UPDATED: Hush Fund Used by Top Sovereign Grace Leaders to Meet the Demands of a Sovereign Grace Pastor Whose Son Was Sexually Abused 

Saturday, April 10, 2021 at 8:13PM
Brent Detwiler

Preface to Updated Version

I originally posted this article on March 30, 2015.  I sent it to leaders around the nation.  It didn’t matter.  They continued to defend, support and promote C.J. Mahaney even though he was the one behind the hush fund.   

It has been six years.  I am reposting an updated version that has been expanded, simplified and unredacted.  I’ve made it easier to follow and connect the dots for people.  This is necessary because the pastors in Sovereign Grace churches continue to deceive members by denying any conspiracy whatsoever to cover up the sexual abuse of children.  In so doing, they are active participants in the pervasive coverup. 

In the same vein, they admonish members not to read this article.  Why?  Because they say I am a slanderer.  In reality, they know the evidence in the article is damming and irrefutable.  It terrifies them.  They must cut people off from the truth by any means.  Even threatening excommunication or removal from membership if they disobey their sinful admonitions not to read my material. See here.

I’ve also removed previous redactions to clearly illustrate the evil tactics employed by C.J. Mahaney and the top leaders in Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM) to silence a victim’s family, protect a perpetrator’s family; all the while putting families in harm’s way in three different churches.  The article documents their extraordinary corruption in no uncertain terms. 

Once read it should be clear no one in Christendom should support Mahaney or the denomination (now called Sovereign Grace Churches, Inc.) as they continue to deny ALL wrongdoing and refuse to do an independent investigation. 

Story Highlights 

In March 2013, a benevolence fund was deceptively used by Mark Prater (Acting 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 an associate pastor whose son was sexually abused by the son of the senior/lead pastor in the same Sovereign Grace church.  

The funding 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 deceptive 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 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. 

Mahaney also moved the lead pastor and abuser from church to church to church, never informing those in harm’s way. 

People inside and outside of SGM must come to grips with the corruption that characterizes the leadership of SGM starting with Mahaney.  He was the President of SGM when this hush fund was used to secure silence.  No one should be supporting or following any of these men.  As I’ve demonstrated countless times, you cannot believe anything they tell you.  

Photo from The Sex-Abuse Scandal That Devastated a Suburban Megachruch - Inside the Rise & Fall of Sovereign Grace Ministries by Tiffany Stanley in Washingtonian magazine (Feb. 14, 2016) 

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What follows is a presentation of hard evidence starting with the initial letter from Randy Stewart, who was the associate pastor and father of the victim, to Tommy Hill, the Director of Finance for SGM, requesting reform and asking for $35,000 in restitution from SGM.  It is March 2013.  The abuse occurred three years earlier in March 2010.   

Stewart is motivated to write because a lawsuit was filed against Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries and others in October 2012.  It was expanded in January 2013.  Then again in May 2013.  It went from three victims to eight victims to 11 victims all alleging a conspiracy to commit and cover up the sexual abuse of children.  You can read it here.   

Stewart, like others, now realized he was far from the only one whose child was abused; clearly the conspiracy to commit and cover up the sexual abuse of children was widespread.  He sought reform and restitution. 

When I’ve added comments within the hard evidence (i.e., the actual correspondence) I’ve done so in bold print.  I’ve also added notes in brackets [ ]. 

From: Randy Stewart
Date: March 5, 2013, 11:01:02 AM EST
To: Tommy Hill
Subject: Confidential request for Reform & Restitution 

Hi Tommy. 

I wanted to reach out to you (SGM), to request reform, and ask for restitution to my family for the way our son’s sexual abuse was handled.  This situation was conducted in a clumsy, incompetent, and willfully negligent manner, resulting in unnecessary emotional, mental, relational, physical, and financial harm to my family.  

Comment: Stewart is asking for restitution because the “son’s sexual abuse was handled” in a “willfully negligent manner” that resulted in multiple harms.  That makes it a reasonable and justifiable request. 

Reform: I’d like to ask for three simple things to be done (in the first 48 hours), in future cases of sexual abuse.  First, every single time there is an instance of possible sexual abuse, I’d like all parties involved (victim’s family, offender’s family, and church leaders), to receive a copy of the SGM paper on “How to Respond to Sexual Abuse”.  Second, I’d like the families of the victim and offender to be referred to a qualified, experienced, biblically trained sexual abuse counselor.  Third, I’d like a qualified, experienced, biblically trained mediator from outside of SGM (Peacemakers) to be assigned to serve the family of the victim as they seek to walk through the process. 

Comment: He does not request sex crimes be reported to law enforcement. 

Restitution: I’m seeking an account established in my son’s name with $10,000 for future counseling or other needs.  Additionally, I’m seeking $25,000 to be paid to me in restitution for harm caused to my family.  

I respectfully ask for your immediate reply to this request. 

Randy Stewart 

Stewart asks for an immediate reply from Hill in all likelihood because he was in contact with Susan Burke who was the lead attorney for the Plaintiffs in the growing sex abuse lawsuit against SGM and others.  At this point in time, Ms. Burke was working on the third version of the lawsuit called the Second Amended Complaint.  I helped her efforts by providing a five-page affidavit on behalf of the Plaintiffs.  Stewart was thinking about joining the lawsuit but first he gave SGM a chance to respond to his conditions.  The next morning, he followed up with Hill.  

From: Randy Stewart
Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2013 10:01 AM
To: Tommy Hill
Subject: Confidential request for Reform  Restitutionst for Reform & Restitution 

Hi Tommy, 

I have not received a response to my email yesterday (see below).  Please reply that you have received this request, and let me know your intentions.  It is my sincere hope that we can resolve this matter quickly, and that my family can have closure to this matter.  However time is if [of] the essence, and I must receive a response from you by 3:00pm today indicating that you have received my request, and communicating your intentions. 

Randy Stewart 

Time was of the essence if he was going to join the Second Amended Complaint which was being prepared.  He sets a deadline of 3:00pm the same day.  Hill is forced to respond. 

From: Tommy Hill
Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2013 3:35 PM
To: Randy Stewart
Subject: Confidential request for Reform & Restitutionst for Reform & Restitution 

Hi Randy.  I did receive your 2 emails and have forwarded them to the board for their consideration.  Is there a number I can call you at so that you can help me understand why events that apparently happened several years ago suddenly require a substantive response within hours of your email this morning? 

Tommy 

This email was sent by Hill on March 6, 2013 when C.J. Mahaney was President of SGM, Paul Buckley was Chairman of the Board and Mark Prater was Acting Director of Church Planting & Church Care.  Buckley, Prater and Hill were working with Mahaney on how to respond.  The proposal was forwarded to the entire Board of Directors which included Mickey Connolly, Ian McConnell, Ken Mellinger, Phil Sasser, Ron Boomsma and Al Pino. 

The abuse took place in March 2010.  The request for reform and restitution took place in March 2013.  Three years had elapsed.  Hill suspected Stewart was thinking about joining the lawsuit against SGM.  He asks to talk by phone rather than use email.  He refers to the sexual abuse as something that “apparently happened.”  This provides legal cover but understandably offends Stewart.  

From: Randy Stewart
Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2013 4:02 PM
To: Tommy Hill
Subject: Re: Confidential request for Reform & Restitutionst for Reform & Restitution 

Hi Tommy,  

Thank you for your reply.  Having not received a reply to my email from yesterday morning, I was simply asking for acknowledgement of receipt, and some indication that you intended to give earnest consideration in a timely manner.  

As for the years that have passed, yes it’s been almost three years to the day since my son was repeatedly sodomized. 

I hope that your choice of words “apparently happened”, is not an attempt to dismiss or minimize the sexual abuse that absolutely did happen and is well documented. 

I would hope for a substantive response by week’s end. 

Randy Stewart 

Once again Stewart asks for an “earnest consideration in a timely manner” and “a substantive response by week’s end.”  He also challenges Hill on his apparent attempt “to dismiss or minimize the sexual abuse that absolutely did happen and is well documented.”  The lawsuit and documentation were key in forcing SGM to respond.  They could not make this go away with denials or coverups if Stewart decided to go public. 

Tragically, we discover the young boy was forced to endure repeated acts of anal intercourse.  These heinous crimes involved terribly perverse indignities.  Stewart was right to hold SGM accountable for their neglect but he should have also held the perpetrator accountable by prosecuting him in a court of law.         

Hill writes Stewart back.  This time he asserts the Board “know[s] very little, if anything, about the situation.”  Once again, he endeavors to interact by phone rather than email which leaves a document trail.  

From: Tommy Hill
Date: March 11, 2013, 5:41:48 PM EDT
To: Randy Stewart
Subject: RE: Confidential request for Reform & Restitutionst for Reform & Restitution 

Dear Randy, 

Our desire is to care for you in this situation as a brother in Christ and friend.  You are asking the board to consider your request.  But they know very little, if anything, about the situation and would like to understand what happened.  Would you be willing to give me your phone number to begin that process? 

In Christ, 

Tommy 

A few days later Hill receives an email from Toby Kurth (lead pastor at Christ Church in San Francisco) who is no longer part of SGM stating he had talked at length about the abuse with five Board Members (i.e., Dave Harvey, Ian McConnell, Aron Osborne, Mark Prater and John Loftness) and also with Ambassadors of Reconciliation at the Group Reconciliation meetings in November 2011.  Subsequently, AoR provided a report to the Board on their findings of “sexual misconduct” in SGM.  Kurth was a friend of Stewart’s and very concerned about Hill’s claim the Board knew “very little, if anything.”  He questions their honesty and appeals they “not compromise [their] consciences in any way.” 

From: J.T. Kurth
Sent: Monday, March 11, 2013 7:30 PM
To: Tommy Hill; Ian McConnell; Paul Buckley; Dave Harvey; John Loftness; Mark Prater 
Subject: Randy Stewart 

Hi Guys, 

Hope you are all doing well in what I am sure is a challenging and busy time.  Randy just forwarded me the email below and I found the response very concerning in light of the conversations that I have had with the leaders on the ground in Akron and with you Tommy and you Ian.  I have also had fairly detailed conversations about Akron with Mark Prater, Aron Osborne, Dave Harvey, and John Loftness.  I also did a lengthy interview with AoR [Ambassadors of Reconciliation] about it.  Do you guys honesty feel like very little is known?  

Comment:  “The leaders on the ground in Akron” is a reference to Bill Ihde (no longer on staff), Bert Turner, and Jace Hudson (current lead pastor) at Covenant of Grace Church in Copley/Akron, Ohio.  They too were part of the coverup.  

Ambassadors of Reconciliation was also complicit in covering up crimes by referring to them as “sexual misconduct” in their April 10, 2012 report to the SGM Board.  Kurth wrote about AoR’s cover up to Jon Bloom on his Facebook page.  Many others including me had the same kind of horrific experience with AoR.  Many people were betrayed by them.  AoR was hired by Mahaney/SGM and contractually agreed not to report anything sinful or criminal in their report. 

Toby Kurth to Jon Bloom
Facebook
March 7, 2018 

AoR intentionally omitted the details of a 2009 [2010] sex abuse case in Ohio.  One of the lead interviewers [Ed Keinath] did a long interview with me and at least 4 others about the case that was covered up.  The interviewer told me it was atrocious and that he was baffled at how unhealthy the leadership culture in SGM was.  He promised me that it would all be reflected in their report.  He was surprisingly negative on SGM.  All the more surprising was that none of it appeared in the AoR report [published Apr. 10, 2012].  

Kurth was a weighty witness against SGM.  All of these men were up against the wall.  Now he makes reference to Stewart joining the lawsuit against Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries, et al. 

What happened in Akron was tragic and the aftermath made it all the more painful.  I know it was a difficult situation, but in my opinion, the refusal to do any due diligence on the local church level, the Stewarts not being able to attend church as a family because the Reyes family was unwilling to keep their son at home, and Aron and SGM’s response were all indefensible.  

Comment: Jason Reyes was the senior pastor of Covenant of Grace Church.  He should have resigned and reported his son’s abuse to Child Protective Services or law enforcement.  A thorough investigation by the police should have followed to see if other children had been abused by his son and if other abusers were operating in the church or known to be operating in other SGM churches.  This kind of heinous activity doesn’t happen in a vacuum.  There is often a wider circle of involvement.  That’s why an investigation by law enforcement professionals is vital in discovering and stopping sexual abuse.  Furthermore, those in harm’s ways should have been informed.  Instead it was covered up by local leaders and extra local leaders.  SGM refused “to do any due diligence on the local church level.”    

The victim was receiving professional counseling.  The counselor did not want the boy to attend the church if the abuser was present.  No matter, Reyes refused to keep his son at home thereby forcing the victim and other family members to stay at home.  I can’t think of anything more selfish under the circumstances and it was supported by Aron Osborne (the Regional Leader) and SGM.   

This speaks volumes about Reyes and demonstrates a complete lack of repentance.  It also highlights the preferential treatment he received from SGM.  The victim was forced to stay home while the perpetrator got a front row seat.  There was no care for the victim or his family in the matter.  The needs of the victim and his family were disregarded.  The Stewart’s “disadvantaged themselves as much as they possibly could.” 

