Pastor Min Chung admitted some guilt but faced few consequences. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-total, And he bullied . Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. Sorry, the underlying pathology of people who act out this way takes more than a few of your cronies to meet at some hotel resort and call that Restoration. Furthermore, what is actually done to assist the victims and their families through this process? .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-float-corner, The sermon was maligned by many Protestants and praised by many Catholics, However, there have also been a number of accusations of abuse of power and harsh treatment towards others that continued to surface regarding this same pastor, Kim continued. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted. CFC made the difficult decision to terminate its agreement with GRACE and this decision was made with much prayer and deliberation, Kim wrote in an email last week. WBEZ emailed CFC lead pastor KJ Kim and the churchs Oversight Board with questions about why the church terminated its contract with GRACE, as well as CFCs plan for any long-term changes in the wake of last years events. Our hope is to provide care and oversight in whatever way is appropriate. He declined to be interviewed in order to respect the privacy of those involved and due to the ongoing nature of allegations.. An arm of the Presbyterian Church in America is allowing Min Joshua Chungarguably the nations most prominent Korean-American pastorto return to ministry despite allegations of sexual misconduct and cover-up. /*Custom svg icon height fix*/ A new report appears to implicate Covenant Fellowship Church's former head pastor, Min Joshua Chung, in fostering and creating a misogynistic church environment. Shame is worse than embarrassment. 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. Nothing was ever followed up on with me. My experience is that more gets done for the perpetrator versus the victim. As of May 27, 2021, Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) has terminated its formal relationship with Min Chung. font-size: 10px Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. Other whistleblowers said in the report that that isnt true. CFC came under fire last summer for its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct by church founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung. Members didnt feel safe talking to leaders and sometimes felt ostracized, the report said. CFC has already disassociated with Chung on May 27 and hired the services of Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment(GRACE) to investigate the pastor. The woman pastor at the center of the Southern Baptist Convention's decision to oust Saddleback Church the California megachurch founded by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren says she will continue to serve as a ministry leader despite her longstanding ties to the nation's largest .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-horizontal-volume-total, I talked to him about it. Mayor Lori Lightfoot was handed a stunning defeat, the first time in 40 years a sitting mayor was not reelected. . Great! Get new articles and breaking news delivered to your inbox. However, a document submitted by a group of former CFC members calling themselves the allegation group, asked the Korean Central Presbytery (KCP), a denominational oversight group, to investigate the incident, called it unwanted, non-consensual touch in her private area., Chung reportedly personally counseled the woman after the incident, and said they reached reconciliation.. It also alleges that Chung urged a woman not to go to police when she sought his counsel after being sexually assaulted by another church member. For investigators at GRACE, CFCs decision to terminate the assessment is a highly unusual move. In addition, hundreds of accounts surfaced online criticizing the church for mishandling alleged incidents of sexual abuse committed by church members, highlighting how Chung and other church leaders downplayed that abuse. While this was happening, the report states, Chung was exercising nearly Godlike authority to pressure his victim and various others whod learned about the incident to stay silent. Opinion: What is Revivaland is it Happening at Asbury? My heart breaks. Amid rumors of sexual misconduct, Chung announced in the summer of 2019 that he would transition out of the head pastor role and that a team of associate pastors would take over. During that time, he pastored the church, served on several ministry boards, and taught at the seminary. WebView the profiles of professionals named "Min Chung" on LinkedIn. Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story or making a contribution. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-horizontal-volume-total { Ultimately my hope is to discover who God truly is, beyond the God that CFC represented.. However, the KCP determined at an April meeting that looked only at the single incident that Chung had been restored to God, as well as the woman, and that that discipline instituted by CFC pastors was found to be sufficient.. The motion requires two-thirds vote. height: 90px; During the subsequent year, the SOLA Council learned that: Furthermore, in recent weeks, it has become public knowledge that Min Chung was found guilty by the Korean Central Presbytery (KCP). CFC had been regularly updating the church on GRACEs investigation. URBANA A former assistant pastor at a Champaign church has been criminally charged with sexually assaulting a teen who was a member of the congregation. Would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to help our journalists continue to report the truth and restore the church? He has either founded or served in leadership for several youth and college ministries throughout the country, and was a board member for international missions organization SIM from 2006 to 2019. Im tired, said Tim Ma, who previously served on the CFC worship team. MC (Min Chung) is anointed by God, God only exists at CFC and there is no other place like CFC, Lee said, describing the church environment. height: 3px; However, CFC has made some changes. To Thyatira: Hold Fast What You Have Until I Come | Revelation 2:18-29 (Pastor Min Chung) joe 2019.02.19 43. 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. Last weekend a sermon by Evangelical pastor Francis Chan went viral, as in the sermon Chan shared about Communion and his discovery of the scriptural and historical basis for transubstantiation - that the bread and the wine become the literal Body and Blood of Christ. