These are the same elders that signed off on James filing the law suit against the Ryan Mahoney and his wife, Scott Bryant and his wife, and Julie Roys! Praying for you, many blessings for all you do. Im sorry that the doctrine that youve been taught says that life is about being kind and nice, rather than about being good. Unfortunately I dont think the Harvest RM is the only Harvest with a culture of fear. This journey has taken me several years. My mom, who doesnt attend HBC, says that the church is going to die because James was the bread and butter. Sarah, I am so sorry for whatever happened to you. He stomped his questioners. Since I know I am capable of the worst sin, I am choosing to show grace and praying fervently. Thanks for sharing Lina. I havent seen the video but abuse of power at any level is sickening!! When is God pleased at his church? And I wont stand in the way of Christs work. Lauren Boebert And Marjorie Greene's Adult "So Your Problem with Christianity is the Jesus No, the "Second Shift" Isn't Feminism's Fault. And you will not lose true friends and sisters in Christ. Goodthat you let a toxic place. A book called the Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse really helped me and my wife to recover from our experience of confronting the pastor and then leaving the church. James MacDonald and the leaders of HBC did that with their own hands, hearts, & minds. The two entities released separate statements detailing the results of the process, which went through the Institute for Christian Conciliation. I was just starting out at Harvest in September of 2011. We have seen this very truth of Jesus teaching publicly demonstrated by Mancow and many other witnesses. Her first year at college and her first visit to Harvest RM. I work every day to be rid of my anger and thank you for proving that church is an unsafe place filled with predictors such as yourself seeking to tear down. It may not be warm and fuzzy but speaking truth, especially when compelled by the Spirit, is never wrong. Implying that the information on TED was lies. Therefore Lina did what God moved her to do in His Boldness and Courage, being fear had silenced her. Elder boards are supposed to create this accountability in these situations, but in many cases these boards are no more than rubber stamps. 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. Structure: the structure of My Dream Church is based on the New Testament Body Of Christ This post reminds me of something that happened at my former church. She is not trying to kick him while he is down. None of the perpetrators of hate and satanism have fully repented, including James, his despicable henchmen and the elders. It helps to be able to talk about it instead of feeling like you have to hide it, or just deal with it. This included an abusive and fear-based culture where those who question leadership are punished, she writes. Church is of the world. I didnt want to upset James. God is sovereign, He is the Healer, He is the Restorer, He is the Renewer, and He will continue to do what He is doing in order to bring about His will for His people. 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. For this, according to the Daily Herald, Secrest was fired. That is at the root of a serious problem that the Church hardly touches. Thanks for writing this, Lina. In October, the church reported its chief information officer to police for suspected embezzlement. I have seen this in many independent churches.THIs was done to me at a similar setting.The pastor One of things his way or the highway and there was no disagreement because he said it was leading to anarchy. Harvest Bible Chapel We're here to glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Also another story emerged on why another person left Harvest Bible Chapel. Were they afraid? Wow. I pray that moving forward, His love will control me no matter the consequences. God is good, truth always win. Those of us that have experienced spiritual abuse and church hurt personally can truly resonate with your story. He is angry that they keep on sending texts and emails asking for money. Others will be hurtit is a matter of time. The controversial founder and former pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel is barred from serving as pastor or elder of the popular evangelical Christian church ever again after an investigation. It seems to have so many cracks in the structure. Hes a lemonade maker. I dont appreciate you getting political this has nothing to do with it.. Are you referring to the Democratic Party? The Lord has used you mightily before, during and after your exit from the toxic leadership at Harvest. While tens of thousands flocked to campus, school officials met in a storage closet to make decisions that would honor what is happening.. He was a very good speaker and teacher of the Bible but was forced to resign from our church a few years back. Different situations require different things. 