Charismatic Leader Explains Corporal Punishment Abuse Charge
Charimsa Magazine
by Steve Strang
January 24, 2013


Larry Tomczak, an early leader in the charismatic movement, told Charisma Wednesday that charges he used abusive corporal punishment are “baseless” and he will be vindicated once this case works its way through the legal system.

Tomczak had been named as one of several defendants in a lawsuit filed against the Sovereign Grace group of churches, which he founded in 1977 with C.J. Mahaney under the name “Take and Give.” The group has been known by several names over the years including People of Destiny. Recently Mahaney, president of Sovereign Grace Ministries, had come under fire for his authoritarian leadership, and several key churches had left the group of about 100 churches.

Tomczak said he was named in the suit merely as a “co-founder,” even though he had not been in top leadership in that local church—where charges were made—since the early 1980s and actually had left Sovereign Grace in 1996 over his own disagreements with leaders over how they treated his then-teenage son.

USA Today reported that Mahaney, who has close ties to Southern Baptist leaders like Al Moehler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., took a leave of absence in 2011 after complaints were lodged about his leadership style. He was later reinstated as leader of the denomination, which moved to Louisville from Maryland last year. But conflict in the group has continued. In recent months, several churches have split off from Sovereign Grace.

The denomination issued a statement condemning any abuse of children and saying that leaders will investigate the claims in the suit.

"We consider any allegation of harm to a child extremely serious and we have been working diligently in an effort to learn the truth," the statement reads. "We ask for patience as we continue to investigate these new allegations. Please continue to pray with us for all those affected by this lawsuit."

Tomczak moved to have his name removed from the suit. But in a series of legal moves, two additional defendants were named and charges were recently added, including one by an anonymous woman, the courts called Carla Coe, who claimed that Tomczak hit her with plastic and wooden sticks. The alleged abuse began when she was a child and lasted more than two decades. When the woman was an adult, the lawsuit claims, Tomczak beat her bare backside, according to The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville, Tenn., where Tomczak now lives.

The suit does not reveal where the alleged incidents occurred, or how Tomczak was acquainted with the woman. Tomczak told Charisma this was a “disciplinary parental issue” and it involved a “troubled family member.” He denied all allegations of physical abuse.

The newspaper accounts portrayed Tomczak as a “pastor known for promoting corporal punishment,” apparently because of certain statements in his book The Little Handbook of Loving Correction. The book advises parents to use something other than their own hands, like a flexible branch or lightweight stick, to spank their children. Tomczak said he stands by that advice today.

CHAD MAHANEY - Did he smoke pot? Was he treated different?


"In case anyone is wondering, I’m not censoring comments about Chad Mahaney any more. For awhile, I’d felt bad for him, particularly when he was still in high school and trying to make his way into adulthood. The stories swirling around about his pot use were rather nebulous. While it appeared that numerous people were aware of it -- particularly of the incident where he and several other kids were caught and the other kids received harsh punishments while he did not -- the people who could have come forward to nail the Mahaney family on their hypocrisy did not choose to do so. I think there were a few reasons for this. Many of these families were still in SGM and still cared about their own reputations. They did not want to risk further ostracization after finally working their way back to full acceptance again after their children’s punishments.

And the other teens themselves…well, I’ve heard from a couple of them, and the common thread was that they basically like Chad, think he’s a good dude, and feel sorry for him because of the burden he carries as CJ’s son. They’d all prefer to just let the pot story fade away.

So nobody credible has come forward on the record.

I’m also aware of a CLC pastor who was particularly disturbed by these allegations and attempted to look into them. After he asked around, he claimed the story was unfounded.

Since I believe that SGM leaders have no compunction whatsoever about shading the truth and are under considerable pressure to cover for CJ, I tend to assign a lot more credibility to what I’ve heard from other correspondents than what the investigating pastor might have learned. It’s my opinion that yes, the pot smoking story was true…that yes, CJ’s kid received preferential treatment…that yes, CJ and Carolyn have never owned up to it…

Because of his friends’ sympathy and protectiveness of him, and because he was still a kid in high school (or early college) when this story first started circulating, I discouraged people from using Chad’s name here and talking about it. No sense in making a pressured kid feel more pressure by making him more google-able.

But now, now that it appears he has joined the family business and has his own silly little “sports from a gospel-centered perspective” blog ministry, he has chosen as an adult to put himself out there.

So I won’t edit his name out of comments.

But just so people understand, I’m also pretty sure nothing hard and fast will ever be known for sure about the pot incident. An earnest pastor tried to discover the truth and was assured over and over again that it did not happen. Other CLC/CLS kids clearly knew that it did happen and suffered the consequences for their own involvement. You have to decide for yourselves what to believe."

Kris
SGM Survivors

MOLESTED AT AGE 13 AT AN SGM SUPERBOWL PARTY


I’m just going to share a little story and some minor commentary at the end.

One Superbowl Sunday, I was at a prominent SGM (then PDI) member’s house. There were dozens of others in attendance, lots of teens and younger adults. Remote controlling and commercial censoring were in full effect, snacks were in abundance, and everything was so biblical…as biblical as recently invented sports events centered around electronic devices can be. During a commercial break, I was sexually assaulted against an exterior wall of that house.