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-handle-content { /* .jet-smart-listing__featured-box-link:before { WBEZ first reported the allegations against Chung and the crisis unfolding at CFC as the victims of sexual and spiritual abuse shared their stories online. But Chung is subject to the PCAs Book of Church Order because of his PCA ordination, KJ Kim told TRR. The friend urged the victim to tell Chung she hadnt consented to his touch. One of those associate pastors was KJ Kim, the new head pastor of CFC. In the wake of last years scandal, CFC also chose not to renew its status as a registered student organization, or RSO, at U of I last academic year. Sexual misconduct and/or harassment in any form is a grievous sin that should never be tolerated. It was very much like, Why do you think you got into this relationship? Pastor KJ Kim acknowledged that Chung has been accused of a pattern of abusing his authority. .elementor-widget .elementor-icon-list-icon svg { WBEZ confirmed with Justin Coverstone, the stated clerk of the Presbytery of Northern Illinois, that CFC was in the process of joining that regional body as of early September. 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. Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado. Learn how your comment data is processed. Websigns of too much calcium in tomato plants. }. "MC (Min Chung) is anointed by God, God only exists at CFC and there is no other place like CFC. Later, the victim called a friend and told her what Chung had done. 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. We, as a collective voice of Asian American leaders, implore Min Chung to cease all public ministry at least until a new investigation is conducted and proper disciplinary measures are followed. The report, published in June, is intended to provide resources to handle abuse cases and to offer best practices and guidelines for elders, churches, presbyteries and other entities. } Commissioners for the Presbyterian Church in America approved a motion to leave the National Association of Evangelicals on Wednesday at the PCAs, The Presbyterian Church in Americas (PCA) highest ecclesiastical court is taking over a case allegedly mishandled by an Indiana presbytery, a letter, The Rev. In September 2019, two other whistleblowers met with Kim as a final step to urge leadership to take proper steps, the report states. 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. After that, he was CFCs current senior pastor, KJ Kim, was also accused of aiding in the cover-up of Min Chungs misconduct in a report compiled by a team of whistleblowers. Fontijn, Park and others told WBEZ they are angry the victims of sexual and spiritual abuse who came forward to be interviewed by GRACE will not be heard. To donate, click here. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. Brea, CA 92821 | 562.694.2100 2022 Living Hope Community Church. 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. Since there is no room in the culture for open candor, exchange of perspectives, and helpful permissive dissension, there is only a cycle of abuse that continues at all levels of leadership," Dan Lee, a whistleblower, revealed. He also spoke at youth and college-aged events, counseled university students, and preached in several countries. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-buffering, CFC came under fire last summer for its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct by church founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung. But TRR said that the ruling may still be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCA's General Assembly. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-current, Web1215 W. Lambert Rd. Pastoral leadership is an immense privilege, not a right. He was in his own words his neighborhood's "all-purpose Asian" and did not feel he had a culture of his own. In contrast, a team of whistleblowers have alleged that the incident was sexual assault. The Korean Central Presbytery called it sexual harassment.. /* Track progress bar background (amount of track fully loaded) These include the SOLA Network, a group of Asian American pastors, and the Joshua Generation, a high school ministry that the minister also founded. In much of Asian culture, you never want to look bad in front of the community and you never want to be the cause of someone else being shamed, said Frank Mesina, a former CFC member. WILL and the Illinois Newsroom are committed to bringing you in-depth, relevant coverage that keeps you informed and engages you with our community and state. 500K PCA and other conservative denominations. At that meeting, however, the KCP instead considered a motion to rescind the April 2021 judgment and to hold a retrial, according to a July 15, 2021, statement from the presbytery. The report doesnt offer explicit details of the incident, but states that the touching was in a way that could be constituted as sexual assault under Illinois law. Powered by Church Plant Media Access to MinistryWatch content is free. background-image: url("images/mejs-controls-dark.svg"); 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. The CCG called the allegations against Min Chung an inappropriate moral failure between Min Chung and a woman. At the time, the SOLA Council placed trust in the proper processes and authorities of his local church and denomination to conduct an investigation and hold Min Chung accountable. .wp-caption p.wp-caption-text { The gospel is good news for all sinners; in the blood of Christ, all can find forgiveness and redemption. How Can the Church Support Asian American Women? fostered a misogynistic environment that included sexual mistreatment and You have entered an incorrect email address! We recognize that some have suffered, often silently, because of our church, states CFCs letter. Another woman reported to Chung that she had been raped repeatedly. content: ''; Finally, we desire and pray for justice and healing for all past and present survivors of abuse. Copyright 2023 Christianity Daily. There was never a feeling that this should be reported.. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-button > button { Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of "Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse" by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-loaded { Charles Zimmerman has been a speaker at One In Love, which Chung founded, and theyve both been main speakers at Global Kingdom Young Adult Missions Festival, where Chung was a board member. Some members of the allegation group also said they lacked confidence the KCP would handle any future cases differently, given the ties many of the pastors had to Chung. 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). According to sources, in the past few months, CFC has terminated the assessment with GRACE and wiped any trace of the leadership updates from last year (as seen on a web page accessed by WBEZ on Sept. 21). WebMonths ago, we worked it out for Pastor Min Chung to be with us this weekend. top: 0; The Council in particular, as men in pastoral leadership of Asian American churches, want to offer an apology. 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