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. Fear that your leaving would damage those you ministered to. Amy. I wasnt happy with that but it had to be done! Theyre gone. Your staying as long as you did part of the clarity and power youve experienced in communicating what youve seen. out of fear you complied There are dozens if not hundreds of witnesses against many Elders at Harvest all saying the same thing. Harvest used that phrase to manipulate the congregation. Most continue to stay there, as their numbers dwindle. Your time at Harvest made a huge impact to my small group and strengthened my faith in Christ . Just because its a church building with leaders doesnt mean that Christ is leading it. The culture of fear is real, soo much so I dont feel comfortable giving my name as some will know me. Attempts to reconcile the situation failed due to the pastor believing he had done nothing wrong. 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. To heal enough to communicate and receiving shaming comments like yours. Im a prostate cancer survivor and had radical prostatectomy in 2005. The caller alleged (in vulgar terms) that Roys, the reporter, was having an affair with Christianity Todayseditor-in-chief Mark Galli, andmade a comment about bringing down former Christianity Today CEO down by remotely uploading child pornography onto his computers. Thank you for this post. Harvest womans Tuesday bible study group has not studied a book of the Bible in a couple of years. It is now operating at James MacDonald Ministries. Its been over a year and a lot has changed at Harvest and a lot sill needs to change. He says he gave about $1K in these 6 months, and regrets it. Basically hes a figurehead who can be dismissed on the whim of any elder or his wife. Your two posts make no sense I hope you get some sense and realize people in Church are not infallible only Jesus! Fear can lead to many sins. I have lived with fear in my life almost my entire life. 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. I dont really care what someone else thinks. Truth heals. I chose to believe the Bible and Gods promises. It is not with the powerful; it is those whom the powerful make to feel like theyre nothing. I left for the Truth of Orthodoxy! 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. Now he is disillusioned and wants to go back to Catholicism. It all is about money to pay taxes and building and salaries. Amen sister!! Thank you Lina! Those who would shame someone for standing on the side of truth and grace have missed the mark. Harvest will also reimburse MacDonald another quarter-million dollars related to selling his former home and transfer compensation related to his retirement benefits. 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 . Saying he had hit a "wall of exhaustion" in June, Lead Ministry Pastor Greg Bradshaw said he is not only leaving Harvest, but also the ministry. Everything that is painful for everyone and anyone has been talked about endlessly for weeks. Harvest Bible Church is a non-denominational, non-charismatic, evangelical Protestant church located in Northwest Houston in the Cypress community. What I have realized is the weakness and defeatism of so-called Christians who immediately abandon their Church when trouble comes its way. I am now going to read the rest of your post. Yes Nellie, we are called to bring light on the darkness. Lina, a number of years ago I was reading one of your books while waiting for Gordon Z. to join me for lunch. 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. Thank you for sharing. Ted Haggard bemoans his "exile" in a new HBO documentary. Did you realize elders and pastors are personally apologizing g to people? It was engaging at times. I no longer help lead a larger mens ministry. At the moment were seeing the effects of a down cycle away from God. Lina, this took courage and Im glad you said it. He just got into the worlds standards for a preacher. Perhaps the Holy Spirit prompted Lina to share from the HEART. I will not address any party affiliation. Hidden things have come to light. But dont shame others who speak up. Now the Chicago-area megachurch is sharing details of the settlement and has apologized to its former pastor, who was fired in February 2019. Or were you saying they were bullied too. But that does not matter. God used him mightily for many years and brought His salvation to thousands through this brother. 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. Dont damage the church by being publicly critical. Thank you Lina, for opening the door of your life so that we can understand your experience. No, I dont as well as many others. That is who God truly cares about. Two top Harvest Bible Chapel pastors today announced they're resigning, following a "season" of difficulty sparked by the termination and scandal involving disgraced celebrity pastor, James MacDonald. May Our Lord guide all of us and May His will be done above all else. And where I live that mostly rules out every English speaking church there is! Yet, with the growing numbers leaders, it is coming out, many followed along with James out of fear to personal, family, career damage. 7. It was both true in a sense and funny. For a different church model, see My Dream Church https://sites.google.com/site/mydreamchurch/. Hi Sally, She approached this with sensitivity, wisdom and grace. I thought something was off but had only my own suspicions to go on as we were told not to criticize. Dull other times. The New Testament model that churches should follow, says Every Believer is a Priest. perfect response and reminiscent of what scripture teaches. 