Boz Tchividjian wrote an excellent article that addresses this point in “’Righteous’ reputations of churches who don’t care.”  Here is an excerpt.  

“A church that cares will encourage and assist the victim to immediately report the crime to the police, regardless of the consequences such a report will have upon the church’s reputation.  A church that cares will immediately remove the alleged offender from the church staff and prohibit him/her from being on the church premises. A victim should never have to fear encountering this offender in the place that should be the safest. … A church that cares will inform its members of the allegations knowing that sexual offenders often have many victims.  It will also encourage them to immediately report any suspected abuse to the police.” 

I think the Stewarts have disadvantaged themselves as much as they possibly could to serve the COG [Covenant of Grace] church, SGM, and the Reyes family. The lack of response has left them open to considering joining the lawsuit for the first time and I think that is tragic.  I think all they ever wanted on the local level was care for their son and proper due diligence in the church.  I am still at a loss as to why this situation was handled in the way it was even after John’s document was made available to all the churches [Loftness’ paper at 2009 Pastors Conference].  All of this grieves me.  

Comment:  Eleven months earlier at the Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference, C.J. Mahaney handed out a paper by John Loftness called “When Child Abuse Occurs” and exhorted the pastors to give “five times” more care to victims of sexual abuse and their families than to abusers and their families.  Here’s a quote.    

“Our first response and our most important response is to rush, run, as fast as we can and as many pastors as can, immediately rush to the side of the parents of the victim and the victim to surround them, to care for them.  And to care for them in this particular and specific way; to simply grieve with them, to as much as possible feel the full impact of their grief and sadness and as much as possible identify with their grief and sadness. … Here is my recommended policy in Sovereign Grace Churches.  Pastoral teams, let’s provide five times more care for the victim than we do the perpetrator if the perpetrator is in your church.  Five times.  You don’t need to neglect the perpetrator.  Care for the perpetrator and the family but our care for them is to some degree different.  There is an accent on correction appropriately communicated with the perpetrator.  There is a specialized kind of care for the parents of the perpetrator.  But let there be five times more care for the parents of the victim and the victim. … Clear your schedule.  Communicate your availability and make sure that you have some contact every day, multiple times a day without missing a day for an indefinite period of time.” (C.J. Mahaney, SG Pastors Conference, April 7, 2009)  

Kurth is “still at a loss as to why this situation was handled in the way it was even after” the 2009 Pastors Conference.  He is stunned by “the lack of response [that] has left the Stewart’s open to considering joining the lawsuit for the first time” when all they “ever wanted on the local level was care for their son and proper due diligence in the church.” 

This is a classic example of Mahaney’s hypocrisy.  The victim and his family received less care than the abuser and his family.  Mahaney was directing Dave Harvey and Harvey was directing Aron Osborne in how to handle this situation.  Osborne was one of eight Regional Leaders for SGM.  The “indefensible” response of SGM was due to these three men.  They were in charge.  By the way, I wrote Osborne on March 13, 2015 and asked if he cared to comment on this email from the Kurth.  I never heard back from him. 

Most of you know Randy and the way he and his family have sacrificed over the years.  Can anyone answer the question of why things were handled so badly in Akron?  Someone will certainly answer to the Lord some day for it all.  Praise God for his redeeming grace!  I don’t know what they right next step is in this, but I do pray that you men will do what you believe to be right and not compromise your consciences in any way.  

Comment:  Kurth asks the question, “Why [were] things handled so badly” in 2010 given the sacrifices made by the Stewart and his family over the years.  I doubt he ever got an answer to his question because it would have been indicting.  I know all the parties involved in this situation.  By 2010, Stewart had little influence in SGM.  On the other hand, Reyes was on the rise.  He was a senior pastor being positioned for regional responsibilities in SGM and well connected to influential leaders in SGM like Harvey, Osborne and others including his father-in-law, Jim Cannon.  He was unquestionably treated with partiality and favoritism under the oversight of Mahaney.  Policies don’t mean anything when you don’t follow them! 

This is an email to me from Eric Grover.  He was a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Cleveland at the time.  Darren Lander was the lead pastor.  Grover did not know about the abuse.  Lander did. 

From: Grover, Eric
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 10:12 AM
To: Brent Detwiler
Subject: RE: Copley 

Yeah, so Akron went through a real disaster leadership wise a couple years ago.  They (Mark Prater and Aron Osborne) sent Jason Reyes and Randy Stewart out to replace Jim Walters because Jim had wanted to step down for quite a while.  This was take 2 after the whole Joe McMullin mess.  They told Jason that they wanted him to eventually become their regional representative, even though he had no senior pastor experience.  In short, he led arrogantly and Jim Walters left the church.  Something happened between Jason and Randy’s families (I don’t know all of the details), and in the end Randy was let go for financial reasons, and then eventually the leadership team in Akron gave a vote of no confidence in Jason’s leadership and he is now back out east (with Warren Boettcher).  Toby Kurth was brought in to facilitate reconciliation between Randy and Jason, and Darren [Lander] spent an enormous amount of time trying to help Randy (who has left the church and still lives in Akron).  I believe that [that’s] part of the reason Aron was sent to Florida was because he screwed this situation up so badly. 

In the aftermath of that fiasco, Billy [Ihde] had been functioning as an interim senior pastor.  Billy and Bert [Turner] decided to become ordained lay elders.  Jace Hudson was just sent them via Philly.  I know they are solidly behind the SGM leadership.  Darren recently met with them to explain why we have stopped giving financially to SGM and why we have made public our concerns about the leadership.  They still desire to have a relationship with us doing youth camp and other events. 

That is the quick summary of what is going on down there! 

Your brother in Christ, 

Toby Kurth 

After receiving this email, Paul Buckley, Chairman of the Board, emails Mark Prater and Tommy Hill three plans of action with pros and cons.  All three plans are corrupt, devious and insincere.  Buckley is not interested in doing what is right or biblical.  He is only interested in doing what will serve the self-interests of SGM. 

Plan A and B seek to silence Stewart by meeting ”most or all of his financial expectations” and securing a “legally binding agreement” that prevents him from suing SGM.  Plan C entails a fierce commitment to fight any lawsuit he files in court.  Mahaney’s instructions are worthless.  “But let there be five times more care for the parents of the victim and the victim.” 

This is how SGM does damage control or in Buckley’s words “helps us navigate through this as wisely as we can.”  In particular, note how he states SGM must “avoid any admission of fault” in all three plans.  The crooked undertaking is CONFIDENTIAL. 

From: Paul Buckley
Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2013 12:52 PM
To: Mark Prater; Tommy Hill
Subject: CONFIDENTIAL – Randy Stewart 

Guys, 

Here is my attempt to organize our thoughts on scenarios for responding to Randy’s situation.  I trust this helps us navigate through this as wisely as we can. 

Let me know of any edits you would have. 

Tommy – feel free to send to legal team once they are ready to meet. 

Comment: Remember, the First Amended Complaint came out in January 2013.  It is now March 2013.  A much larger legal team for the Defendants is being assembled from six different law firms.  The Second Amended Complaint will come out two months later. 

Thx,
Paul 

PLAN A 

We shift the conversation from legal liability to provision of care and consider how we can care for Randy given his previous service and subsequent hardship.  We meet most or all of his financial expectations.  We secure a legally-binding agreement not to pursue this matter further.  We avoid any admission of fault. 

Comment:  This is the friendly version but it is a con.  Any conversation with Stewart should have started with the “provision of care” not debating the “legal liability” of SGM.  Buckley proposes they “shift the conversation” from SGM’s obligations under the law in order to manipulate Stewart under the pretense of sincere care.  This becomes obvious in Plan C.  Plan A calls for “love bombing,” the payout of money in exchange for a legally binding agreement and no admission of fault in any way.    

Buckley refers to “his previous service.”  Stewart was sent out to plant a Sovereign Grace church in Brooklyn, NY in May 2004.  It was a heroic effort but did not succeed.  He moved to Covenant of Grace Church in Akron in 2008. 

Pros         
- Minimizes further damage to the Stewarts.
- voids negative implications of further legal action.
- Secures a solution for this situation.
- Protects us from further ill will from the Stewarts, Kurths and others.       

Cons
- Could be understood as a pay off.
- Could be used in the class action lawsuit as an admission of guilt.
- May be precluded by our insurance company.
- Will have to pay $10-35K, perhaps out of our own pockets.

PLAN B

We enter into negotiation with Randy for a gracious settlement if he lets the statue [statute] of limitations lapse.  We frame the ball park figure in light of the assistance that Jason Reyes received.  We secure a legally-binding agreement not to pursue this matter further. 

Comment: In my opinion, this is the paying of a bribe.  In effect, he is being extorted.  Stewart only gets the negotiated “gracious settlement” if he agrees to let “the statute of limitations lapse.”  In other words, the payoff is contingent on him signing a “legally-binding agreement” that prevents him from filing a lawsuit in a timely manner.  Once the statute of limitations expires he cannot sue SGM.      

In 2010, Reyes received $25,000 in assistance for an “internship” he did at Sovereign Grace Church in Joppa, Maryland after he resigned, was honored by Covenant of Grace Church, and left Akron, Ohio.  Buckley wants to “frame“ the amount of the settlement for Stewart in 2013 as assistance rather than a payoff.  

Like Plan A, monies will only be paid out if SGM is released from any obligation to admit fault. 

Pros
- We avoid any admission of fault.
- Keeps the case out of the class action lawsuit.
- May reduce the total financial contribution.
- Minimizes further damage to the Stewarts.
- Avoids negative implications of further legal action.
- Secures a solution for this situation.
- Protects us from further ill will from the Stewarts, Kurths and others.         

Cons
- May be rejected by the Stewarts because of loss of negotiating advantage to them.
- Could be understood as a pay off.
- Could be used in the class action lawsuit as an admission of guilt.
- May be precluded by our insurance company.
- Will have to pay $10-35K, perhaps out of our own pockets.

PLAN C

We refuse to entertain Randy’s request in any way and allow him to possibly sue us either as part of the class action lawsuit or on his own.

Comment:  This is the opposite of love bombing.  This is just bombing.  It means blowing up Stewart at every turn and giving him and his family nothing in terms of care or restitution.  And like Plans A and B, there will be no admitting of fault even though the fault is ever so great.  These men have no consciences.  Plan C was the chosen method of attack against the 11 victims of sexual abuse in the Second Amended Complaint.  

Moreover, notice the reference to “what the Insurance carrier requires” (i.e. Carr Maloney P.C.).  Mahaney, Buckley, Prater and the Board of Directors are not submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ or the teaching of Scripture, they are submitted to the evil counsel of lawyers from the insurance company that would have to pay out damages if SGM admitted its fault and the truth prevailed.

Pros
- Avoids a precedent of settling financially.
- Avoids admitting any fault.
- We could win and have no legal or financial liabilities.
- It may be what the Insurance carrier requires.    

Cons
- Could cause the class action lawsuit to shift negatively in favor of the plaintiffs.
- Could cause additional harm to our reputation and subsequent loss of support.
- Could create further ill will towards SGM in Randy and others.

Paul Buckley
Lead Pastor
King of Grace Church
28 Chadwick St.
Haverhill, MA 01835
www.KingofGrace.org
office@kingofgrace.org
978.374.6562

Remember the three plans above are Buckley’s “attempt to organize our thoughts on scenarios for responding to Randy’s situation.”  The “our” includes Mark Prater and Tommy Hill in the immediate context but the larger context must be understood.  These three men were working for C.J. Mahaney, not independently of Mahaney.  Keep in mind the following. 

- Mahaney was the President of SGM when all this was happening in March 2013.  He “transitioned” out of the Presidency the following month on April 12.
- Mahaney was training and positioning Prater to replace him at this time.  They were working very closely with each other.  Prater was chosen to be the President (i.e. the Executive Director) the following month on April 23.
- John Loftness resigned as Chairman of the Board on February 18, 2013 due to allegations of sexual sadism.  Buckley immediately replaced him.  Mahaney was also training Buckley at this time.  They too were working very closely with each other.
- Mahaney also worked very closely with Tommy Hill on everything related to SGM because he was a close friend and the Director of Finance and Administration.  Hill was also a member of Mahaney’s church in Louisville and led the SGM staff that was based there.

My point is obvious.  Mahaney was behind everything these three men were doing and discussing.  These men did nothing without Mahaney’s knowledge, counsel and support.  Prater responds to the three scenarios put forward by Buckley.

From: Mark Prater
Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2013 11:33 PM
To: Paul Buckley; Tommy Hill
Subject: RE: CONFIDENTIAL – Randy Stewart

Paul,

Thanks for working on this.  I’m praying for wisdom and I know God will help up [us].

Comment: This reveals the depths of Prater’s deception.  He is praying for “wisdom.”  Prater must believe God’s wisdom includes the use of lies, deceit, and manipulation.  Prater should have rebuked Buckley for his scheming; but of course, Buckley is simply organizing the options discussed by him, Prater, and Hill under Mahaney’s supervision.  

