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Reporting the Truth.
Restoring the Church.

Former Counselor Accuses Harvest of Failing to Report Abuse & Threatening Him

By Julie Roys
Rob Williams

A former counseling pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel said former and current church staff failed to report at least one incident of suspected sexual exploitation of a minor by former Harvest Youth Pastor Paxton Singer. The former Harvest counselor, Rob Williams, also alleged that a former Harvest executive warned him not to report suspected abuse, while a church attorney stood by and said nothing.

Singer, who was charged on October 17, 2018, with sexual exploitation of a child, is awaiting a bench trial set for July 10 in Kane County, Illinois. 

According to Williams, Aurora Campus Pastor Craig Steiner became aware of a new case of suspected abuse by Singer on January 31, 2018. (Earlier in January, Harvest pastors had discovered and reported an alleged inappropriate texting relationship between Singer and a different student.)

Though Steiner says he reported the suspected abuse the same day, Williams said when he talked to DCFS on June 13, 2018, officials told him they have no record of a report by Steiner. Also, an official DCFS letter about the case cites June 13, 2018, as the report date, not January 31.

Steiner, however, maintains that he called the DCFS hotline on January 31, 2018, and says Harvest phone records show an eight-minute call to the hotline on that day.

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Williams also alleged that on February 1, 2018, former Harvest COO Scott Milholland came into Williams’ office “angry and aggressive,” along with Harvest Attorney Chris Nudo. Williams said Millholland told Williams not to talk about the new incident involving Singer, which Steiner had discovered the previous day, with anyone else, or police, or “things will not go well for you.”

[pullquote]”Williams said Millholland told Williams not to talk about the new incident involving Singer . . . with anyone else, or police, or ‘things will not go well for you.’”[/pullquote]Williams said later the same day, he confronted Nudo privately for not objecting to Milholland’s directive. In Illinois, clergy are mandated to report whenever they have reasonable cause to believe a child may be sexually abused.

Williams said that the day before, Nudo had told him that he was “90-percent sure” that Harvest needed to report the new allegations concerning Singer to police. Williams said Nudo responded that Milholland is his boss, and if he says anything to Milholland, he won’t have a job.

I spoke with Milholland, who now is chief operations officer at Grapevine Faith Christian School in Grapevine, Texas. Milholland denied ever telling Williams not to report an incident involving Singer. Furthermore, Milholland said he never met with Williams in Williams’ office.

Milholland said Rob was “staff level,” and as COO, Milholland didn’t deal directly with staff-level employees. Milholland said Nudo talked with Rob separately, and that the talks did not involve Milholland.

I called Chris Nudo for his side of the story, but he did not respond. However, on October 24, 2018, a week after Singer was charged, Nudo sent Williams a letter threatening him with “legal recourse” if Williams did not abide by a non-disclosure, non-disparagement agreement Williams had signed before resigning his position with Harvest in March 2018.

Williams wife, Caroline, says she witnessed Milholland confront her husband in Rob’s office by peering through a small window in the office door. Caroline said she had come to Rob’s office that day shortly after attending a women’s Bible study at the church.

Caroline said when she looked through the office door window, she saw Milholland’s back to the door and her husband, who was facing her. Rob also said he remembers seeing his wife “wide-eyed” as she observed the interaction. Caroline described Milholland’s body language as aggressive and said he was leaning in towards Rob.

[pullquote]“He was told not to report it (the suspected abuse involving Singer) . . . ‘Rob doesn’t make stuff up. He’s extremely truthful in everything.”[/pullquote]“When I walked by and saw Scott’s back and that they were in Rob’s office, I was terrified,” Caroline said. “My heart rate went through the roof. . . . I had no idea what they were talking about, but if Scott was in Rob’s office, it wasn’t good.”

Caroline said she waited in a cubicle kitty-corner to the door for the meeting to end. She said after about five minutes, she saw Milholland exit Rob’s office with Nudo.  Caroline described the encounter as “definitely the most lifechanging experience we had at Harvest,” and one that convinced the couple that they had to leave the church. 

