He wants a huge army of women indwelled with the Holy Spirit to point people to Christ. Ken Morgan so you continue to deny the evidence for a creator by your superior intellect ? *For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. That is just so day to know that people are leaving churches. 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. Because TRANSPARENCY is neededand now ahe may be starting to feel safe. We never gave up on God because He never gives up on us. God loves truth. It is a biblical teaching that unrepentant public sin in a public representative of God ((ie, pastors and elders) must be publicly rebuked for the sake of the church as a whole. Her first year at college and her first visit to Harvest RM. 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. Then the board announced its executive committee would be resigning over the next few months. Thank you for sharing and speaking truth Lina. Good word, my sister. Were they unaware of what was happening behind the scenes? 33Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. Our full Sunday service will be streamed here every week beginning at 9:30am, and will be available throughout the following week. Wake up this tragedy has been in the works a long time. Thank you for all you do. you felt through James harvest mentality, you would be rebellious against authority if you stood up Blessings to you! Fear. Rotate positions? The timing of this article makes you less credible. Bless you! We have seen this very truth of Jesus teaching publicly demonstrated by Mancow and many other witnesses. I have wondered if Harvest Bible Chapel (the organization) is worth the cost its taken to try and save it? Ted Haggard bemoans his "exile" in a new HBO documentary. 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. Theres a difference between stirring the pot and exposing false teachers as the Scriptures instruct us to do. On January 16th, MacDonald took an indefinite sabbatical leave. 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. So Grace is only for MacDonald and no one else not the elders he excommunicated, not the numerous employees who were fired or kids who were expelled from HCA, not the pastor who was fired in FLORIDA and had his church taken away I would ask you SERIOUSLY??!! To judge a fellow brother and think you know if he is a believer is dangerous. Prevent these types of money exchange corporations, Harvest used that phrase to manipulate the congregation. Seriously? :) I met my husband about 5 yrs ago and he had been attending faith community church for a bit. Lina I couldnt agree more with everything you said and your comment here. Nellie, be very, very careful! superstar pastors are always ,inevitably, trouble. Could you provide me with a link please. Sadly, this cancer has spread to other churches that were once part of the fellowship. Thank you for your thoughts and strong, encouraging words. Dont bad rap other churches? These being the facts of my simple, uncomplicated, and naive experience as an attendee and member of Harvest, the last several weeks of revelations, discoveries, denial, anger, grief, victims, conjecture, embarrassment, hurt, stories, gossip, cover-ups, accusations, defensiveness, lawsuits, maliciousness, divisiveness, blame, threats, and even some name-calling as of late I have begun to realize that those of us who are just the congregation, the blessed and appreciative recipients of the God-given talents of all those involved in running and ministering Harvest, we are now in the painful position reminiscent of children involved in the divorce of parents, both(ALL!) It seems to have so many cracks in the structure. Let us pray God will send His Spirit upon us and cure us of this. Many were kicked out and shown the door. 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. For me, it is because it is time for truth. As of November, 2021, HBC is $34,000,000 in debt. The reason why people are coming out now or again is because finally due to being outed on a National Radio program something is finally being done. I think he forgot Whose ministry it was. Praying for a healing and refocus of all Gods churches, Mary, 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. Often it was the leadership that lost track and influenced the group. It helps to be able to talk about it instead of feeling like you have to hide it, or just deal with it. It was simply not possible. Because there are others that need to also be held responsible. 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. Those that havent gone through it ask why would you speak these things? We too would pray and fast and seek the Lord as to what it was we could have done wrong as not one person from the church we had attended for years cared to find out where we were at. Lina, you are strong and your faith in the Lord is inspiring. God is good and He will use those who make themselves available to Him. Thank you for sharing your story and for doing so in the right spirit. The day I watched the video, I emailed my campus pastor and asked for an explanation. 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. I hope they succeed in bringing people back to the church! Will James not wake up and realize that the Church of Jesus Christ is not the organization or nonprofits we create, but the men and women that God calls and saves by the sacrifice of His Son? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISjXhWUyGi0&list=PLud2nIxx0IAT58I8QPBdfrOz8bFMQQcd6&index=4&t=0s. I also dont know why it took me five years to leave, but now Ive been at a true Bible preaching, Jesus exulting church, not too far from the RM campus. I used to go to a church in AZ pastored by Jon Gaus. Christ followers are saying enough. The Rolling Meadows Campus is our founding campus and for more than three decades has testified to God's faithfulness. 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. I didnt want to be rebellious against authority. My daughter had been bullied by both Luke and James, in the presence of other adults, several times over her years in the youth group and yet I did not leave. I left HBC Davenport 4 years ago because of the spiritual abuse that is happening there as well. Love for God, relationships, and the church. Some women were still in the middle of the trauma and were still currently attending Harvest. 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. In Christian arbitration, the preacher was granted $1.45 million and the rights to Walk in the Word. Last November, Harvests new elders (all those who served under MacDonald stepped down) declared that their former pastor failed to meet the elder qualifications laid out in Scripture and could not return to their church. I have great empathy and sensitivity toward them. That, apparently, was what it took to get him fired. Now he is disillusioned and wants to go back to Catholicism. I will pray for healing in the hearts and lives of those affected by this tragedy. What would Jesus do? I am excited for all God is doing in your life to help other women get closer in their relationship with Jesus. As Pastor James has said in the past, truth and time go hand-in-hand. A Florida Lawyer Argues That a Pregnant Inmates Unborn Child Is Being Illegally Detained, Experts Predict the Ozone Layer Will Fully Heal Within 40 Years, The Biblical Reasons for Going Low Waste, The Spiritual Toll of Americas Food Waste Epidemic, The Buffalo Supermarket Shooter Has Been Sentenced to Life in Prison. I will be praying for you , too, Lina. SHERI PINE. Also another story emerged on why another person left Harvest Bible Chapel. I know many people who attend Harvest or who have been impacted by MacDonalds preaching are crushed today. The only hope is to totally exposed and excise it so that all will not be consumed. Humility, repentance, confession, forgiveness, reconciliation, mercy, love, compassion, healing, serious prayer and so much more for and by everyone should be given top priorities on our agendas soon if not now. The Lord knows and he keeps the books. Sometimes they will require being nice. Goodthat you let a toxic place. Perhaps the Holy Spirit prompted Lina to share from the HEART. Wow. In the early 2000s, Harvest embarked on an ambitious expansion plan, aiming to form "10 churches in 10 years." Since then the church has opened locations in Elgin, Highland Park, Niles, Crystal. Its who you are! I am a 60 year old grandfather who wants to get a tatoo around my ankle of all six of my grandchildrens names. I choose to stay through this pain because, for me, leaving would create a wound that would never really heal. Also, for 2 years I felt my prayers didnt get past the ceiling. My blog had indirectly undermined James. Another blind believer. While tens of thousands flocked to campus, school officials met in a storage closet to make decisions that would honor what is happening.. Some women were still in the middle of the trauma and were still currently attending Harvest. Lina, Harvest Bible Church is a non-denominational, non-charismatic, evangelical Protestant church located in Northwest Houston in the Cypress community. I questioned a particular sermon that clearly was unbiblical but no one else did. These patterns were present and recognized as early as 2012, and nothing was done about them. In a statement, the elders apologized to MacDonald and the congregation for the ways they had failed to live at peace with all men, as far is it depends on you (Rom. It is a shame to Christianity what is happening here. For years, they had been made to feel like the outcasts, but finally vindication in its godly form was working its way out. out of fear you complied than submission to leaders I pray for the leaders. Harvest responded by suing both bloggers, their wives, and Julie Roys. Publicizing viewpoints rejected by the elder majority for any reason is satanic to the core. Fear can lead to many sins. All Rights Reserved. You are brave and you did the right thing! Pastor James MacDonald, of Harvest Bible Chapel, was given the boot last week by church elders after "highly inappropriate . Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand., And even JMac was right when he quoted 1 Corinthians 16:13: I dont really care what someone else thinks. The church was growing at the time. I will not address any party affiliation. The abuse I suffered first hand and working through the realizations and implications of that abuse have been traumatic. 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.. I didnt want to be rebellious against authority. I think that this message has relevance to many situations today, including the present political situation. perfect response and reminiscent of what scripture teaches. So Ill never forget the day I got up from my seat in a service, walked out, and never looked back. 1st at services, then recording those messages fir walk in the word and finally by publishing them. Thank you for sharing your story, Lina. That timeline accelerated, when on Tuesday morning highly inappropriate recorded comments made by Pastor MacDonald were given to media and reported, they wrote. 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