what happened to pastor min chung
what happened to pastor min chung
The sermon was maligned by many Protestants and praised by many Catholics, Would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to help our journalists continue to report the truth and restore the church? 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 So they think that they can have some level of control of the process some access to information before they get to the final product, Singer said. She bangs on his door all hours of the night until he finally comes and gives her justice, LeCroy explained. (The version of the report released to TRR referenced and summarized the texts instead in the interest of the victims privacy.) Why do you think youre staying for so long? . Former CFC member Janet Park said that when she confronted Chung in 2009, he told her that he kept the matter a secret because the victim had insisted on doing so. } background-color: rgba(219, 78, 136, 0.075); We judge that his relationship with God is restored as we consider the grace of God. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-loaded, Over the course of the past few years, the leadership of Covenant Fellowship Church has sought to investigate claims of abuse regarding our founding pastor, Kim wrote in a statement to TRR. Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado. The woman, a former CFC member, said she was sexually assaulted by a leader in the churchnot Chungand reported the incident to a pastor. We prefer to style these with the main accent color of our theme */ Join our weekly TGIF newsletter and receive recent articles and fresh resources from the web. It CFC, located in Champaign-Urbana, hired GRACE to evaluate the churchs practices, policies and culture for risks relating to emotional and spiritual abuse, after many in the Asian American community called for reform. Those who looked deeper discovered sexual misconduct and abuse of power by Chung, former long-term church members, pastors, and leaders state in a 67-page report released to The Roys Report (TRR). As WBEZ previously reported, those restorative steps had included meeting with the CFC pastoral staff regularly for mutual encouragement and care and preventing Chung from preaching at CFC for a limited time. They described various experiences of mistreatment by an unhealthy leadership culture over a couple of decades. Get new articles and breaking news delivered to your inbox. I actually had gotten to the point where I was naively thinking that [the GRACE assessment] was the one thing that was finally going to [lead] CFC to take a true, humble look at themselves.. As James 3 warns us, teachers will be judged more strictly. } UIUC officials told WBEZ that CFC has chosen not to renew its status as a registered student organization for the coming year, meaning it cannot recruit new students at a back-to-school event or reserve space on the campus for meetings. We are sobered and shudder at the human propensity for sin; we seek Gods grace so that we can be committed to keeping the church protected and honored as the Bride of Christ. How Can the Church Support Asian American Women? Regarding recovery, the pastor reconciled with his victim, and regarding his relationship with God, he recognized his sin before God and relies on the blood of Christ, Rev. We are personally reflecting on where we may fall short and how we can be proactive in preventing abuse and cover-up, instead of just reacting to it. I have to believe that having an an honor/shame cultural background, rather than a right/wrong (or guilt) background, would bring quite a few challenges to conducting an independent leadership investigation. Hi. He still preaches as a member in good standing. Many have called into question the biblical sufficiency of these measures, and the SOLA Network also expresses strong concern regarding the decision of the KCP. 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. They called for the rescission of the ruling in July but fell short of votes when only 22 individuals sided with the move, out of 35, with 12 who went against it and one abstention. She says he then began to force himself on her and pull his pants down until she pushed him off and ran into the bathroom, locking the door until he left. background-color: #fff; The SOLA Network exists to influence the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Almost every day of the week, they try to recruit people, Ma said. Under the previous structure, CFC was an independent church, with just Chung and the associate pastors, as individuals, belonging to the Korean Central Presbytery (KCP), one of the regional bodies within the PCA. height: auto; 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. The decision to return Chung to ministry may be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCAs General Assembly. 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. We recognize that some have suffered, often silently, because of our church, states CFCs letter. .wp-caption img { But lay leaders and congregants began leaving the church in recent years, which was also a registered student organization at UICU. But TRR said that the ruling may still be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCA's General Assembly. The motion to rescind the KCP decision needed a two-thirds vote in favor. figcaption.wp-caption-text { .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-horizontal-volume-total { TRR reached out to Min Chung for comment, but he did not respond. The KCP which consists of several pastors who were close with Chung had determined that he had been restored to God, as well as the woman. The regional presbytery also determined no additional disciplinary steps were needed for Chung other than what the church had already instituted. That same year, the actress retired from acting to start a family with her new husband. .wp-caption-text { Dozens of Illinois, CHAMPAIGN Plans have resumed for a carbon dioxide pipeline in Illinois after a brief delay. 