Terri Streich, a former counselor at Harvest who used to work with Rob Williams, said Williams told her about the incident with Milholland and Nudo shortly after it happened. “(Williams) was so upset,” Streich said. “He was told not to report it (the suspected abuse involving Singer).”  Streich added, “Rob doesn’t make stuff up. He’s extremely truthful in everything.”

Williams Discovers Harvest’s Failure to Report

Williams said initially, he believed that Steiner had reported the suspected abuse to DCFS in January 2018. However, given his earlier conversations with leadership, he said he had some doubts, so he called DCFS in June for an update on the investigation.

Williams said DCFS officials told him in June that they had only one report involving Singer. That report involved a different student, and was made on January 9, 2018, by former Lead Pastor of Student Ministry Landon MacDonald.

Williams said he then filed a report with DCFS involving the student Steiner had told him about on January 31, which Williams said led to Singer being charged on October 17. This was corroborated by a letter Williams received from DCFS on October 12, 2018, stating that his report was “indicated,” meaning that “credible evidence of child abuse or neglect was found during this investigation.”

Williams’ account also is consistent with the Chicago Tribune’s article on Singer’s arrest, which stated that the charges filed against Singer originated from a DCFS hotline report in June, not the one in January.  

I also received a copy of a letter from DCFS dated June 12, 2018—the day before Williams filed his report. The letter concerned MacDonald’s January 9, 2018, report concerning Singer and said the case was dismissed because “the department has voluntarily unfounded the report.”

Harvest’s Timeline Prompts More Questions

Williams began releasing some of this information on social media last week. Then on Thursday, Harvest published an answer to questions about communication of Singer’s termination from staff, as well as a timeline of events.

In these publications, Harvest admits that it failed to properly notify parents on all of its campuses when it terminated Singer on January 7, 2018. The church added that it has changed its policy to require notification of congregants on all campuses whenever an “employee or volunteer is terminated due to a violation of the Child Protection Policy.”

In October, Harvest published a statement, alleging that parents on “multiple campuses” were informed of Singer’s termination when it happened. Yet the letter Harvest posted to its website that Landon MacDonald had sent to parents on January 7, 2018, was addressed to “Harvest Rolling Meadows Parents.” (Rolling Meadows is one of Harvest’s seven Chicago-area campuses.)

[pullquote]”Harvest admits that it failed to properly notify parents on all of its campuses . . . The church added that it has changed its policy to require notification of congregants on all campuses whenever an ’employee or volunteer is terminated due to a violation of the Child Protection Policy.’”[/pullquote]Harvest also asserted in its recent timeline that its pastors immediately notified DCFS when they became aware of alleged inappropriate texting relationships between Singer and three different students on three separate dates.  The church said MacDonald called the DCFS hotline on January 7 to report the first of these incidents. On January 9, DCFS returned MacDonald’s call and MacDonald filed a formal report.

Harvest said MacDonald also reported another alleged inappropriate texting relationship between Singer and a second student on January 16, 2018. I called MacDonald to ask him why DCFS reportedly has no record of this report. MacDonald answered and said, “No comment.”

According to the timeline, Steiner became aware of yet another student on January 31, 2018. That’s when the father of a third student reportedly met with Steiner and reported concerns about some alleged inappropriate texts between Singer and his son. Harvest says Steiner reported this third incident to DCFS the same day, and then called DCFS on June 29, 2018, to follow up.

The timeline claims that the DCFS letter citing a report date of June 13, 2018—the day Williams filed his report—is a mistake. In October, Steiner sent a letter to DCFS requesting that the agency change the report date to January 31, 2018. Harvest Lead Ministry Pastor Greg Bradshaw said DCFS has not responded to Steiner’s request.

Harvest’s recent timeline conflicts with an earlier statement the church made on October 23, 2018. The October statement said that Harvest concluded all its reports concerning Singer the third week of January. It states, “Further contact between our staff and DCFS beyond that time period were follow-up related and did not involve any new incidents.” January 31, 2018, is in the fifth week of January. I asked Bradshaw about the discrepancy, and he responded, “No explanation. I wasn’t involved in that statement.”

