Both can be messy, but in the latter case, responsibility for that mess must be laid squarely at the feet of the abusive Elders who are sinning, not at the feet of Christs little ones, the oppressed members of Christs flock, who are being caused to stumble, nor at the feet of those attempting to triage the wounded and sound a warning to others who are in danger of being I left HBC Davenport 4 years ago because of the spiritual abuse that is happening there as well. Lina, given your vast experience, It is ironic that the experience at Harvest should be seen as a culture of fear. You are loved. Within days of their statement, MacDonald offered a public apology, admitting to careless and hurtful words and a regression into sinful patterns of fleshly anger and self-pity that wounded co-workers and others.. And I find it odd that someone would have an opinion on that. I do believe you. I have my own hurt of how certain situations were handled with me through the 20s ministry Then soon after that, the 30s ministry, production ministry and even the womens ministry on multiple occasions. Or is he in effect the church, with an elder board that exists only for show and to rubber stamp his decisions? Did you know that Satan and his minions come to Harvest? I no longer help lead a larger mens ministry. Lina, to see how the Lord has blessed your ministry these past few years is absolutely amazing! I didnt want to be rebellious against authority. The problem was not so much the pastor but the members that lived worldly. Thank you for being honest and speaking truth. In addition to leading Harvest, MacDonald acquired a massive evangelical following through his books, Bible studies, and Walk in the Word radio program, with more than a million fans on Facebook. Lina, I hope to become braver. I am thankful for JESUS that used Pastor James in my life. The fired senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel megachurch is contending, in a new lawsuit, that an attorney and accountants hired by the church took part in a "smear . The assistant pastor just tried to deflect and justify the pastors actions. She did not claim it was her trurh , but opinion. A friend sent a link showing a video of a former Willow pastors return to that church to speak after leaving a decade ago for similar reasons as you left Harvest. So much good was happening at Harvest, surely it must have Gods blessing. He spoke highly of you, and since then, I have occasionally prayed for you regarding your time and experience at HBC. Sports Betting Hits a New High: A Crisis in the Making? I pray that the sincere, Christ honoring followers humbly seek Him and His will for them individually in relation to this circumstance, in addition to His will for the church as a whole. Your studies are strong biblical studies. for less than $4.25/month. It is so sad when the devil works to cause problems in a church. We dont know if He will allow Harvest not to crumble. Not everything needs to be about Polititcs. Long story short he kicked my husband and I out of the church. Like in Ezekiel, many people are trying to sound the trumpet of warning!! Again this is HER TRUTH! Dont stop trusting or loving. Press on in Truth with Grace and Peace. What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.. Thank you for sharing. This pastor couldnt have been more wrong. superstar pastors are always ,inevitably, trouble. Others have asked, but immediately defend the senior pastor and church. Mahoney and Bryant shared concerns about Harvests financial dealings, and provided a platform for other former Harvest members, who accused MacDonald of a controlling and abusive leadership style and pointed to an overall lack of accountability for MacDonald at Harvest. I used to go to a church in AZ pastored by Jon Gaus. Im not sure what is going on with me honestly. Harvest Bible Chapel We're here to glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Yell and bully and make people feel like second class Christians? Because evangelical megachurches are typically formed around a single charismatic individual, elder boards are generally loathe to consider letting this individual go. Amen Sister! I praise your decision to own your ministry outside of James. I should have left that week, but I was too afraid to cause damage to Jesus and His kingdom and the women I was leading at that time. blessings. 2023 RELEVANT Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. I still hold fast to the hope he will take all this to Jesus. Welcome to Ohio. She will be one of many many many many who come forward so if you dont like it, dont read. Browse 60+ years of magazine archives and web exclusives. Lina, this took courage and Im glad you said it. The church was growing at the time. Thank you for coming forward! On his radio show, Muller later aired what sounded like clips of MacDonald making harsh comments toward media who had covered the story. Those who would shame someone for standing on the side of truth and grace have missed the mark. I pray for the leaders. I will not address any party affiliation. But when it happens for reasons like this we should be shouting it but unfortunately we dont always perceive the abuse for what it was/is until we are out of the situation. Gods timing is always perfect. 