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Much of the lawsuit against Sovereign Grace Ministries tossed on a technicality

According to Christianity Today, much of the pending lawsuit against Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM) was tossed out due to a technicality:

A judge has dismissed most of the civil lawsuit against Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM), days after it was amended to add names and charges... The judge ruled that victims didn't sue in time before the statute of limitations had expired" (//link)

Below is ABC's Greta Kreuz's report:

What's not clear is the way forward for the plaintiffs. According to Susan Burke, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, they knew in advance the legal hurdles they faced in getting around the statute of limitations applicable to most of their clients. While it was possible, it apparently had a high probability of failure: 

We (the victims and the lawyers) all knew about the statute issue at the outset. But fighting for justice means doing so even against known obstacles. We had a conspiracy theory to overcome the statute but the Court rejected it. The victims are all brave and courageous people whose willingness to fight against evil has already made a difference in the world. Also, please realize going forward with a civil lawsuit does not in any way prevent criminal actions – perhaps may even make it more likely. And please keep praying, as we think the Court erred, and will be appealing her ruling" (//link)

In addition, since two of the plaintiffs are reportedly still well within the borders of an expired statute of limitations, the suit is not dead in the legal waters. Not yet, anyways. An extra complication for the plaintiffs exists, however, because the two remaining plaintiffs live in Virgina while the lawsuit is filed in Maryland. All the technical legalities makes this case extremely complicated. Burke has already committed to filing an appeal since the judge may but not must dismiss the case based upon the expired statute of limitations alone. Also, as Kreuz mentioned above, a criminal investigation may be underway, hardly a sign for rejoicing so far as the defense is concerned. 

A few observations, if I may.

First, to have the large majority of the plaintiffs dismissed in a class action lawsuit cannot be viewed as anything other than legally troubling. This really is a huge setback for the plaintiffs. While Burke is appealing the judge's ruling, surely the plaintiffs are presently struggling to find encouragement to believe they might succeed in their lawful suit.

Second, while this setback may be viewed as an initial success for the defense, at best it only exists as a legal success not a moral one. The fact is, when it comes to the sinful nature of the criminal acts and/or civil breaches alleged by the plaintiffs, the question for us is not when the alleged actions took place, but whether the alleged actions took place. While legally, SGM and many of the alleged defendants may ultimately be considered neither legally guilty nor civilly liable because of a statute of limitations written into our law codes, there is no such statute of limitations written into God's. The bottom line is, we want to know if these immoral acts took place not necessarily when they took place.

Again, when criminal acts and civil breaches took place may have legitimate legal stipulations such as were argued by SGM's defense and accepted by the court. However, if these men either performed these atrocious acts on little children, or saw to it in some way the alleged perpetrators were concealed from public justice, then we're unmoved whether a statute of limitations is expired or not. They remain morally culpable even if they are not legally chargeable.

Third, I intend to present the Resolution on Sexual Abuse of Children to the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Houston, Texas, June 11-12 as planned. Nothing is changed. We must dig our ecclesial heels into the dirt and say "No more. Not on our watch!" when it comes to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health of our little children.

Related articles

Resolution on Sexual Abuse of Children by Peter Lumpkins

Judge dismisses Sovereign Grace lawsuit

Court's Ruling on Sovereign Grace Ministries Alleged Sex Abuse Cover-Up Lawsuit

Sovereign Grace Ministries, class-action civil lawsuit involving child sex abuse

Joe Aguillard exonerated? Yes, says Louisiana editor

Kelly Boggs, Message Editor, for Louisiana Baptists just hurled a fastball at approximately 101 mph. He hit the mit hard pertaining to what we had right and didn't pertaining to the low batting average of the struggling Louisiana College president, Joe Aguillard. In his latest editorial entitled "Leaked reports, ballot votes, and being Baptist," Boggs offers no hesitation in calling "foul" on all of us who thought Aguillard should have been sent to the showers never to have returned to the playing field again. Consider the following:

Resolution on Sexual Abuse of Children by Peter Lumpkins

I've never proposed a resolution before. Truth is, I've not written one either. But if this issue is not a valid subject about which Southern Baptists should publicly express a strong voice, I'm not sure what qualifies as an issue we should address.

For all its flaws, I just submitted the following resolution to the Resolutions Committee for the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Houston, Texas. As with all resolutions, it has but a small hope it will make it out of committee deliberations. I fully understand this dynamic. Nonetheless, the resolution raises the question which Southern Baptists must sooner or later officially address.

C.J. Mahaney, The Victims, and Depths of Darkness

I got about two-thirds of the way through the Second Amended Class Action Complaint and Jury Demand filed by attorneys representing the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against young, restless, and reformed icon, C.J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM), two SGM churches, one SGM school, and ten other SGM leaders.¹ Truth is, I couldn't go on. It's most horrifying and even solicits the deepest anger and rage from a person's soul.