Also, during a conference call between Bradshaw, Steiner, and me, Bradshaw said that Harvest’s phone records show that only one call was placed with DCFS on January 31, 2018. He said that call was made at 12:35 p.m.

[pullquote]”MacDonald instructs Steiner to call the general DCFS number. Steiner responds, ‘Called to report; DCFS has my number, will call me back. They are backlogged with call backs from Monday.’”[/pullquote]Yet a text thread that Williams produced between himself, Steiner, MacDonald, and former Harvest Assistant Senior Pastor Rick Donald suggests that Steiner was aware that his initial call to DCFS did not result in an actual report. The text thread begins on January 31, 2018, at 12:59 p.m.— 24 minutes after Steiner allegedly filed his report with DCFS.

In the text thread, MacDonald says that someone needs to call DCFS and report the incident involving a new student. Steiner responds, “I can call. Is there a file or contact at DCFS?” MacDonald instructs Steiner to call the general DCFS number. Steiner responds, “Called to report; DCFS has my number, will call me back. They are backlogged with call backs from Monday.”

When I asked Steiner about the text thread, Steiner asserted that the time stamp on the text thread must be wrong. Steiner said only the last text, saying he had called to report to DCFS, was made after the 12:35 p.m. All the prior texts must have been made before 12:35 p.m.

I asked Steiner if he had a record of the text thread on his cell phone. Steiner said his phone regularly deletes texts, so he didn’t have any record of the conversation.

However, Steiner asserted that when he called DCFS on January 31, he told the DCFS operator Singer’s name and the student’s name. Steiner said he didn’t recall if he gave contact information for the student or his parent. Steiner said DCFS took his phone number and said they would call back. Steiner said he doesn’t remember if he got a return call. Steiner added that he didn’t know there was an additional step he needed to take to file a report.

[pullquote]”Williams said he’s made at least five reports to the Illinois DCFS hotline and it’s always required a two-step process. He said when he first calls, he always gets put on hold for several minutes. Then an operator answers the call, asks for his name and number, and says someone will return his call.”[/pullquote]Williams said he’s made at least five reports to the Illinois DCFS hotline and it’s always required a two-step process. He said when he first calls, he always gets put on hold for several minutes. Then an operator answers the call, asks for his name and number, and says someone will return his call. Williams said he’s always gotten a call back, usually two days later. He said DCFS will call back twice, but if the reporter misses those calls, it’s up to him to contact DCFS again.

Williams said he gave all this information to Tommy Creutz, lead pastor of student and children’s ministry and a member of Harvest’s Church Leadership Team, before Harvest published its timeline. I called Creutz for comment, but he did not respond.

Williams said he also reported Milholland, Nudo, and Steiner to the Kane County Children’s Advocacy Center for allegedly failing to report child abuse or suppressing others from doing so. Williams said Investigator Beth Mullarkey referred him to the Aurora Police Department. Williams said when he called the Aurora Police Department, they referred him back to the Children’s Advocacy Center. Williams said he’s called each department several times but keeps getting referred elsewhere.

I talked to Mullarkey and she said she could not comment. I also called the Aurora Police Department, but the person I spoke with said he didn’t have any information about a report from Williams. He said he would look into the matter further and call me back, but I have not yet heard from him.

Williams also reported Nudo to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) of the Supreme Court of Illinois. Williams received a return letter from the ARDC on March 21, 2019, saying that the organization will request a response from Nudo and then determine whether further investigation is warranted.

Background Information: In October 2018, I was working with former Chicago Tribune Reporter Matt Walberg to report the Paxton Singer story. On October 17, 2018—the day Singer was charged—Harvest filed a lawsuit against me and four other defendants, which has since been dropped. This lawsuit included an Emergency Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, which was denied by the court. As a result of the lawsuit, the Tribune dropped me from the story.

*Featured picture is of Rob Williams.