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. Editors note: This story has been updated to clarify when the KCP received the whistleblowers allegations and to more accurately state certain charges. To donate, click here. 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 Several CFC Survivors came forward to tell their stories on an Instagram account. But after receiving the findings and recommendations from its investigation team, the KCP decided to restore Chung to his post. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-total { Join with thousands of others to keep this important public media-based resource available to all. The audit report isnt linked to any of the online church leadership updates. CFCs main ministry is to the students at the University of Illinois and the church recruits heavily during new student week, said Tim Ma, former CFC member and 2014 Illinois graduate. Yet this generations aggrieved version of sexism has taken on a different character from their fathers more traditional version of sexism featuring machoism and strict gender roles., https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/13/opinion/south-koreas-misogyny.html, https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/06/23/young-south-korean-men-hate-liberals-feminists/. Chungs church reckoned him to have an especially high place of anointing, making him untouchable when he does wrong, said Dan Lee, another whistleblower in the report. Opinion: What is Revivaland is it Happening at Asbury? The Council believes sexual sin against a member of the congregation and failure to properly confess or be held accountable are reasons to disqualify a pastor/elder from office. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-embed body { The presbytery is a ruling body of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the denomination that ordained Chung. Langberg helped an ad interim committee of the PCA write a new report on domestic and sexual abuse in churches. A vote by the Presbyterian oversight group on July 13 to remove Chung as a minister failed to get the necessary 2/3 vote. The church followed the report with a letter apologizing for several wrongs. Some people are just too far gone and need a wake-up call.. Frank Barker, whose 4,000-member Briarwood Presbyterian Church grew from a Birmingham, Alabama, storefront before he helped found the conservative Presbyterian. .mytheme-mejs-container.mejs-container, .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-buffering, Despite the procedural errors, the SJC also declared the case would effectively be terminated and not sent back to the KCP to be retried. 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. Pete Singer, GRACEs executive director, called the cancellation very rare, adding he is aware of just one other organization that has done the same. Another woman reported to Chung that she had been raped repeatedly. The timing of thisso close to the finish of the assessmenthas raised a lot of questions and suspicion among former members, said Pinyo. 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. Nov. 22, 2018. 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). 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. "Regarding recovery, the pastor reconciled with his victim, and regarding his relationship with God, he recognized his sin before God and relies on the blood of Christ. The Council in particular, as men in pastoral leadership of Asian American churches, want to offer an apology. Pinyo told TRR that shes advising her current church leadership on how to be a safe and healthy church that doesnt turn a blind eye to problems. In contrast, a team of whistleblowers have alleged that the incident was sexual assault. The Korean Central Presbytery called it sexual harassment.. Chung preached messages urging congregants to submit to leaders and forgive them and calling victims to forgive their abusers. padding: 1px; Dr. Min J. Chung is the founding and lead pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, an My experience is that more gets done for the perpetrator versus the victim. Nine teaching elders protested the KCPs ruling, saying they didnt think Chung was truly repentant, and called for indefinite suspension. And in August, CFC hired GRACE. Last summer, Kim, writing on behalf of the Oversight Board, promised that CFC would release a full report at the conclusion of GRACEs investigation. Join with thousands of others to keep this important public media-based resource available to all. Pastor Min Chung admitted some guilt but faced few consequences. Follow her on Twitter @estheryjkang. The cost has been high for the whistleblowers, said Amy Han, one of the whistleblowers who submitted the report. As of May 27, 2021, Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) has terminated its formal relationship with Min Chung. Experts say the scandal and subsequent backsliding at CFC illustrates how many churches and their governing bodies are ill-equipped to address allegations of abuse. 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. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. 