Here are some thoughts to consider for edits:

1. Similar to Tommy’s thought, I wonder if we should include Christian conciliation in Plan B.  If we haven’t cared for Randy well, or cared for him in a way that was inferior to Jason that gives us a chance to own that and be reconciled.  I still wonder if he is angry or offended in some way.

Comment:  Prater wonders if “Christian conciliation” should be added to all three plans (see below).  There is no harm in doing so because Stewart would have to sign a confidentiality agreement in addition to a legally binding agreement.  This means he would swear not to talk to anyone about what happen.  SGM might acknowledge “inferior” care in a controlled environment but they will never admit fault in public.  On occasion SGM has “owned” something in private in an attempt to keep it from becoming public.  That is what Mahaney did with me.  See C.J.'s Foxhole Conversion.  So often, these are strategic confessions, not sincere confessions.

Of course, Prater still wonders if Stewart is motivated by sinful anger and personal offense.  Why else would he be asking for reform and restitution?  That is par for the course.  SGM leaders constantly play the bitterness card when people seek to correct or hold them accountable. 

2. This suggestion could be put in all 3 plan options below in either the Pros and/or the Cons.  Given that this happened in Akron, if this goes to court it will have a real affect on the SGM church there.  This is a church that is just turning the corner and is a strong supporter of SGM.  If there is a way for us to avoid the difficulty and ramifications that a lawsuit would uniquely have on the Akron church it would be helpful and caring.  I don’t think we should be led by Randy or manipulated by him, but I’m praying that God gives us wisdom so the Akron church in particular isn’t affected.

Comment:  Prater’s real concern is not for Stewart and his family.  His real concern is for the church if a lawsuit is filed because it “is a strong supporter of SGM.”  Not all churches are treated the same in SGM.  Churches that are staunch supporters and personal favorites get preferential treatment.  Prater is willing to go to bat for this particular church.  

Prater’s true colors come out when he asserts “I don’t think we should be led by…or manipulated by him.”  The request for godly reform and restitution are viewed as manipulation.  Prater, Buckley and Hill will not be “led” by this manipulator.  Prater is the consummate hypocrite because he is blind to the horrendous manipulation contained in all three plans.  

Thanks
Mark

Three days later Prater sends the Conciliation Proposal he has just finished to Hill.  He copies Buckley.  Remember, Prater is simply the Acting (Interim) Director of Church Planting and Church Care having just replaced Dave Harvey.  He is not even on the Board of Directors.  So who gave him the assignment to write up this proposal?  President Mahaney of course! 

Hill is asked to “look this over and send me any thoughts.”  Hill would never do this without getting Mahaney’s input.  I know because I was Mahaney’s right hand man from 1991 to 2007.  Hill is a go between.  It would never happen any other way.

From: Mark Prater
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 7:19 AM
To: Tommy Hill
Cc: Paul Buckley
Subject: Confidential

Hey Tommy,

Attached is the Conciliation Proposal for Randy Stewart.  I had this finished yesterday but our server was down until this morning so I didn’t have e-mail access.  Please look this over and send me any thoughts. 

Comment:  This proposal concerns Stewart but it is written for the Board of Directors.  It had to be rubber stamped by them.

Thanks

mark 

Conciliation Proposal For Randy Stewart 

Overview:  On March 5, 2013, Randy Stewart e-mailed Tommy Hill asking that SGM take steps of reform and make restitution to his family for the way his son’s sexual abuse case was handled when he was an elder and member of Covenant of Grace Church in Akron, OH.  Randy was serving as a pastor and elder at Covenant of Grace Church in Akron, OH. 

Comment: There is no question about the fact of sexual abuse even though Hill tried to frame it as “apparently happened.”

In February 2010 he stepped down from his vocational role (retaining his eldership) because Randy and Jason Reyes were having trouble working together and because the church couldn’t support both men financially. 

Comment: This raises other concerns for Reyes.  Why were these men “having trouble working together” and why was the church doing so poorly? 

In March 2010 Jason Reyes’ son sexually abused Randy Stewarts son during a sleep over at the Reyes home.  This incident was reported to Aron Osborne on March 30, 2010 and subsequently was reported to law enforcement authorities.  

Comment: The first sentence is frightening.  Of all the families in a church, you’d never expect your child to be forcibly raped (it was not preadolescent child’s play) by the senior pastor’s son during a sleepover at their house.  The truth be told, numerous pastors or their children have been accused of sexual abuse in SGM.  In all these cases, SGM has worked hard to cover up the alleged crimes. 

This situation is no different.  The church was simply told that, “Someone in the Reyes family sinned against someone in the Stewart family.”  Then the members of the church were instructed not to discuss the matter with each other.  This is a common means by which SGM controls people and keeps them from discovering the truth.   

Minimally, adult members with children in the church should have been told the truth in a private meeting or in personal meetings with the pastors.  The victim’s name could have been withheld but not the perpetrator’s name.  Parents had the right to know so they could talk with their children if they had any reason to believe they might have been abused by the senior pastor’s son or anyone else.  This would also allow the parents to cut off any relationship their children had with the perpetrator and/or begin to look for a new church if so inclined.  That’s a major reason why SGM covers up sexual abuse. 

I think this is partly what Kurth has in mind when he says, “The refusal to do any due diligence on the local church level…and Aron’s [Osborne] and SGM’s response were all indefensible.”  

This was a great opportunity to educate the church about sexual abuse and protect the church against other adult and/or juvenile sex abusers that may have been operating in their midst.  How many other kids participated in sleep overs?  Were there other victims?  Were there other juvenile abusers?  Did other families do sleepovers where abuse occurred?  I don’t know but all of this should have been thoroughly investigated by law enforcement.  Reyes should have cooperated.  Instead he lawyered up.

Furthermore, what does this say about the son?  How did he become a sodomizer willing to force himself upon a boy?  Where or from whom did he learn this reprobate perversity?  What other sinful behaviors or crimes did he concealed from his father?  Was he sexually abused (which is often the case with juvenile abusers)?  What friends did he influence inside and outside of the church?  Did he take advantage of girls also?  

Moreover, what does this say about the father?  A lot according to Scripture (1 Timothy 3:4-5; Titus 1:6).  He is clearly disqualified from ministry but that didn’t matter to SGM.  He continued, and continues, as a SGC pastor.

Prater says, “This incident was reported to Aron Osborne on March 30, 2010 and subsequently was reported to law enforcement authorities.”  He gives the impression that Osborne reported the crimes to law enforcement but that is not the case. 

Osborne, et al. told Stewart not to report the crimes according to Toby Kurth.  Kurth wrote Jon Bloom about this on his FB page. 

Toby Kurth to Jon Bloom
Facebook
March 7, 2018 

We should all obviously do our best to judge on the basis of truth.  Look into what is known.  Talk with a few victims.  There is so much more complexity than is often represented.  I can only tell you that the case I was involved in mediating was handled poorly, that the victim’s family [the Stewart’s] was told not to report, and that little concern was shown for the victim.  It was sad and tragic.  Here’s the other thing though.  Repentance is awesome.  It is freeing.  It is life-giving.  It blows my mind that there is so much resistance to repentance in all of this. 

Jon Bloom is co-founder of Desiring God with John Piper.  Piper knows Mahaney conspired to cover up crimes. 

Kurth also told blogger Todd Wilhelm that Reyes lawyered up and refused to cooperate with law enforcement. 

From: Toby Kurth
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2021 12:43 PM
To: Todd Wilhelm
Subject: Re: The Sovereign Grace Hush Fund 

Once the Reyes family decided to lawyer up and refused to cooperate with the investigation, the Stewarts had to make a decision about whether to go through a drawn out legal proceeding.  

The Stewart’s decided against prosecution. 

Remember, Prater is writing this proposal for the new SGM Board of Directors (i.e., Paul Buckley, Mickey Connolly, Ian McConnell, Ken Mellinger, Phil Sasser, Ron Boomsma and Al Pino).  It is a sanitized presentation intended to make the old SGM Board (C.J. Mahaney, Dave Harvey, Jeff Purswell, Joshua Harris) look as good and law abiding as possible for their handling of this situation in 2010.  No one in SGM reported it to police as required by law.  

The crimes were reported to law enforcement by Stewart according to Kurth and also by the professional counselor helping Stewart’s son.  The counselor was a mandatory reporter.  Kurth wrote me. 

From: Toby Kurth
Sent: Saturday, October 5, 2019 7:11 PM
To: Brent Detwiler
Subject: Re: Follow Up

For starters, Randy did report the abuse before the counselor did.  After he did so the county put a restraining order on the perpetrator that did not allow him to be in proximity of [Randy’s son].  The Reyes family refused to keep their boy home and the Stewarts were not going to leave [their son] home and go to church.  So the whole Stewart family was cut off from fellowship.  The church was told the pastors were having some conflict.  And the absence of the Stewarts led to most of the church concluding that the Stewarts must be at fault.  The whole thing was horrific and anti-Christian. 

The senior pastor’s son would have been arrested, investigated, tried and sentenced in all likelihood if charges were pressed and pursued.  Everything was “well-documented.”  Lamentably, the Stewart’s did not press charges.  Mahaney, Harvey, Osborne should have encouraged them to prosecute the sex abuser and the sex abuser to fully cooperate with law enforcement.  The same with his father, Jason Reyes.

One other point.  The incident was reported to Osborne three weeks after the fact according to Prater.  Why not sooner?  Did Reyes try to conceal it from him? 

Over the next 12 months the Covenant of Grace Church Leadership Team and Aron Osborne (Regional Leader for SGM) invested significant time attempting to care for the Reyes family and the Stewart family during a most difficult situation.  It is Randy Stewart’s contention that SGM did not handle this situation well and care for his family sufficiently.

Comment:  Prater will not admit to any lack of care for the victim or the victim’s family.  In fact, he commends the Leadership Team (i.e., Bill Ihde, Bert Turner, and Jace Hudson) and Osborne for their heroic attempts at caring “over the next 12 months” (Apr. 2010-Mar. 2011).  Nor will he admit to any mishandling of the situation by Osborne or anyone else.  He is deceiving the Board.  In Prater’s distorted view, it is Stewart that has it all wrong.

Therefore, it is proposed that SGM respond to Randy by offering him a conciliation process for the purpose of reconciliation and to learn if there are any additional care steps that SGM needs to consider taking.  One purpose of this process is to move this situation out of the realm of a legal dispute and into a relational one.  Should a Conciliation Process be agreed to, it will be important that SGM avoid any admission of legal fault during the process.

Comment:  What’s important to Prater?  That SGM avoid any admission of legal fault.  That is standard operating procedure.  He is extremely concerned about this going to court because he knows there is legal fault that can be proven.  Prater makes it clear that SGM will never acknowledged any legal wrong doing for which it and its leaders could be sued in a civil court or prosecuted in a criminal court.  He wants this “out of the realm of a legal dispute”!  All Prater is willing to do is “learn if there are any additional care steps that SGM needs to consider taking.”  One step he has in mind is providing monies to silence Stewart.

History:  Listed below is a brief history of how Covenant of Grace Church (Akron, OH) and Sovereign Grace Ministries financially participated in the care of Jason Reyes and Randy Stewart [back in 2010].

Covenant of Grace Church

Jason Reyes
- Four month severance package (after he resigned as Sr. Pastor of Covenant of Grace Church) [Apr.-Jul. 2010, ~25k]
- May have helped cover medical benefits for a period of time 

Randy Stewart        
- Four month severance package (after his resignation as a pastor) [Apr.-Jul. 2010, ~25k]
- May have helped cover medical benefits for a period of time
- May have helped cover the counseling expense for Randy’s son
- Benevolence of approximately $5,000

Sovereign Grace Ministries 

Jason Reyes
-Gave a $25,000 grant to Sovereign Grace Church in Joppa, MD to help support a 1 year pastoral internship [Aug. 2010-Jul. 2011] for Jason after he resigned as Sr. Pastor at Covenant of Grace Church.

Comment: Sovereign Grace Church in Joppa, MD is 25 minutes northeast of Baltimore.  Jim Cannon was the senior pastor in August 2010.  His son Jimmy took over as senior pastor in December 2010.  

Jason Reyes married Jim’s daughter, Laurie in August 1995.  The juvenile abuser was a grandson to Jim and a nephew to Jimmy.  Both men failed to inform parents in the church about the predator in their midst.  It was all covered up and families were thereby put in harm’s way.  

Jim was also the Sovereign Grace Regional Leader over the Mid-Atlantic churches from 2014-2018. 

In better days, I used to oversee this church, trained Jimmy in the Pastor College, and knew Jim as a friend.  I left SGM as a matter of conscience in November 2009. 

Randy Stewart
- Benevolence of approximately $8,000 

Comment:  According to Prater, Reyes received $25,000 from Covenant of Grace Church in Akron, OH.  Stewart received approximately $30,000 including benevolence. 

Reyes received an additional $25,000 from SGM for an internship.  Stewart approximately $8,000 in benevolence.  In total Reyes received $50,000, Stewart $38,000 in 2010. 

