2023 RELEVANT Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Your sincere desire to move us further in our relationship with Jesus Christ. We are satisfied and grateful to our pastor for his Christlike behavior. What Can Christians Do About Climate Change? MacDonald was manifestly not okay with the criticism. Of course people can join in with instruments too. 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. 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. School of the Bible at 9:00am Wednesdaysat 7:00pm Give Online Contact Us 10088 N. Highway 99 Stockton, CA 95212 office@hbcstockton.org (209) 931-9548 Copyright 2023, Harvest Bible Church. My last complaint. 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. Sarah, I am so sorry for whatever happened to you. Hes a lemonade maker. How dare you question her about why? Why? Before the article was even printed, Harvest sued Roys, plus two bloggers who've been critical about problems at Harvest. The reason there are spiritual Pol Pots that number in the thousands like our friend James McDonald is because men are happy to give themselves authority. Im so sorry, and Im sorry for the comments here that are going to be painful for you. Linas post is still available on other mediums, I imagine if she wanted to link it she would have. So I called one of the elders in the video and got his side of the story. 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 am sorry for the pain. I will only say that if it is right and important to address a culture of fear within the church, it is equally important to address the same for our country. You are a blessing to many in need. I too visited Harvest. Until recently, I was 8 year member of HBC and I feel so sad, confused, betrayed. That is just so day to know that people are leaving churches. Im far removed from this situation, but saddened by it nonetheless. I didnt want to risk any negative impacts on my own growing ministry. Free of James fear. Jesus desires mercy and not sacrifice. This did not happen to James, he did this, by sinning repeatedly. Even before the Garden of Eden seduction, he foresaw the need for The Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Your leaving (however late you feel it was) was His provision for others, much like Joseph sent ahead to Egypt years ahead of his brothers and father. I hope they succeed in bringing people back to the church! Like the unsaved around us we fight for positions of prestige to lord it over one another. With so much gaslighting going on and public take-downs of those who would speak truth to power, and your investment in the church industrial complex, I can imagine how difficult it wouldve been to speak out publicly at the time of your leaving. But your words affirmed what I suspected. Wow. The fruit by which JM is to be judged rather is that of his own true m.o. FEAR is a liar, pray for them and never let offense take you out, that was the enemys plan! Attempts to reconcile the situation failed due to the pastor believing he had done nothing wrong. Im one of the people who asked you to share why you left. No wonder Harvest dropped the suit. []. We never gave up on God because He never gives up on us. Congratulations on your freedom, Lina! Its who you are! Is it perfect? whos fault is this? I hope that you are recovering well, for you have added a vital piece of information. Thank you again, Thank you for your honest post. I dont take joy in this situation, but I rejoice in the truth. We left Harvest for, among other reasons, the bad theology and overall silliness of the womens ministry. As an encouragement, from day 1, as you began your faith walk ministry, starting a Women of Power teaching ministry at Harvest, I have watched your character. These things happen in small churches too. Put faith in Gods justice and judgement upon all, now that sin has been exposed. The moment I read about someone saying something about planting child pornography on the Christianity Todaycomputers, I knew I had to figure out what the heck was going on. The culture of fear, intimidation, and secrecy has poisoned not just Rolling Meadows and its campuses, but also trickled down through the fellowship. Praying for this church also that Gods Holy Spirit is cleaning/healing/humbling/teaching his people. Why not start a different type of church that is not pastor directed? And in 1 Corinthians 5, we are told to judge those within the Church). Those who would shame someone for standing on the side of truth and grace have missed the mark. Im a prostate cancer survivor and had radical prostatectomy in 2005. So the Harvest Bible Chapel elders fired him, fired him from pastoring his own church, which of course was no longer his church to make decisions for, but theirs, as a wholly owned subsidiary. The resources are pulpit curriculum and bible words to talk about. One person (not from Harvest) asked if I needed to call the church to cancel my membership. James ended up sending me a copy of the new approved blog post, and out of fear, I complied. Letting you know about this is one of the most loving things that Lina can do at this time so that others dont experience the pain that she went through. Thank you for sharing! Amen to that. We attended Elgin from 2005 through 2008. Hoping you come back and teach a book of the Bible. Let us pray God will send His Spirit upon us and cure us of this. Elgin Quick Links Baptisms, February 19th 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. 