Update: After this story published, Harvest Attorney Chris Nudo called me to offer his perspective. He said he had wanted to speak with me earlier. But Harvest Lead Ministry Pastor Greg Bradshaw told him not to speak with me, but instead to send his comments to Bradshaw and Bradshaw would pass the information to me.

Bradshaw didn’t share information with me concerning Nudo. Our conference call with Craig Steiner focused on whether Steiner had reported properly to DCFS.

Nudo said he also sent an email to Harvest’s Central Leadership Team (CLT) and a couple of elders suggesting that they bring Williams into the office and hear what he has to say. But Nudo said CLT and elders didn’t want to do that.

Nudo confirmed to me that a meeting between himself, Milholland, and Williams took place in Rob Williams’ office on February 1, 2018. Nudo said Milholland’s claim that he didn’t deal with “staff level” employees is “complete BS. That’s all Scott did was deal with people, and everybody and at every level.”

However, Nudo said he doesn’t recall Milholland mentioning anything about Singer during the meeting. “It was dealing with something else that was inconsequential,” Nudo said. When I asked Nudo what Milholland and Williams discussed, he said, “I can’t tell you because I don’t know. I was standing right there. I was clearing email on my phone and I was not part of the meeting.” Nudo added that he didn’t hear anything in the conversation that stood out as memorable.

I told Williams what Nudo said about the meeting and he replied that Nudo did not have his phone out. Williams said several times during the meeting, he looked Nudo in the face and asked, “Aren’t you going to say anything?” Williams said Nudo stayed silent and just nodded.

Nudo also disputes that he ever said he’s “90-percent sure” that Harvest needed to report allegations concerning Singer to police. “That statement is insane,” Nudo said. “If I was 50-percent sure, I would call police.”

Nudo said he told Williams that since Harvest had filed a report with the DCFS, that should be sufficient. Nudo noted that the incidents concerned only text messages with students, not physical contact.

Lastly, Nudo addressed the letter he sent to Williams in October, threatening him with “legal recourse” if Williams did not abide by his non-disclosure, non-disparagement agreement with Harvest. Nudo said he sent the letter because Milholland told him that Williams had released confidential counseling information regarding Singer on his Facebook page. Nudo said he didn’t see any posts by Williams, but was acting on information Milholland gave him.

Williams said he didn’t post anything confidential on his Facebook page prior to receiving the letter. He said he merely posted a podcast and some articles critical of Harvest that other people had written.

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65 Responses

  1. So perhaps this ugly scenario explains the law suit. James MacDonald had to run the risk of exposing his financial shenanigans, which pale in comparison to the crime of covering for a pedophile. Was the real, urgent goal to silence Julie’s voice via the Chicago Tribune, which might have led to uncomfortable questions concerning Harvest’s handling of the situation?

    What truly amazes me is how many were in on all of this. Could the vast majority of leadership really be that corrupt? It appears that whenever staff and elders pushed for appropriate behavior and accountability, they were threatened and bullied into silence by the handlers, or boot club, which obviously included Milholland and Nudo.

    Perhaps we can get an explanation of why Williams’ wife was ‘terrified’ to find him under the gun of Milholland and Nudo. It sounds like she knew what happens when the Mafia boss sent his goons after you. More and more the Harvest cabal is looking like a genuine crime syndicate. And still today these guys spit out their lies. Like this gem:

    “I asked Bradshaw about the discrepancy, and he responded, “No explanation. I wasn’t involved in that statement.””

    In other words, ‘That’s not my BS territory, someone else has to answer for that lie.’ In reality, spokesmen are supposed to speak for the organization. They don’t have the luxury of saying ‘I don’t know, I wasn’t there.’ Their job is to find out, and give honest answers. But as with politicians, real answers and honesty do not appear to be part of the job description for Harvest’s spokesmen.

    1. TSOO!

      You nailed it.

      Organized Crime Fraud Ring hidden under a Christian Entertainment Corp disguised as a Church to evade Uncle Sam.

      When the lies are stacked this deep, Pedophile Pastor’s, unwanted advances, and sexual assualt allegations must be swept under the rug with precision as 40,000 watts of earth shaking “worship” drowns out the victims cries for help.