Reyes left Covenant of Grace Church for his new job at Sovereign Grace Church (Joppa, MD) when his four months of severance ended.  His last Sunday was August 1, 2010.  He experienced no financial consequences and continued in pastoral ministry unimpeded.  

After his “internship,” he was transferred and became a pastor in Sovereign Grace Church in Marlton, New Jersey in 2011.  Warren Boettcher was (and is) the senior pastor.  Boettcher is also on the nine man Executive Committee which is the governing board for Sovereign Grace Churches, Inc.   

This is how Warren Boettcher found out about Reyes’ son according to Kurth.  Apparently, Jim Cannon, Jimmy Cannon, and SGM hid it from him. 

From: Todd Wilhelm
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 6:01 PM
To: Toby Kurth
Subject: Re: Randy Stewart  

Yes, I am aware of Boettcher, I am sure Brent is as well.  He was promoted to a position on the national board after he took Reyes on as a staff member at his church.  Nice little reward for helping Mahaney coverup the mess. 

From: Toby Kurth
Sent: Tuesday, Mar 23, 2021 6:31 PM
To: Todd Wilhelm
Subject: Re: Randy Stewart 

He [Boettcher[ was initially not even told about anything that happened.  But then fell in line even after he was told.  I called him and at least one other friend of Randy’s did as well.  

From: Todd Wilhelm
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 6:39 PM
To: Toby Kurth
Subject: Re: Randy Stewart 

Wow, so Mahaney and company dumped Reyes on Boettcher without briefing him on the situation.  That is so irresponsible, manipulative and lacking in love for Warren.  It was good of you to tell him.  Too bad he fell in line.  He compromised his integrity, as so many others in SGM have. 

After Boettcher learned about Reyes’ son he told no one in the church.  Once again, families were put in harm’s way.  Reyes is now the executive pastor at Sovereign Grace Church in Marlton, NJ. 

Moving Reyes from Ohio to Maryland to New Jersey all resulted from C.J. Mahaney’s leadership.  He was in charge.  This is another example of Mahaney’s conspiracy to cover up the sexual abuse of children and protect predators from prosecution. 

Stewart received an approximate total of $38,000 in 2010 and was persuaded to be content, keep quiet and take no legal action.  It was only after the First Amended Complaint (i.e., the second edition of lawsuit) came out in  January 2013 that he sought reform in SGM and restitution from SGM.  At that point, he realized sexual abuse, the failure to report sexual abuse, and the mistreatment of victims were grave issues in SGM.  He was not the only one. 

CONCILIATION PROCESS

- It is proposed that SGM seek the services of a biblically trained Conciliator who has experience with cases that involve sexual abuse.
- If possible find 2-3 potential conciliators that would be presented to Randy as options so that a mutually agreeable Conciliator is chosen.  (Peacemakers, Bryce Thomas, etc).
- SGM would agree to cover the cost for the Conciliator’s fees and expenses.
- The Conciliation Process would start as soon as possible.
- Based on the findings of the conciliation process, SGM may be required to give some sort of benevolence.

Comment: Prater knows a “Conciliation Process” will result in everything being covered up.  That’s what happened with Peacemakers and with Ted Kober, Ed Keinath, and Bryce Thomas from Ambassadors of Reconciliation.  Both organizations refused to expose the profound abuse and corruption they learned about in SGM.  

See for example, Ken Sande Counseled C.J. Mahaney to Confess He Was “So Very Guilty” of Attacking & Ambushing Me.   You can also do a search for “Kober” on my blog and a dozen articles will come up dealing with him and Thomas from Ambassadors of Reconciliation.  

There is only one drawback to Prater’s proposal – “SGM may be required to give some sort of benevolence.”  No big deal!  Prater is willing to spend donor money in order to keep this from going to court.  His proposal continues with two mega “conditions.” 

CONCILIATION PROCESS CONDITIONS
- SGM, Randy Stewart and the Conciliator sign a confidentiality agreement to protect the Stewart’s and the Reyes’.
- The Conciliator or SGM asks Randy to sign a legally binding agreement not 

Comment:  These are non-negotiables!  1) Stewart must never tell a soul about the sexual abuse of his son or about SGM’s negligent handling of the abuse.  2) He must never file a lawsuit against the abuser or SGM for damages in a civil court and he must never press charges against the abuser or SGM in a criminal court.  Prater audaciously claims all of this protects the Stewart’s family.  Nonsense!  It protects Prater and SGM!  

It also shields the abuser from any consequences for his crimes and his father from disqualification from ministry.  The purpose of these two conditions is to “protect the…Reyes’” according to Prater.  That’s for sure!  From my perspective, this is an agreed upon coverup carried out by Prater and the Board of Directors.  A “conspiracy” under the law. 

Fourteen months later on May 22, 2014, C.J. Mahaney published this categorical denial on his church website, “Let me be clear about this: I have never conspired to protect a child predator.”  More nonsense.  The conditions in this official proposal by the men who worked for him while he was President contradict that statement. 

In a despicable fashion, SGM will hire a “Conciliator” to get this done.  Prater knows the statute of limitation in Ohio has not run out.  If this victim is added to the lawsuit, SGM would not get off on a technicality like they did in Maryland which had a horrible seven year statute of limitation in 2013 (i.e. a victim had to report by age 25, in 2015 it was change to 38 but not made retroactive).  Prater has no interest in doing what is right.  He just wants to make sure the sex abuser is never prosecuted, SGM is never sued, and Covenant of Grace Church in Akron is never informed. 

This is how SGM operates.  They will use all means possible to silence people including money given as “benevolence” or “severance” but not until you sign a confidentiality agreement and/or a legally binding agreement.  SGM tried to silence me with severance in 2010.  I was pressured to sign an agreement that said in part: 

“You agree to refrain from disclosing the terms of the Agreement, except as set forth in this paragraph, and will avoid direct or indirect references, whether by your actions and/or words, to the terms of the Agreement.  Except as otherwise required by law, you will not show the Agreement to, nor discuss its contents with, any person other than your attorneys or accountants, and you must insure that these individuals keep the terms of this Agreement confidential.”

When I refused to sign the agreement, SGM went into a panic and threw on the emergency brake.  I wrote about it in The Attempt to Silence Me with Severance.  Prater now lays out the risks and benefits. 

Risks and Benefits of a Conciliation Process 

Risks
- The Conciliation Process proposal could be rejected by the Stewarts because they lose negotiation ability.
- If some form of benevolence is given, it could be seen as a pay off.
- If some form of benevolence is given, SGM would have to cover this unbudgeted expense.
- The Conciliation Process could be used in the class action suit as an admission of guilt.
- Could set a precedent where SGM would be required to offer a Conciliation Process to other former aggrieved SGM pastors.

Comment:  Prater is lost.  He is not governed by God-centered ethics.  He is governed by man-centered pragmatism.  He is only concerned for the interests of SGM, not Jesus Christ.  He has no shame. 

I love this statement, “If some form of benevolence is given, it could be seen as a pay off.”  No kidding!  That’s because it is a payoff! 

This past November, Prater said the following to the national Council of Elders in his SGC State of the Union address after a decade of disgraceful and even criminal behavior.  

Council of Elders: State of the Union
November 9, 2020
Minutes 11:12-11:38, 11:52-13:25, 13:55-14:18 

Brothers I just want us to remember for a moment why we have this gospel centered DNA, this gospel centered culture.  You see Sovereign Grace was birthed out of, in my opinion, revival of the 1970’s and it was formally established in 1982.  As we grew and matured as a denomination, God did a wonderful work through our Founder, C.J. Mahaney. … Now because of the criticism leveled against our Founder and our denomination over the last several years, there has been this low level of embarrassment or reluctance to identify with Sovereign Grace that I believe has creeped into our culture especially here in the United States.  As a result some of the members of our churches are reluctant to invite people to their church and maybe even some you, our pastors are a bit hesitant to strengthen your church’s partnership with Sovereign Grace. … See we are men who are not ashamed of the gospel.  And we must be men, and our churches must be not ashamed to partner with the family of churches we have decided to advance the gospel with.  Be men who are eager to lead your church, and also your region, into joyful partnership with Sovereign Grace. 

This is a bad sales job.  Leading up to his State of the Union Address 12 churches left SGC in 2019-2020.  Eleven formed a new denomination.  Every man and woman, pastor and church who remains should be “ashamed” to partner with Sovereign Grace Churches.  Their “gospel centered culture” is an intensely self-centered culture. 

A Split Off Denomination Forms with “Many Seasoned Pastors & Some Very Gifted Leaders” from Sovereign Grace Churches, Inc. 
Sunday, May 24, 2020 at 6:36PM 

Prater also lies in his address.  First, he says the criticism has been over the “last several years.”  No, it has been over the last 11 years.  Since July 2011 when I sent out The Documents. 

Second, Mahaney was not the Founder.  It was a collective effort but if anyone should be called the Founder that would be Larry Tomczak.  He led Sovereign Grace from 1982-1991. 

Third, Mahaney did not lay the foundations of gospel centeredness.  He and Larry were preaching a false gospel when we started Sovereign Grace in 1982.  I had to correct them.  For example, I spoke on “Getting the Gospel Right” at our Pastors Conference in Johnstown, PA in 1983.  The corrective message caused considerable tension and conflict but the Lord used it to mercifully help us understand the centrality of Christ crucified.  It was the beginning of our cross-centered emphasis which C.J. would write about 20 years later. 

This is why Prater is the Executive Director.  At the top of his job description.  Rewrite Sovereign Grace history and make Mahaney a legend (when he is the main reason SGM/SGC has been brought low by the Lord). 

- The Conciliation Process demonstrates an effort on SGM’s part to reconcile with, and care for the Stewarts thereby minimizing any further ill will with the Stewarts and also the Kurth’s.
- Potentially keeps this situation out of the class action lawsuit.
- If the Conciliation Process keeps this situation out of the lawsuit, it potentially prevents additional harm to SGM’s reputation and helps maintain our base of support without eroding trust.
- If the Conciliation Process keeps this situation out of the lawsuit, it potentially prevents the lawsuit from shifting in favor of the plaintiffs.
- If the Conciliation Process keeps this situation out of the lawsuit, it protects the Akron church from a potential damaging conflict and process. (The Akron church is starting to turn a corner and is a strong supporter of SGM)
- Should this case enter the legal realm the Conciliation Process demonstrates our desire to care for the Stewarts and offers SGM pastors an explanation that would potentially prevent an erosion of trust.
- Given the Conciliation Process could avoid legal fees; the net total cost to SGM may be lower.

Comment: The overriding purpose for a Conciliation Process is to silence the Stewart family and keep them from filing a lawsuit by getting them to sign a confidentiality agreement and a legally binding agreement.  Prater is not concerned about caring for the family; he is concerned about manipulating the family with the appearance of care and interest in reconciliation.  

Prater and the Board were extremely concerned about “additional harm to SGM’s reputation” even though they publicly claimed they never covered up sexual abuse out of concern for reputational harm.  Yet, that is what they are attempting to do in this situation. 

Prater was also very concerned to “maintain our base of support without eroding trust.”  At this point in time, financial support for SGM was fast eroding because trust was fast eroding.  Twenty-five churches, scores of pastors, and thousands of people had left SGM over the previous 10 months and the hemorrhaging only continued.       

Prater also wants to offer the Conciliation Process so it can be used against Stewart if he refuses to participate and decides to join the lawsuit.  Such a rejection “offers SGM pastors an explanation that would potentially prevent an erosion of trust.”  In other words, the pastors can tell people in their churches that SGM offered a process for conciliation in order to care for the family and pursue reconciliation with the family but it was refused by the family.  Instead, the family joined the lawsuit.  SGM did this kind of thing with me.  Read The Right of Tyrants (Oct. 13, 2011).  It is downright wicked! 

Finally, Prater likes the Conciliation Process because “the net total cost to SGM may be lower” by avoiding legal fees even though “SGM may be required to give some sort of benevolence.”  The Conciliation Process is cost effective. 

Four days after Prater puts forward the “Conciliation Process,” Chip Grange from the law firm of Gammon & Grange, P.C., weighs in on the matter of providing monies to Stewart.  He is the longtime lawyer for Covenant Life Church and Sovereign Grace Ministries.  He counsels Prater, Buckley, Hill, et al., to organize a collection and private gift for Stewart that appears unrelated to the request for $35,000 in restitution.  It is a crooked proposal. 

On Mar 23, 2013, at 12:19 PM, “Chip Grange” <GRG@GG-Law.com> wrote: 

Gentleman, 

The easy and safest answer is to avoid any payments that could be misinterpreted in the blogs or in the suit as “hush money” or attempts to induce Randy not to accede to Susan Burke’s attempts to get him to join her lawsuit.  

Comment: Prater, Buckley and Hill have already made it clear they are willing to payout “hush money” to Stewart if he agrees to remain silent and stay out of the lawsuit.  Grange knows this is illegal and “could be misinterpreted” if carried out.  Susan Burke is the lead attorney for the Plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Sovereign Grace Ministries, C.J. Mahaney and others.  

