Join our weekly TGIF newsletter and receive recent articles and fresh resources from the web. A new report appears to implicate Covenant Fellowship Church's former head pastor, Min Joshua Chung, in fostering and creating a misogynistic church environment. In the aftermath, CFC promised to make changes and to be transparent. I would guess the numbers will continue to collapse keep up the good work PCA. For investigators at GRACE, CFCs decision to terminate the assessment is a highly unusual move. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-embed, Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-horizontal-volume-total, Min Chung is the founding and senior pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church Rev. Wade Morris, Popular Baptist Youth Speaker, Dies After COVID-19 Hospitalization. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-loaded { border: 0 none; Web1215 W. Lambert Rd. But a vote on the matter failed to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority, meaning Chung remains a minister, WBEZ reported. URBANA For Janet Park, the events of last year feel like a waste of time and energy. A Presbyterian oversight group refused to defrock a Korean American minister following allegations of sexual misconduct, reports Ministry Watch. /* Reduce height of the progress and audio bars */ WebWorked at Associate Pastor of New People Baptist Church (Sae Kook Min Baptist Church (1978-1987) and PoDowon Baptist Church (2006-2010) Lives in Gimpo Pastor Cyrus The churchs website says that as of July 2021, CFC is under the leadership of Reverend KJ Kim and a lay oversight board and is in the process of particularizing or becoming a fully organized church with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Attorney Laura Dunn, a contracted institutional response specialist with GRACE, said many of the people with whom she spoke struggled to get through their interviews, some of which took three to four hours. Whistleblowers say theyre disappointed, but not surprised, with the ruling. If you think that is bad, consider this; We have a PCA pastor, Kiernan Stringer in Toronto, Canada who admits in writing a letter to us and his congregation to breaking the 7th commandment ( You shall not commit murder) and the 9th commandment ( You shall not bear witness against your neighbour), refuses to repent and everyone in the PCA hierarchy refuses to anything about it. CFC had been regularly updating the church on GRACEs investigation. Anne Stych is a writer in Charlotte, North Carolina. The church followed the report with a letter apologizing for several wrongs. We see this is the third article this month youve found worth reading. Check out our new Instagram account. .wp-caption-text { He added that the Book of Church Order wasnt designed to protect victims of abuse, and that the PCA should consider amendments to the book to help make the judicial process less cumbersome for lay members. } He said in a statement to WBEZ that the presbytery is currently working with CFC and is discussing whether to receive the congregation into our jurisdiction. According to a lengthy investigation by National Public Radio station WBEZ in Chicago, Covenant Fellowship Church and its former head pastor Min Joshua Chung for years fostered a misogynistic environment that included sexual mistreatment and oppression of women. He still preaches as a member in good standing. She is convinced she would have been raped if he could. } background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); Shame is worse than embarrassment. We judge that his relationship with God is restored as we consider the grace of God. I have really chosen to not respond to many of these issues but when I was a young man right before I went to college to study for the ministry one of the men who was a brother to a popular board member of the church attempted to molest me at my parents home while I was recovering from a severe pneumonia. . Anne Rhee (not her real name) recalled when she began to kiss a male friend from church. Nine teaching elders protested the KCPs ruling, saying they didnt think Chung was truly repentant, and called for indefinite suspension. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted. According to The Roys Report(TRR), a group of whistleblowers submitted a report to the KCP in November 2020, accusing Chung with various incidents of sexual assaults. Harold Kim (Christ Central of Southern California), Steve Chang (Living Hope Community Church), Owen Lee (Christ Central Presbyterian Church), Hanley Liu (First Chinese Baptist Church Walnut), Will Chang (New Life Presbyterian Church), Michael Lee (All Nations Community Church), Hannah Chao (All Nations Community Church), Soojin Park (Christ Central Presbyterian Church), Tim St. John (Lighthouse Community Church), Moses Y. Lee (Rosebook Presbyterian Church). After troubling times during the Depression, he was able to open a grocery store in an African-American neighborhood. Now, more than a year after WBEZ broke the story, former members and others familiar with the church say CFC is quietly reversing course. He added: Theyre banging on the door, looking for justice, and I dont think leaders of the church should look down upon that because that is exactly what they should be doing if they havent found it where they should find it.. While the perfect judgment of God awaits us all, human judgments must be made to reflect His. Heartland Greenway LLC refiled its application with the Illinois. /*Custom svg icon height fix*/ font-size: 10px The Council in particular, as men in pastoral leadership of Asian American churches, want to offer an apology. Chung joined the church in 2005 as the minister of missions, taking over a storied tradition of deploying missionaries around the world, said Walter Kim, an (The version of the report released to TRR referenced and summarized the texts instead in the interest of the victims privacy.) .mytheme-mejs-container.mejs-container, } Christian Rocker Posts Stunning Response to Recent Apostasy of Christian Leaders, Chicago Radio Host & a Former Bodyguard Say James MacDonald Asked Them to Arrange Murders, James MacDonald Took Millions from Harvest & Now Demands Broadcast Ministry, Mancow Airs Shocking Comments By James MacDonald: My Response. Front-runner for Oscar. In addition to the alleged sexual assault, the report lists several other allegations against Chung. }. WebLearning to Groan in the Holy Spirit | Romans 8:13-16, 26-27 (Pastor Min Chung) For the sake of the churchs purity and healing, we desire for there to be a thorough, fair, and independent investigation completed regarding the incident and the aftermath. Another woman reported to Chung that she had been raped repeatedly. Chung had no interest in moving back to the weekend and attempted to get CBS to buy her out of the rest of her contract, valued around $2 million with less than a But Chung got upset that the victim had told someone and told her to keep the incident quiet between the two of them, the friend said in the report. Great! There are far-reaching consequences to a leaders sins, and as God lovingly and wisely disciplines those he loves, so the church must do the same beginning with her leaders. A few months later, a group of pastors dissatisfied with the presbyterys April 2021 determination filed a complaint in an effort to indefinitely suspend Chung from ministry. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. } Prominent Korean-American congregation Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) in central Illinois has terminated its nearly complete independent investigation into alleged spiritual and emotional abuse at the church, according to Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE). Finally, we desire and pray for justice and healing for all past and present survivors of abuse. A July 13 vote narrowly missed that threshold, with 22 in favor of rescinding the decision, 12 against, and one abstaining. The church brought in a trauma expert to meet with congregants, added elders to its leadership model, and offered congregants ongoing ways to express concerns. Pastor KJ shows no signs of remorse, shows no sign of pastoral care, only concerned with keeping us quiet.. visibility: hidden; WebDr. How Tragic. In October, the church board released a nine-page report from the CCG. Powered by Church Plant Media He experienced his childhood in America and went to James B. Conant High School. But after receiving the findings and recommendations from its investigation team, the KCP decided to restore Chung to his post. CFC added that while the CFC Oversight Board would see the survey ahead of time and GRACE would accept input, GRACE would make final decisions on which survey questions to include. In your pain and in your healing, may you be comforted and strengthened by the presence of Christ, your advocate, your protector, and your savior. Get new articles and breaking news delivered to your inbox. We extend an invitation to worship with us if you are ever in the Champaign area.. top: 0; A couple of other organizations have also severed their associations with the CFC founder. LeCroy said the procedures and laws of the PCAs Book of Church Order by which churches, presbyteries and pastors abide dictates that the lower court, [the presbyterys] decision is to be respected, and that the SJC often does decide things along procedural grounds, and not the merits of the original case. Even the pastors, I would say, do a good job at that. That same year, the actress retired from acting to start a family with her new husband. Frank Barker, whose 4,000-member Briarwood Presbyterian Church grew from a Birmingham, Alabama, storefront before he helped found the conservative Presbyterian. The decision to return Chung to ministry may be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCAs General Assembly. Follow her on Twitter @WBEZeducation and @soosieon. She said, Its very important for churches to understand theyre killing themselves, and they dont look anything like the God they say they serve. For us, Pastor Min is more than just a gifted pastor and teacher. They described various experiences of mistreatment by an unhealthy leadership culture over a couple of decades. height: 90px; During that time, he pastored the church, served on several ministry boards, and taught at the seminary. Especially in the Korean community, to call out a pastor, youre going against God-given authority.. Theres a side of me thats like, no, Im not gonna give another ounce of my energy and time to this, and then theres this other side of me thats just so upset at the injustice of it all, that people still dont have the truth., Miryung Fontijn, another member of the allegation group, said she was shocked by the GRACE termination. The report accuses Chung of orchestrating a cover-up of sexual abuse allegations against another Korean-American pastor of a church with close ties to CFC. Zimmerman didnt answer calls or emails to comment on his relationship with Chung. Pastor Chung holds a Korean-American identity. Christian Rocker Posts Stunning Response to Recent Apostasy of Christian Leaders, Chicago Radio Host & a Former Bodyguard Say James MacDonald Asked Them to Arrange Murders, James MacDonald Took Millions from Harvest & Now Demands Broadcast Ministry, Mancow Airs Shocking Comments By James MacDonald: My Response. J-Gen canceled its summer retreats to grieve and reflect.. An Asian American pastor in Illinois was reinstated to ministry in spite of doubts on his character due to sexual abuse accusations. We grieve that this incident will cause many to experience confusion and lose trust in their pastors and elders. Former members of Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where Chung pastored, say the whole church system breeds abuse. In one instance, Chung assaulted a woman in the back seat of a car in 2001, the report alleges. How Can the Church Support Asian American Women? SEOUL, South Korea A prominent church pastor whose behavior came under scrutiny when the #MeToo movement took hold in South Korea was He also said that, for sexual harassment of a member of the congregation, the KCP should have dealt Chung a suspension of a period of years, and perhaps even defrocked him. As the leaders of CFC, we repent and acknowledge our failings and the many ways that we need to change.. However, theres nothing on CFCs website about CFCs recent decision to terminate GRACE. I am probably going to get myself in trouble making this next statement but the context was always a sense of Hyper-Complimentarianism or some hybrid form of it because the Denomination that I refereed of believed in women Pastors but the culture was steeped with this type of theological thinking. The SOLA Network exists to influence the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. WebWorked at Associate Pastor of New People Baptist Church (Sae Kook Min Baptist Church (1978-1987) and PoDowon Baptist Church (2006-2010) Lives in Gimpo Pastor Cyrus Chung Chung Lose trust in their pastors and elders after troubling times during the Depression, he the... He still preaches as a member in what happened to pastor min chung standing ) ; Shame is than! 0.5 ) ; Shame is worse than embarrassment God is restored as what happened to pastor min chung consider the GRACE of awaits. Changes and to be transparent 90px ; during that time, he able... 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