Harvest Bible Chapel founder, James MacDonald, told three elders in 2013 that he’d “lose 1,000 sheep” before he’d reveal his salary. That’s according to former elders—Scott Phelps, Barry Slabaugh, and Dan Marquardt—who resigned soon after hearing that comment, and months later, were publicly excommunicated. (The church has since apologized for its “harsh” discipline of the men.)
However, now that Harvest has fired MacDonald, this long-held secret is being revealed. And given the amount of MacDonald’s salary, it’s understandable why MacDonald would want to keep it hidden.
In 2018, Harvest reportedly paid MacDonald $80,000 per month ($50,000/month in regular salary and $30,000/month in deferred compensation) for a total of $960,000 per year. (This number does not include additional money MacDonald may have received from his broadcast ministry, Walk in the Word, Harvest’s church planting network, Vertical Church, its songwriting and worship ministry, Vertical Worship, and books.)
That’s according to Emmanuel “Manny” Bucur, a deacon and one-time volunteer bodyguard of MacDonald’s, and Mark Banaszak, a Harvest member and captain of the church’s Saturday night security team. Both men said they received the information during a recent conversation with two senior leaders of Harvest. (Bucur and Banaszak told me the identities of the Harvest leaders but requested that I not report them. I have since confirmed the information they told me directly with a senior leader at the church. I also emailed Harvest’s Central Leadership Team for official comment, but no one responded.)
[pullquote]”In 2018, Harvest reportedly paid MacDonald $80,000 per month ($50,000/month in regular salary and $30,000/month in deferred compensation) for a total of $960,000 per year.”[/pullquote]Bucur and Banaszak said one of the leaders told them that MacDonald’s deferred compensation plan totals $2.6 million and was initially set up in 2010. They added that this leader said that the deferred compensation plan has no provisions enabling the church to “claw back” the money. However, given that the church is nearly $40 million in debt, its creditors likely would not release the money until the debt is paid back—or when one of several “trigger events” occur, like death, disability, or reaching a certain age.Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of “Hurt and Healed by the Church” by Ryan George. To donate, click here.
Bucur and Banaszak said their source also told them that in addition to compensation, Harvest gave MacDonald between $800,000 – $1.2 million annually in discretionary funds. Half of that money reportedly came from a senior pastor discretionary fund, and a similar amount came from a discretionary fund in Walk in the Word.
The church leader with whom I consulted confirmed that these discretionary funds were part of the hidden or “black budget” I reported in my December WORLD Magazine article on Harvest. This budget reportedly comprised about 20-percent of Harvest’s total budget and was kept secret from all but top church staff and the former elder executive committee. The executive committee was a group of four to five top elders who had sole responsibility for approving Harvest’s annual budget and executive salaries.
Bucur and Banaszak said one of Harvest’s leaders told them that MacDonald was supposed to note any expenses from his discretionary funds that were personal and then reimburse the church for those expenses. However, Bucur and Banaszak said their source told them that MacDonald counted as a ministry expense having a bear stuffed and shipped from Alaska.
The men said their source also confirmed that MacDonald had used church funds to give six to eight Harley Davidson motorcycles to people inside and outside of the church. Last week, I reported that both Niles Campus Pastor Mo Zachariah and former Assistant Senior Pastor Rick Donald received motorcycles from the church. (Zachariah says he has since reimbursed the church for his.)
Bucur and Banaszak said the Harvest leaders said the church is examining all the expenses from MacDonald’s discretionary funds and intends to seek reimbursement from MacDonald, or give him a W-2 tax form, for any expenses that the church determines were personal.
Executive Elders Offer Walk in the Word to MacDonald
Though Harvest is seeking to recoup some money from MacDonald, Bucur and Banaszak said one of the leaders told them that elders made an initial offer to MacDonald last weekend, giving him all the rights to Walk in the Word sermons, as well as the ministry’s donor list, and $100,000. Banaszak added that an elder had independently told him the same thing.
Since then, The Elephant’s Debt and others on social media have reported that the elders increased their offer to $500,000, but I have not been able to confirm those reports. I have, however, discovered a possible reason why Harvest’s leaders are offering to give MacDonald Walk in the Word, a multi-million-dollar ministry that used to air on 2,000 radio and TV stations.
