But often they require speaking up when injustice is done. The practice of medicine is not an exact science; neither is navigating very tough and painful circumstances such as this. Precept Inductive Bible Study for Women. For this, according to the Daily Herald, Secrest was fired. Ive always appreciated your candor and honesty, and I think the Lord has gifted you with a strong sense of discernment. Well said Lina. Thanks for being so honest. Constantly made to feel stupid, the youth had had enough so the mom called a meeting with the pastor. I wondered where God was in the narrative. Subscribe to CT Thank you for your honestly, I personally did not ask why you left, because we left approximately the same time for the same reasons. In fact, he is the one who is no longer pastoring. I didnt want to be rebellious against authority. 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. We need to trust Him. You do not know if she fasted or not, nor do you know if the Lord Himself brought her to this revelation. Abusers groom their community and a spiritually abusive church grooms its members to not rock the boat, to gaslight themselves, and to leave quietly if they should ever refuse to submit to abuse. She approached this with sensitivity, wisdom and grace. As Pastor James has said in the past, truth and time go hand-in-hand. I still hold fast to the hope he will take all this to Jesus. Subscribers receive full access to the archives. Stressful on him and his family. The fallout has only just begun. None of the perpetrators of hate and satanism have fully repented, including James, his despicable henchmen and the elders. I do believe you. Maybe you were called in front of the elders and asked to rewrite because thats horrendous theology and an awful way to be an ambassador for the Gospel. Let us examine ourselves for unconfessed sin and seek to live in fear of the Lord lest bitterness overtake us.. @Ross, Were you able to access it? Gods timing is always perfect. Do elder boards mean anything, or are they just there to look pretty? I have since moved on and seen God do some pretty amazing God-sized miracles in my life and ministry (evidently, God does work outside of the walls of Harvest Bible Chapel!). And it wasnt just some random bloggers saying these things, either. Thank you for teaching even in the midst of giving your testimony. Addressing this following statement from you, By the time I left, I had discovered something dark about myself: I was a woman ruled by fear. I left HBC Davenport 4 years ago because of the spiritual abuse that is happening there as well. James has all the characteristics of a false teacher. DONT defend these people in any way!! [] While only a handful showed up, the range of their pain was wide. It never dawned on me that it would open you up to attack. I saw the horrible video of the three Elders that were fired, It was autrocious! Walked out of that service. , 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. Not cool to kick people when they are down. Thank you for your honesty and your explanation. Thank you. It is a cry to the current leadership, to evangelicalism at large that there are some very serious problems that need to be dealt with. I see Jesus in youfrom one member of the Body to another. He invitedme to go when we first started dating. It would be endearing to me and honoring to them. Pray for all the lost and unsaved who are not hearing the Gospel and our testimonies right now from our lips because sin has been made the main thing. She did a awesome job as the judgment of God has come to his house. 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. It seems that was true at Harvest, just as it is at many local churches. 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. We confronted him basically because of the way he had attacked a youth at the time and his mother for bringing up how the pastor was making this youth to feel. James ended up sending me a copy of the new approved blog post, and out of fear, I complied. We are the Church! Amen sister!! I didnt know you personally, but was a part of and benefited from the many programs that you offered through womens ministry. One elder resigned over this, after asking to see the finances and being overruled by the rest of the board. Sign up for our newsletter: 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. Let us pray God will send His Spirit upon us and cure us of this. But as every Christian knows, we walk and we live by grace. It is not with the powerful; it is those whom the powerful make to feel like theyre nothing. Yet Jesus was not the mission even though the pastor spoke of Jesus. Lina, I hadnt realized that James had gotten a tattoo that week. Anointing: Every believer is a priest in the new covenant. This is why Jesus did not come to this present church environment. In keeping with our past private statements to Harvests leadership and to our pastorsThe primary issue is not reconciliation or peacemaking, it is repentance, GCC elders said in a January 17 statement. Also another story emerged on why another person left Harvest Bible Chapel. Then God led him to Harvest Bible Chapel. This is also why as a follower of Christ it is so important to know and learn Gods word so you