The end is in sight for SGM Survivors. SGM Survivors has been the main blog that has documented and written about the issues with C.J. Mahaney’s Sovereign Grace Ministries. For this blog the news is bittersweet. This blog wants to thank Kris but it is also concerned about these stories going away. This post at The Wondering Eagle is this blog’s response to this news.
“Blogging is a conversation, not a code.”
Mike Butcher
Recently there has been some news about the main blog that documented the abuses, and problems with C.J. Mahaney’s Sovereign Grace Ministries. I’ve been chewing on this post for at least a week in my brain in figuring out what to say. There is much that needs to be said, some thanks being given, but also raising some concerns. First I would encourage you to read the post in its entirety here.
First Some Thanks to Kris…
Writing a blog is a lot of work. I’ve learned this in writing this one. Most people who swing by you on the internet don’t understand half of the work. There are emails, tips, sometimes people who want to speak with me on the phone, or meet with me. A busy, active blog can really be a full time job. So this blog expresses its thanks for Kris to running the site. I read it and processes all the material about Eric Simmons and the Kauflin when I was being invited to Redeemer Arlington in 2012 and 2013.
Some Concerns…
As we all know Sovereign Grace is still around and it is active in Louisville, Kentucky. C.J. Mahaney has not gone away and he is still active. So is the Kauflin family and Bob Kauflin. You still have the infamous pastors college and some churches are being planted. Mahaney, this blog believes is a sociopath and for him ministry is money. Its about money and fame. Mahaney would want nothing more than many of these stories going away. Stories about abuse disappearing would be a gain for Mahaney. We saw SGM Refuge disappear years ago, and that was a shame. But as a blogger if you are going to write such stories I also think one has a responsibility to keep them up as a civic duty. So this blog is concerned about SGM Survivors disappearing.
Some Push Back
Kris also says something that this blog disagrees with. Kris writes that she is tired of the de-conversion stories and of people rejecting Jesus and the Bible, because of a bad SGM experience. I think one of the problems with evangelicalism and being a refugee is that it is quite complex and difficult. On top of the abuse one of the points of contention is that some people in evangelicalism have a hard time dealing with people who now start to think gray and have escaped the narrow thought process that one must maintain in order to be in evangelicalism. But Kris also didn’t address another point. What do you do when that one negative experience becomes, two, three, four, five, and sixth? From where I am standing that reveals that the problems with evangelicalism is systemic. Let me put it another way, if you purchased a brand new Honda, and went through five cars that had major repairs or issues over a decade, by the time the sixth comes around you would be scratching your head and asking, “What is wrong with the quality of Honda?” That also applies to evangelicalism. I write about de-conversion and atheism in this blog on top of other issues because they are linked. You can’t write about one and not write about the other. But in the view of this blog de-conversion stories have legitimacy as they are a part of the landscape of evangelicalism today.
An Offer for People Who Have Told Their Stories Who Want to Keep Them Alive
This will be a part of another post, but this blog is not going anywhere. I mean I am in my 40’s and I am thinking decades down the road. This blog likes to write about the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) but it also has written about Harvest Bible Chapel, Acts 29, the Southern Baptist Convention, Bethel, charismatic theology, and Christian nationalism. The issues in evangelicalism are vast. This blog has been fluid as evangelicalism shifts and changes and trends emerge. Its why I bounce around because that is how evangelicalism is today.
So this blog will extend this offer to those from the SGM community. If you want a blog to tell your story or re-run it or keep it active because your SGM church or pastor is still going strong, this blog would be happy to allow you to post your story here. Again this blog is going to be around for a long time and I am happy to let people post their experience. Its your choice, no pressure at all. But if you want to do that, please email me at wonderingeagle261@gmail.com
In this post there was much that needed to be communicated. I wanted to thank Kris. But I wanted to express concerns about SGM Survivors being shut down in the near future. Then I wanted to provide some push back and let people know that this one is not going anywhere, and if they want another blog to platform their story, this blog is willing. With that all that needed to be said has been said. Have a good week everyone.
Wondering Eagle 
It seems that some folks want to blog about the negative in Christianity but not the consequences.
The reality is Jesus alone doesn’t cut it. He doesn’t speak to most of us and never did.
Cumulative experience leading to a weighing of the evidence leads to a change of heart.
And what does “deconversion” mean anyway? Most folks were raised Christian.
This leads to another problem. Many who blog still have the hubris that the Christianity they believe in is the true one.
No one denies the importance of these stories. They’re needed but it’s unrealistic to expect belief to continue.
Anyway the reality is belief isn’t so cut and dried. I waffled for years and sometimes still do.
Stick around long enough and many deconversion stories will reverse themselves.
Too late for me but others milage may vary.
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SGMsurvivors hasn’t been relevant approaching a decade now.
Let me list it’s accomplishments.
………………………………………………….. – There are none.
Don’t forget; it’s just a blog; in the bigger picture it ultimately changes nothing.
The headstone for Wonderingeagle will ultimately be the same. Thousands of posts; nothing accomplished.
Welcome to the Internet.
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This is why they shut-down I-monk. Thousands of posts; no minds changed.
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You must enjoy spinning your tires. You’re still here.
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They shut down iMonk because Mike retired. iMonk archived posts are still available so it’s not “shut down”
The “SS Evangelical” is still a sinking ship.
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People need a place to decompress, hence the “deconversion” stories.
When the religious culture you’re in tells you god is at work in the world, that he loves you and cares for you, that the scriptures you believe in are replete with miracles and wonders, then you have to ask, where he was when you were abused.
Christians tie themselves into all sorts of mental pretzels over this.
In many of the more prosperity & charismatic tribes you’re not blessed.
With the Calvinist bunch your abuse was pre ordained.
With the Catholics, it’s all about what’s best for the church…Frank’s new robes don’t pay for themselves.
SGM survivors has to realize that folks are going to bail. And spout.
The “deconversions” are going to continue regardless.
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Actually Jack, Mike didn’t retire; he got cancer and died. Then there were two or three primary editors for a few more years before they called it quits realizing the blog had run its course.
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The original Mike died, and another Mike ran it until 2020. A pretty good run and the archives are still there.
I didn’t get into iMonk all that much, the original guy had long passed. It had some interesting articles.
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