According to minutes from a January 9, 2008, elder board meeting, the elders “unanimously” agreed to give MacDonald exclusive ownership of his sermons “both in note, audio, video and any other form.” However, Dave Corning, who was chairman of the board at that time, said he doesn’t remember discussing, voting, or signing any such agreement. He said the board did not approve minutes back then and questions the accuracy of the minutes. I reached out to MacDonald for comment, but he did not respond.
However, according to former elders Dan George and Mike Dunwoody, Harvest’s executive committee signed an agreement with MacDonald in 2015, granting MacDonald not just rights to Walk in the Word sermons, but to all the ministry’s multi-million-dollar assets, as well. George and Dunwoody said the committee at that time consisted of Jeff Smith, Randy Williams, Steve Huston, and Robert Jones. Smith remains on Harvest’s elder board, but the others have since resigned or rolled off the board.
George and Dunwoody said they first heard about the Walk in the Word agreement at an elder meeting the week before MacDonald was fired. They said Steve Stewart, longtime CFO of Walk in the Word, read the document and said that MacDonald had been contacting him regularly, reminding Stewart of his alleged rights to the ministry’s assets.
George and Dunwoody said the document stated that the agreement was subject to approval by the elder board. But both men were on the board in 2015 and said they had never seen the document, much less voted on it. Yet George said when he argued that the agreement wasn’t valid because it had never been approved by the board, Huston argued that it was valid because Harvest’s bylaws give the executive committee the power to approve contracts.
I reached out to Huston for comment, but he did not respond.
George and Dunwoody said the issue was not resolved during the meeting. A couple weeks later, Dunwoody was cut from the elder board when it reduced from more than 30 members to nine. George remained for another couple weeks and said during that time, he asked for a copy of the 2015 agreement repeatedly but was not given it.
George said eventually Harvest CFO Jeff Sharda allowed him to read the entire agreement off his laptop, but that was it. George said this reluctance to allow him access to this important document was one reason he decided to resign from the board last month, complaining that the elders were continuing the “secretive” and “controlling culture.”
Harvest Gave Millions to MacDonald’s Broadcast Ministry
Over the years, Harvest Bible Chapel has given millions of dollars to MacDonald’s broadcast ministry, Walk in the Word.
From 2014-2018, Harvest gave Walk in the Word more than $6 million worth of free television broadcast time According to Harvest’s 2016 Financial Statement, Harvest sold its property in Aurora, Illinois, to TBN for $15,600,000 in 2014. But TBN paid only $4 million of that amount in cash. The rest was given to the church in free broadcast time, which was then granted to Walk in the Word to use over eight years.
Because Walk in the Word went off the air in January, it wasn’t able to use the remaining 3.5 years of airtime. So Harvest recently sold the unused airtime to TBN for $4.1 million. Interestingly, though, former Walk in the Word Executive Producer Trey Morris said the sale to TBN almost didn’t go through because MacDonald was blocking the sale due to Harvest’s refusal to give MacDonald $1 million.
According to Morris, MacDonald had been acting as a middleman between Harvest and TBN and was demanding a cut of the sale. But Morris said he connected Harvest with TBN executives so the two parties could finish the deal without MacDonald’s intervention.
[pullquote]”(F)ormer Walk in the Word Executive Producer Trey Morris said the sale to TBN almost didn’t go through because MacDonald was blocking the sale due to Harvest’s refusal to give MacDonald $1 million.”[/pullquote]Walk in the Word also received a portion of Harvest Bible Chapel’s annual revenues. The amount of the annual donation is not noted in the church’s financial statements. However, both Trey Morris and a senior church leader told me that Harvest gave five-percent of its revenues each year—$1.2 – $1.65 million—to Walk in the Word.The church also directed a portion of funds from its former church planting network, Harvest Bible Fellowship (HBF), to Walk in the Word. That’s according to Bob Langdon, former HBF financial director, who said HBF regularly “tithed” 10-percent of its revenues to Walk in the Word.
These “tithes” are noted in a summary document that was used in a 2017 financial review of HBF. Though the document says the donations went to HBC, Langdon said the money actually went to Walk in the Word, a sub-ministry of HBC.
From 2012-2014, HBF gave $137,000 a year to HBC, i.e. Walk in the Word, for a total of $411,000. In 2015, HBF’s contribution jumped to $310,000. And in 2016, the contribution more than tripled to more than $1 million.
David Wisen, a pastor of a former HBF church who participated in a financial review of HBF, told me he believes some of HBF’s contribution that year came from 40 Mighty Men funds. This fund was the result of wealthy donors who gave at least $100,000 per year to Harvest for “church plant acceleration efforts.” According to a 40 Mighty Men report from 2017, Harvest allocated a “10% tithe” of all 40 Mighty Men funds from 2015-2017 to Walk in the Word, totaling $452,477.