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. We are the Church! God is purifying His Church. So beautiful. 6. Connect With Us! No one seems to be able to discern right from wrong anymore. Harvest will also reimburse MacDonald another quarter-million dollars related to selling his former home and transfer compensation related to his retirement benefits. The culture of fear is real, soo much so I dont feel comfortable giving my name as some will know me. I left Harvest about a year before you did, and I also stayed, for the most part, silent out of the same fear you described. Thanks Sheila. Maybe people could handle hearing it better now than then. Then, a famous friend of his, Chicago shock jock Mancow Muller, spoke out in a local newspaper against the manipulation and ego he observed around MacDonalds cult of personality at Harvest. I keep coming back to this part and I identify so much with this part. You also restrained and could have said much more and didnt. That is why I really rally for our black preacher and pastors like Keion Henderson, https://www.keionhenderson.com/about-us/ ! How are you so sure she didnt pray about this? Updated 11/13/2020 7:31 PM. Its so very difficult but This is Gods battle and I only need to be obedient not the fixer. Todays Christians are weak and show Satan how powerful he is when their own Church is faced with trouble. Instead, it was MacDonald and his inner circle that were making the decisions, unilaterally. You have to leave before you can see clearly. The Asbury Revival Is Over. This man is a smooth deceiver and believes his own lies. You are completely right on! 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 believe Lina did do the best she could at the time. (It wouldve done no good to tell them how they erred when previous months didnt get it done.) The harsh language of Harvests public excommunication of these individuals did receive pushback, and in 2014, MacDonald expressed regret at the language used, and announced that the church had reconciled with the elders. P.S. Others had old wounds that had resurfaced and were hurting, having never felt closure to their stories, Abujamra, a Bible teacher and Moody Radio host, wrote on her blog. It also had a church-planting network, Harvest Bible Fellowship (HBF), which MacDonald dissolved last year. So long that lawyers all wonder why I waited so long- but trauma takes time to recover from. Dan was a part of this elder board with these 7 elders and he details only some of the fraud . You do not know if she fasted or not, nor do you know if the Lord Himself brought her to this revelation. I assumed that you had simply moved on to bigger and better things. But I hope the healing can begin, and I hope the abuse will stop.. And you will not lose true friends and sisters in Christ. This included an abusive and fear-based culture where those who question leadership are punished, she writes. out of fear you complied Truth heals. Reflect about yourself and what steps you need to take to be healed and then to help others heal. That timeline accelerated, when on Tuesday morning highly inappropriate recorded comments made by Pastor MacDonald were given to media and reported, they wrote. Thank you for your honesty and your explanation. 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. Others will be hurtit is a matter of time. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. I didnt want to upset James. Most continue to stay there, as their numbers dwindle. Amen. He says he gave about $1K in these 6 months, and regrets it. He (the pastor) basically told us we would never work in ministry (volunteer or vocationally) because we didnt understand biblical authority. Before the article was even printed, Harvest sued Roys, plus two bloggers whove been critical about problems at Harvest. In the midst of efforts to reconcile with longtime critics, Harvest Bible Chapel fired its founder and senior pastor James MacDonald for engaging in conduct contrary and harmful to the best interests of the church.. I agree with Nellie. I can only hope and pray that those that criticize you for speaking up now are MORE upset about the behavior of the leaders of the church! The evil at Harvest is a nasty stage four cancer yet has invaded the entire body. The church was growing at the time. Sign up for our newsletter: He is very likely not a brother in Christ. Thanks for writing it. I will not address any party affiliation. I have been looking for a church like this for years. There are always two sides to every story not really believing your story and if someone is a Christian you would talk about this with some Church leaders not blow it all out in public its sad that it was done that way that isnt what a Christian would do it is what a secular person would do. The bloggers began posting again, however, in 2017, around the same time that Harvest Bible Fellowship was dissolved in 2017, due in part to concerns by some some member churches about how Harvest was managing the fellowships finances. There are no ongoing issues of any kind. But He is in control of everything and if He wants HBC to continue, it will continue. I do know that my faith will not be shaken. Stephanie