Pastoral Wisdom & the Mandate to Report
Friday, April 4, 2014 at 5:19PM Pastoral Wisdom and the Mandate to Report is an excellent article by Julie Lowe. Please read it.
For over 30 years, C.J. Mahaney and his pastoral staff at Covenant Life Church did just the opposite. They did not report. They covered up for abusers. They did not care for the victims. The same thing happened in Sovereign Grace Ministries at large under C.J.'s leadership - for instance in Fairfax, VA. As a result, the number of abusers increased and so did the number of victims. That is plain in the lawsuit. It is also plain to me.
I continue to learn of victims and be contacted by victims not in the lawsuit. I am always horrified and stunned beyond belief. This was all hidden from me when I was on the Board of Directors from 1982-2007. I would have reported and C.J. knew it. Yet, Sovereign Grace Ministries denies all wrong doing. They claim all allegations of a cover up are untrue. This is a monstrous lie. These men have no shame and they have no integrity.
SGM pastors - hand out this article to your churches and swear to the members that you will always report suspected abusers and passionate care for (not blame, silence, and confront) victims. It is against the law for you not to report in most states and it is outrageous for you to instruct members not to report. This has repeatedly occurred. Pastors have directed members in SGM churches not to contact the police. Unbelievable. Then hold C.J. accountable for the destruction he has wrought and expose Mark Prater for the on-going cover-up and conspiracy in SGM.
SGM pastors - why haven't policies been adopted in the Book of Church Order that require all SGM pastors to report abuse, alert people in harm's way, notify the church of sex abusers, and implement standardized guidelines to protect against child abuse? I asked for this many months ago. Nothing has been done. That is utterly unacceptable.
SGM pastors - you need to do something righteous. Add these requirements to your denominational polity and don't lie to people (which some have) and say it can't be done because the churches are independent. You know that is crock. Every church member in SGM should demand immediate action.
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