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). There was never a feeling that this should be reported.. WebMonths ago, we worked it out for Pastor Min Chung to be with us this weekend. Per a New York Times opinion piece from June 13, 2016 called South Koreas Misogyny, Women made up 86 percent of all violent crime victims in 2013, according to police data (most violent crime is sexual in nature, and women suffer disproportionately from sexual crimes)., Per a June 23, 2021 article from foreignpolicy.com, sexism has been a long-standing issue in South Korea. We remind him to abide by the BCO (Book of Church Order), and we believe that he should return to ministry," Sungwoo Nam of KCP stated. 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. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Its disappointing, but kind of in line with what weve seen from them over the past several yearsprioritizing the institution over the victims, said former church member June Pinyo. margin-top: 18px margin: 0; Pastor Kim confirmed the churchs decision with TRR but did not give a reason. If they found out, they would be devastated and you know how people talk, and I wouldnt want them to have to go through that. . The lawsuit alleges that the property at 19150 Woodward Ave. is dilapidated and a public nuisance, and orders Pastor Marvin But its especially disappointing because now theyve shown that they do have the tools and resources to make better decisions.. Websigns of too much calcium in tomato plants. Chung founded the church in 1990 on the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana (UICU) campus and welcomed students to join. Anne Stych is a writer in Charlotte, North Carolina. Later, the victim called a friend and told her what Chung had done. The treatment and reception of Asians in the broader American society has shaped the theological tendencies of Asian American Christians, ranging from very radical to very conservative theologies and all of these tendencies, even though often at odds with []. And women are taught to protect men, even when the men are doing something wrong or hurting the women, said former member June Pinyo. Former church members expressed dismay over CFCs apparent about-face. It went terribly, according to the report. Pastor Kim did not respond to a TRR inquiry about the audit. Chung didnt respond when The Roys Report tried to reach him for comment. 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). Covenant Fellowship Church in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, whose previous pastor Min Joshua Chung (left) resigned last year following abuse allegations, has Chung continued to speak elsewhere during this time. /* Player controls */ } To Thyatira: Hold Fast What You Have Until I Come | Revelation 2:18-29 (Pastor Min Chung) joe 2019.02.19 43. Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado. } Whistleblowers are making their accusations public after several years of attempts to confront the influential pastor within a reportedly tight-knit, shame-based community. Find more resources and videos here. We see this is the third article this month youve found worth reading. As a whistleblower, its traumatic as well, because there are so many places of pain and injustice along the way, Park said. The SOLA Network, for the gospel-centric reason outlined in the introduction, feels it is necessary to articulate that: We grieve the fact that ministers of the gospel, those who are to represent Christ himself, have sinned against their own sheep, denied the biblical call to repentance, and failed to seek justice. 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). WebTHE RADIO SHOW WILL BE LIVE! CFC also hired The Center Consulting Group to conduct surveys and evaluate the health of the church. We are accountable to our congregation and the denomination that has charge over its leaders and we believe that this is best for our church and its future. Zimmerman didnt answer calls or emails to comment on his relationship with Chung. It was another missed opportunity, Amy Han said. Check out our new Instagram account. 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. The group said that though the was guilty, what he did was already enough for his reinstatement and that his hiatus from preaching was also enough to discipline him for the sin. 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. 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. Chung turned over leadership of the church he founded in 2019 to a team of associate pastors, according to Ministry Watch. /* Current track progress and active audio volume level bar */ Because of the trust that had been damaged and the pain that had been caused, he said, the church board voted unanimously May 27 to separate from Chung. The victim did. In one instance, Chung assaulted a woman in the back seat of a car in 2001, the report alleges. .jet-smart-listing__post-title:after { 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. background: #db4e88; Other whistleblowers said in the report that that isnt true. He is the ultimate judge who will make right all wrongs and the one who will both save and destroy. While the perfect judgment of God awaits us all, human judgments must be made to reflect His. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-marker, Pastoral leadership is an immense privilege, not a right. Park is part of a group that last year brought to light allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse at Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC), a predominantly Asian American church near the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In May, CFC severed ties with Chung and hired Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (G.R.A.C.E.) Yet whistleblowers, who knew about the alleged assault, pressured Chung for a decade to confess to the church. In the back seat of a church with close ties to CFC of Illinois, CHAMPAIGN have... ; pastor Kim did not give a reason the PCA write a new report domestic. 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