Tullian Tchividjian, senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida is speaking out against Sovereign Grace Ministries for the way in which it dealt with a sex abuse scandal in 2012.
Nathaniel “Nate” Morales was found guilty of five counts of sex abuse at a Maryland court that involved inappropriate physical contact with young boys. Morales was a leader at Covenant Life Church, which is affiliated with Sovereign Grace, a family of churches who partner together in church planting and various Christian ministries.
A leader of Sovereign Grace Ministries has admitted that he didn’t report Morales’ conduct to the police.
Tchividjian, who is the grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham, has also ended his role as a blogger with The Gospel Coalition claiming the news site has strayed from its original commitment to biblical truth. Tchevidjian alleges the editorial staff of the site seemed to cover up the truth behind the Sovereign Grace sex scandal.
“These people, they're family, Tchividjian told Christian Post. “Of course he [C. J. Mahaney, who founded SGM] knew," Tchividjian told The Christian Post. "C. J. was, for many years, the micro-managing head of the organization and nothing happened under the umbrella of Sovereign Grace that he wasn't made aware of, so for anyone to say, 'Well he didn't know,' that's totally naive."
According to Charisma Magazine Tchividjian writes in an article entitled "I've Come to Set the Captives Free," that in his opinion "the messaging of The Gospel Coalition has morphed over the last seven years" into something he feels is no longer consistent with their original mission: "to be a hallway where Christians from all denominational backgrounds who may disagree on non-essentials could gather and rally around the Good News."