C.J. Mahaney Stepping Down From Soveriegn Grace Ministries...

Well, in my last post I said I didn't comment much these days on the SGM Survivors blog...these days I am again because so many things are happening right now.  In January of 2009 I wrote a short post in the form of a letter to C.J. Mahaney and company when Noel's story came out on the Survivor's blog and hope rose up in me and probably many others, that something would finally be done and the truth would come out.  It didn't, and eventually the dust seemed to settle and SGM made it through seemingly unscathed once again.   I thought things would always be that way, but maybe not, maybe not this time. 

A few days ago C.J. announced on his blog that he was stepping down temporarily to deal with some issues.  Shortly after  this, Dave Harvey wrote about this on the Sovereign Grace Ministries website, including mentioning that he would be taking over in C.J.'s absence (no surprise here).  And following all of  this, hundreds of pages of documents written by Brent Detwiler were released anonymously to wikileaks detailing very specifically longstanding serious issues within the highest echelons of SGM leadership.

 Aaron and I have been sitting together at the computer for too many hours reading through these documents, which I admit would be very boring to most people.  To us, it is fascinating.  You see, to hundreds of people who have been admiring followers of SGM leaders only to later leave for a variety of reasons, these documents say to us over and over "you are not crazy".  We thought we knew this, we thought we had moved past the pronouncement of insanity we felt for leaving, but this solid tangible proof has been therapeutic I think. 

Yes, some of the contents are disturbing of course, but it's truth.  It's what really happened.  Truth I can deal with!  I know many cannot deal with the truth and will want to hide from it or try to hide it still from others, but many people will benefit from it, some even against their will. 

This is not gossip, not bitter angry people trying to destroy a work of God, this is TRUTH.  Truth is good, even if the truth of a matter is not good, truth itself is GOOD.  With truth comes grace, Jesus comes with truth and grace.  So the fact is that even if truth is painful and difficult sometimes, to reject it is to also reject grace.  This is something we should all be terrified to do.  Think about it.

As for my personal feelings and thoughts about all of this, I am already long past anger and bitterness thankfully.  Overwhelmingly I feel sad, sad to think of what families are going through because of all this.  Yes, including the leaders themselves.  They have created an impossible system of  works based righteousness and God endorsed condemnation that is a lie and sets everyone of for absolute failure.  These failures are no surprise, they are/were inevitable.  I've lived that way myself and the fact that I may have caused less damage to people than C.J. is only because  my sphere of influence is smaller and my influence less powerful. 

I want to see things properly dealt with, leaders who have hurt people should make it right, whatever it takes.  Those who have shown themselves to be untrustworthy should be removed from positions that require trust.  Trust is not to demanded as a law of God, it is to be earned and guarded as a rare privilege.  Systems and doctrines that produce bad fruit over and over again should be very closely examined in a spirit of true humility, you know, that willingness to admit that you may be wrong.  The willingness to own up to your wrongs, admit them publicly, and make difficult changes, real changes.

I want to see people set free from lies and legalism.  Free from fear of man and rules and regulations.  Free from pretending and trying and working and failing.  I want to see people experience the unfailing love of their Father who is well-pleased with them!  I want to see people learn to rest in that love.

So I'm thinking of you all and praying for you.  Some of you I  know and love, some of you I don't know but I still love.  I haven't forgotten you, ever.  Because I was part of SGM, you are still part of me in a special way.  I still think of you fondly and I  still thank God for you all.    And I don't care what you've done or think you've done, or haven't done, THERE IS NO  CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS!  NONE NONE NONE!!!  So really, there is no reason to fear the truth.