see when something isnt right. Based on just the first few paragraphs, I hear you! Did you realize elders and pastors are personally apologizing g to people? Instead, they have chosen to remain on the elder board and continue with the deep-seeded corruption and fraud that has plagued Harvest Bible Chapel for many years. Can you imagine how God feels when he sees his churches ( all denominations, we are in this together). Structure: the structure of My Dream Church is based on the New Testament Body Of Christ The people of the church are those we feel we can trust and love. If so Id be in agreement but again- this is not a political post. Is it perfect? While tens of thousands flocked to campus, school officials met in a storage closet to make decisions that would honor what is happening.. The sin that has taken place does not negate the awesome work that God has done, and it pains my heart to hear people act as if it does. I love you and our Lird. Jesus taught eternal love. But thats how it happens at Harvest, right? I will be praying for you. Come together at part of the body of Christ called Harvest Bible Chapel and pray that Gods will not ours be done. you managed (a wording that says, you knew it was not right, but did so out of self protection) and humility because as Mancow is now saying, James had alligator tears of his hurt to make you feel guilty. But your words affirmed what I suspected. Muller, who has attended Harvest for five years and developed a friendship with MacDonald, wrote in a Daily Herald op-ed that hed seen the best the church had to offer: MacDonalds punchy sermons renewed Mullers faith, brought his family back into Christian community, and taught him the truth of the gospel. I have been attending Harvest and listening and learning from Pastor James sermons for almost 10 years; I have witnessed the sweet joy of my husband coming to Christ because of God using Pastor James mightily; and I have been blessed beyond measure by the positive impact Harvest, its ministries, and especially its PEOPLE have had upon my relationship with God, my Harvest friends and family, my life, and my marriage. It is finally the truth coming to light from his own actions and the people who protected him for years. 6. Sitting in the pews, I could not see how deep the cancer was at HBC. Not just Harvest Bible Chapel. The confidence I hang on to today is that whether I am approved or critiqued for this opinion, it is Christs love that will catch me and his arms that will continue to sustain me when I close my eyes at the end of each new day. Thank God the early Christians stood firm and did not run away from troubles. All Rights Reserved | Website by Living Wth Power, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISjXhWUyGi0&list=PLud2nIxx0IAT58I8QPBdfrOz8bFMQQcd6&index=4&t=0s, https://radical.net/sermon/kingdom-community/, https://sites.google.com/site/mydreamchurch/, Recommended Reads: Relevant Magazine on James MacDonald Allegedly Inappropriately Touching Anne Green. Therefore, we are at our most open to hurt. Dont listen to haters. That is, so many think that the church is the pastors ministry and they dont adequately facilitate the ministry of believers. 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. Thanks for speaking up! Maybe people could handle hearing it better now than then. Have you sought the Lord in prayer and fasting?Exposing sin is not hurtful then you would be against every prophet in the Bible. There is no timing to sharing pain. Thankful we got left when we did. The Spirit has shown me that Church, the Body of called out believers are those Christians you meet with. Thank you and thank Lina. In 2013, in a story covered bymajor evangelical news outlets, Harvest publicly excommunicated two former elders who were still members of Harvest. So great to see your support with your wise comment. I share a lot of the same feelings. What you are talking about is protecting abusers at the expense of those they have abused and betrayed which, unfortunately, happens far too often. While many in the congregation were willing to give it a second chance, some members raised concerns about many of these individuals closeness to MacDonald, and their willingness to cover for him for so long. In any case, we had a final meeting with the pastor and his assistant pastor (who was his son-in-law) to tell them that I was leaving their church. And I wont stand in the way of Christs work. He lists grievances against Harvest including a false narrative in financial matters, a hostile takeover, shunning our family, the wrongful seizure of the ministry assets returned to him in the recent arbitration, and a vicious but unsuccessful strategy to end our ministry permanently.. But wait who is that lurking around the edges, his deeds the center of everyones interest in our church right now, salivating and gleeful that divisiveness and sin is healthy within the body of Christ? Dont stop trusting or loving. Amen. What would Jesus do? Im thankful you followed the Lords leading in these stressful and difficult circumstances. The current model for pastor directed churches says that the senior pastor is the priest this is Old Testament. While every major financial decision was supposed to be examined and