The more nuanced answer regarding benevolence, depends on the SGM benevolence policy and especially its documented benevolence practices in similar situations.  If for example SGM can document the following, then it would have stronger grounds to explain and defend such payment as standard benevolence, which was unrelated (except by coincidence) to Randy’s demands for restitution for alleged negligence by SGM:  

-has a benevolence policy, and
-has on many (or at least more than a few) occasions in the last 5 or 10 years, extended benevolence to current or former employees or pastors of SGM churches who have similar dire financial needs, and
-has an objective needs assessment and selection process for all similarly situated needy persons within its circle of care, and
-has set prudent limits for financial assessment, within which this $3k one time gift reasonably fits, and
-has followed and documented its standard operating practice and policy through out this process.
-etc.

Comment: Grange counsels the Board to “avoid any payments” “for restitution for alleged negligence by SGM” but advises them to make a “payment as standard benevolence” provided it adheres to SGM policy so SGM has “stronger grounds to explain and defend such a payment.”  This is a unscrupulous workaround.  In so doing, the SGM Board can claim the payment, given under the pretense of benevolence, “was unrelated (except by coincidence) to Stewart’s demands for restitution.” 

If such process and documentation would be challenging then, SGM should avoid such ad hoc payments.  Alternatively, any on this email or other friends of Randy could privately organize a collection and private gift to help him avoid eviction.  That’s not to suggest that private collections, might not also be misconstrued, but it would be a weaker link in trying to daisy-chain attribution to SGM, especially if the collection is organized by, or significantly involves friends who are not part of the SGM leadership. 

Comment: If SGM can’t “defend such a payment as standard benevolence,” then they “should avoid such ad hoc payments.”  Grange introduces a second workaround for getting monies to Stewart.  Instead of SGM making a direct payment, he recommends others “privately organize a collection and private gift to help him avoid eviction.”  This too could be “misconstrued” if the request for $35,000 in restitution from 18 days earlier ever got out in public; therefore, it is better if the collection effort “significantly involves friends who are not part of the SGM leadership.”  This will require more deception by Prater and the Board of Directors, so nothing can be traced back to them.   

Hope this helps. 

Call or email with follow up questions. 

Chip 

Tommy Hill responds to Chip Grange’s recommendation with a recommendation of his own to Mark Prater and Paul Buckley.  

From: Tommy Hill
Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2013 12:45 PM
To: Mark Prater; Paul Buckley
Subject: Re: 0633 SGM: Confidential 

Do you think given the difficult position we have been put in by Randy’s initial request, that if we explained it to Toby [Kurth] that his church would consider an initial payment of benevolence? 

What is the “difficult position”?  On March 5, Stewart made his initial request of Hill and SGM. 

“I wanted to reach out to you (SGM), to request reform, and ask for restitution to my family for the way our son’s sexual abuse was handled. … I’m seeking an account established in my son’s name with $10,000 for future counseling or other needs.  Additionally, I’m seeking $25,000 to be paid to me in restitution for harm caused to my family.  I respectfully ask for your immediate reply to this request.” 

And a little later, 

“It is my sincere hope that we can resolve this matter quickly, and that my family can have closure to this matter.  However time is if [of] the essence, and I must receive a response from you by 3:00pm today indicating that you have received my request, and communicating your intentions.” 

The clock is ticking and Hill is concerned Stewart will join the class action lawsuit if he doesn’t get his money but this puts Hill in a “difficult position.”  He knows SGM can’t make a restitution payment because that is tantamount to an admission of legal guilt.  Therefore, Hill suggests they explain their difficulty to Kurth and ask if his church will quickly make “an initial payment of benevolence” to stave off legal action.  That way the money cannot be traced back to SGM, or so they think. 

I believe Stewart deserved restitution, and I’m glad Kurth was willing to help him, but neither of them should have agreed to this terribly deceitful arrangement.  Kurth follows through on SGM’s request and allows a preexisting benevolence fund for Stewart be used with fraudulent intent.  Within days, Prater writes different fund-raising letters to different pastors in SGM including some who don’t know Stewart asking them or their church to contribute money.  Here is one of those letters written the end of March 2013. 

Hey Guys, 

Many of you know Randy Stewart.  For those of you who don’t, Randy served on the pastoral team in the Phoenix church.  After attending the Pastors College [2002-2003] he did a church planting internship at Covenant Fellowship Church [2003-2004] before planting City Church in Brooklyn, NY [2004-2008].  He transitioned from Brooklyn and served in pastoral ministry at Covenant of Grace Church in Akron, OH [2008-2010] before transitioning out of pastoral ministry.  Recently I was made aware that Randy Stewart is facing some real financial challenges including a potential eviction from his home in Akron in the next couple of weeks.  In an attempt to help Randy in a time of need, Toby Kurth has established a Benevolence Fund at his church so that those who want to give to Randy’s need can make a contribution.  Because many of you know Randy I thought you might want to be aware of his need and the opportunity to give.  If you decide to do so, here is the benevolence fund information: 

Christ Church of San Francisco
856 Cabrillo Street
San Francisco, CA  94118 

You can designate the check this way:  Benevolence Fund: Randy Stewart.

Thanks,

Mark 

The “Phoenix church” was Sovereign Grace Church of Gilbert.  It is now called  Center Church.  Rich Richardson has been the lead pastor since in 2002.  His father Trey has been an associate pastor even longer.  Stewart was on staff at the church until he attended the Pastors College.  

Rich was added to the Sovereign Grace Leadership in 2014 as Global Missions Director.  He has known about the cover up of sexual abuse within the denomination for a long time including that concerning the Stewart’s.  So did his father. 

Here is what Toby Kurth recently wrote Todd Wilhelm.  Wilhelm is a noted blogger who has broken major stories.  Kurth gave permission to use.  I’ve excerpted the email.

From: Toby Kurth
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2021 12:43 PM
To: Todd Wilhelm
Subject: Re: The Sovereign Grace Hush Fund 

The Stewarts had two priorities from my recollection. 1) Care for [their son] and 2) Care for anyone else [other victims] that could have been impacted including the perpetrator.  

Once the Reyes family decided to lawyer up and refused to cooperate with the investigation, the Stewarts had to make a decision about whether to go through a drawn out legal proceeding. … through a lot of additional trauma. … 

Yes, I did attend the Pastors College in 2007-2008.  And my brief “church planter residency” in Gilbert was through early January 2009 [under Rich Richardson].  

All of the key leaders knew everything.  I personally told Rich [Richardson] and many others.  And I went to Akron twice to try to help the reconciliation process.  The first process was with the local leaders and the second was with SGM and an outside mediator. … 

I have thought back on that process many times.  If I had known how deceptive the SGM leaders were being behind the scenes, I definitely would have advised the Stewarts take a different course of action.  Then again, this is another case of SGM taking advantage of its position of power and privilege to disadvantage the vulnerable.    

Richardson has been at the center of the corruption in SGM for nearly a decade.  He actually wrote the official condemnation of me that was posted on July 13, 2011 after The Documents were posted on the Internet and went viral.  

That condemnation was slightly edited and reaffirmed by national Council of Elders on May 23, 2013.  It says in part, “We vigorously reiterate our support of C.J. Mahaney as a qualified minister of the gospel.”  It is on the SGC website here.  

It also says, “C.J. serves as a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville but does not hold a staff position with Sovereign Grace Ministries, Inc.”  Last year, however, Mahaney was “elected” the Regional Leader over the East Central churches (e.g. KY, TN, MS, AL).  It is not a “staff position” but it is a powerful position.  He is one of nine Regional Leaders in the US. 

Our Regional Leaders 
December 28, 2020 

Jared Mellinger leads the Northeast region, John Loftness leads the Mid-Atlantic region, Mickey Connolly, the Mid-South region, Keith Collins the Southeast region, Ken Mellinger the Great Lakes region, Greg Dirnberger leads the Midwest-Northwest region, Eric Turbedsky leads the West region, C.J. Mahaney leads the East Central region, and then the South Central region is led by Darrel Schiel.  

Back to the hush fund.  Mark Prater willfully and intentionally deceives the pastors with the full support of Mahaney, Buckley, Hill and the other Board of Directors that included Mickey Connolly, Ken Mellinger, Ian McConnell, Phil Sasser, Ron Boomsma, and Al Pino.  These key leaders knew Prater was deceiving the pastors but nevertheless agreed with the scheme.    

This exclusive benevolence fund for the Stewarts would never have been used if not for the $35,000 request for restitution and the possibility of Stewart joining the lawsuit if it was not paid.  

I was a top leader in SGM for 27 years and we (the Board) never sent out a nationwide request for benevolence for a SGM pastor.  We raised money for disaster relief on special occasions, but no pastor in SGM ever received this kind of singular attention.  

Furthermore, friends of the Stewarts who contributed to the benevolence fund could take a tax deduction.  Such a fund is illegal in my opinion.  It is like me asking my church to set up a fund for me so friends can give and get a tax deduction at the same time.  Non-profits are forbidden from operating in this manner.  This fund received monies for Stewart from 2010 until July 2019.  I have no idea how much money he received. 

Prater says, 

“Recently I was made aware that Randy Stewart is facing some real financial challenges including a potential eviction from his home in Akron in the next couple of weeks.” 

Shortly before the abuse incident in March 2010, Stewart bought a yogurt shop according to his wife.  He changed the name to Zach’s Fire and Ice and starting selling barbeque and ice cream. Three years later, the business was a shambles.  More on that later. 

No reasonable person looking at this body of evidence can deny what is going on.  There may have been a financial need but Prater is using it as a pretense to raise a large amount of money for Stewart so he does not sue SGM independently or join the existing lawsuit against SGM. 

To this end, Prater is willing to deceive all the pastors.  Furthermore, by using this “benevolence fund,” SGM won’t have to pay out a dime.  Money sacrificially given by church members will be used so SGM doesn’t have to pay the $35,000 in restitution.  What a deal!  That is, what a crooked deal! 

So rather than SGM pay their own hush money, it will be easier, cheaper, and more expedient to trick well intentioned pastors in SGM churches to take their members’ money and give it to Stewart with no idea of his demand for justice and restitution.  

Mahaney, Prater, Buckley, Hill, Connolly, Mellinger, Sasser, Boomsma and Pino should have been removed from the board and disqualified from ministry.  They approved an illegal scheme.  But nothing happened to them as a consequence.  No one pressed charges or worked for their removal in keeping with their Book of Church Order which was ratified in 2013.  With the exception of Pino (who left in June 2014) these men incessantly covered up for one another and with their consolidated power ran SGM.  

Soon after Prater sent out his fund-raising letters to SGM pastors, Hill emails Prater and Buckley on April 5, 2013 reminding them that if the Board of Directors sends any money to Stewart it would void their liability insurance covering all costs and potential damages for harms done in the conspiracy to commit and cover up sexual abuse in SGM. 

From: Tommy Hill
Sent: Friday, April 05, 2013 11:56 AM
To:  Mark Prater; Paul Buckley 
Subject: Confidential 

One point of clarification regarding Randy S that I think we are already following.  Per insurers, if we make any kind of payment from SGM to Randy, voluntary or not, it would void our insurance coverage. 

Tommy 

The lawyers for the insurance companies make it absolutely clear that if SGM makes “any kind of payment,” “voluntary or not” (in the form of benevolence or restitution), their liability coverage will be dropped.  That’s because both forms of payment imply or convey guilt and are intended to silence Stewart.  Remember his words about SGM’s guilt.  That’s why he is asking for compensation. 

“I wanted to reach out to you (SGM), to request reform, and ask for restitution to my family for the way our son’s sexual abuse was handled.  This situation was conducted in a clumsy, incompetent, and willfully negligent manner, resulting in unnecessary emotional, mental, relational, physical, and financial harm to my family.”  

Stewart accepted the money and agreed to the Conciliation Process as proposed by Prater which involved a confidentiality agreement and a legally binding agreement not to file a lawsuit, etc.  It also meant he would not bring criminal charges against the abusers.  It was a bad decision. 

Here is an email from the conciliator, David Schlachter to John Loftness, asking for his insights since Loftness had written a paper on child sex abuse and just resigned as Chairman of the Board on February 18, 2013.  Soon after on March 29, Loftness is alleged to have “physically and sexual abused a child” by the Plaintiffs lawyers.  Two months later, the allegations against Loftness were greatly expanded in the Second Amended Complaint (i.e., the third edition of the lawsuit).     

From: David Schlachter
Date: July 12, 2013 1:50:08 PM EDT
To: John Loftness
Cc: Bruce Chick, J.T. Kurth
Subject: SGM - Randy Stewart 

Dear John:  I have been asked to lead a reconciliation panel, consisting of myself, Bruce Chick and Toby Kurth, to assist Randy & Kathy Stewart and SGM representatives (Mark Prater & Aron Osborne) meet and discuss the handling of the situation involving Randy’s family and the church he was serving.  The goal for all is to understand the steps that were taken, examine where they could have handled things differently, and to seek full reconciliation between them.  As part of the panel’s preparation, we would like to have a telephone conference with you to receive any insight you may have regarding the situation.  While we are not a “fact-finding” or investigation” panel, hearing from you will help us prepare and serve the parties.  We will be meeting with the parties on August 20 & 21, 2013.  All of the parties are aware that we have asked to speak with you, and have concurred in the same. 