Martin, a freelance writer and editor in Denver, has spent her entire 30-year journalism career in Christian publishing. Is many people for years have tried to bring things to light privately. We are thankful and humbled by His care and protection of our family. We did not want to cause a split or damage the cause of Christ, so we quietly left. Why do you say you have a lack of music?. No matter what everyone else says, it does take courage to say something. Not everyone is so blessed, and for those of you who have left HBC and have had to find a new local church, there are healthy ones out there. Thank you for your story Dr. Lina, and thank you for shedding light on your fears, and your full confidence in the Lord at the end of the day. @Donna Is it possible that it is God Himself who is exposing these misdeeds? *For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. Walked out of that service. Data Coordination. My mom, who doesnt attend HBC, says that the church is going to die because James was the bread and butter. Rather, God is shaking the junkall of our junkout of His Church. James MacDonald was forced out Tuesday night as senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, a church he founded in Rolling Meadows some 30 years ago. The elders ordered church members to separate themselves from dissenters for fear of their souls; called MacDonalds critics behavior satanic to the core; and accused them carrying out an attack by Satan against MacDonald and Harvest. I believe Yahweh has me where He wants me. than submission to leaders Im not sure what is going on with me honestly. James is (was) a powerful force which could and did destroy people with his power and influence. 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. No one wins here-except our enemy. Also another story emerged on why another person left Harvest Bible Chapel. It is important to bring light to this matter, help yourself and others heal and put a new song of praise and trust in Our God. I do have cds and dvd of contemporary Christian artists. Everything is being talked about at great lengths regarding Harvest except for Who the body of Christ should be praying to, talking about and quoting. Thank you for sharing. Blessings to you! Now the Chicago-area megachurch is sharing details of the settlement and has apologized to its former pastor, who was fired in February 2019. Streaming Video Broadcast. 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. Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! God is a for-others being he can not lie, therefore, he can not be for Himself. I have a Patreon! The word of God and the flock were only mentioned at the end of the long list. And where I live that mostly rules out every English speaking church there is! Pray for those of us who donate 10 percent of our income and would like to know where the money really goes. After telling us that the elder board always made every decision by full consent, we learned that the former head of the elder board found out about major church initiatives from his seat in the congregation. It was engaging at times. Careers Workplace and Religion Columnists, Recreation Outdoors and Religion Columnists, Religious Music and Entertainment Columnists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, revealed material obtained under subpoena, called into Mancow Mullers Chicago-area radio show. Thank you. Speaking the truth and not cowering in the corner. Until then, you are still a wolf in sheeps clothing. Church leadership is urging members to wait for the results of this reviewand the changes that will be implementedbefore making the decision to leave the church. Notify me by email when the comment gets approved. Harvest launched a radio show; founded a Christian school with over 700 students; built its own retreat center; produced feature-length films; wrote its own worship songs; and created its own. 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.. We just determined to treat the circumstances as a loving God giving us a different direction. She is sharing her heart and personal experience in an open, vulnerable way, in kindness and love. I guess I felt like one of the peons of Harvest, and that me reaching out wouldnt matter, since I was not a part of the inner circle or personally close to you. He bullied his way into being paid multiple times for the work he was hired to so as the pastor, sermons and bible teaching. Jesus called out hypocrisy in the religious leaders. Harvest Bible Chapel's Elgin campus H arvest Bible Chapel has reached a multimillion-dollar agreement to transfer some of its assets to former pastor James MacDonald, who plans to continue in. God loves his Church and we can trust hell do what is necessary to preserve it. These are the same elders who signed the letter of unconditional support for James, and then they fire him? Thank you for teaching even in the midst of giving your testimony. Following a lengthy season of review, reflection, and prayerful discussion, the Elders of Harvest Bible Chapel had determined that Pastor MacDonald should be removed from his role of Senior Pastor. Finances: Giving not Tithing. Our focus should be on Christ and Christ alone, not James MacDonald. Nellie, 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. 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