Evangelical leaders publicly backed Mahaney despite documented abuse allegations

Evidence

C. J. Mahaney enjoyed an outpouring of support from his friends and fellow pastors in the midst of the allegations leveled against him, despite the fact that Brent Detwiler, one of Mahaney’s former associates, had sent a letter to key evangelical leaders urging them to stop promoting Mahaney until pending charges were resolved. Piper received the letter, but shortly thereafter decided to demonstrate his public support for Mahaney by preaching at his new Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville, Kentucky. There Piper offered a heartfelt endorsement of his friend, praising what God was doing through him and declining to mention the decades-long history of abuse for which Mahaney was being called to account. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 633

Categorization

• XREF: Directly supports the book’s central thesis about elite evangelical coalition loyalty — connects to the account of the broader leadership network built across chapters, and to the Milgrom/Shapiro literature on reputation-based institutions where a group’s reputation is the binding asset.