As CJ Mahaney Is Honored at T4G 2016, An Alleged Pedophile From Covenant Life Church Is Arrested and Charged

The Wartburg Watch 2016
March 28, 2016

http://goo.gl/LXkvLa

“Always remember that what was done to you has nothing to do with YOU. It all has to do with a sick perverted abuser that wants/wanted power- You are not at fault and you were/are a target- but it is not because of who you are that you were/ are abused. You are worthy, beautiful, kind, smart and deserving of love, care, passion, and nurturing! xo dr. p” 
― Patti Feuereisen, Invisible Girls: The Truth About Sexual Abuse–A Book for Teen Girls, Young Women, and Everyone Who Cares About Them link

Just what is it about Covenant Life Church, CJ Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries that seems to attract accusation after accusation of child sex abuse? What is it about the leaders in the Neo Calvinist movement that inspires them to call those who don't think this is normal of having a Javert like obsession? How do these men (and their women) ignore the mess that has been caused by one of their own? Is it worth the contributions that some of them have received? And what about the earnest young men at T4G 2016 who will give CJ a standing ovation for …what exactly? 

I was sick to my stomach when I learned of this latest situation coming out of Covenant Life Church. And for those who are so quick to say that it has nothing to do with CJ, zip your lip and check out the timeline. Thankfully, Brent Detweiler uncovered the information and is to be commended for exposing the accused pedophile at Covenant Life Church. 

Larry Ellis Caffery, respected children's ministry volunteer at Covenant Life Church, wrote a book and told CLC what might be coming.

This book would come back to haunt the pastors at Covenant Life Church, especially CJ Mahaney, Joshua Harris and Kenneth Maresco because Caffrey would provide some strong clues about his possible abuse in the future. 

Last Friday, Brent Detweiler posted Covenant Life Member & Children’s Ministry Worker, Larry Ellis Caffery, Arrested on Nine Counts of Child Sex Abuse & Two Counts of False Imprisonment. The following is the history behind this disturbing story.

According to Brent, Larry had three boys during his first marriage which ended in divorce. He married again in 1989 and had a son(b. 1997) and a daughter(b. 1999). The daughter is of particular concern in this story. Larry is a long time member of Covenant Life Church.

For the rest of this post, I will not mention the name of his current wife or his daughter who have already been through so much. I would appreciate it if our readers would also not mention their names either. I want his children and his wife to know that we are so sorry for the abuse that they have experienced.

We know a great deal about Caffrey and his family because he wrote a book Years of Grace, Life of Mercy. Here is the blurb from Google.

Although this book is an autobiography, it is really a testimony of how God has worked in the life of Larry Caffery. Larry had problems with anger, which had begun to dictate daily situations in his life. He was reckless in his responses and many times lived life on the edge. As a result, his family fell apart. Larry also became angry at God because of many trials and tribulations in his life, including the death of his twelve-year-old son. He had attempted suicide on two different occasions and was struggling in his second marriage. Still, throughout the years, God had a hold on his life and showed Larry His grace and mercy. Larry eventually gave his life to God and today his life is a testimony to the difference that God can make in a person's life. The angry, reckless young man in this book no longer exists

Interestingly, our good friend, Todd Wilhelm reviewed this book on Amazon and picked up on some discrepancies in the book. Here is the first part of that review. 

This book is one of the best displays of narcissism I have ever read. Author Larry Caffery is one pompous, bizarre individual. He mentions he didn't like the military because he was a pacifist, but then relates how he wanted to turn his rifle on his Sergeant, but that the grace of God kept him from doing so. Also, while in the military and living in Germany, he mentions that he was one of only 4 in the barracks that wasn't doing drugs. He then proceeds to tell readers about two incidents where he took drugs!

He mentioned how he prayed to God that he would not have any daughters because he was afraid he would abuse them. God answered his prayers by giving him three sons from his first wife. Then in his second marriage, after his step-son killed himself by shooting himself in the stomach with a shotgun. (I wonder what made him so miserable???? ) He and his wife had their second child, a daughter. They were thrilled!

Larry stated upfront in his book that he was afraid he would abuse daughters if he had them. 

Larry states in the book that he prayed he would not have daughters because he was afraid he would sexually abuse them.

According to Brent

In his chapter, “Back in the USA,” Larry talks about his fear of sexually abusing any daughters he might have during his first marriage to (wife).  It is an ominous and foreboding statement.  His fear of sexually abusing a daughter was so great he prayed God would only give them sons.  No one dealing with these kinds of intense thoughts and temptations should be allowed to participate in children’s ministry. 

According to Brent, Larry's father abused Larry's sisters.

I had no memory of any sexual abuse, but I knew that my sisters had been sexually abused by my dad.  Although I had no memory of any abuse to me, since I knew there had been sexual abuse in my family, I agreed to do hypnotic regressions. (Location 497) 

At least one pastor at CLC was aware of this book and its contents according to Larry.

This chapter was a verbatim letter written to Master James L. Ryan of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County Maryland.  In the letter, I chastised Mr. Ryan for making, what I believed, was a wrong decision in awarding Candy full custody of our sons.  The letter was nine pages in length, and gave me much room to critize and make degrading remarks about Candy.  Upon reading the first printing of this book, one of the pastors at Covenant Life Church suggested that if I were to ever do a reprint of the book I would do well to eliminate chapter eight. … It has been four years since the original writing [in 1998].  My family and I have continued attending Covenant Life Church. (Location 884) 

Yet, Larry was allowed to work for years in the children's ministry of Covenant Life Church! (Dee is banging her head against the wall!)