So from 2012-2017, HBC and its sub-ministries gave more than $20 million in cash and air time to Walk in the Word. During that same time, Harvest was $40 million to $59 million in debt.
ECFA Failed to Police Harvest
These recent revelations raise additional concerns about the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), which until last month, accredited Harvest. In November, I contacted the ECFA, specifically inquiring about MacDonald’s salary and the church’s “black budget.” The ECFA responded that Harvest was “an ECFA member in good standing,” but said the organization would soon be conducting an on-site review of Harvest.
The ECFA conducted that review in December. After the review, ECFA released a statement saying that it had specifically examined Harvest’s compliance with ECFA’s Standard 6 on compensation-setting and related-party transactions. This standard states: “Every organization shall set compensation of its top leader and address related-party transactions in a manner that demonstrates integrity and propriety in conformity with ECFA’s Policy for Excellence in Compensation-Setting and Related-Party Transactions.”
Apparently, MacDonald’s compensation package worth nearly $1 million, and his $800,000 – $1.2 million in discretionary funds, satisfied the ECFA’s requirement because the ECFA stated after the review: “Harvest Bible Chapel is in full compliance with each of ECFA’s Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship and remains a member in good standing with ECFA.”
As I have for the past several months, I reached out to ECFA President Dan Busby and requested an interview, but did not hear back. I also sent questions to Busby, asking what the acceptable salary range is for pastors of churches with over 10,000 attending. Again, Busby did not respond.
UPDATE: The ECFA terminated Harvest’s membership on April 17 due to “significant violations” of four of seven of ECFA’s Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship. The ECFA said Harvest did not share “crucial information” with the organization during its on-site visit in December. Had Harvest done so, the ECFA said it would not have reported that Harvest was a member “in good standing.” The ECFA said it obtained new information on April 15 that “validated significant violations of Standards 2, 3, 4, and 6.” The ECFA added that “restoration to full membership was not a viable option under the circumstances.”
Though I am glad ECFA finally stripped Harvest of membership, its excuse for failing to find violations in December is extremely weak. I told ECFA in a November email about the “black budget,” yet it seems the group did very little digging to get to the truth. Here’s what I wrote: “Two former staff members told me that Harvest has a ‘black budget’ — about 20% of the budget that only very select people within the organization see. For example, the person who used to do payroll for the church said he paid 380 of the church’s 400 employees, but the top 20 executives were paid by Fred Adams, presumably under the authority of the executive committee, but he wasn’t sure. Similarly, the former comptroller said 20% of the budget was kept secret from him. This included money for top executive salaries and other unspecified projects.”
ECFA never even asked me for the names of the two former staff members so it could conduct its independent investigation. It seems the group simply came in, reviewed some documents Harvest gave it, and once again gave the church its seal of approval.
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166 Responses
Wow, what a train wreck! Thanks so much for your outstanding journalism. What a Christ-free leadership team that was.
“or give him a W-2 tax form”
LOL. That would be sweet. The IRS agents won’t be suckers and pawns like Harvest’s elders were.
What a nightmare. And I donated to WITW wanting to support, what I felt then, a worthwhile ministry.
All of the above is disturbing. Yet, two questions have gone unaddressed:
1) [Weaponized Child Porn]: PunkMac threatened the use of weaponized child porn per a recording played on-air by Mancow Muller. HBC later confirmed it was PunkMac speaking (GRRR!). Muller also stated on-air that he had been warned PunkMac had same planned for Mancow. Who is investigating the child porn angle?
2) [Boot Parties]: Again, per Mancow Muller’s broadcast, it is alleged PunkMac ordered boot parties (beat downs) of those who displeased him. This is criminal assault and battery. Who is investigating this matter?
Boyo11Guy not sure they’ll investigate since the recording was obtained illegally. I could be totally wrong but just a thought. Also, haven’t heard the recording yet still but was he actually legitimately plotting and working out details to execute this action? Or was he just ranting and raving and expressing a desire to do so? ::SHRUG::
It makes me sick to my stomach that I ever financially supported this travesty in any way. The only solace from is the assurance that God will not be mocked. Accountability is a heavy load.