1 Song. The Scripture that came to me as I read this is I Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. Because Jeff is still lying to peoples faces with a smug grin as recently as Saturday night. Nellie, Im sorry for your comment. I totally agree with you Patti. Harvest responded by suing both bloggers, their wives, and Julie Roys. 7. My father went through prostate cancer. Please avoid these former Harvest elders at all cost, lest you incur great detriment to your own soul. There are dozens if not hundreds of witnesses against many Elders at Harvest all saying the same thing. I see Jesus in youfrom one member of the Body to another. In Him, Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7:15 Thanks Sheila. He kept telling me that I didnt understand authority and I was in rebellion. I am aware that there has been some very good ministry done through this church. Thank you for your courage and for responding. In other words, thatwasMacDonald in the recording. Ive never been able to foster the same level of trust and thats the residual I wrestle with. According to Harvest, their agreement resolves all claims and issues and releases them from future legal matters over the arbitration terms. This is the right time as the judgment of God has come to his people. Thank you for opening up your home so that hurting people could come together and share. Were they afraid? Whats also sad is that old witness accounts go to show how truly far reaching and how long this behavior has been going on. Lina, thank you for your post, and thank you for your honesty and transparency. You personify a strong, fast talking, intelligent woman, which is a gift by way of your heritage. Pastor James teaching seemed so Biblical. , Titus 3:10-11 says as for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once, and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful, he is self condemned. Also 1 Timothy 5:20 says as for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, which is what we are doing, so that the rest may stand in fear. , Nothing is covered, nothing is unresolved, nothing is ongoing, only this attack from the enemy. | Photo: Harvest Bible Chapel Facebook The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability has suspended Chicago-area megachurch Harvest Bible Church following the firing of its longtime pastor James MacDonald and amid ongoing revelations that the ministry had misappropriated funds. However, 2 of the groups meet in Panera Bread. Will James not wake up and realize that the Church of Jesus Christ is not the organization or nonprofits we create, but the men and women that God calls and saves by the sacrifice of His Son? Youve blessed me when I heard you speak at a Harvest Womens event about 10 yrs ago, through your radio ministry and at an event you spoke at last year. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. The evil at Harvest is a nasty stage four cancer yet has invaded the entire body. It was love at first sight!! May God bless you for speaking truth and standing in the gap for those of us who dont have the circle of influence that you have. While I am personally removed from the situation, my brother and sister-in-law attend a Harvest Church and there has been a lot of pain through all of this. Others had old wounds that had resurfaced and were hurting, having never felt closure to their stories. it seems to me that people give more grace to the offender than the victim. There are questions the leadership at every such megachurch should be asking. I do know that my faith will not be shaken. My daughter was also at that service when they showed the video. Dont damage the church by being publicly critical. The Elephants Debt, which had posted criticism of MacDonald, including stories by former Harvest members, elders, pastors, and staff, throughout 2012 and 2013, went on a posting hiatus at around this time. I have multiple thoughts. Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. A year or so before leaving Harvest I had written a blog post about holiness in which I had referenced the growing fad of tattoos in our culture. Every weekday, get RELEVANT's top five articles delivered to your inbox! These are the last days! Im praying for you. Your time at Harvest made a huge impact to my small group and strengthened my faith in Christ . Have you ever read this piece on how sick systems keep people controlled? Like you, Lina, Ive listened to people wounded by sin, power grabs and wrongdoing by Church leaders. The congregation has been deceived, lied to, and hounded to give sacrificially, all the while the senior pastor has been making hundreds of thousands of dollars. This decision was made with heavy hearts and much time spent in earnest prayer, followed by input from various trusted outside advisors.. James MacDonald (born October 4, 1960) is a Canadian-born evangelical Christian pastor, television evangelist, and author. I dont see anything mean in her commentary. Good word, my sister. It is finally the truth coming to light from his own actions and the people who protected him for years. I never worked at Harvest under Pastor James, I never wrote a book, I never had any altercation with Pastor James, and never had a complaint about him. Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. We never gave up on God because He never gives up on us. As a nation, something painful will bring us back. Conversions credited to women evangelists sharing the good news one-on-one in conversations. DIRECTIONS & INFO | . If you personally were not in a position to be damaged by James, do not judge those who were susceptible to the wrath damage of James. If they built it, it is theirs to destroy. Just pray in a prayer closet to be still in the presence of Jesus. New to Harvest and my faith in Christ, I didnt know what was going on and still kinda of unclear of all the details. for what its worth, the timing of the writing is His perfect timing. Its like I seek mans favor as well, rather than the Lords. If Harvest and James can answer that, without focusing merely upon what they do, it would be helpful. Quit pointing fingers, justifying why and stirring the pot. Thank you, Lord, for Ephesians 6:13: Fear is why leaders did not speak up until now. Perhaps we can do something like that here in Davenport, too. The pastor also gets $1.2 million and a parcel of property in Crystal Lake, Illinois, as well the ministrys equipment, books, and digital resources, the church announced this week. I asked my surgeon why the procedure is called radical, he replied that even the seminal vesicles have to be removed along with the prostate, otherwise the cancer may return! 2.) We warn the people of Harvest Bible Churchto separate themselves from these false messengers. Harvest Bible Chapel has owned its mistakes and endured to become a happier and healthier church, whose members recently pledged financially, in their walk/work for Christ, and in their. He was the senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel megachurch in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, United States [1] [2] and was the host for the church's former broadcast ministry, Walk in the Word . Your sincere desire to move us further in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Thats when eight former elders sent a letter to the sitting elder board, warning them that MacDonald was disqualified for office, she said in a response posted Wednesday. So many people have recently asked me why I left Harvest Bible Chapel when I did. Although, it definetly planted a seed for me. (It wouldve done no good to tell them how they erred when previous months didnt get it done.) Five Uncomfortable Church Documentaries Still Worth Watching, Asbury Announces New Service ScheduleCampus Will Be Closed to the Public After Today, Eight Witnesses Testified Against Hillsong Founder Brian Houston in Court Case. Only time will tell whether Harvest can outlive its founding pastorand the scandal that has enveloped both him and his elder board. One elder resigned over this, after asking to see the finances and being overruled by the rest of the board. How do you know it wasnt done with fasting and with prayer? (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';fnames[3]='MMERGE3';ftypes[3]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); Copyright 2023 Living With Power. Many were intimidated, called names, called subversives. It describes participative worship thats all the music you need. One person (not from Harvest) asked if I needed to call the church to cancel my membership. Please anchor in on John 7:24. This post reminds me of something that happened at my former church. Attempts to reconcile the situation failed due to the pastor believing he had done nothing wrong. These are the same elders that approved this same law suit to be dropped when James and co. knew that they would have to open all the books and all the dirt would come out! Be kind not hurtful. May Our Lord guide all of us and May His will be done above all else. The environment is as ahw stated, fear James, make James happy But often they require speaking up when injustice is done. Id like to think its the fear of man spoken about in the Bible but I think it often goes beyond that. Then, he was fired, according to the Daily Herald, a suburban Chicago newspaper. On February 12th, someone who sounded an awful lot like James MacDonald called into Mancow Mullers Chicago-area radio show to cuss out all of his perceived enemies. see My Dream Church https://sites.google.com/site/mydreamchurch/. If you read the history and understand the public record of offenses at Harvest (with many more than the requisite two or three witnesses), you will understand why this is not only completely justified, but actually necessary to the restoration of healing and good order to Christs Body. I wondered if you had become a full time missionary and if that was why you quit writing. The surprise is not Harvest, but that you publicly hung them. The news came less than a week after another update from Julie Roys, a defendant in the lawsuit and the writer responsible for the World investigation, who has continued to release evidence against MacDonald and call for his resignation. Of course people can join in with instruments too. Will those men now be known for their mark as sinful followers of James? Why kick him and the church while their down Lina? I do not think the solution is replacing the pastor and associates with a new administration. Love you! God bless. But are they? However why now? And still some came because their loved ones and spouses have abandoned the faith completely and now refuse to go to church and they long to understand why. Those who step out of line are often dismissed. The issue here is not TIMING or kicking someone when theyre down its about exposing ungodly, cowardly behavior and making people aware of its existence. The New Testament model that churches should follow, says Every Believer is a Priest. Read the Old Testament. Pray for those outside the faith who will never come to salvation because of how this appears to them, Muller wrote in his op-ed. In another incident at Camp Harvest, MacDonald reportedly stabbed a photo of a former Harvest pastor with a butter knife. Thank you for the courage and humility it takes to write a post like this. I hadnt realized that James had gotten a tattoo that week. Leaving without speaking up was still an act of cowardice and self-preservation. But the biggest lesson is people need to stop looking at preachers as though they are perfect, but God know they arent and they need people on their necks to keep them honest. They never acknowledged that they had done anything wrong. The Asbury Revival Is Over. Gordon Zwirkoski, a former Harvest elder and the original director of HBF, told Roys that James MacDonald essentially wields ultimate authority at the church and cultivates a spirit of fear in the staff. Former Harvest employee Dave Jones says his church has welcomed dozens of Harvest refugees who show signs of spiritual abuse and are disillusioned.. Yet Jesus minces no words when He tells us we ARE to judge teachers by their *fruits* and expose evildoers (and leads by examplesee His very public chastisement of the hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees in the Gospels). Its hard. Thats what happens when I get older chronologically! At this point, Im not sure what else your thread can accomplish. Well, that same year, my wife was hired as the childrens pastor at the church we had been volunteering at on Wednesday nights (because our church had nothing going on) and I myself have been ordained as a deacon and have even had the privilege to preach on a Sunday morning. God used him mightily for many years and brought His salvation to thousands through this brother. I cant imagine a culture in which you felt such fear. Lina, I know that you did not take writing this lightly, and that it was preceded by much prayer and asking for the Holy Spirits wisdom and guidance in order to strike a balance of truth and grace. Its ironic that you should post this today. Sometimes being good will require us to say harsh things. I also trust that you did seek wisdom from the Lord on what and how to speak into this. Thank you Lina for your honesty and boldness and ultimately helping me put words to what I have been experiencing through the preaching of James. Those that havent gone through it ask why would you speak these things? The edited . The culture of fear is real, soo much so I dont feel comfortable giving my name as some will know me. @Donna Is it possible that it is God Himself who is exposing these misdeeds? And yet, I stayed. It helps to be able to talk about it instead of feeling like you have to hide it, or just deal with it. 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This problem is not isolated to Harvest. Do not judge the timing, Gods timing is Always Perfect. God wins the war. Stephanie Martin, a freelance writer and editor in Denver, has spent her entire 30-year journalism career in Christian publishing. Rita, be encouraged. DONT defend these people in any way!! Ive been in the medical field for over 40 years and know a thing or two about human anatomy. She is sharing her heart and personal experience in an open, vulnerable way, in kindness and love. The church has responded by hiring Lawrence Swicegood, the executive director of communications at Gateway Church, who was also hired by Harvest Bible Chapel when facing its scandal involving James MacDonald. chose to suffer. Harvest elders announced this morning that they were forced to take immediate action on Tuesday to end his 30-year tenure. I believe you are mistaken. This woman sounds sincere. Some women were still in the middle of the trauma and were still currently attending Harvest. In 2013, in a story covered bymajor evangelical news outlets, Harvest publicly excommunicated two former elders who were still members of Harvest. You did the right thing and I believe more will step up not to dishonor James, but noticing how much the church has changed. Opt out of mega church? He is really great at it I give him that. Ross, Hearing these stories has helped me to realize I left just when I was supposed to. But should never be a pastor again! see My Dream Church https://sites.google.com/site/mydreamchurch/, I would love to chat and learn more of what you are doing. Seriously? Well said. Lina, thank you for your honesty. I didnt want to risk any negative impacts on my own growing ministry. God is purifying His Church. So beautiful. I feel like I cant trust my own judgment any more. I was there when Ted launched. In fact, he is the one who is no longer pastoring. I struggle with the fear of man myself. No unfortunately I have not seen your web page. Thankful we got left when we did. It seems to me that theyve had years to repent and make things right. Im very certain you do not understand narcissists and how manipulative they are I recommend Dr. Ramani on YouTube as she is a great resource to gain understanding but the only chance to fight their evil is to bring it out into the light, expose them for what they truly are. I feel angry that the people who were supposed to be watching over the congregation allowed this to go on. I really think you hit the nail on the head when you said you realized something dark about yourself, that you had been a woman ruled by fearand I could identify with what you said since I had been that woman too. I dont really care what someone else thinks. Can you imagine how God feels when he sees his churches ( all denominations, we are in this together). This isI believewhy the American church has lost its effectiveness. Jesus calls us to be GOOD. This is a very vulnerable time for a lot of people and I am sure God weeps for every single wounded soul.. Something happened to us some years ago and a number of people turned against us because of lies, etc. Pastor James made it political when he compared the era of President Trump to the era of Stalin the era of Hitler. Over the summer, they agreed to try to make a joint statement and start the process of relational reconciliation, the Harvest elders said, but the efforts didnt pan out. In October, the church reported its chief information officer to police for suspected embezzlement. I am thankful that timing of other circumstances in my life led me to a new city to grow and find a faithful, healthy, growing, biblical church community. The devil may win some battles, but we know God ultimately wins the war. Same as your departure, not a single person reached out to see how I was doing once I left my job. Its been over a year and a lot has changed at Harvest and a lot sill needs to change. The recognizing date of the exempt status is April, 1972. While tens of thousands flocked to campus, school officials met in a storage closet to make decisions that would honor what is happening.. In announcing MacDonalds termination, Harvest elders stated they are committed to fulfilling our fiduciary duty as the leadership of this congregation, knowing that at times the outcome may be misunderstood or emotionally painful. Now you can stop going to church altogether and free your mind from religious delusion. In good conscience we walked away too knowing it was the right thing before God.So now I get your story, you were a favorite of Kathy and James so I am sure to take a stand against the injustice at Harvest was not at all an easy decision.So many other godly people got pushed out for speaking up about the entitlement and harshness of James and other Pastors and Elders.So very sad somewhere along the way they just forgot they are supposed to be shepherds and servant and not the guards defending the many sin issues at Harvest. What are you authorized to do? Yes, there are a lot of hurting people at Harvest. Love for God, relationships, and the church. God bless you. No One Knows. Perhaps my fear had its legitimate reasons. Several years went by and one family apologized to us as did another man. I didnt want to upset James. BTW, Ive loved your blogs in the morning, but cant read the Twitter ones because I am not on Twitter. She did a awesome job as the judgment of God has come to his house. While Harvest the pastor there for years had some good preaching.
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harvest bible church scandal