Southern Baptist Theological Seminary cuts ties with Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastors School

In October 2013, I rehearsed the formal relationship Southern seminary had with C.J. Mahaney and the Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastors School (SGM). Now, however, it appears Southern seminary has cut any formal ties between the two schools. According to a piece by Associated Baptist Press, Bob Allen writes:

A spokesman for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary confirmed that the school is ending a formal partnership with Sovereign Grace Ministries, accused in criminal and civil courts of mishandling reports of sexual abuse.

A Southern Baptist Convention seminary has broken off its formal relationship with a church-starting network that has become a lightning rod since a former leader admitted under oath that he failed to report child sex abuse to police.

Blogger Todd Wilhelm posted a letter June 29 reportedly circulated by Jeff Purswell, director of theology and training for Sovereign Grace Ministries in Louisville, Ky., reporting “disappointing news” that Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is discontinuing a formal relationship with the Sovereign Grace Pastors College announced in 2012 (links original).

Since moving to Louisville for reasons, in part, of being close to Southern seminary Mahaney's SGM now faces regrouping and new support.

 

Read the entire piece "Seminary cuts ties with embattled SGM"

 

Comments

[Max]

Good Lord - this should have been done months ago! The Mohler/Mahaney alliance has pushed "Together For the Gospel" over the line while allegations of child abuse continue to work their way through the legal system. Ministerial integrity demanded that Mr. Mahaney step away from ministry until his name was cleared (if it will be); the same ministerial integrity required Dr. Mohler/SBTS not to continue giving Mahaney/SGM a platform. I seem to remember an SBC resolution at last year's convention to this effect.

[Lydia]

Max, it is even worse than that. If you are familiar with the history of PDI/SGM many of their pastors have no college at all. The 9 month pastors college would be a joke to most SBC pew sitters who believe in supporting seminaries and educating future missionaries, pastors, etc.

I do not know what Mohler was thinking. Is Mahaney teaching at the pastors college now as he has in the past? He only graduated from High School.

Even if the SGM pastors college students had a bachelors (most likely some do these days) how in the world could he justify transferring 35 credits from a 9 month course to a post grad degree? The pastors college is unaccredited! So how would that work, exactly, in the world of academia? Were they going to test out? Is there provision to test out of 35 hours?

And to add insult to injury, where was the special deal for SBC students?

So many tell us Mohler is a brilliant scholar. I am afraid this special deal just for SGM pastors tell us something very different about the mindset toward academic excellence at SBTS. It does not seem to be there at all.

I think the fact the agreement existed in the first place tells us something. Mohler is way too insulated and isolated from reality and needs some serious oversight. Did he really believe pew sitters who are paying his salary would want a special deal for SGM students that their own SBC students would not have?

[Max]

"Mohler is way too insulated and isolated from reality and needs some serious oversight."

Lydia - I continue to be amazed that Dr. Mohler has not been called into account for his words and actions. I find it incredible that he was not challenged in the early days of his rebellion against SBC majority belief and practice. His 1993 convocation address at Southern entitled “Don’t Just Do Something; Stand There!” was filled with warnings which SBC leadership should have more effectively dealt with while the window was open. In his charge to rally his Southern troops around the Abstract of Principles, he made the following statements:

“The Abstract remains a powerful testimony to a Baptist theological heritage that is genuinely evangelical, Reformed, biblical, and orthodox.”

“We bear the collective responsibility to call this denomination back to itself and its doctrinal inheritance. This is a true reformation and revival … ”

His 1993 words may very well be prophetic:

“Those who teach the ministry bear the greatest burden of accountability to the churches and to the denomination … It is with a single man that error usually commences.”

Perhaps it’s time for the SBC majority to “don’t just stand there; do something!”

[Lou Martuneac]

Through T4G Al Mohler forged fellowship with C.J. Mahaney, and thereby gave Mahaney credibility among Baptists. One must note that at the start, long before the revelation that lead to this break with SGM, Mahaney was and remains an advocate of the modern day charismatic movement. That might have been enough to have given wise men serious reservations about forging ties with Mahaney.