      What a great place! The music is amazing.

      Yeah but did u hear about ……..

      That’s just gossip…Guard your heart… God’s got this..

      GAME OVER WOLFPACK

    2. IMO, from the get go, the lawsuit was intended to intimidate. They KNEW they would have to provide records that they weren’t willing to provide, IMO.

      IMO, they expected the defendants to come crawling in, begging HBC to drop the lawsuit. When that didn’t happen, they dropped the lawsuit.

      Did they really expect to intimidate a journalist?

      Finally, virtually all the news provided by the defendants has proven to be true. Did the elders who approved the lawsuit NOT know this?

  2. TSOO,

    I always appreciate your insightful comments here and at TWW. The statement from Bradshaw blew me away. Just like when he said he would sit down and open the books with congregants after a conversation about their hearts and why they need to know. Greg, you really need me to explain why I need to know where 10% of my salary went year after year? If a secular organization behaved that way, you would call them snakes.

    James Engleman, don’t forget this excuse…I’m growing. God is using Harvest’s teaching in my life. I have always wanted to respond by asking the hard questions. If you are growing so much, why do you care so little about child sex abuse coverups and the people who have walked away from their faith after being defrauded by HBC? HBC is a social club to the people who are still attending, in my opinion. Nothing could make the current attendees leave so there will never be full transparency. The people who demanded a basic amount of integrity left.

    1. Bingo!!, No Longer Attending.

      I too appreciate the insightful comments from people like yourself and others on these blogs.

      My only question or suggestion for you, TS00, and many others would be to consider including your first and/or last name with your comments. You may have a very valid reason for not putting your name out there…but I think it would lend more credibility and weight to your comments.

      I also think people will choose their words more carefully when they include their real name when submitting comments. Incidentally, just this past weekend TS00 blasted me on The Wartburg Watch for throwing my two cents in on the Free Will vs. Predestination debate. While I have little or no problem with dialoguing with others who have opposing points of views than I do, I think we can all agree that personal attacks are usually unwarranted.

      I’m kind of wondering what your thoughts are on this as well as the thoughts of others who don’t include their names when submitting comments.

      Thanks,
      Mike Medow
      (a/k/a “Tough Guy” to TS00)

      1. Good question Mike. I don’t know about TS00 but in general men are taken more seriously than women. I suspect some women think they will be heard better without their real name.

        We’ve seen from many comments that Harvest staff/teachers at Harvest Academy have been afraid to lose friends or jobs. They may have an abusive spouse who doesn’t want them to speak. Maybe they’re barely making it financially and can’t afford to lose their job right now.

        Trauma and past abuse make people fearful. If you’ve never been blindsided by a spiritual leader who personally attacked your family, or if you’ve never been verbally or physically abused as a child it can be hard to understand. But those who have gone through these things have important contributions to make and the rest of us need to hear them. If they have to use a different name I’m ok with that. In time perhaps they will gain confidence to use their real names.

        Finally some people just don’t care what others think- people’s opinions about them rarely upset them. It’s just their personality.

        As for the free will versus predestination debate, I too read the thread on TWW which you mentioned. I agree personal attacks are not helpful, but it’s worth remembering that when someone reacts strongly it’s likely because of personal pain. The topic may mean nothing to you or me, but for someone else it’s very painful. In the case of free will versus predestination I’ve met people who have suffered for years wondering if they are even saved because maybe God didn’t choose them.

        I am grateful for the many people who are speaking up about Harvest- with and without their personal names.

        1. Thank you for your thoughts and perspective, Fisher. Your response to me was very helpful; and makes sense.

          Much appreciated,
          Mike Medow

        2. I echo this reply to Mike. My husband and I just left a former Harvest plant. Our (now former) church is in the process of a building purchase and move. While I think the building itself is great, I had some concerns with how the process was being handled. Leadership solicited feedback from the congregation via a feedback form, which required first and last names. On my feedback form, I cautioned, “I understand logistical reasons of requiring people to attach a name to any feedback they provide. But I think you are intelligent enough and even-tempered enough to be able to weed out anonymous responses of people who simply have a chip on their shoulder from those of people who may have valid concerns but are intimidated by the thought of seven ‘spiritual giants’ putting them under the microscope for voicing a dissenting opinion.” Little did I know that this would become prophetic.

