Charles Joseph Mahaney, commonly known as C.J., is an American

Christian minister In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidanc ...

. He is the senior pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, and was formerly president of Sovereign Grace Ministries, now known as

Sovereign Grace Churches Sovereign Grace Churches (SGM; previously Sovereign Grace Ministries and People of Destiny International, ''PDI'') is a group of Reformed, neocharismatic, Evangelical, restorationist, Christian churches primarily located in North America. It h ...

(formerly People of Destiny International or PDI, co-founded with

Larry Tomczak Larry Tomczak is a self-proclaimed "apostolic leader" and evangelist. His ministry began in 1972. He led People of Destiny International, a pioneering church planting movement which has established almost 60 churches in the US and abroad (though no ...

), a network formed to establish and support local churches. He was one of the founding pastors and leaders of

Covenant Life Church Covenant Life Church is a non-denominational, evangelical megachurch in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Established in 1977, it spawned other churches and was the flagship church of Sovereign Grace Churches until it left the group in December 2012. His ...

, in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Gai ...

. Under Mahaney's leadership, Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville is a member of Sovereign Grace Churches and works with the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

for training and

Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...

work. Mahaney resigned from the presidency of Sovereign Grace Ministries in 2013 in order to plant Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. A 2012 class-action suit was filed against Sovereign Grace Ministries and listed Mahaney as a defendant. The lawsuit was dismissed due to the statute of limitations; Mahaney released a public statement explicitly denying all claims in the suit.

Biography

Early life and career

Mahaney was born in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

into a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

household, the middle child of five. He was the son of a metalworker in

Takoma Park, Maryland Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree C ...

. As a child, he was more interested in sports than God. Mahaney attended

Springbrook High School Springbrook High School is an American public high school, located in Montgomery County, Maryland, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It is located within the White Oak census-designated place, and has a Silver Spring mailing address. I ...

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ce ...

. He reports having been converted in 1972 at age 18 by a friend who shared his faith. He says that a newspaper ad motivated him to join a local prayer meeting known as Take and Give, which evolved into Covenant Life Church. In 1974, aged 20, Mahaney had met Larry Tomczak, with whom he led and taught a large local prayer group. He says his only reading in theology at that time had consisted of the Bible and ''

The Late, Great Planet Earth ''The Late Great Planet Earth'' is a best-selling 1970 book by Hal Lindsey with Carole C. Carlson, and first published by Zondervan. ''The New York Times'' declared it to be the bestselling nonfiction book of the 1970s. The book was first feature ...

'' by

Hal Lindsey Harold Lee Lindsey (born November 23, 1929) – known as Hal Lindsey – is a best-selling American evangelical writer. He is a Christian Zionist, a dispensationalist and a television host. He wrote a series of popular apocalyptic books – beg ...

. In 1977, Mahaney became senior pastor of what had evolved into Covenant Life Church. He cites his reading of the works of 19th century

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

leader

Charles H. Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He wa ...

and the Reformed theology of

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

as influences. Mahaney met Carolyn Layman in the 1970s, while he was teaching at Take and Give and she was working as a secretary at a Christian conference ministry in

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

, and they soon married. Mahaney has one son and three daughters.

Since 2000

Mahaney was the senior pastor of

for 27 years before handing the senior pastor role to Joshua Harris on September 18, 2004. In 2012 he planted a church on the east side of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

Voluntarily leave of absence, SGM

In June 2011 Mahaney voluntarily took a leave of absence for self-examination after charges were leveled against him by a former Sovereign Grace pastor. His leave occurred in the wake of accusations from a former top Sovereign Grace pastor who distributed hundreds of e-mails and internal church documents that portrayed Mahaney as focusing on the sins of others below him in the church hierarchy. After Mahaney's departure, the Sovereign Grace board gave a strong vote of confidence to him, saying that he is "a qualified minister of the gospel and this board approves his pastoral and teaching ministry." After an extensive outside review by Ambassadors of Reconciliation of the charges brought against him and affirmation of the Sovereign Grace board, Mahaney continued to serve as president of Sovereign Grace Ministries. Covenant Life Church, the church Mahaney co-founded and pastored for 27 years left Sovereign Grace Ministries.

Class action lawsuit and aftermath

In 2012, a class action lawsuit was filed against Sovereign Grace Ministries alleging that leaders including Mahaney covered up child sexual abuse. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in May 2013. The Maryland Court of Appeals also dismissed the case after finding that the Plaintiff's lawyer had filed the appeal too early. Since the case was dismissed, a former volunteer at CLC, Nathaniel Morales, 56, was convicted of sexually abusing three young boys between 1983 and 1991. During the trial, Mahaney's brother-in-law, former pastor Grant Layman, admitted that he did not report sex abuse claims to authorities but tried to handle it within the church. Mahaney co-hosted the

Together for the Gospel Together for the Gospel (T4G) was a biennial conference for Christian leaders. It was formed in 2006 by Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, C. J. Mahaney, and Albert Mohler. These men were all associated with the New Calvinism movement although they differe ...

conference with

Mark Dever Mark E. Dever (born August 28, 1960) is a theologian and the senior pastor of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and the president of 9Marks (formerly known as the Center for Church Reform), a Christian ministry he co-founded "i ...

, Ligon Duncan and

Albert Mohler Richard Albert Mohler Jr. (born October 19, 1959) is an American evangelical theologian, the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and host of the podcast ''The Briefing'', where he daily analyze ...

. It was announced that he was pulling out of the 2014 T4G due to ongoing lawsuits against Sovereign Grace Ministries. He returned in 2016 but withdrew again in 2018. In February 2016, Mahaney was the subject of a '' Washingtonian'' magazine article, titled ''The Sex Scandal That Devastated a Suburban Megachurch - Inside the Rise and Fall of Sovereign Grace.''

Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville

Mahaney is the senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville, a church he planted in the fall of 2012 with Bob Kauflin, Brian Chesemore, Jeff Purswell, and Gary Ricucci. He resigned from the presidency of Sovereign Grace Ministries in April 2013 while planting the church.

Selected publications

* ''Don't Waste Your Sports'', Crossway Publishing 2010, * ''Living the Cross Centered Life'', Multnomah Books 2006, * ''Humility: True Greatness'' Multnomah Books 2005, * ''Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God'', Crossway Publishing 2004, * ''Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World'', Crossway Publishing 2010, * ''Christ Our Mediator'', Multnomah Books 2006, * ''The Cross Centered Life'', Multnomah Books 2002, * ''Why Small Groups?'', Sovereign Grace Ministries 1996, * ''Disciplines for Life'', People of Destiny International 1994,

References

External links

Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville
official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahaney, Charles Joseph 1953 births Living people American religious leaders American Christian clergy American Charismatics Apostolic networks People from Takoma Park, Maryland Religious leaders from Louisville, Kentucky Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism