Unhappy to see you did not make the approved list. He stood and told me and my husband he was naive to the Paxton Singer situation. So here I am, piecing together a years-long scandal for you. Well said. "Following a lengthy season of review, reflection, and prayerful. Listen, believe, obey, shut up. Too many of these large churches have lost track of what their true purpose is. Thank you for your courage. . The problem was not simply Harvest messaging, but also the teachings that made such messagingmake sense. I simply could not reconcile the lies that were shared from the pulpit with the truths that I knew regarding issues in the church. I attended Harvest for five years, and left five years ago. Besides, pastors charismatic enough to gain large followings frequently have the ability to effectively deflect criticism and keep their elder board firmly on their side. The question is with independent churches who did they answer to? 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. Gods timing is always perfect. Elgin Quick Links Baptisms, February 19th Lina, My wife and I also left our church several years ago. Why not start a different type of church that is not pastor directed? I feared offending people. The current leadership at Harvest Bible Chapel including Luke and Landon and Rick and Mo and Jeff and the CFO are infected by the cancer of fear and control. Specifically, I do mean the Machiavellian rule by fear and division that we are seeing. The church is to be a living organism for the cause of Christ and no other. I can see you have regret for not having the courage to do it then but youre working to make up for it by speaking now. Praying for a healing and refocus of all Gods churches, Mary, We cant judge the HEART of others, we can judge their actions and behaviors. 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. Put faith in Gods justice and judgement upon all, now that sin has been exposed. And yet, I stayed. However, he ultimately agreed with the wave of backlash his pastor-friend now faced, condemning how MacDonalds drama had overshadowed Harvest and threatening a class-action lawsuit yesterday if MacDonald remained its pastor for another week. Harvest dropped the lawsuit; MacDonald took a leave of absence; Roys revealed that MacDonald had lied; and then, finally, MacDonald went on a public vulgar, slander-laced tirade against Roys and Christianity Today. All I have to say Lina is thank you! Thank goodness God is still God! Where there is no vision and freedom the people perish. At my former church, I reached the point where I couldnt, in good conscience, stay because of the amount of bull-headed spiritual abuse that was going on combined with covering-up of sexual abuse. I appreciate the Biblical distinction you made Sheila, in relation to the Bible calling us to be good ; which doesnt always mean being kind and nice. Streaming Video Broadcast. I thought something was off but had only my own suspicions to go on as we were told not to criticize. Subscribe to CT They have gone the deep end of the pool. We did not want to cause a split or damage the cause of Christ, so we quietly left. Criticism of MacDonald begun to surface on The Elephants Debt, a blog founded in 2012, run by Ryan Mahoney and Scott Bryant, former members era of Harvest Bible Church. Still. I applaud you for your courage to leave the church and let the fall out damage by James to you as a person and your career ministry, to be in Gods hands. 4. Our cold hearts lack love that shows the world we are His. Thank you for sharing! then the sermons and teaching were getting distorted and weird. But should never be a pastor again! Prevent these types of money exchange corporations, That, it seems, was what it took to finally break his hold over his current elder board; to finally convince the elders that they were wrong to keep listening to his excuses. These churches do not usually belong to any denominational body; this means that these pastors have no body above them that they are accountable to. Is the founding pastor subject to accountability structures? I didnt want to upset James. This is hardly a local issue in the Western church. Thank you for opening up your home so that hurting people could come together and share. Secrest, who founded the church in 2016 and affiliated with Harvest last September, said he didnt know at the time about the ongoing concerns raised about MacDonalds leadership and the churchs financial status, which led to Harvests lawsuit last year. Ted Haggard bemoans his "exile" in a new HBO documentary. No church is, because they are all filled with sinners like us. It was simply not possible. I was asked what I would do if I were still on staff through the last 2 years. 2. 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. I was there when Ted launched. As one person whom MacDonald led to the Lord remarked to me, Its like finding out your wife is a serial killer. The disillusionment, betrayal, and loss can be excruciating. 2023 ChurchLeaders.com, All rights reserved. The Elephant's . This decision was made with heavy hearts and much time spent in earnest prayer, followed by input from various trusted outside advisors.. Ross, Ross Blomberg, document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); LIVING WITH POWER MINISTRIES: 119 S EMERSON ST. #213 | MOUNT PROSPECT, IL 60056 | 224-634-6777 | [emailprotected]. You wrote a blog about how an increase in tattoos was in some way related to a decline in holiness and you were a leader in the church? The message we received was they were sorry we felt that way and they were sure it was not his intention. Laurie Newman, a Harvest member, told Christianity Today that she believes the church's current leaders, like Bradshaw, are "good people who want to lead the church the way God wants it to. He has harmed thousands of people. First, they resigned, along with a third elder (who was not excommunicated only because he also left Harvest and was no longer a member), in protest of how the church was being run. Unfortunately I dont think the Harvest RM is the only Harvest with a culture of fear. That IS A LIE!! If Harvest and James can answer that, without focusing merely upon what they do, it would be helpful. I believe Lina did do the best she could at the time. 