          Just three weeks later, an elder and associate pastor invited themselves to our home to talk about us starting a new small group. When conversation started, my husband and I were blindsided. My feedback was brought up as a “yellow flag” to question my “heart” and “ability to submit to leadership and training” as a small group leader (ironic, since these same leaders were the ones pressuring my husband and I to start a group). I am more comfortable than most in speaking up when voicing cautions or concerns (part personality, part upbringing), but this will certainly make me think twice about attaching my name to a dissenting opinion, in the future.

          And yes, the woman thing is a real thing. My husband had told this elder in person that there would be pushback if they bought a building so far out of the original search radius, and the elder took it well. But when I said the same thing in my feedback form, it was labeled “aggressive” and a “yellow flag” to question my “heart.” My husband (a middle-of-the-road complementarian who’d read my feedback form and considered this elder a friend) was genuinely bewildered by the elder’s two dichotomous responses: “Maybe he IS sexist…” I certainly have no other explanation, but am open to suggestions.

          1. Yikes, Wild Honey.

            I’m not surprised by what you wrote. You and Fisher have certainly helped me better understand why people might not include their first and last names when submitting comments on blogs such as these.

            Thanks again for taking time to write and I’m sorry to hear about your experience with the elders in that church. Shame on them.

            Mike

          2. Both male and female are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and male and female are one in Christ (Galatians 3:28) but one would not guess that from the way that wisdom and discernment gifts are devalued in some churches when the Holy Spirit gives them to women.

    2. This comment may offend, but in my experience, pastors are gutless cowards. When you ask questions that they don’t want to answer, whether it’s about finances or false teaching, they won’t answer the questions.

      “You are hostile. This has to be reconciled.”

      “I want to look in your eyes and see what you really mean.” Yes, right after I made it perfectly clear, in writing, what I really meant. :)

  3. 1. Please, for the love of all that’s holy … change the font color of comments to #000000 … light grey on white? Good grief.

    2. As someone with deep past relationships with CTi, Wheaton College, and the ‘Wheaton Bubble’ in general …. wow, so glad I left that toxic suburb and it’s surroundings. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Your blog reads like TMZ.

    1. Francis,
      You are incorrect to state that Julie’s “blog reads likes TMZ”. Her investigation revealed that a pedophile was able to prey on three children before he was stopped. Yet he was protected by the church to preserve their image rather then help and protect the victims. The truth was needed to find if there were any other preys and a warning to leadership not to accept such behavior in the church. Your type of attitude and acceptance of sin has filter into His Church and other Christian ministries. CTi allowed JMac to share his worldly opinion for Biblical grounds to sue other believers. Liberal Wheaton staff and students supported a professor who believes Muslims and Christians worship the same God. (Please read “ Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus” by Dr. Nabeel Qureshih) to understand the difference. As a member of the Wheaton Bubble; you believe that liberalism is morally right. For your sanity, may I recommend that you to attend a Unitarian, United Methodist or Christian Scientist church where you will feel more comfortable. You will not be offended where Scripture is not taught or lived out. Sin can flourish, be relevant and prevalent in and outside your church.

  4. To Wild Honey… they must have pulled a page from the Scientology play book. That’s just outright manipulative. Regarding the current state of affairs at Harvest, a house divided will eventually fall. This one is going down in slow motion.

