim) to Tommy Hill requesting reform and asking for $35,000 in restitution from SGM.”
Please read the entire post and send it to anyone you know in SGM or Kingsway Community Church. It is serves as yet another poignant example of the systemic corruption that exists among former and current top SGM leaders (i.e. C.J. Mahaney, Dave Harvey, Mickey Connolly, Mark Prater, Paul Buckley, Tommy Hill).
By the way, I’ve always sent my posts to former and current pastors in SGM since July 2011 when I sent them the original documents. That includes this one about the hush fund. Matthew Williams knows SGM is corrupt and yet he has chosen to remain and be a staunch defender. He cannot claim ignorance when it comes to all the abuse, hypocrisy, lying, and deceit that exists in the denomination. Like all remaining pastors, he has intentionally set aside thousands of pages of evidence. Kingsway should have left SGM long ago. Instead, they have promoted it.
And let’ not forget the victims of sexual abuse. Keep in mind top leaders at Covenant Life Church and SGM conspired to cover up the abuse of children. The Nathaniel Morales trial in May 2014 provided definitive proof. It doesn’t get any worse. But further, these same leaders (e.g. Mark Mitchell and Mark Prater) told CLC and SGM respectively that all the victims and some family members were liars. That absolutely nothing they said about the conspiracy to cover up crimes was true and much that they said about being sexual abused was made up. I will cover this in the months to come.
This has become standard operating procedure. Slander those who call SGM to account (including law enforcement), cover up the evidence and refuse to allow for a truly independent investigation. It is like Gene Emerson blaming the Chesterfield County police for his sex crime.
The day Gene Emerson was arrested for solicitation, Mickey Connolly (Regional Leader over Kingsway and Board of Director for SGM) and Matthew Williams should have required he step down and take a leave of absence until they and others could thoroughly investigate. That means telling the church and setting up a meeting with the police as soon as possible especially since Gene claimed he was innocent and the police were guilty of wrong doing. That is so basic! You don’t accept as true the version of events put forward by someone who has just been arrested!
Furthermore, Mickey and Matthew should have required Gene to hand over all evidence and documentation that came into the possession of his lawyer at the time it came into possession. That is so basic! If he refused, they should have gone to the courthouse and obtained a copy of the arrest report. That is so basic. Then they should have filed a FOIA request via the church lawyer for the video/audio of his arrest. That is so basic.
Instead, Matthew put the police in a bad light and Gene in a good light before the entire church. And keep in mind, Mickey Connolly was managing everything that was said and done from the time he became aware of Gene’s arrest. Matthew was not acting independently. He was following Mickey’s lead and direction. As a result, Matthew (and Mickey) put Gene forward as a man of humility and integrity who was now suffering affliction like Christ and needed to be comforted and accepted, not judged.
Last Sunday [Aug 16], Matthew also highly commended Gene for not leaving the church. I thought to myself, when the truth comes out Matthew will be forced to confront Gene in no uncertain terms. That means holding Gene accountable to come before the entire church and confess not only his intent to solicit but also all the associated lies he has been telling the past three months. I doubt that will happen but maybe he will be the first. I hope so.
Since the landmark confrontation of C.J. Mahaney in August 2004 (see Response Regarding Friendship & Doctrine), no one has been holding SGM leaders accountable. The last 11 years they have been free to sin with impunity. No one has obeyed 1 Timothy 5:19-21. No one has been held to the qualifications of 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. Not C.J. Mahaney, Dave Harvey, Mark Prater, Paul Buckley, Mickey Connolly or Gene Emerson to mention a few. All of these men would have been removed from ministry if they were submitted to the authority of Scripture. In SGM, you are free to lie, be a hypocrite, abuse others, cover-up your sin and remain in ministry. This apostasy from Christ and his Word is ever so great!
Of course, the Lord is not indifferent to this kind of corruption and pride. His opposition continues. The exposing of Gene Emerson is just one more example of his sovereign power.
Brent Detwiler says:
August 21, 2015 at 12:34 pm
The video [of Gene’s solicitation of the undercover police woman] is far worse than the [partial summary] report [by the police].
Brent Detwiler says:
August 21, 2015 at 12:47 pm
There is a Lieutenant from the VA State Patrol [Dave Beckner] who is an usher and member in Kingsway Community Church. He has been encouraged by other law enforcement personnel to file a FOIA request for the video.
In addition, I was told by law enforcement that the lawyer for the church should be asked by the church, who has a vested interest, to file a FOIA.
The video will have to be edited from what I understand in order to protect the identity of the undercover officer. Most, if not all of the audio, should be available.
Brent Detwiler says:
August 21, 2015 at 1:44 pm
I have not seen it [the video of Gene’s arrest] but have knowledge of it [from the police]. I can’t verify all the details above. I hope it becomes public soon. I hope those that view it will comment. Of course, this is exactly what Mickey Connolly and Matthew Williams should do. Get the video. Report on the video. But since they can’t be trusted – members must do it for them or demand it of them. Mickey and Matthew should also press Gene for the truth. But again, they can’t be trusted to be open, honest and transparent if Gene is open, honest and transparent with them. That’s why the video/audio is important. It doesn’t lie. Neither does the arrest report we already possess.
Matthew should tell the church this Sunday that he is going to get the video and show the video to any member who is interested. Those who don’t want to see it (which I understand) can be provided a report that contains details. This will vindicate the police who have been maligned and serve as a witness against Gene’s sins. Most importantly, this reverences the holiness of God and the righteousness of Christ which we are to seek first (Matt 6:33).
I hope Gene is restored but his repeated “Lord almighty please forgive me” and “Jesus please forgive me” mentioned in the arrest record are not expressions of godly sorrow. They reflect worldly sorrow in religious speech (2 Cor 7:8-11). If Gene was truly repentant, he would not have sought to cover up his crime at the time of his arrest nor his sin for the last three months.
Gene was once a dear friend. Foremost, I hope he is restored to Christ. That is his fundamental problem. Then to Liz, his children, Kingsway, all the churches he oversaw in SGM like Living Faith Church, and those he abused, mistreated and slandered over the years. That can’t happen unless he humbles himself. Gene’s primary problem, like C.J.’s, has been the love of reputation. That has been taken away. Now, I hope he is left with Jesus. He can still enjoy the rest of his days serving the Lord with family and friends though never in ministry as a pastor.
Related Articles
Gene Emerson’s Summons, Sentence & Court Order for HIV Testing (August 29, 2015)
What C.J. Mahaney & Gene Emerson Can Learn from R.C. Sproul Jr.’s Visit to Ashley Madison (September 5, 2015)
An Open Letter to the Sovereign Grace National Council of Elders Regarding Gene Emerson (October 27, 2015)