I was thirteen.

Not a single one of those appointed to ‘watch over’ anything, much less my soul, noticed a thing when I and the perpetrator went back inside the house. I doubt it would have mattered anyway. My family was in the outer circle, despite decades of $$$ and attendance. I started “rebelling” thereafter and refused to attend any church functions, and my parents surprisingly didn’t seem to mind (despite them not knowing the reasons for my rebellion). They severed ties with PDI/SGM 2 years later.

Why bring this up? I think it’s quite telling that despite the micromanagement of ‘biblical living’, horrible things have not only slipped under the radar of those ‘caring for our souls’ (etc., barf) but have been actively hidden, squashed, silenced. The pending lawsuit is long-deserved. I hope it ruins the entire organization financially and every single perpetrator and co-conspirator financially, mentally and physically.

Anon
SGM Survivors

HOW TO RECOGNIZE A PEDOPHILE


In the early days when our PDI church met in rented spaces, a guy took it upon himself to rent a big-screen TV and set it up in a community center for a church Super Bowl party. The church itself did not host the party, but most members came, and it evolved into a yearly affair with a chili contest. If they censored commercials, I don’t remember, but that was before things went way-out-weird.

I want to point out that the person who rented the big-screen tv and organized the Super Bowl parties later went to prison for 20 for molestation of a church child — he was due for release last week.

What we didn’t know in the time before internet searches and sex offender registries was that this guy had already spent 8 years behind bars for previous offenses committed when he was a public school teacher and coach. Church officials assured us at the time of his arrest (and as late as last year) that they did NOT know about his prior convictions. However, other statements and actions lead me to believe that they did, in fact, know or suspect something, whether they knew the entire facts of this guy’s history or not. Regardless, he was/is a master manipulator. He has the ability to appear genuine — the lovable teddy-bear kind of guy — can spout Bible verses by the chapter, has a good sense of humor & a bright intellect, and is generous with his time and many talents.

It’s easier now to find repeat offenders; but the first-time offenders or the never-caught offenders are out there, finding their way into favored positions in churches and other organizations, building close friendships with parents, gaining unfettered access to children.

Pay attention to the red flags that go up in your mind or your gut — don’t dismiss them, as I did, just because Joe Blow says he’s a Christian. If he fits the mold of an older single guy who loves children and spends more time with youth or kids than he does with people his own age — be wary. If there are holes in his history; if his extended family seems to be distant or estranged; if he sometimes slips and uses jargon that might be construed as prison lingo; if he doesn’t want to be introduced to women his own age; if he tells you the story of a ‘friend’ who had a sexual deviance problem but God healed him; if he makes strange excuses for why he didn’t vote, or why he can’t be an official Sunday school teacher; if he works in a job that is far below his education level — be wary — there’s a reason for all that. He’ll avoid taking any position in the church that requires a background check, so he’ll volunteer to ‘help out’ with youth or sports teams under the radar, because he’s prohibited by the courts from being a school teacher or coach. His extended family lives in another state and wants nothing to do with him. He can’t vote because he’s a convicted felon.

Check out the sex offender registry. Even if his name doesn’t appear, even if he appears to be authentic and genuine in every way, do not let your guard down — do not break any of your own rules about allowing access to your children. It may be much more inconvenient to follow rules when you think someone is completely trustworthy, but it is far better to be inconvenienced than to suffer the molestation of a child.

My own kids were not molested. However, their innocence was stolen by this perp — think of having to ‘draw your kids out’ about this very real crime — and our outrage at what was done to his innocent victims and our heartbreak for them is as strong today as it was 20 years ago. Statistics indicate that this guy had many more victims that are still unknown. He was a master at hiding things, a master at gaining trust, a master at lying and telling half-truths, a master at spin.

Nickname
SGM Survivors

MARYLAND CHURCH MEMBER ACCUSED MOLESTATION

By ERIC TUCKER

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON —

A Las Vegas man has been charged in Maryland with molesting multiple boys in the 1980s while assisting with youth ministries at a church targeted in a child sex abuse lawsuit.

Nathaniel Morales, who had been working as a pastor in Nevada, is accused in an indictment of sexually abusing the boys when he worked with Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Md. That church until December was associated with Sovereign Grace Ministries, a Kentucky-based evangelical church group accused in a lawsuit in Maryland last fall of covering up allegations of child sex abuse by its members. The lawsuit was amended last month to name Covenant Life Church as among the new defendants.

An indictment returned in December charged Morales, 55, with ten counts of either sex abuse or sex offense. The indictment says the sex acts involved four boys and occurred between 1985 and 1990, when police say Morales was helping the church with youth ministries, conducted Bible studies, teaching at a Christian school and hosting sleepovers.

Morales, who was arrested in southern Nevada and extradited to Maryland, is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Friday in Montgomery County Circuit Court, online court records show. His lawyer did not return calls seeking comment and a telephone listing for Morales could not be found.