Contemporary Reformed authors on John 3:16: Joel Beeke

I've been posting some classic Calvinistic authors' renderings of KOSMOS in John 3:16. Thus far, we've considered:

John Gill vs. Jesus Christ on the World of John 3:16

Thus far, we've compared three strict Calvinists--John Owen, Arthur W. Pink, and Francis Turretin--and presumably their understanding of John 3:16 (especially, the term translated "world") with the clear words of the Lord Jesus Himself. Let's offer another popular strict Calvinist theologian and author--John Gill (1697-1771). Below are Jesus' words followed by my inference of John Gill's rendition of Jesus' words.¹

Francis Turretin vs. Jesus Christ on the World of John 3:16

Thus far, we've looked at John Owen and Arthur W. Pink's rendition of the word "world" in John 3:16. While some have logged on either denying it matters what the biblical text actually says (see here), others have falsely but desperately and incredibly claimed I'm putting words in the author's mouth (e.g see here, here). What no one has demonstrated thus far is, how either Owen or Pink's rendition of KOSMOS ("world" in John 3:16) as the world of "believers only" (or world of the "elect") is deduced from the biblical text itself and not inferred from preconceived theological notions imposed upon the biblical text.

Arthur W. Pink vs. Jesus Christ on the World of John 3:16

Here's our Lord Jesus in John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (NASB)

Here's Arthur W. Pink, strict Calvinist¹ and famed Reformed Baptist author, in his rendition of John 3:16:

“For God so loved believers, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”²

 Do you think Pink has a point in substituting "believers" for "world" in John 3:16?

 

¹Note: some Calvinist scholars refer to Pink as more than a strict Calvinist; they refer to him as a Hyper-Calvinist (e.g. Dr. Curt Daniel)

²The term “believers” is substituted based on an inference from what Pink wrote pertaining to the term “world” in John 3:16. He explained: ‘“Kosmos” is used of believers only: John 1:29; 3:16, 17; 6:33; 12; 47; 1 Cor. 4:9; 2 Cor. 5:19. We leave our readers to turn to these passages, asking them to note, carefully, exactly what is said and predicated of “the world” in each place’ (Arthur Walkington Pink, The Arthur Pink Anthology, Chapter 44). 

See also

John Owen vs. Jesus Christ on the World of John 3:16

Calvinists and the World of John 3:16: Take Two

I was looking for something else when I ran across this piece I first posted on September 12, 2006. After scanning it, I thought it'd be good to offer a Take Two. Enjoy...

A Tribute to "Mary" and "Lydia", frequent commenters at SBC Tomorrow

I do not know who the insult is aimed at. Given my dealings with aggressive Calvinist, J.D. Hall, it's probably intended to be a three-way tie. Whatever the case, I thought ending this very tiresome, weary, heart-wrenching week with a little humor would be healthy for us all.

Lawyers exonerate whistleblowers and LC trustees exonerate Aguillard, but who will exonerate the trustees?

Only recently did I watch a television special focusing on Brian Banks who spent five years in prison and five years on probation following a conviction of rape and kidnapping charges over a decade ago. The horrific part is, he was falsely accused.

Is Calvinism comparable to a caste social construct?

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a caste social structure is "any of the ranked, hereditary, endogamous social groups, often linked with occupation, that together constitute traditional societies in South Asia, particularly among Hindus in India" (//link).  The article goes on to suggest that "Although sometimes used to designate similar groups in other societies, the “caste system” is uniquely developed in Hindu societies."

Sovereign Grace Ministries and C.J. Mahaney want lawsuit to end

The Louisville-based Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM) and, up until recently, head of the dwindling mini-denomination¹ of Charismatic-neo-Calvinist churches, C. J. Mahaney, are apparently claiming that constitutional rights of religious freedom shield them from an ever-expanding lawsuit mounting against the organization generally and certain individuals particularly (the plaintiffs' lawyers continue to amend the lawsuit adding more and more victims who allege wrong-doing against them). According to Louisville's Courier-Journal religion reporter, Peter Smith, the defendants contrarily allege that SGM's demands for unquestioning obedience led to the shielding of sexual predators.

An Open Invitation to James White: My Response by Peter Lumpkins

I’m ashamed to admit it, but I must keep James White up at night. Surely, no Southern Baptist blogger gets under the old boy’s skin like I do. Alas, I hold that to be no real accomplishment. I’m a peace-loving guy. I ‘m actually not internally wired for conflict. But when conflict comes to my door, begging to come in, neither do I slam the door in conflict’s face. This is especially true when it comes to bullies. And believe me when I say this, James White is perceived within a broad circle of identifiable casualties, composed of believers and unbelievers alike, as a veritable bully who reckons to strong-arm his opponents in submitting to his particular way of looking at things.

Norm Miller, opportunists, and a whole lotta chokin goin on

Norm Miller serves as Director of Communications at Truett-McConnell College (TMC) in Cleveland, GA. Before going to TMC, Miller served for a number of years as a denominational journalist. He was writer and editor in the public relations department of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, staff writer for the IMB, and in 1998 was named news and information director for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary under Al Mohler (//link). Words—written words—have been the giftedness God gave to Norm and, as his journey in Southern Baptist life attests, many have seen this gift and desired his gift to be used for God’s glory in their respective fields of harvest. I'm glad to call Norm Miller my friend.