If you are available, we would like to schedule a call the week of July 22.  I believe we would need about an hour of your time.  Can you provide me the times that would work for you that week, and I will match them with the panel and confirm a time.  Thank you in advance for assisting us. 

Dave 

David Schlachter
Crossroads Resolution Group LLC
503-764-9254 (office)
406-794-1770 (cell)
www.crossroadsresolution.com 

Loftness was dealing with multiple allegations of fact regarding sexual sadism.  His every move was being choreographed by his lawyer.  He was not talking to anyone.  He is now the senior pastor at Living Hope Church in Bowie, Maryland and is the Regional Leader for Sovereign Grace Churches in the Mid-Atlantic region.  

I believe Loftness is guilty of conspiring to commit and cover up the sexual abuse of children based upon the testimony of three victims (i.e., Jessica Roberts-Thomas, Heather Thompson-Bryant, Suzanne Truesdale) and nine individuals (i.e., Dominic & Pam Palmer, Tom & Lori Bridgwood, Peggy Welsh, Dara Adams-Sutherland, James Roberts, Jen Slovine, and Shannon Truesdale).  Read John Loftness in Focus – Former Chairman of the SGM Board & Alleged Sexual Sadist.  

You will also notice a reference to Bruce Chick.  We were once friends and I oversaw his church in Roanoke, VA.  He too participated in the coverup.  He has been on the nine man Executive Committee (i.e., Board of Directors) for Sovereign Grace Churches, Inc. since 2014.  The conspiracy to cover up sexual abuse is wide ranging.  

In Sovereign Grace Churches, the pastors consider Loftness a victim-hero and his victims liars.  In the words of the SGC Global Leadership Team (i.e., Mark Prater, Mickey Connolly, Tommy Hill, Bob Kauflin, Ian McConnell, Jeff Purswell, & Rich Richardson), “the allegations of abuse were sensational” and “we strongly believe them to be false.” (Feb. 13, 2018) 

Remember, don’t ever admit fault!  Deny, deny, deny!  Lie, lie, lie!  The insurance lawyers are watching! 

From: John Loftness
Sent: Friday, July 12, 2013 3:26 PM
To: Paul Buckley; Tommy Hill
Subject: Fwd: SGM – Randy Stewart
 
Gentlemen,
 
Received this today with no warning.  I’m not sure what to do with it.  Could you tell me the impulse behind it, its goals, and your evaluation of it?  My participation is contingent on my attorney’s counsel, but I wanted some official SG background before I take that step.
 
John
 
John Loftness
Senior Pastor
Solid Rock Church
5401 Good Luck Rd.
Riverdale, MD
301.474.7800
www.solidrockchurch.net

After I posted the original article about the “Hush Fund” on March  30, 2015, I received an email from Kathy Stewart, mother of the victim, on April 2, 2015.  I was not able to respond until August 5, 2015.  I am now making our correspondence public.  It further proves the guilt of Sovereign Grace Ministries. 

From: Brent Detwiler
Date: Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 10:37 AM
Subject: Hoping You Will Take a Stand
To: Kathy Stewart 

Hi Kathy, 

I’ve been wanting to write you back for a long time [4 months] but various demands have not permitted.  Even now, I wish I had more time to carefully construct this letter but we will soon leave for the hospital.  Jenny has an axillary lymph node dissection today.  

In any case, I hope this brief response will motivate you and Randy to take a public stand and expose the corruption you have seen and experienced in SGM.  

Your letter follows with interspersed comments from me in bold print. 

Grace to you. 

Brent 

From: Kathy Stewart
Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2015 6:23 PM
To: Brent Detwiler
Subject: Perhaps you should go to the horse’s mouth

Hello Brent, 

It’s been a long time.  I must say, you did your research.  As the mother of the victim, however, I was incensed at the use of our case as fodder for your blog.  It’s obviously very personal to me.  And to see graphic descriptions of what happened involving my son was freshly grieving to me.  I’m not a vindictive person.  That is not the point of this email.  The comments made against our family on the Wartburg Watch version of your post were painful so I shall address a couple of things to correct some points of fact and to settle my soul. 

I wrote a post that was sympathetic to you though I had many serious concerns and questions for Randy which I did not raise or press in the post.  I didn’t use your “case as fodder.”  The Lord used your case as further evidence of SGM corruption and how not to handle the sexual abuse of children.  

For instance, you should have reported the Reyes’ boy to police, prosecuted the case, informed the church, asked for Jason to step down from pastoral ministry, opposed his move to pastoral ministry with Jim [Cannon] and then Warren [Boettcher], exposed SGM in general and their handling of [your son’s] abuse in particular including the deceitful use of a hush fund. 

I have not read The Wartburg Watch.  I have no idea what the moderators or commentators said about you or my post. 

You point out, “I must say, you did your research.”  That is true and the email evidence is incontrovertible as you are well aware.       

First point: in your blog, toward the end you made the comment that the “money started coming in big time.”

If you want “to correct some points of fact,” I think you need to answer some points of fact.  Receiving monies in excess of $35,000 is “big time” in my view.  How much money did you receive from the pastors and churches?  Did it exceed the $35,000 Randy asked for from SGM? 

Well, since you are unaware of the scope of this dark era in our lives, this “settlement” came after 3 years of grief, isolation, and financial desolation due to Randy’s loss of income and our inability to extricate ourselves from Akron because we were tied to a business we purchased shortly before the abuse incident to supplement our income.

I’m sure your “grief, isolation and financial desolation” were real but why was that the case?  You were a paid pastor on staff through Feb 2010 [correction: Feb 2010] according to my information.  Why grief?  Why isolation?  Why financial desolation?     

The abuse was in March 2010.  Randy was a full time pastor.  What business did you buy in 2010?  Was that wise?  What responsibility do you have for your financial desolation?  You seem to put all the blame on others. 

You refer to the time period from March 2010 to March 2013 as “a dark era in our lives.”  I sent Randy the documents in July 2011.  Randy knew the problems were pervasive in SGM and in Covenant of Grace.  Why didn’t he speak out and expose the pride, hypocrisy and corruption in the church and SGM?  Why didn’t you leave?  Why didn’t he speak out on my behalf and support my efforts?  

The settlement didn’t allow us to “buy a small business”, we already owned it. There were circumstances of health (which I’ll speak more of shortly), unusual epic weather (which directly affected our seasonal business and therefore our income), and loss of a large network of supposed friends (the church [Covenant of Grace] that shunned us, the victims), a large part of our customer base.  All of this played into the financial turmoil we experienced.  Then there’s the difficulty of finding work in a depressed job market when your resume states “Pastor” for the prior 15 years.  Not many options presented themselves and the hole grew deeper, bills piled up, notices were given…it was a scary and helpless time.  Sadly alone.  Hopefully that addresses that issue adequately.

Randy says on his Facebook page that he was the “Entrepreneur/Owner at Zack’s Fire & Ice” from “April 1, 2010 to January 2014.”   Mark Prater wrote his letter to the pastors requesting money for you the end of March 2010.  When did you buy Zach’s Fire and Ice if not April 1 and with what money since you were so poor?  Based on what Randy has written he acquired the business just after you started receiving money from the pastors and churches.

[Correction: Kathy states above they bought the business before the abuse in March 2010.] 

In the Wartburg Watch version of your post, many commenters made hurtful statements.  I hope they are never in our shoes.  It is a place I never want to return to.  I’ve forgiven them for speaking without knowledge, but I’ll address their concerns.

You should feel free to address their comments on that blog.  I don’t know what they said about you.

Why did we only ask for $35,000?  Well, we had two objectives:  1) We wanted some measure of accountability from SGM.  Their ineptness and lack of honesty and transparency had gone on for over three years and we just wanted to have closure and move on.  Fortunately and by God’s grace, our son is a wonderful, talented, and well-adjusted young man who trusts us and keeps the lines of communication open.  2) We also had serious financial need at the time [Mar. 2013], much of which they had caused.  (You wouldn’t know this, but Randy voluntarily left his job [Feb. 2010] because the church discovered some funds missing and could no longer afford to keep him.  The care group leaders wanted to use building fund money to keep him on but he wouldn’t allow that since those were designated funds and because he didn’t see the trajectory of the church growth being anywhere close to where it would need to be in six months to a year.  He wasn’t going to be a burden.  There were other things like the difficulty of working with a prideful man [Jason Reyes] that made it undesirable.)  When Randy asked for that amount, it was simply to cover what we felt SGM and/or the church was responsible for.  WE NEVER ENTERTAINED THE THOUGHT OF PROFITING FROM OUR SON’S ABUSE!

I believe you.  As I said in my post, I believe you were due restitution.  You should not, however, have allowed SGM to deceive pastors in order to pay you those funds.  At that point, you should have exposed their illegal scheming and followed through with a lawsuit. 

I respect the fact that Randy refused to accept designated funds from the church but this illegality should also have been exposed.  The church should have been made aware and the Care Group leaders should have stepped down and ask forgiveness in public for their blatant lack of integrity and law breaking.  

Back to Jason.  He should not have been in ministry, not only because of his son, but because of his pride (“the difficulty of working with a prideful man”).  Randy should have pressed this issue in public if private attempts failed.  Your handling of the situation enabled Jason to continue in ministry, his son to go unprosecuted, and SGM to cover up both spiritual and sexual abuse.     

Another comment that was prevalent in the Wartburg Watch was why we didn’t involve the authorities.  That assumes we didn’t.  We involved those we wanted to and didn’t involve others to protect our son.  It was the same reasoning for us not getting involved in the class action suit.  We never would have wanted our son, an 8 year old, to have to testify, especially 3 years later.  It was something we certainly considered, if for no other reason than to finally hold SGM responsible somehow for their past misdeeds but ultimately wasn’t something we could do.  That’s not what we’re about.  It felt right to leave it in God’s hands to deal with them.

This is our point of greatest disagreement.  All parents MUST report and prosecute predators that abuse their children.  That is best for the child victim, the predator who must be stopped, and children in church and society that must be protected.      

Under the law you were required to report the crimes to law enforcement.  So was everyone else who knew.  You didn’t have a choice in matter.  Instead, [your son’s] counselor reported the crimes.  That means law enforcement followed up with you but you were unwilling to press charges because you wanted to “protect our son.”  In protecting your son, you protected a sex abuser.  In protecting a sex abuser, there is a likelihood other children may have been sexually abused or will be abused.  You say, “That’s not what we’re about.  It felt right to leave it in God’s hands to deal with them.”  That kind of thinking leads to further abuse. 

[Toby Kurth claims above Randy Stewart reported to law enforcement before the counselor reported.  I am also told the counselor told Stewart he must report.  She followed his reporting with her own.]

I’ve now worked closely with many victims of child sexual abuse.  I know how hard it is to prosecute your abuser but it is the right and necessary thing to do and Child Protective Services, law enforcement and the Judge will help the child in such situations.  

When victims stand up to their abusers they experience tremendous freedom.  For instance, in the Morales case.  Parents did not prosecute him [in] 1993.  As a result he went on to abuse children for the next 20 years.  You cannot assume Jason’s son is any different.  Furthermore, as I said in my post, a thoroughly [thorough] investigation should have been done to discover if there were other victims and perpetrators.

I believe I’ve emptied my heart with regard to this matter.  I’ll address one other thing I mentioned earlier.  I hear Jenny is battling breast cancer.  What finally got us to close our business was my battle with breast cancer and the need to come “home” to Phoenix.  I hope her outcome is as good as mine.  Hold her, love her, be with her, and support her.  It’s tough in every regard.  I remember her to be a very strong, capable woman.  I will pray for peace and the presence of God in the midst of it all for her.

I am so glad for your good outcome.  I’ll be posting an update on my FB sometime in the next week.  Thanks for your prayers and concern.

One final thing: I’m not angry at you.  Life is too short for that.  I would encourage you to be careful that in doing what you’re doing to reveal injustice and ungodliness, you don’t cause to much collateral damage.

Nor am I angry with you.  I wish you had taken a stand and exposed SGM rather than be manipulated into signing a confidentiality and/or “legally binding” agreement before receiving monies.  By the way, Mahaney, Prater, Buckley and Hill broke the law.  The agreement is thereby rendered null and void.  They can’t extort you with it.  Therefore, I hope you will still speak out.  All kinds of damage results when people fail to obey Scripture and expose deeds of darkness (Eph 5:11). 

Blessings,

Kathy Stewart

I also forwarded this correspondence to Randy and asked him to speak out.  I still hope he does so.

August 8, 2015 at 2:08 PM
Brent Detwiler 

Hi Randy,

I sent the correspondence below to your wife at her work email address but discovered she no longer works there so I sent it to her via FB.  Of course, what I’ve written has even more relevance to you.  I still hope you will act courageously and speak out about the corruption that exists at the highest levels of SGM leadership.

Grace to you.