The criminal investigation began in 2009 when a man reported to police that he was sexually abused by Morales when he was between the ages of 12 and 20. The man told police that his parents had spoken to the church pastor but that no police report was made. Several other men interviewed by police said they had been sexually abused by Morales as boys — sometimes in their own bedrooms or inside his apartment or his office at the school where he taught. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault.

Police interviewed a co-pastor at the church who recalled having confronted Morales about the allegations. The pastor told police that "normally the church would appeal to the person to stop his criminal behavior and then, should it not stop, they would alert people that the person is not acting in a Christian manner. The person would need to show contrition," according to a police report filed in the case. The pastor said that going to the police was in the "realm of possibilities," but that he took his cues from the families, the police report says.

Another pastor, Grant Layman, said he had communicated with Morales several years ago and that Morales had admitted to "alcohol abuse and homosexuality," the police report says. He said that Morales told him that he remembered having committed abuses and having confessed his past to an older pastor, but that Morales now said he was very ill and could not recall the specifics of anything that occurred.

Don Nalle, the communications director of Covenant Life Church, would not discuss the specifics of Morales's criminal case, deferring to a statement posted last month on the church's website. That statement says the church is investigating the allegations.

"We are sickened by the thought of such abuse —sexual abuse in any form is evil and unconscionable. We are grieved by these allegations. We also recognize that we don't have all the facts. We would encourage everyone to withhold judgment until an appropriate legal process can be completed," the statement reads in part.

A lawsuit filed last October accuses leaders at Sovereign Grace Ministries, a three-decade-old family of churches, of failing to report allegations of sexual abuse to the police and of shielding known sexual predators of children. Sovereign Grace Ministries moved its headquarters to Louisville last year after three decades in Maryland and has struggled in recent years with fractured leadership and criticism over its discipline methods, especially the church's emphasis on sins, discipline and repentance.

Susan Burke, the lawyer who brought the case, said in a written statement that the "indictment supports our lawsuit's allegations of extensive wrongdoing by Sovereign Grace Ministries and its pastors. We look forward to our day in court."

Sovereign Grace Ministries has said the suit contains "a number of misleading allegations, as well as considerable mischaracterizations of intent."

Police say they're tracking the civil lawsuit and will conduct additional investigations if new information emerges from that.

FORMER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL TEACHER ACCUSED OF MOLESTING BOYS

Washington Examiner
February 4th, 2013

by Scott McCabe
staff crime reporter


A former youth worker and teacher at a Christian school in Gaithersburg has been charged with molesting teenage boys during the 1980s and '90s.

Nathaniel Morales, 55, has been indicted in Montgomery County Circuit Court on 10 counts of sexually abusing four boys under his care.

Morales, now a Pentecostal bishop in Las Vegas, has a hearing scheduled for Friday .

Police began investigating in 2009 after a man came forward to say that Morales had performed sex acts on him beginning when he was about 14 years old.

Morales was a member of Covenant Life Church and a teacher at the victim's school, the now defunct Montgomery County Covenant Life Academy. Morales held Bible studies and sleep overs at his Germantown apartment where the victim said much of the molestation occurred.

The victim's father told detectives that he talked with pastors about Morales, but there were "concerns of tarnished reputations," and no police report was made.

Police interviewed two pastors who confirmed that they talked to Morales about the allegations that he was abusing boys.

One pastor, Ernest Boisvert, told police that "normally the church would appeal to the accused to stop his criminal behavior and then, should it not stop, they would alert people that the person is not acting in a Christian manner," according to police.

Boisvert said he "took his cues from the families of the victims," who did not indicate they wanted to notify police, charging documents said.

Police said they then discovered three more victims, who all told similar stories of Morales sneaking into their bedrooms at night and molesting them.

The alleged abuse occurred at the boys' homes, on camping trips and at the school.

Another father, when questioned by police, told investigators that he had confronted Morales, and Morales asked for the father's forgiveness. The father told police that Morales confessed, and he forgave the man. The father did not notify police.

Don Nalle, the communications director of Covenant Life Church, did not return requests for comment on Monday.

A statement on the church's website, signed by the pastors, says:

"We are sickened by the thought of such abuse -- sexual abuse in any form is evil and unconscionable. We are grieved by these allegations. We also recognize that we don't have all the facts. We would encourage everyone to withhold judgment until an appropriate legal process can be completed."

[washingtonexaminer.com]

See [www.cultnews.com]

The Rick A. Ross Institute for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups, and Movements has officially changed its name to The Cult Education Institute for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements.

The new domain name entry point and gateway to the Internet archives of the institute will soon be culteducation.com.

The Cult Education Institute archives is a library of information about destructive cults, controversial groups and movements, which was initially launched in 1996 and has continued to be under construction and expansion for the past 17 years.

The public message board attached to the The Cult Education Institute will soon only be accessible through the domain name culteducation.com. More than 100,000 entries from the former members of destructive cults, controversial groups and movements and others concerned has accumulated at the board over the past decade. The message board content continues to grow daily and it serves as a free speech zone for those who wish to share their insights and concerns about the topics listed.