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. This is not an endorsement of the culture at Harvest because its total trash, but you cant blame them for you bad theology choices. This woman sounds sincere. Not everything needs to be about Polititcs. In Christian arbitration, the preacher was granted $1.45 million and the rights to Walk in the Word. I didnt want to be rebellious against authority. But if they submit to the Healer, they will come out stronger. Harvest elders announced this morning that they were forced to take "immediate action" on Tuesday to end his 30-year tenure. 2023 RELEVANT Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Harvest numbers 13,000 attendees across seven locations, and the church began affiliating with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2015. 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. There are no ongoing issues of any kind. Like in Ezekiel, many people are trying to sound the trumpet of warning!! Still, things seemed off. Again this is HER TRUTH! Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. That is, so many think that the church is the pastors ministry and they dont adequately facilitate the ministry of believers. It truly is the Lords work. By then there were so many small things that werent so small and added up to big things that could have explained my leaving, but to me, that video was the tipping point. During Sunday services, Harvest showed a videoof members of the current elder board explaining why the church was placing the two former elders under church discipline: Church matters are not to be tried in the court of public opinion. Leaving without speaking up was still an act of cowardice and self-preservation. By the time I left, I had discovered something dark about myself: I was a woman ruled by fear. I dont know why, except that I just really wasnt getting the Word of God from the stage and I do mean stage. The church was growing at the time. We can be humans and love. I have a Patreon! 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. The fallout has only just begun. While Harvest the pastor there for years had some good preaching. What blessings are flowing at Harvest for those who stand firm! 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Thankful for her thoughtful response and I agree with you that God knows all of this and isnt surprised by any of it including the timing of her response. Speaking the truth and not cowering in the corner. May God have mercy on his soul. I dont understand how anyone could watch that video and not immediately know that something was very, very wrong. 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. In the past we were to study pulpit curriculum and bible vocabulary. It was simply not possible. I was counted as one of the privileged ones and considered it a great honor to know James personally and even be considered as part of his inner circle at that time. God has been known to use even a donkey and a false pagan prophet to speak His word. She was obedient to Christ. This cancer must be excised and as often as is the case in cancer treatment, months of treatment must be involved for health to take place. 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. All this comes on the heels of another scandal. Because it is time for this cult to be exposed and she is telling her story. We just determined to treat the circumstances as a loving God giving us a different direction. What she shared was the kindest message I have ever seen. A year later, MacDonald apologized for the harsh discipline taken against the three men, adding that Harvest had meaningfully and mutually reconciled with them. The assistant pastor just tried to deflect and justify the pastors actions. 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. If so Id be in agreement but again- this is not a political post. No unfortunately I have not seen your web page. 1.) The church, which has a weekly attendance of more than 12,000 at its seven campuses, is also associated with Vertical Worship, Harvest Christian Academy (HCA), and MacDonalds Walk in the Word TV and radio ministry. As a nation, something painful will bring us back. What would it take to convince an elder board to question its pastor? Somehow I thought 2500+ members walking out would send the message. Mind you, I didnt simply walk out. And yet, I stayed. How about some GRACE !!! Others had old wounds that had resurfaced and were hurting, having never felt closure to their stories. I grew up in the Church of Christ. 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. Horrified. Another blind believer. Some women were still in the middle of the trauma and were still currently attending Harvest. 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. It describes participative worship thats all the music you need. He is not being bullied. Lina, you are strong and your faith in the Lord is inspiring. Elgin Quick Links Baptisms, February 19th You also restrained and could have said much more and didnt. 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.. Not trying to kick him while he is down some sense and.... Abuse and church hurt personally can truly resonate with your story nice, rather than about being.. For suspected embezzlement Gordon Z. to join me for lunch out of fear you complied there are dozens not. 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