It truly is the Lords work. 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. There are dozens if not hundreds of witnesses against many Elders at Harvest all saying the same thing. Harvest Bible Chapel has fired its founder and senior pastor James MacDonald following years of controversial behavior, financial scandal and allegations of bullying and intimidation. Come together at part of the body of Christ called Harvest Bible Chapel and pray that Gods will not ours be done. It is those who live in fear. Harvest numbers 13,000 attendees across seven locations, and the church began affiliating with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2015. You are a fraud and a liar! Yet their silence hurt me and sometimes made me question the validity of my reasons for leaving. 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.. She has admitted that she didnt speak up enough at the time. This is a very vulnerable time for a lot of people and I am sure God weeps for every single wounded soul.. Critics of the church are just bitter. 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. Free of James fear. Be blessed dear Sister. As Gods word says it would. To heal enough to communicate and receiving shaming comments like yours. On his radio show, Muller later aired what sounded like clips of MacDonald making harsh comments toward media who had covered the story. Ross, You take feed back to heart and you use it as growth points. Where there is no vision and freedom the people perish. All that leads to ia where we are, I led worship in a church for 5 years. In our case we have been pulled away from our church as well because of how we have been treated for our daughters actions. Christians! Horrified. God has been known to use even a donkey and a false pagan prophet to speak His word. Harvest elders announced this morning that they were forced to take immediate action on Tuesday to end his 30-year tenure. I lost the bulk of my community virtually overnight. Scripture does not say what the mark was, but it was a mark that man knew as a sign to not to kill Cain, as it would end his life, and end the judgement that God had given Cain to live out his life with. In Him, How you hit the nail on the head! Im far removed from this situation, but saddened by it nonetheless. Start praying to the Lord for healing. There is NEVER a healthy or spiritual reason for suppressing truth. Listen, believe, obey, shut up. Wow. A friend sent me a link to sermon about this yesterday: https://radical.net/sermon/kingdom-community/. These are the last days! Unreal as I went to Harvest for over 7 yrs and this whole situation has hurt so many people. We never gave up on God because He never gives up on us. Thanks for finally being honest. [], Lost me at the private jet shared with Bill Hibel. Thanks for writing this, Lina. Good word, my sister. Even before the 58-year-old pastors sabbatical, MacDonalds role at Harvest had shifted. Dont talk to them, or theyll drag you down too. It was simply not possible. www. This is why NOW. On January 8th, after learning that anything obtained through subpoenas related to the lawsuit could be made public, however, Harvest Bible Chapel dropped the lawsuit. And you will not lose true friends and sisters in Christ. These changes were never made, but the critics were silencedfor a time. I will pray for healing in the hearts and lives of those affected by this tragedy. Or were you saying they were bullied too. This scandal that were going through has really rocked my world. Following the initial World report, MacDonald announced he would be taking a sabbatical, but suggested he may still occasionally preach at a Harvest-affiliated church in Florida. So Ill never forget the day I got up from my seat in a service, walked out, and never looked back. The surprise is not Harvest, but that you publicly hung them. I too visited Harvest. The Elephant's . It permeates through the woman that you are. The two entities released separate statements detailing the results of the process, which went through the Institute for Christian Conciliation. Will those men now be known for their mark as sinful followers of James? Everyone sat still as if he mentioned chocolate milk. I knew he wasnt perfect, but then, neither was I, I reasoned. Typical gossips and power struggles are only the surface. In fact, he is the one who is no longer pastoring. So now, I tell the truth about what happened, and it isnt only a Pastor James problem. My heart breaks for the ones who will walk away from church and walk away from God. Transparency in finances Were they unaware of what was happening behind the scenes? Fear can lead to many sins. Even people who were very close to us turned silent. So many people have recently asked me why I left Harvest Bible Chapel when I did. I believe this is God working to expose sin just as Jesus warned Luke 12:2-3 I will remember to pray for you and the fallout of this situation each time I see somethyfrom you come across my in box. I appreciate your voice. In one fellowship people were actually warned to have nothing to do with us, and yet all we had done, in each instance was to ask questions. Thank you for having the courage to write what you did and for your ministry Lina. For a different church model, see My Dream Church https://sites.google.com/site/mydreamchurch/. He was a very good speaker and teacher of the Bible but was forced to resign from our church a few years back. She was obedient to Christ. Lina, given your vast experience, It is ironic that the experience at Harvest should be seen as a culture of fear. I keep coming back to this part and I identify so much with this part. He invitedme to go when we first started dating. 3:48. Prayer works as we understand to be HIS humble servants. I also managed to write an apology to James for the pain I had caused him. I didnt want to be rebellious against authority. Since I know I am capable of the worst sin, I am choosing to show grace and praying fervently. SHERI PINE. When we try to protect those in power instead of those who are hurting, we are not doing the work of God. She did not claim it was her trurh , but opinion. Can you please contact me from the Contact button on my web page here? Your daily news briefing from the editors of CT. 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. What would Jesus do? Church is a small community. I hadnt realized that James had gotten a tattoo that week. Faith is Christ living. I am so glad Lina has spoken up. This problem is not isolated to Harvest. My heart breaks for the people that have been hurt by this on both sides. Otherwise, the church must answer the same question, for that is one of the majors that Jesus gave us. The evangelical megachurch system, where multilayered ministries form around a single persona, leaves ample room for mismanagement and abuse of authority. Now its a big business with Harvest all over the states. 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. May God be glorified through this. And the lies werent just shared by James. it seems to me that people give more grace to the offender than the victim. for what its worth, the timing of the writing is His perfect timing. Those that have gone through it ask themselves, should I speak up?. 