approved by the churchs eldersand it was claimed that this was casethis was not actually happening. This team is to be made up of congregants, staff, professionals, and elders, and will be headed by a church member. That timeline accelerated, when on Tuesday morning highly inappropriate recorded comments made by Pastor MacDonald were given to media and reported, the church wrote. The former Harvest Bible Fellowship leaders now at GCCwhich contains about 130 churches, more than half of which still have Harvest in their namesshare concerns about the churchs leadership and are looking for transparency and repentance from MacDonald. What she shared was the kindest message I have ever seen. He has harmed thousands of people. Christ alone is to be worshipped. Im a prostate cancer survivor and had radical prostatectomy in 2005. I love who you are and what you do. And even then, it often doesnt work because so many remain enthralled with the narcissist, or have tied their fortunes to them, that they simply cant or wont see the truth. If hearing voices together of those who have truth helps, then now is the time to speak. 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. Sheri coordinates data collection and assists with day-to-day office administration for the church staff. At the moment were seeing the effects of a down cycle away from God. What Can Christians Do About Climate Change? Harvest Bible Chapel of Naples, whose leadership recently turned over after scandal rocked its Chicago parent megachurch, is the most . 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Please anchor in on John 7:24. If you know anything about abuse it can take years to come forward. :) I met my husband about 5 yrs ago and he had been attending faith community church for a bit. 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[], [] While only a handful showed up, the range of their pain was wide. Something happened to us some years ago and a number of people turned against us because of lies, etc. Your mission and your ministry is beautiful and changing lives. Yell and bully and make people feel like second class Christians? Others lied to me directly for selfish gain. Im disappointed in your timing. Lina, this took courage and Im glad you said it. This did not happen to James, he did this, by sinning repeatedly. Im glad I have stood firm. Dan was a part of this elder board with these 7 elders and he details only some of the fraud . Its true, Anonymous, we have no right to predict the eternal destiny of even the worst of sinners, for God longs to show mercy and grant repentance to all. 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. She has a right to expose. 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. I miss that about you. Nor do I want to be part of a fellowship where the whole counsel of God is not taught nor eschatology ever mentioned. Thank you for speaking out, Lina! And I find it odd that someone would have an opinion on that. Elder boards are supposed to create this accountability in these situations, but in many cases these boards are no more than rubber stamps. 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. Nicole, I am sorry if you are offended. My faith has been shaken by the situation at another Christian organization. Praying for you, many blessings for all you do. In Him, These patterns were present and recognized as early as 2012, and nothing was done about them. Nellie, Thank you for opening up your home so that hurting people could come together and share. The culture of fear, intimidation, and secrecy has poisoned not just Rolling Meadows and its campuses, but also trickled down through the fellowship. Now, the church has decided its longtime leader wont be coming back. 1 Song. While only a handful showed up, the range of their pain was wide. There are times in our lives and circumstances that its just not real clear as to how to address something, with as little harm to what is good, as possible. A friend sent me a link to sermon about this yesterday: https://radical.net/sermon/kingdom-community/. I pray others in leadership read your post, check their hearts, and follow suit. Lina you were humble and owned more than most. for less than $4.25/month. It is loving to tell the truth. No church outside of the One True Church Christ began was given His authority to act on their own. Her first year at college and her first visit to Harvest RM. So much good was happening at Harvest, surely it must have Gods blessing. 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. Oh my how that resonated with me and the experiences my beloved and I have had with churches in the UK. In his remarks this week, he says he confessed his relational failings multiple times, but still lost longtime friends and ministry partners to Harvests narrative. She loves the Word and words, is a binge reader and grammar nut, and is fanatic (as her family can attest) about Jeopardy! I am sorry I am so late to discover this article but I had to respond to this comment. He details only some of the Body of Christ called Harvest Bible Chapel stupid, the church has decided longtime. Lords leading in these situations, but was a part of this elder board with 7! 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