Make sure you get this fact straight. You've got a guy who admits that he might sexually abuse a daughter if he had one but he is allowed to work in the children's ministry. What is wrong with CJ Mahaney and these SGM pastors? Are they looking for trouble? Do they believe that conversion *cures* all people? Are they just plain stupid? Or, do they not give a damn about the lives of children? You tell me!

Brent Detweiler quoted from the Introduction to the book. Before you read it, let's review my concern about linking expressed conversion and repentance to a lifestyle that is free from serious sin in Anatomy of Evangelical Scandals: Steve Estes, Ken Ramey, Tullian Tchvidjian and the Misunderstanding of Repentance. The bottom line from that post was this. Conversion does not mean the person is truly repentant nor does it mean that he is not subject to serious sin. Think about that as you read Larry's thinking on that matter. Once again, from Brent's post:

It’s 2002, and I’m 52 years old. … My wife [redacted] of thirteen years and I are active members of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  We have two young children, and we take part in the children’s ministry program at the church.  Most people who know me find it difficult to believe I used to behave in such a different manner.  Some might even want to know the formula for change.  There really is no formula though.  It’s a matter of daily sanctification (becoming more Christlike).  I became a Christian many years ago, but I really had not attained much spiritual growth.  At some point I realized that my life was a mess, and I began to take Christianity more seriously.  It was when I began to look to the Bible for answers that my life began to change.  I had tried other solutions, but none of them worked.  In fact, one of the so-called solutions made my life much worse, even to the point of attempted suicide.  This is my story. 

Please note that Larry's daughter was born in 1999. Now, who is running CLC and Sovereign Grace Ministries in 1996? That's right. CJ Mahaney!  Josh Harris and Kenneth Maresco along with a bunch of others who were sin sniffing decent folks while overlooking potential perverts. As Brent recorded:

Larry and (wife) became members of CLC in 1996.  It appears they were still members in 2010.

…Caffery is currently a member of Covenant Life Church. (His wife's name is not listed.) (ed. note: 2016)

After receiving counseling from Pastor Kevin Maresco at CLC starting in 1996,  he and his wife decided they wanted to have a DAUGHTER! Looks like that counseling was a rip roaring failure. Again Brent reports:

Since (wife) and I now had Sean, we considered having another child.  We both thought it would be nice to have a daughter, and that it would be good for Sean also.  We didn’t use birth control and just left the situation up to God.  One year later God did bless us with a beautiful daughter.  On February 24, 1999, she was delivered by Caesarean section.  We named her (redacted) She and Sean have grown to love each other and are wonderful playmates!  (Location 1230) 

Larry Caffrey was arrested on 3/16/2016

Larry was arrested on 3/16/2016 and charged with 9 counts of sexual misconduct and 2 counts of false imprisonment from 2/24/2004-12/31/14. His preliminary hearing is set for 4/15/2016.

Here is a link to the charges.

You can follow the case You can follow his case in the District Court by going to: 

http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/casesearch/processDisclaimer.jis  Use case number 4D00345412.  

What was Larry doing from 2/24/2004-12/31/2014?

1. He published his book twice while he was abusing a child.

 The book was first printed on February 1, 2005 by PublishAmerica.  It was reprinted on April 13, 2010 by Tate Publishing.  

2. He worked in the children's ministry at Covenant Life Church.

Think about the total disconnect it would take to publish his book and say the following while he was allegedly abusing a child!

Most people who know me find it difficult to believe I used to behave in such a different manner.  Some might even want to know the formula for change.  There really is no formula though.  It’s a matter of daily sanctification (becoming more Christlike).

It is absolutely essential for Covenant Life Church to contact all parents and children who were under the care of Caffrey to see if any other children were abused. Has Covenant Life Church done this yet. Is PJ going to chart a different course than CJ? Or is it the same old, same old…? If so, PJ better start donating money to the *right* leaders so he, too, can sit in a special seat like CJ at the top of this post.

Here is the rest of Todd Wilhelm's review at Amazon. 

Larry Caffery tells the world he is a member of Covenant Life Church, (where CJ Mahaney and Joshua Harris of Sovereign Grace Ministries both are former senior pastors.) Caffery shared his bizarre book with at least one of the Sovereign Grace/Covenant Life pastors, and in spite of this, they allowed Caffery to work in the children's ministry!

Not surprisingly, Caffery was arrested last week and charged with 9 counts of sexual abuse and 2 counts of false imprisonment. The victim was his daughter. I feel so sorry for her and am left wondering how many other children this pervert abused.

I would not recommend anyone purchase this book. I only did so to use as a research tool in my continuing efforts to expose the abuse at Covenant Life Church and the Sovereign Grace Churches denomination, a scandal some have claimed is "largest sexual abuse scandal to hit the Evangelical church."

PS: That pastor who read the book and did nothing ought to have his butt kicked out of the ministry immediately.

T4G2016 Attendees

Surely there are some of you that find the number of child sex abuse allegations coming out of Sovereign Grace Ministries concerning? CJ Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries have been looked at by Time Magazine and The Washingtonian as an example of what some have called the worst example of evangelical child sex abuse in the last decade. Some of your leaders have willingly taken donations by CJ Mahaney and SGM through the years while ridiculing those of us who speak for the victims of this tragedy.

Who do you serve?

 Are you going to be the one to give CJ Mahaney a standing ovation? Or will you turn your back on him or hide out in your room? Do you believe he is the example of the *cross centered life* that he writes so authoritatively about?Will you get him to autograph it for you?  How many reports of child sex abuse does it take for you to take notice? Maybe you could take some time with your friends and pray for the SGM victims of child sex abuse? Or you could stand around and glad hand CJ. Maybe you will get a job…And you will certainly serve somebody. Will it be the least of these like Jesus?