  5. Good grief, it’s been nearly 4 months since this awful story broke wide open and going on for years in fact – why, WHY is there a single person still setting foot in this evil place? A constant stream of denials, excuses, then apologies, then more excuses and fewer apologies.
    I was waiting anxiously for what Mancow Muller said was the “nuclear option” on this debacle, but apparently it might be so serious that even he wont talk about it just yet. Whatever it is, it will make everything else so far pale in comparison.
    Stealing money and unmitigated greed, like the former pastor seemed to have a passion for, doesnt come close to predatory exploitation of children in my view.
    In Mark 6:11 Jesus says “And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” It’s time to shake the dust off your feet HBC attendees! I saw that giving is down 30%. Why isn’t it down 95%???
    Instead of feeding this monster, sit down with your NKJV Bible, tune in to John MacArthur from gty.org, and get a real message from a real servant of God this sunday. I think anybody who continues to drop one thin dime in the plate at HBC is in some way complicit in this affair at this point.

    Time to shake that dust off your feet church!

    1. Kent,

      I say this with empathy, as someone currently trying to reconcile the life-giving truths I’ve learned from men who later turned out to have huge failings… Are you aware that MacArthur’s seminary is currently on accreditation probation for, among other things, a climate of fear and bullying?

      https://www.wscuc.org/institutions/masters-university-and-seminary

      Check out the Commission action letter June 2018 toward the bottom of the page for a summary

      1. No, to be honest I wasnt aware of that. Guess that proves there are no perfect churches and the minute we find one it will be ruined when we as sinners step through the door.
        That said, I don’t think that rises to the level of corruption and potentially illegal behavior detailed by Julie Roys in her reporting. Julie has rightly pointed out in the past the issues with such institutions as Moody Bible for instance. If this rose to the level of the HBC scandal I’m pretty confident there would be more reporting about it. Not trying to view this particular case through rose colored glasses but I don’t see allegations of black budgets/slush funds and possible criminal activity regarding the intentional hiding of numerous cases of exploitation of children. I do think there is a world of difference between the two situations but your point is well taken. Thank you.

        1. Agreed. My husband and I struggled a long time with the question of when a church full of broken people (ourselves included) crosses the line into being a broken church. It’s not always easy to decipher.

  6. As far as Pastor Craig Steiner…this is a pastor with integrity like I have never seen in a church leader. He is genuine, loving, caring, and goes the extra mile to reach out to us. In my opinion his words can be fully trusted and anyone who has dealt with state agencies knows how big of screw ups they are. I have experienced that personally on more than one occasion and I know many others who have been victims of the state’s mishandling of their cases. I mean really? Someone tries to report abuse and your put on hold or told we’ll get back to you? Then they don’t call back? We’ve all heard the horrific stories how the state left children in dangerous living conditions only to find that same child ends up dead or badly beaten. But back to my point…I consider Pastor Craig a true brother in the Lord as well as a great Pastor who has continuously poured out love and encouragement toward me. He is a fine example of a man fully surrendered to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. No brag, just fact. (For all of you who remember “The Guns of Will Sonnet”)

  7. I can sense the sincerity of your comments Robert , here are some Biblical facts:
    There is only one Great Shepherd and He and those who are NOT are spoken of by Jesus Himself in John 10:1- 16 especially vs 16 “AND THERE SHALL BE ONE FOLD and ONE SHEPHERD”
    If Craig or anyone else with a “title” receive even one dollar in compensation in performing their “function” then they are HIRELINGS (hired hands) according to Jesus’ OWN WORDS and their souls are in grave grave danger.Tell me how a man called a “pastor” can care for 1000’s of sheep? 500? 100? At least not PROPERLY which is where we are today on this blog and in many many more “church” fiasco situations. If even just one sheep is lost then………. ?
    The deception in and as the church has been going on for a very long time. We are to be obedient to the Great Shepherd’s voice and COME OUT and BE SEPARATE from any worldly system and get together in people’s homes where EVERYONE is equal and everyone has the ONE GREAT SHEPHERD leading them and guiding them by HIS SPIRIT Rom 8:14
    Jesus said in Mat 6:24 ” You CANNOT serve God and mammon “(the world system)
    Is the church of today acting like a worldly business? Are “employees” being paid ? You better believe it. Everything off the whipped back of Jesus , when He said in Mat 10:8 “Freely you have received , (now) freely give” Do you really believe ANYONE should take a dime? The answer is NO!
    Now I would suggest that if ANYONE has a problem with or cannot hear these words , I can assure you that the GREAT SHEPHERD already has this covered in John 10:25-29……….
    “But you believe not because you are not of My sheep, as I said unto you.
    MY SHEEP hear MY VOICE and I know them AND THEY FOLLOW ME: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall NEVER perish , neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.