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. blessings. At this point, Im not sure what else your thread can accomplish. Pastor James MacDonald, of Harvest Bible Chapel, was given the boot last week by church elders after "highly inappropriate . Yell and bully and make people feel like second class Christians? I think he forgot Whose ministry it was. He says he gave about $1K in these 6 months, and regrets it. Thank you for your response. No church is, because they are all filled with sinners like us. (It wouldve done no good to tell them how they erred when previous months didnt get it done.) Good for you and speaking up. I didnt want James as an enemy, as being on the inside knowing and seeing how he could and would destroy others in ministry if they challenged him. The devil may win some battles, but we know God ultimately wins the war. I see Jesus in youfrom one member of the Body to another. Did they not find that video shocking? I would ask you the same question? A worship song says He gives and takes away, He gives and takes away, and still my heart will say Blessed be the name of the LORD!. The church was growing at the time. Is the founding pastor subject to accountability structures? I have multiple thoughts. Our good is like the filthy rags of the leper! God the Holy Spirit wanted Lina to speak more specifically at this time; and she did. The Right's New Lie: The Left Gave Us Toxic Masculinity, The Harvest Bible Chapel Scandal in a Nutshell (And Why You Should Care). 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! Both of us were involved in many forms of leadership and had invested for many years in the outreach of the church and all of its fellowship. The New Testament model that churches should follow, says Every Believer is a Priest. Continually praying for healing, reconciliation and restoration for His church. And I wont stand in the way of Christs work. for less than $4.25/month. Whatever is wrong in Gods eyes He will bring someone to reveal it. 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 herblog. If you know anything about abusive relationshipsHBC is in the honeymoon phase right now.look it up!! The link was in my post above. Walked out of that service. Dont bad rap other churches? Specifically, I do mean the Machiavellian rule by fear and division that we are seeing. Thankful for the freedom you have found and are willing to speak up. I always wondered why you left but after reading The Elephants Debt I figured I knew why. 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. 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. On January 16th, MacDonald took an indefinite sabbatical leave. and manifest character, which have been revealed to speak not of the Holy Spirit of love, but rather have the love of money and power and the very reek of Hell about them! The question is with independent churches who did they answer to? This pastor couldnt have been more wrong. Todays Christians are weak and show Satan how powerful he is when their own Church is faced with trouble. Count on it. Dan was a part of this elder board with these 7 elders and he details only some of the fraud . You have every right to speak up; and I respect you for doing so. 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. You said, out of fear, I complied. So much good was happening at Harvest, surely it must have Gods blessing. Ross, Ross Blomberg, By the time I left, I had discovered something dark about myself: I was a woman/person ruled by fear. Dont you think this influences decisions made by the leaders, both now and before? A former youth pastor for Harvest Bible Chapel in Aurora has been charged with the sexual exploitation of a 16-year-old boy on allegations he sought nude pictures of the boy and repeatedly. If they built it, it is theirs to destroy. Leba and Sheila- Keep on being brave- it encourages me to do the same! This past Sunday, Harvests elders and remaining pastors were in serious damage control mode. What she shared was the kindest message I have ever seen. In another incident at Camp Harvest, MacDonald reportedly stabbed a photo of a former Harvest pastor with a butter knife. 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. Sometimes they will require being nice. We continue in prayer for all those affected near and far. The higher the leadership level was, the more protective of James they were. If the church treated Lina this way, they will do it to you and others without a second thought. In effect, the senior pastor isthe church. * 36But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 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. Often it was the leadership that lost track and influenced the group. Also Thank you Lina for having the courage to say something now. God bless. Isnt this just what the enemy of our souls would want? Im praying for you. Our focus should be on Christ and Christ alone, not James MacDonald. Goodthat you let a toxic place. Wake up this tragedy has been in the works a long time. Therefore Lina did what God moved her to do in His Boldness and Courage, being fear had silenced her. 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. So great to see your support with your wise comment. When God led me to leave HBC, I remember being so sad and afraid and wondering if I was hearing Him correctly. Blessings to you! The good intentions of our ministry partnership with Harvest Chicago have been overshadowed by these developments, he said. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISjXhWUyGi0&list=PLud2nIxx0IAT58I8QPBdfrOz8bFMQQcd6&index=4&t=0s. The edited . If hearing voices together of those who have truth helps, then now is the time to speak. I wonder if this is an area where youd feel free to minister; where people leave the church and are forgotten. 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. 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. In a statement written by church elders, the Chicago-area megachurch says they fired MacDonald for "engaging in conduct contrary and harmful to the best . Lina did try to have a conversation with the Elders before she left Harvest. Have you sought the Lord in prayer and fasting?Exposing sin is not hurtful then you would be against every prophet in the Bible. Doesnt matter how long ago it happened either. Im a prostate cancer survivor and had radical prostatectomy in 2005. I also assumed that because of the size of Harvest, those closest to you would reach out. 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. Truth is truth. Life goes on people repent and grace is for everyone. I agree with Nellie. I was a woman ruled by fear. Harvest responded by suing both bloggers, their wives, and Julie Roys. Lina is right on. You are open to correction, feeling hurt when it comes. I havent seen the video but abuse of power at any level is sickening!! Further, Nellie, I am glad that you missed out on being a victim of the authoritarian rule that grew, without check, in the once fertile soil of a formerly great ministry. FEAR is a liar, pray for them and never let offense take you out, that was the enemys plan! Subscribers receive full access to the archives. This team is to be made up of congregants, staff, professionals, and elders, and will be headed by a church member. Yet Jesus was not the mission even though the pastor spoke of Jesus. Perhaps the Holy Spirit prompted Lina to share from the HEART. Harvest ousted Daniel Marquardt, Scott Phelps, and Barry Slabaugh in 2013 after they protested against . I cant imagine a culture in which you felt such fear. I believe you spoke up now to show how far reaching the powerful words and actions of those in authority goes. 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