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.. Please see my link. Nicole, I am sorry if you are offended. Then, on February 8th, Roys revealed material obtained under subpoena that backed up critics claims that Harvest Bible Chapel inappropriately took money from HBF. Truth is truth. The good intentions of our ministry partnership with Harvest Chicago have been overshadowed by these developments, he said. Lina, In effect, the senior pastor isthe church. Everything that is painful for everyone and anyone has been talked about endlessly for weeks. But, the truth is, I am ashamed to say, I should have left much sooner. While regret cant look back, we now live in a different era than we did four years ago. MacDonald is not being kicked while hes down. No Celebrities Except Jesus: How Asbury Protected the Revival, Southern Baptist Convention Disfellowships Saddleback Church, After Pushing for UMC Unity, Former Bishop Joins New Denomination, After Chaos and Crisis, Beth Moore Still Finds Refuge in the Church, With Gossip of the Gospel, the Church Grows in Nepal. Continually praying for healing, reconciliation and restoration for His church. I am saddened by it. None of the perpetrators of hate and satanism have fully repented, including James, his despicable henchmen and the elders. He is angry that they keep on sending texts and emails asking for money. The collaboration of many witnesses should help the leadership at Harvest (or any church) know the depth of a problem. We dont know each other, but I found this via Julie Roys Twitter. Though MacDonald has been granted the rights to his Walk in the Word ministry, he and Harvest remain at odds. I have been looking for a church like this for years. [] While only a handful showed up, the range of their pain was wide. Fear is why leaders did not speak up until now. Now you can stop going to church altogether and free your mind from religious delusion. In any case, Im saddened to hear that this happened to James McDonald. Im disappointed in your timing. Again I dont blame James MacDonald. I have a Patreon! I attended Harvest Bible Chapel for over 8 years and served as the Womens Ministry Director at the Rolling Meadows campus for three of those years (thats the flagship original campus by the way). An eight-month investigation into pastor James MacDonald and Harvest Bible Chapel, his Chicago-area megachurch, culminated last week with the publication of a World Magazine article by Julie Roys. 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. Please avoid these former Harvest elders at all cost, lest you incur great detriment to your own soul. Perhaps we can do something like that here in Davenport, too. Your daily news briefing from the editors of CT. Sheri and her husband Gary attended Cornerstone in the 1980s while attending Azusa Pacific and in their first few years of marriage. Just how historically reliable are the Gospels and Acts if even prominent evangelical and conservative Protestant Bible scholars believe that fictional stories may exist in these books? I was mortified. Our family was kicked out of our church plant campus and everyone at the church was told not to talk to us because we were disobedient by speaking out against the things were were seeing. Thank you for taking the time to nurture the HBC flock that Pastor James never cared about! The World article on the topic says that after Secrest was fired, "he was stunned, because his contract stipulated that he could be fired only for . * 36But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. Its messy. I love who you are and what you do. Lina I couldnt agree more with everything you said and your comment here. One elder resigned over this, after asking to see the finances and being overruled by the rest of the board. Hes a lemonade maker. 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! I continue to pray for the people this has affected, the elders and pastors, and that the darkness will be continually exposed to the light. The current leadership at Harvest Bible Chapel including Luke and Landon and Rick and Mo and Jeff and the CFO are infected by the cancer of fear and control. In addition, what was shared now, may have been heard better now, then it would have been heard before Lina left Harvest. No One Knows. I grew up catholic and vever really got a hold of it all. What happens next? Thankful we got left when we did. I miss that about you. This problem is not isolated to Harvest. Gods heart, over and over again, is for those who are oppressed. My daughter was also at that service when they showed the video. The elders and pastoral board have created a team called Harvest 2020 to conduct a complete review of what happened, and of the church. Our GOD is an awesome GOD. Harvest responded by suing both bloggers, their wives, and Julie Roys. Not one. Although he denied stabbing the photo, MacDonald said, I may have put my knife up against it or into it.. Harvest and MacDonald had a contentious separation last year, when he lost the position he held for 30 years over inappropriate comments and harmful conduct stemming from his legal battle with people investigating the church. And this was all the way back in 2012). 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. 2 Thumbs Way up to you my sister in Christ, for being open about your experience there, which more people than you know have also been through! Even more, the trauma of having those who had taught me so much about Jesus and showed me the way to Jesus healing suddenly take the side of the person who caused me to fear for my life- its taken a long time to move forward. Its very important that people share their stories. Pastor James made it political when he compared the era of President Trump to the era of Stalin the era of Hitler. If you know anything about abuse it can take years to come forward. This journey has taken me several years. When I talk to people about this, they are quick to disqualify anyone who went along with James, who did not stand up to him. Im glad I have stood firm. Others lied to me directly for selfish gain. Soon we must bring those truths to light, but for now we continue under the weight of so much falsehood in hope that the church will themselves initiate the needed steps of public confession, he wrote. I always wondered why you left but after reading The Elephants Debt I figured I knew why. Notify me by email when the comment gets approved. The Harvest and James MacDonald Controversy Explained, Did Pharaoh Have Free Will? With my life and schedule, my friends are few and far between, and have always been aware that my saying anything publicly about Harvest or James would jeopardize those friendships that I still love and value so much. My first two books were scheduled to be released smack in the middle of that summer, and I didnt want to impact their potential not to mention that James had agreed to write the forward on my first book.. 35The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. Plus Lina Abujamra on Why She Left Harvest Bible Chapel | Wondering Eagle, How Christians Care for One Another When Their Leaders Fall BCNN1 WP, How Christians Care for One Another When Their Leaders Fall Urban Christian News, How Christians Care for One Another When Their Leaders Fall BCNN2, How Christians Care for One Another When Their Leaders Fall | BCNN1 Black Christian News Network, From Mars Hill to Harvest: Hope for a Wounded Church Bible Talk. Your child will experience the life-changing power of Jesus and His Word through worship and story, and age-appropriate learning tools. She did not claim it was her trurh , but opinion. , 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. 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