    1. David, I stand strongly behind my comments. You can take scripture out of context and get it to agree with whatever you feel is right. We live in different times and just as people in biblical times provided for ministers we do the same…but it should be within reason that’s where the abuse has been created. Also you are kind of sidetracking off the blog. My comment related to someone I know personally mentioned in the blog and one who is a fine example of how a Christian should appear to others. I’m sure he doesn’t need me to stick up for him but he is a good man and a man of his word.

  8. David,

    The New Testament says that ministers of the gospel are worthy to be paid. Here are two passages that specifically teach this.

    In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. (1 Cor 9:14)

    Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. (1Tim 5:17)

    I hope you will take the time to look up these passages in multiple Bible commentaries. This may change your view of how the Church should operate.

    This is not to say that the Lord approves of the self-dealing, excessive compensation, etc. that some Christian organizations have practiced. Other Scriptures address those things, as many have discussed in this blog.

  9. Let me get this straight Joe , you are putting bible commentaries written by men that you do not know personally above the Word of God and the discernment of the Holy Ghost, Yikes! , this is how this whole harvest abomination happened in the first place. The misrepresentation of these two verses is large which came forth from some commentary
    So honor equals money in your and their thinking , Yikes again ,honor is esteem,respect, admiration not money , to be given only to those who rule WELL which is certainly not the case at harvest OR many many other places.
    As far as 1Cor 9: 14-18 goes read thru to verse 18.
    I am going to stick with Mat 10:8 “Freely you have received , (now) freely give” and NOT take a dime and NOT take the chance of missing out on Eternal Life.
    A shepherd or pastor is a function not a title or a position, so I am going to stick with what Jesus said in John 10 :1-16 about the difference between a shepherd and a hireling which I do not understand why you are not in agreement with His Word and myself for repeating it since you had this to say anyways:
    This is not to say that the Lord approves of the self-dealing, excessive compensation, etc. that some Christian organizations have practiced. Other Scriptures address those things, as many have discussed in this blog.
    I guess I would not say some but rather most.
    By the way, speaking of the New Testament you mentioned ,where does it say to jam 8 to 12 thousand people in buildings on a weekend and call it harvest church, it actually does not say to do that, it is the great deception. We are to meet in our homes where everyone is equal AND being led of the Holy Spirit , no names, no titles , no big shots and very little money needed at all. That is true church , the rest are blowing up all over the country side because they were not meant to be and you can not fix something that is not suppose to exist in the first place.

    1. Hi Joe, just wanted to say that we are on the same side concerning the harvest mammon machine.
      I wanted to quote your comment from the latest part of the blog so people can read it here as well……

      Joe Blow
      May 25, 2019 at 3:11 am Reply
      To those who are staying at Harvest because they want to be with their friends, I say this. Harvest has covered up for a sexual predator, bullied people for decades to the point of fear for their lives, broken every rule of fiduciary duty, and embezzled millions of dollars. Any elders who challenged any of James’ ideas or practices either left due to conscience or were forced out. The remaining old guard of yes men appear to be the ones selecting the new elders, and the finance guys are not being replaced. Harvest is a disgrace to Christianity and has dishonored Christ in a major way.

      “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. ‘Expel the wicked man from among you.’” (1 Cor 5:12-13)

      “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14:26)

      If you and your friends want to rise up and insist that godly leaders with no connection to the old leaders are appointed, report on this blog how it went. Otherwise, you have no biblical basis for supporting this corrupt institution any longer, no matter how many friends you have there.

  10. Saw dat boy chew up more then one. Bring to office. Shut da door. Lie and accuse. Send person out with tail between legs. Deny meeting ever took place. Watch victim employee die by the Machine. Laugh behind closed doors and celebrate the W. Sorry u didn’t get a heads up when he headed ur way.

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