Brent

Sovereign Grace Ministries and Sovereign Grace Churches have a long history of covering up child sexual abuse.  It goes back to at least 1991.  The covering up of sexual assault back to 1980.  But they continue to lie and deceive and admit no fault just like the case with Randy and Kathy Stewart. 

When Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans, he described the ethical decline that increasingly occurred when the Gentiles progressively dishonored God.  “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened.”  This process of moral decay describes what has happened in SGM. 

When I read the interaction between Prater, Buckley, Hill, and others; I am immediately struck by their evil thinking and planning.  There is no wisdom, only futility.  There is no light, only darkness.  These men’s minds and hearts are under God’s judgment and their corruption has spread like gangrene. 

In this one case alone, leaders throughout Sovereign Grace Ministries protected Reyes and his son, gave him large amounts of money, let him remain in ministry, moved him from church to church, did not inform families in harm’s way, and didn’t require he cooperative with law enforcement. 

These same leaders instructed Stewart not to report the crimes, approved a hush fund to keep him from joining the lawsuit, raised monies under false pretense, manipulated him into a “conciliation” process to secure a legally binding agreement so he could not talk, and followed the advice of lawyers to admit no fault of any kind.  Similarly, pastors participated in the scheme and remained silent.  Only Toby Kurth addressed the evil in private and later in public.  I commend him for that effort.

Here are the leaders, pastors, and others who acted corruptly.  I’ve arranged their names in topical and alphabetical order with short biographies.  I put this together not only for the purpose of accountability, but to show how many people were involved in the conspiracy in this one case.  There are scores of cases I’ve cover in other articles. 

Church members also have a responsibility to take action before the Lord and in submission to Scripture.  They must require their pastors to do righteousness, not pretend righteousness.  If their pastors refuse to take a stand and speak out, that tells you all you need to know about their commitment to truth, courage and integrity.  You should leave and find a church with truthful men in whom the Lord delights because they hate what is false.  Don’t stay in Sovereign Grace Churches denomination where the “wicked bring shame and disgrace” time after time.  It is never ending.

Proverbs 12:22 The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful. 

Proverbs 13:5 The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked bring shame and disgrace.  

CURRENT LEADERS IN SGC

Warren Boettcher
-Member of Executive Committee for SGC (2014-present)
-Senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Marlton, NJ (1993-present)
-warren@sovgracenj.org 

Bruce Chick
- Member of Executive Committee for SGC (2014-present)
- Teacher in Sovereign Grace Pastors College
- Senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Community Church in Roanoke, VA (2002-present)
- bchick@sovereigngrace.cc 

Mickey Connolly
- Board of Director for SGM (Jul 2011-Dec 2013)
- Member of Executive Committee for SGC (Jan 2014-Dec 2015)
- Member of Global Leadership Team for SGC (Oct 2013-present)
- Director of Church Development for SGC (Oct 2013-present)
- Regional Leader over Mid-South churches for SGC (2011-present)
- Teacher in Sovereign Grace Pastors College
- Pastor at CrossWay Community Church in Charlotte, NC (1996-present)
- mickey.connolly@crosswaync.org 

Tommy Hill
- Director of Finance & Administration for SGM/SGC (1995-present)
- Member of Global Leadership Team for SGC (Oct 2013-present)
- Administrator for Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville in KY (2011-2014)
- Administrator for Cornerstone Church of Knoxville in TN (2015-present)
- thill@sovgracemin.org

John Loftness
- Board of Director for SGM (Jul 2011-Feb 2013)
- Chairman of the Board of Directors (Apr 2012- Feb 2013)
- Resigns from the Board of Directors (Feb 18, 2013)
- Named Defendant in lawsuit (Oct 2012, Jan 2013, & May 2013)
- Named alleged sexual sadist in legal documents for first time (Mar 27, 2013)
- Central figure in conspiracy to commit & cover up the sexual abuse of children
- Senior pastor of Living Hope Church in Bowie, Maryland (2014-present)
- Regional Leader over Mid-Atlantic churches for SGC (2018-present)
- john.loftness@livinghopebowie.org

C.J. Mahaney
- President & Chairman of Board of Directors for SGM (Feb 1991-Jul 2011)
- Takes six month leave of absence (Jul 2011-Jan 2012)
- President of SGM (Jan 2012-Apr 2014)
- Regional Leader over East Central churches for SGC (2020-present)
- Senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville (2011-present)
- Teacher in Sovereign Grace Pastors College
- cjmahaney@sgclouisville.org 

Ken Mellinger
- Board of Director for SGM (Mar 2012- Dec 2013)
- Member of Executive Committee for SGC (2014-present)
- Regional Leader over Great Lakes churches for SGC (2015-present)
- Senior pastor of Living Hope Church in Harrisburg, PA (1993-2015)
- Pastor at Living Hope Church in Harrisburg, PA (2016-present)
- kmellinger@lhc-pa.org

Mark Prater
- Board of Director for SGM (Jul 2011-Mar 2012)
- Acting Director for SGM (Jan-Apr 2013)
- Executive Director for SGC (May 2013-present)
- Member of Global Leadership Team for SGC
- Elder at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glenn Mills, PA
-mprater@sovgracemin.org

Jeff Purswell
- Board of Director for SGM (Nov 2007– Mar 2012)
- Member of Global Leadership Team for SGC (Apr 2012-present)
- Director of Theology for SGC (Apr 2012-present)
- Dean of Sovereign Grace Pastors College in Louisville, KY (1999-present)
- Pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville (2011-present)
- jtpurswell@sovereigngrace.com

Rich Richardson
- Member of Global Leadership Team for SGC (2014-present)
- Director of Global Missions for SGC (2014-2020)
- Lead pastor at Center Church (formerly Sovereign Grace Church) in Gilbert, AZ (2001-present)
- rrichardson@centergilbert.com

Gary Ricucci
- Director of Student Care for Sovereign Grace Pastors College in Louisville, KY (2011-present)
- Pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville (2011-present)
- gricucci@sovgracemin.org

FORMER LEADERS IN SGM
 
Paul Buckley
- Board of Director for SGM (Mar 2012- Dec 2013)
- Vice Chairman of the Board (Mar 2012-Feb 2013)
- Chairman of the Board (Feb-Dec 2013)
- Member of the Executive Committee (Jan 2014-Oct 2019)
- Chairman of the Executive Committee (Jan 2014-Oct 2019)
- Lead pastor of King of Grace Church in Haverhill, Massachusetts (2002-present)
- Leaves SGC (Oct 2019)
- pfbuckley@kingofgrace.org  

Joshua Harris
- Board of Director for SGM (Nov 2007–Jul 2011)
- Resigns from Board of Directors (Jul 2011)
- Senior pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD (Sep 2004-Apr 2015)
- Removes Covenant Life Church from SGM (Dec 2012)
- Leaves Covenant Life Church for seminary (Jun 2016)
- Renounces the faith – apostate (Jul 2019-present)
- joshharris@icloud.com

Dave Harvey
- Senior pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) in Glenn Mills, PA (1990-2008)
- Board of Director for SGM (Jan 1995-Dec 2012)
- President & Chairman of Board for SGM (Jun 2011-Feb 2012)
- Resigns from Board of Directors at request of his pastors at CFC (Dec 2012)
- Agrees to nine month disciplinary process & probationary period under the pastors (Jan–Aug 2014)
- Unilaterally forsakes process after three months & leaves CFC (Mar 2013)
- Leaves SGC (Jun 2013)
- President of Great Commission Collective (2019-present)
- daveharvey@gccollective.org

Ian McConnell
- Board of Director for SGM (Mar 2012- Dec 2013)
- Member of Global Leadership Team (Oct 2013-Oct 2019)
- Director of Church Planting and Mission (Oct 2013-Oct 2019)
- Resigns from Global Leadership Team & leaves SGC (Oct 2019)
- Pastor at Christ Church of South Philly in Philadelphia, PA (Nov 2020-present)
- Interim President of Trinity Fellowship Churches denomination (2000-present)
- ian@christchurchsouthphilly.org

Aron Osborne
- Board of Director for SGM (Jul 2011-Dec 2013)
- Regional Leader over the Southeast churches for SGM (2011-2014)
- Leaves SGC (Aug 2014)
- Senior pastor of Metro Life Church in Orlando, FL (2011-present)
- aosborne@metrolife.org

Al Pino
- Board of Director for SGM (Mar 2012- Dec 2013)
- Leaves SGC (Jun 2014)
- Senior pastor at Palm Vista Community Church in Miami Gardens, FL (1997-present)
- alpino@palmvista.org 

 Phil Sasser
- Board of Director for SGM (Mar 2012- Dec 2013)
- Chairman of the Polity Committee for SGC (2012-2018)
- Director of Church Governance for SGC (2013-2015)
- Senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church (SGC) in Apex, NC (2001-2015)
- Pastor at SGC (2016-2018)
- Pastor Emeritus at SGC (now called Cornerstone Fellowship Church) (2019-present)
- Leaves SGC (Apr 2019)
 
Steve Shank
- Board of Director for SGM (1984-Nov 2009; Jul 2011-Mar 2012)
- Regional Leader for West churches for SGM (2002-2015)
- Pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Gilbert (now Center Church) in AZ (2003-2016)
- Leaves ministry (Mar 2016)
- Moves to Nashville, TN (Mar 2016-present)
- steve.shank@gmail.com

CURRENT PASTORS IN SGC 

Ron Boomsma
- Board of Director for SGM (Mar-Jun 2012)
- Resigns from Board of Directors (Jun 2012)
- Senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Pasadena, CA (1999-present)
- ron@sovgracepasadena.org 

Jim Cannon
- Regional Leader for Mid-Atlantic churches for SGC (2014-2018)
- Senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Joppa, MD (1990-2011)
- Pastor at Sovereign Grace Church (2012-present) 

Jimmy Cannon
- Pastor at Sovereign Grace Church in Joppa, MD (1998-2011)
- Senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church (2012-present)
 
Jace Hudson
- Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glenn Mills, PA (2010-2011)
- Lead pastor of Covenant of Grace Church in Akron, OH (2012-present)  

Jason Reyes
- Pastor at Sovereign Grace Church in Joppa, MD (1997-2007)
- Lead pastor of Covenant of Grace Church in Akron, OH (2007-Mar 2010)
- Pastoral intern at Sovereign Grace Church in Joppa, MD (Aug 2010-2011)
- Executive pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Marlton, NJ (2011-present)

Bert Turner
- Elder at Covenant of Grace Church in Akron, OH (1991-2018)
- Executive pastor at Covenant of Grace Church in Akron, OH (2018-present)
- billihde@att.net

FORMER PASTORS IN SGM 

Bill Ihde
- Pastor at Covenant of Grace Church in Akron, OH 
- Interim senior pastor at Covenant of Grace Church (~2009-2013)
- rgt3turner@gmail.com

Toby Kurth
- Attends Sovereign Grace Pastors College in Gaithersburg, MD (2007-2008)
- Does church planter residency under Rich Richardson in Sovereign Grace Church of Gilbert in AZ (Jun 2008-Jan 2009)
- Lead pastor of Christ Church in San Francisco, CA (2009-present)
- Leaves SGM (Oct 2012)
- jtkurth@gmail.com 

Darren Lander
- Lead pastor of Trinity Church (formerly Sovereign Grace Church of Cleveland) in Olmsted Falls, OH (2007-present)
- Leaves SGM (Apr 2013)
- elders@thisistrinity.church
 
Randy Stewart
- Pastor at Sovereign Grace Church in Gilbert, AZ (1995-2002)
- Attends Sovereign Grace Pastors College in Gaithersburg, MD (Sep 2002-May 2003)
- Church planting internship under Dave Harvey at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glenn Mills, PA (Jun 2003-May 2004)
- Senior pastor of City Church in Brooklyn, NY (May 2004-2008)
- Pastor at Covenant of Grace Church in Akron, OH (2008-2010)
- Leaves pastoral ministry (Mar 2010) 

CONCILIATORS
 
Ted Kober
- Conciliator for Ambassadors of Reconciliation (AoR)
- President of AoR (2004-2015)
- Senior Ambassador (2016-present)
- theokober@gmail.com 

Ed Keinath
- Conciliator for Ambassadors of Reconciliation (2004-present)
- Director of CrossLife Ministries the Counseling Division for AoR (2004-present)

David Schlachter
- Conciliator for Crossroads Resolution Group LLC (Jan 2012-present)
- david@crossroadsresolution.com

LAWYERS
 
Chip Grange
- Lawyer for Covenant Life Church (1979-present)
- Lawyer for Sovereign Grace Ministries (1982-2012)     

Bryce Thomas
- Board Member & Facilitator for Ambassadors for Reconciliation
- Attorney, Bryce Thomas and Associates, Hickory, NC
- brycethomas@charter.net

## 

ADDENDUM: MARK PRATER

Mark Prater has been the Executive Director for Sovereign Grace Ministries/Churches for the past nine years (2013-present).  His pervasive corruption is well documented.  Yet he remains the top official.  That tells you a lot about Sovereign Grace Churches today.

I removed the section below from the original “Hush” Fund article to simplify and shorten it above.  Nevertheless, it is very important.  I’ve also included my original ending after it.    