Julie, wow, thank you and the many others that are helping to bringidetails out to us, the fleeced sheep of HBC. This is disgusting.it sounds as if he’s been setting himself up for this (sweet) deal, I mean really stealing, from the sheep, for many years. I am thankful to Phelps, Marquart, and slaBaugh, for standing strong and continuing to serve the body as (elders), trying to protect the sheep. I am disgusted with the executive committee members past and present that were a part of this that we’re aware of the black budget. I am sad and disgusted by the fact that, Huston, Williams, Sharda, Sperling Jeff Smith May have been aware of this and a part of it. Yet Fred Adams, who was fully aware and wrote the checks, continues to gamble, and no consequences. Pretty slick. I am sad that Harvest Bible Chapel hasn’t let their congregation know the details of this, but it has to come out by other means which gives it an appearance of hiding or spinning again, and yet some still stay there with some of these men and without full disclosure again. For the life of me, why would they give him all rights to sermons that the church paid for thru his compensation as an employee?
Excellent article Julie, really lays it all out for all to see. Only thing I can think of is what a scum bag. This man is a complete fraud, and it just makes me incredibly angry. I have attended since 2001 and while I knew things were going south I never knew to what extent. The Elders and Pastors who participated in this should be ashamed to ever show their faces again. Question, since WITW received 11mil for their airtime, which should have gone to the Church since Aurora was owned by HBC, where did all the money go that they got from all the various sources, including money people sent to WITW from all over the world. What was that money spent on since airtime was covered. Wasn’t Kathy an “Employee” of WITW? What was she pulling down? Shameful, and yet this women continues to post on social media. No shame.
robbers and den of thieves ,come to mind. where are all the godly men in christian leadership denounce these thieves ???
Basically all he got was 100,000. They gave him rights to a worthless library of preaching material. Everyone who listens will just be hearing a man who didn’t live out what he was telling others to do. Smart on Harvest’s part. Let the auditors do their job. With all the rights will come all the possible litigation.
Thank you for calming me down with a reality check! LOL
Bassy- hope you are right about litigation and some accountablilty for MacDonald (before he faces God in eternity that is) . However, when you say “all he got” was $100,000 I wonder… How many peoples tithes was that? What did each of them sacrifice so this man could add another $100,000 to the millions he already took and squandered on high living?
Sad. As to think people highly placed at Harvest are still protecting him and hiding things. What do they owe MacDonald after paying him $2,000,000 a year for how many years?
But that money is down the drain now. So much tithe money that could have done good for the people and the Kingdom.
And MacDonald is going to take over that Naples church and do it all again.
So sad Pastor James, you’re love of money is more important than your Harvest church? You’re teaching of Gods word led me to Christ in 2011, and I can only thank God for that. I Will continue to pray for you, I’m just in disbelief.???
Scott, don’t acknowledge him as a Pastor since he did not protect the flock but fleeced it to the bone. He should be known as Phony Jimmy MacDonald.
Sharda better finish up that new Word Doc contract quickly!
Julie, with all the funds flowing to WITW that you report here, do we know whether JMac received any personal compensation from specifically WITW in addition to his “HBC” compensation? Or did all of that money go to airtime and WITW staff salaries?
Most likely, James received a salary from WITW as well. The last year that WITW filed a 990, they paid him $150,000. Well, they paid his LLC (Sustend)…. which is another way to scheme because he can determine his own salary to report when it’s funneled through an LLC. Did Vertical Worship pay him or Sustend a salary as well?
Well call me naive. I thought JimmyMac made $500 per year at Harvest. I was off by just a bit. He made $960K annually + money from WITW + Vertical Music + $1 million in play money a year for “expenses”. You gotta believe he must have skimmed money from Churches Helping Churches (aka Pastors Helping Pastors re. JimmyMac + Driscoll). Wonder if those winners that got Harley’s and Rolex’s declared them on their taxes???
Does anyone know his address in Naples? Is there a sinkhole with alligators in it beneath it? He probably has many bodyguards as well as a sensitive security system around his home.
Is he really preaching at the Naples church or trying to take it over? If so, I pray that NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND attends it.
If our Lord Jesus Christ will leave the 99 sheep and go out to search for the ONE lost sheep, what does that say about James’ wanting to “lose 1,000 sheep” before he’d reveal his salary?
My dear Lord!!!!
I wondered why he needed bodyguards…now we know why!
I wondered why he needed a bodyguard…now we know why. With SO many shady dealings one would have to be looking over their shoulder!!
Are there still people attending Harvest? At this point I would think that there would be nobody showing up! Run to the nearest exit!
