Mike Bradshaw – Uninsured Motorist, Director of Children’s Ministry and C.J. Mahaney’s Son-in-Law

Mike Bradshaw was recently charged by the Commonwealth of Kentucky for driving an unregistered vehicle with an expired license plate and failing to carry the required car insurance.  The charge for driving without insurance carries a fine of $500-$1,000, court cost of $143, potential immediate license suspension of 1 year and potential jail time of 90 days.  

Mike first appeared in the District Court of Breckinridge County on March 4, 2014.  The first charged was dropped after he got the vehicle inspected and purchased car insurance.  The second charged was pressed.  He was found guilty.  Every month his name shows up on the Court Docket under Case 14-T-00024 until he pays off the fine in entirety.  He is making monthly payments.  This information is found online and was verified through four separate conversations with representatives of the District Court.

Mike is C.J. Mahaney’s son-in-law.  I wrote a post about Mike and his brother-in-law, Brian Chesemore, when they quit their jobs as pastors and left Covenant Life Church (CLC) in Gaithersburg, MD despite appeals from the other pastors.  That was in August 2011.  Mike, Brian and their families moved to Louisville the following summer.  Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville (SGCL) began in September 2012.

Mike led the Children’s Ministry at CLC while on staff.  He now leads the Children’s Ministry at SGCL.  Anyone in this position must have impeccable character for obvious reasons including the safety of children.  If a person in this position does not obey laws requiring mandatory car insurance, they may not follow laws requiring the mandatory reporting of accused child molesters.  For years, C.J. taught “faithful in little, faithful in much.”      

In Kentucky, you must register your vehicle within 15 days after moving to the state.  You must also provide proof of car insurance.  Mike has been driving as an unregistered and uninsured motorist.  That is serious for several reasons.   

First, it shows a disregard for the law.  Driving without insurance is a bold move.  Everyone knows you MUST have car insurance in order to drive legal.  And in my experience, everyone on a church planting teams knows the particular laws regarding vehicle registration.  It is one of the first things you research and a common topic of conversation.  Mike chose to drive illegally on both counts.  He was not ignorant.

Second, he forced his wife, Janelle, to do the same.  That is irresponsible leadership and a terrible example.

Third, he put his family at great financial risk.  In Kentucky, motorists are not required to carry coverage for uninsured drivers like Mike.  That means Mike and Janelle would be sued if they were at fault and killed, maimed or injured passengers in another vehicle.  That could financially ruin them for life. 

Fourth, if you can’t afford car insurance, you don’t drive.  It is a simple matter of integrity.  You don’t make excuses and break the law.  You use public transportation and/or arrange for other means of travel. 

This also raises a question about the Bradshaw’s financial condition.  Did they have the money needed for car insurance but refuse to use it?  Or, were they so poor they couldn’t afford car insurance?  I don’t know. 

When Mike moved to Louisville, C.J. immediately put him on the payroll for Sovereign Grace Ministries as the Director of Communications.  I drew attention to this in A Portrait of Pastoral Leadership.  When this became public, they changed his title to Interim Director of Communications.  I don’t know if Mike still works for SGM or not.  There is no listing of support staff on the website and Tommy Hill, the Director of Finance and Administration, has not responded to my inquiry.  If Mike still works for SGM, his “interim” employment is coming up on two years. 

I have gone back and forth on whether or not to post this article.  Putting Mike in a bad light is not my goal.  Here’s are my main concerns and the reasons for posting. 

Mike is a significant leader in Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville.  He heads up the Children’s Ministry.  A person in this position must be completely trustworthy.  These charges by the Commonwealth of Kentucky raise concerns about his integrity (as do the circumstances surrounding his departure from Covenant Life Church).  Therefore, I question whether he should be in leadership.  He has put himself above the law. 

I have three questions.  First, has the church been told about the charges?  Or, has this information been kept from the church by C.J.? 

Second, if the church knows about the charges, did C.J. instruct Mike to confess and ask forgiveness for his poor example and hypocrisy?  Or, is he being put forward each week as an example for parents and children to follow?  

Third, is Mike’s continuing role as Director of Children’s Ministry under evaluation by C.J. and his staff?  Or, is the whole situation being taken lightly?   I wrote Mike about these questions but he has not responded.  I would love to talk with him.

Of course, I have no confidence in the integrity of C.J. or his staff.  

C.J. repeatedly broke the law over three decades during which time he did not report multiple sex abusers to the police.  This resulted in more abuse and more victims.  Nathaniel Morales is a prime example.   

Gary Ricucci is on staff.  He is married to C.J.’s sister, Betsy.  He has been accused by at least three victims of aiding and abetting John Loftness and Stephen Griney in their alleged crimes.  

For their part, Bob Kauflin and Jeff Purswell have covered up for C.J. for more than a decade.  No one has enabled C.J. more than these two men.  

Brian Chesemore is C.J.’s son-in-law and Mike’s brother-in-law.  Nepotism (i.e., family favoritism) has been a Mahaney trait.  

It doesn’t matter how many times C.J. invites national leaders to his church to commend him as a man of integrity.  They don’t know the facts because they haven’t investigated the facts.  The truth about C.J. is plain if anyone is willing to study the evidence.  You can start by reading Response Regarding Friendship & Doctrine, A Final Appeal and Concluding Remarks.  In these documents and other writings, I fairly and accurately provide hundreds of examples of C.J.’s pride, lying, deceit, hypocrisy, and spiritual abuse.  I also give several examples of him covering up sexual abuse. 

C.J. andthe Board put out this public statement through Tommy Hill on May 14, 2012.  “Our careful review of the allegations to date [in the lawsuit] has not produced any evidence of any cover-up or conspiracy.”  The Nathaniel Morales trial begins on May 12.  Once again, C.J. will be shown to be a liar.  He did not report Morales to the police.  He did not alert those in harm’s way.  He covered it all up.  As a result, Morales went on to abuse other youth including stepsons.  They will be testifying against their stepfather at the trial.     

Mike Bradshaw is a small fish but how C.J. and his staff handle his situation is not!  Will they act in an open, honest, and transparent fashion?     

C.J. is a big fish.  We already know how Bob, Jeff, Gary and Brian let him off the hook.    He betrayed Covenant Life Church, stumbled thousands of people, divided Sovereign Grace Ministries and manage a conspiracy to cover up sex abuse.  These men defended and commended him.  Mike didn’t register his vehicle or carry car insurance.  

If they fry Mike and not C.J., they are guilty (once again) of inconceivable hypocrisy.  Yes, they should deal with Mike but his offenses are minor compared to C.J.’s.  

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