Prater’s Pervasive Corruption

Connolly and Mellinger are still on the Board of Directors which is now called the Executive Committee.  McConnell is the Director of Church Planting and Mission on the national Leadership Team.  Sasser was the Director of Church Governance on the national Leadership Team until he recently resigned.  These key leaders knew Prater was deceiving the pastors but they nevertheless agreed with the scheme.   

A similar thing happened in 2014 when these same leaders, and several new additions to the Executive Committee (i.e. Warren Boettcher, Wayne Brooks, Andy Farmer, Jon Payne, Rich Richardson, Keith Collins), deceived everyone in SGM during their annual fund-raising drive.  See SGM Uses “Strategic Global Projects” to Fraudulently Raise Money.  I don’t make these things up.

Anyway, I didn’t know about Prater’s duplicitous fund-raising letters at the time; but I did know about Prater’s duplicitous character.  One month after this letter was sent out, the Executive Committee (i.e. Board of Directors) chose Prater to be the Executive Director.  They wrote an adoring letter to all the pastors in SGM claiming Prater was the best choice to bring about “the restoration of trust and unity among the elders of Sovereign Grace.”  This is deception upon deception. 

I wrote about it on my blog.  I’d highly recommend it be read in entirety.  It also describes the masterful deception employed by Dave Harvey especially as the Interim President of SGM.  Harvey trained Prater.  Prater was following his example of corrupt leadership.  Here is an excerpt.

Mark Prater Is the Best Choice to Restore Trust and Unity [According to SGM]
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 2:09 PM
Brent Detwiler

Mark [Prater] is not the orator or leader Dave [Harvey] was but he is every bit the charmer.  In selecting Mark, the Executive Committee has chosen a man complicit in all the cunning that has characterized the time period since July 2011.  His choice is a reflection of the Committee and a bad one at that!  Mark cannot possibly clean up SGM because he is one of the men who made it so grimy.   

In particular the Committee claims Mark is the best choice to bring about “the restoration of trust and unity among the elders of Sovereign Grace.”  This is foolhardy.  Mark cannot possibly restore trust because he is one of the key men responsible for the loss of trust.  This selection is a slap in the face.  Mark is not the man for the job if you’re interested in restoring a trust based upon trustworthiness or a unity based upon transparency.

Under Mark the internal workings of SGM will be more secret than the cultic rites of Freemasonry.  For instance, we’ll have no idea what strings C.J. is pulling.  Mark was an exceptional pharmaceutical salesman with a high school diploma.  That is his strength.  He will sell SGM and put forward a believable brand.  He’s not a high powered speaker but he will bring in the big guns for SGM conferences.  Under his leadership the policy of “believe the best” when the best is not true will flourish.

Furthermore, Mark is the safe choice!  By that I mean no one in all of SGM need fear being held accountable for any of their past actions.  Especially not C.J., the old Board, Interim Board or recent Board.  Everyone will be granted amnesty under the Prater Administration.  There will be no review or repair of the past.  The Executive Committee was not about to pick someone who would investigate them and call other cronies to account.  

Time after time over the past five years, I have illustrated the systemic corruption that characterizes leaders in SGM in thousands of pages of carefully documented evidence.  THIS IS NOTHING NEW!  It is just another example of their deceit. 

For certain, no Christian organization in America has been more deceptive since the advent of Modern Evangelicalism in the 1940’s.  Yet many of the most powerful evangelical leaders in America continue to support and promote C.J. Mahaney and SGM to their abject shame.  They have refused to study the evidence and been deceived by SGM’s talking points.   

For example, last year Mahaney told Lars Liebeler, the lawyer who headed a nine-month investigation at Covenant Life Church that he never knew about the sexual abuse of multiple boys in the church by Nathaniel Morales even though pastors Grant Layman, Gary Ricucci, Robin Boisvert, Chris Glass and likely others did.  Mahaney is lying big time.  In several weeks, I hope to finish up an eBook that presents the evidence against Mahaney and other pastors at Covenant Life Church who agreed not to report Morales to the police even though they knew Morales was a long time, serial predator with multiple victims.  Last May, Morales was convicted on seven counts in two trials and sentenced to 40 years in prison.  See this link.

It is nothing for Prater to lie and spin.  That is one of the reasons Mahaney promoted him to be his replacement.  He knew this about him.  The same is true about Buckley.  Executive Director Prater and Chairman Buckley are the two most powerful men in Sovereign Grace Ministries and they are very willing to deceive the leaders, pastors and people in the denomination if it serves their self-serving agenda. 

In a previous post, I raised serious concerns for Prater’s ethics before he became a pastor in SGM.  Here is an excerpt.

Supermajority of Florida Churches Leave Sovereign Grace Ministries 
Brent Detwiler
Thursday, July 10, 2014 at 9:53 AM

Mark Prater was trained in crisis management, public relations, and communications techniques while a regional manager with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in the 1990’s.  Wyeth marketed the infamous Norplant implant.  “By 1996, more than 50,000 women had filed lawsuits, including 70 class actions, against Wyeth and/or its subsidiaries, or doctors who prescribed Norplant.”  

I don’t know for certain if Mark Prater knew the progestin only drug in the Norplant device caused abortions.  It is hard to imagine he did not.  I plan to write and ask him.  I also plan to contact the Executive Committee and Leadership Team of Sovereign Grace Ministries.  This issue needs to be addressed.  I do know, Prater left Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in order to start Providence Church in Pittsburgh in 1996 at the behest of Dave Harvey. 

I followed through and wrote Prater.  I also copied the Executive Committee and other top leaders in SGM.  They never answered my questions.  Here’s what I said in part. 

From: Brent Detwiler
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2014 3:46 PM
To: Warren Boettcher; Wayne Brooks; Paul Buckley; Keith Collins; Mickey Connolly; Andy Farmer; Ken Mellinger; Jon Payne; Mark Prater; Rich Richardson
Cc: Craig Cabaniss; Tommy Hill; Bob Kauflin; Ian McConnell; Jeff Purswell; Phil Sasser; Jim Cannon; Mickey Connolly; Rick Gamache; Aron Osborne; Billy Raies; Steve Shank; Tim Shorey
Subject: Questions About Your Knowledge of Norplant Device While at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals

Mark,

When you worked at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in the 1990’s, did you know the progestin only drug in the Norplant device caused abortions?  I can’t imagine you didn’t possess this knowledge given the major role you had in making sure obstetricians around the county inserted and removed the devise properly in order to avoid lawsuits.  And as a Christian in that industry, you certainly should have investigated the “contraceptive” device to make sure it didn’t cause abortions. 

Obviously, this is a big deal.  You were training doctors to use a product that was an abortifacient.  The Norplant devise ended the lives of countless preborn children.  Did you knowingly contribute to their destruction?  This is a matter of the highest ethical importance.  Being complicit in training doctors to use a product that killed preborn children to order to make a living is abominable.  It bespeaks of a seared conscience.

I’ve done further research since then and there is every reason to conclude Prater knew the Norplant device caused abortions.  For example, he went to pharmacy school for four years though he never graduated.  He knew how the mechanism worked.  So did other executives around Prater.  It troubled them.  Furthermore, the findings of Randy Alcorn that this device was abortive were well known by leaders in Prater’s church (see for example page 116 in Alcorn’s Pro Life Answers to Pro Choice Arguments published in 1992).  This apparent knowledge didn’t matter.  Training doctors to use a product that caused abortions was the means whereby he climbed the corporate ladder and was handsomely rewarded for his accomplishments.  This was the immediately context in which he became a pastor in SGM.  By all accounts Mahaney and Harvey were impressed by his high position and charismatic personality.  They hired him.  The rest is history.

Here is a small sampling of additional evidence against Prater and Buckley including Buckley’s attempts to secretly get rid of Mahaney as President in 2012 while telling all the pastors and people in SGM there was unanimous support for Mahaney’s presidency.  It was a blatant lie.  Both of these men should have been fired by now, but they continue in their roles because the leaders around them are like them.  I am not exaggerating or making any of this up.  Only a person committed to ignorance would deny it.

Paul Buckley, Chairman of the SGM Board & Other Top Level Leaders Secretly Plotted C.J. Mahaney’s Removal as President
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Brent Detwiler

More Evidence Surrounding the Request for Mahaney’s Resignation & Its Cover Up
Thursday, August 7, 2014 at 10:54 AM
Brent Detwiler 

An Open Letter to the Leaders & Pastors of SGM Regarding Their Cowardice & Corruption
Friday, August 08, 2014 at 5:01 PM
Brent Detwiler 

The Cover-up of Buckley’s Cover-up of Mahaney Is Underway
Tuesday, August 19, 2014 at 5:02 PM
Brent Detwiler

Mark Prater “the Best Choice” to Restore Trust and Unity – Dave Harvey the “Most Crafty of All”
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 2:09 PM
Brent Detwiler

Executive Director Mark Prater Effectively Calls Victims of Sexual Abuse Liars on Behalf of All Sovereign Grace Leaders
Brent Detwiler
Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 10:00 PM

Sovereign Grace Ministries has a long history of covering up child sexual abuse, but they continue to lie and deceive and admit no fault just like they do with Pastor-Father of Victim above.  Here are two more examples related to Mark Prater and pastors in his home church (i.e., Covenant Fellowship Church).

Sex Abuse Victim Asserts Prominent SGM Pastor Marty Machowski “Threw My Children & I to the Wolves”
Brent Detwiler
Friday, October 31, 2014

A Victim’s Anguished Letter to Dave Harvey Revealing Sexual Abuse & Its Alleged Cover Up at Covenant Fellowship Church
Brent Detwiler
Saturday, November 08, 2014 at 2:10 PM

I was one of four men who started Sovereign Grace Ministries in 1982.  I loved my years in SGM until it leaders (my close friends like C.J.) began to act with great duplicity in 2004.  For the next seven years, I addressed the ever-growing abuse, hypocrisy, and corruption.  I was finally forced to go public in July 2011 when all private efforts failed and the deceit reached unimaginable heights.  This resulted in a public statement of condemnation by SGM and the predictable labeling of my documents as slander.  It served as a prime example of the spiritual abuse and lording I was addressing.  Large numbers of people in SGM spoke out and opposed this heavy handedness.  You can read about it here.

The Five Resolutions on July 13, 2011
Friday, January 13, 2012 at 8:36 AM
Brent Detwiler

## 

Original Ending

I think it is fair to say I knew more people by name in the movement than any other SGM leader when I left in 2009.  That’s why I continued to work for SGM’s reform, not its demise.  Nevertheless, the Lord brought about its demise in large measure because its leaders continually rejected the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.  The decline continues as churches keep leaving (for example in Myanmar/Burma) and people stop giving as well they should.  In 2012, there were 22 international churches.  Today, there are eight.    

When Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans, he described the ethical decline that increasingly occurred when the Gentiles progressively dishonored God.  “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened.”  This process of moral decay describes what has happened in SGM. 

When I read the interaction between Prater, Buckley, Hill, and others; I am immediately struck by their evil thinking and planning.  There is no wisdom, only futility.  There is no light, only darkness.  These men’s minds and hearts are under God’s judgment and yet they are the esteemed leaders and counselors of SGM – Prater and Buckley the highest ranking.  But the problem is far worse.  The leaders around them are like them.  The corruption has spread like gangrene. 

This doesn’t mean SGM can’t put on a good show of righteousness.  They are charismatic in every respect.  For example, Prater recently exhorted all the members in SGM churches to live lives worthy of the gospel in his latest funding pitch.  Bob Kauflin is doing worship conferences though he has covered up for Mahaney as much as anyone.  And SGM continues to brand the gospel.  It has been the key to its financial success.  I could go on. 

By a miracle of grace, I’d still love to see what remains of SGM repent like Nineveh but that won’t happen until the “king” of SGM, C.J. Mahaney, repents and utters a decree like the king of Nineveh.

“When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.  Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: ‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: … Let everyone call urgently on God.  Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.  Who knows?  God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.’” (Jonah 3:6-9)

This would be a great time for Mahaney to call for the removal of Prater, Buckley, Hill and others while confessing his own sins.  These men cannot remain in their positions if SGM has any interest whatsoever in integrity.  Every SGM pastor should be outraged by actions of these men and call for their resignations. 

Church members also have a responsibility to take action before the Lord and in submission to Scripture.  They must require their pastors to do righteousness, not pretend righteousness.  If their pastors refuse to take a stand and speak out, that tells you all you need to know about your pastors’ commitment to truth, courage and integrity.  You should leave and find a church with truthful men in whom the Lord delights because they hate what is false.  Don’t stay in SGM where the “wicked bring shame and disgrace” time after time.  It is never ending. 

Proverbs 12:22 The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful. 

Proverbs 13:5 The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked bring shame and disgrace. 

In closing and on a personal note, the challenges Jenny and I face have never been greater.  I’ve provided an update on her health and my continued work here.  I’d appreciate your prayers and financial support.  Thank you. 

http://abrentdetwiler.squarespace.com/please-support-aletheia-minis/

Article originally appeared on (http://www.brentdetwiler.com/).