Excellent work.
Julie, you might need to check your web site. For some reason my iPad says it is not secure.
In Matthew 18 Jesus talks about leaving the 99 sheep, and going after the one who had gone astray. Do people see what JMac is saying. Money is more important than believers. The list of contributors should not go to JMac. They gave to ministries, and their contributions were abused. The people who gave money have not given their permission for their information to be shared. JMac is disqualified!
Amen Paul I totally agree.
Julie,
If there’s any way you can find out in your reporting what happened to the millions of dollars that was raised after the Haiti earthquake in 2010 between Mars Hill Church in Seattle and Harvest. Us former leaders at Mars Hill never got answers, even though we knew some solid evidence was coming to the surface that Mark Driscoll and MacDonald bilked us all on that one. What a travesty!
Churches Helping Churches (Pastors Helping Pastors) was a scam run out Harvest Elgin. Millions donated…where did the money go…
Wow!!!! Jmac is with out a doubt one of the most excellent liars who ever lived….as you can see in his photos, his fangs have been filed down and his teeth have been whitened, he shaved his head and has had his pointed ears removed from the top of his head and has had very realistic “Human” ears attached to the sides of his head…..Word on the street says Jmac went on his Hunting safari’s without weapons of any kind, He would just take a “PAK” of his ” Friends” Like Steve Huston, Jeff Donaldson, Rick Donald Jeff Smith and others….and they would Run down their Prey and Devour and scatter Them…although Jmac would occasionally hunt in exotic locations He and His buddies affectionately Known as “The Wolf Pak” preferred To do most of Thier hunting in the Chicagoland area…thier favorite Prey….Sheep.
Do you know how much I make every two weeks? It aint pretty. Anyway I was reminded of the Story of Ananias and Sapphira (cf Acts 5). Ananias wasn’t the only one who died, so did his wife. What is the story on James’ wife Kathy? This is not just the story of a corrupt man, but of a corrupt couple. James may be the face of this debacle, but Kathy is the Neck. Kathy was riding the same motorcycle and driving in the same car and eating the same food that James ate (I’m sure). No one in the James household is innocent, no not one.
Agreed Todd, I have wondered in the past if she was abused because if he was such a jerk to staff I can’t even imagine how he was at home. I wondered if she went along to get along. Now I just think she was right there along with him.
But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said,
“Why was this perfume not sold for fnthree hundred denarii and given to poor people?”
Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.”
John 12:4-6 NASB
As you can see Judas was also a preacher and a thief just like James MacDonald.
MacDonald also used his oratory trickery in order to fill the money box from which he stole for decades. These numbers are just a beginning of describing his loot. Many of those elders and pastors are same kind of thieves who shamelessly benefited from this institutional thievery and some of them are still there… What a farce.
Actually Dan ,I think you are really really close, with that big forehead sitting on shoulders, I am pretty sure we are talking about a descendant from the seed of Cain , an actual real live Nephalim !!
Now that would be a SAFARI !!!
Centuries of evil deception and wickedness, ask rick donald , he knows, he knows everything………..
steve huston is just a deluded human……….
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. – Matthew 6:19-24
What’s really scary is that JM hasn’t stolen a penny from anyone other than God. People were giving to God for His ministry on earth and JM was a trusted steward who broke trust, became obsessed with wealth and power and continues to seek them even now. My heart breaks for the people of Harvest Chicago. My heart bleeds for the staff who are finding out details at the same time we are. There are amazing people in that church with god/honouring spirits and a desire to serve Jesus well and love people. I can’t imagine how devastating these details are for them. It makes me pray harder for them and love them more – people I don’t know but brothers and sisters in Christ.
Further, I don’t care how large ones church is – no pastor should be paid that amount of money. Ever. EVER!
Julie, please continue to keep us informed on the thievery and manipulation of the Mcdonald’s. From your blogs, I am also reading in between the lines, Mcdonald is still using intimidation on the Harvest leadership. I am TIRED of the church leadership/elders being afraid to fight back and sew the Mcdonalds. In leadership not doing so tells me more about them and their involvement is greater than we know.
Mcdonald has no rights to WITW considering most of those sermons were written for him.
I truly feel sorry for the Mcdonald family because they knew and participated in their father’s/husband’s treacherous behavior. Mcdonal is also showing more of the money hungry person he’s turned in to. To not fear God is a very dark place to be.
Julie, thank you for your strong stance on integrity. You are a blessing to many!!!