ÚNASE A NOSOTROS EL 20 Y 21 DE MAYO PARA LA CONFERENCIA DE RESTORE

María
De Muth

escocés
McKnight

Screenshot 2023-01-13 at 1.50.18 PM

Naghmeh
panahi

Reportando la Verdad.
Restauración de la Iglesia.

Renuncia el presidente de la junta de ancianos de Harvest; Comité Ejecutivo a Renunciar Pronto

Por Julie Roys

Admitiendo que habían "fracasado colectivamente" en la supervisión adecuada de la iglesia, el comité ejecutivo de ancianos de cinco miembros de la Capilla Bíblica de la Cosecha anunció esta noche que todos renunciarán en los próximos meses y se establecerá un comité ejecutivo de reemplazo.

También hoy, Ron Duitsman, miembro del comité ejecutivo y presidente de la junta de ancianos más grande de 34 miembros, anunció su renuncia en un correo electrónico, que se envió a los ancianos y finalmente se me filtró.

El anciano ejecutivo William Sperling leyó el anuncio sobre el comité ejecutivo, el grupo que toma todas las decisiones financieras y legales de la iglesia, ante una multitud en el campus de Harvest's Rolling Meadows. Sin embargo, no se mencionó la renuncia de Duitsman.

En el servicio, Sperling dijo que la semana pasada había sido “sin lugar a dudas una de las semanas más difíciles en la historia de nuestra iglesia”.

[pullquote]”Sperling said the past week had been ‘without a question one of the most difficult weeks in the history of our church.'”[/pullquote]On Tuesday, the elders fired Harvest founding pastor, James MacDonald, for “engaging in conduct that the Elders believe is contrary and harmful to the best interests of the church.” According to a declaración publicado en el sitio web de Harvest, la decisión fue "acelerada" después de que la personalidad de radio y televisión de Chicago, Mancow Muller, transmitiera comentarios vulgares y difamatorios por MacDonald en su programa de radio.

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 “Even If He Doesn’t: What We Believe about God When Life Doesn’t Make Sense” by Kristen LaValley. To donate, haga clic aquí.

Sperling admitió que a lo largo de los años, varios ex-ancianos, miembros del personal y miembros de la iglesia se habían quejado del comportamiento de James MacDonald y “su efecto general en la cultura de Harvest”. Agregó que “parte de la complejidad” con respecto a la respuesta de los ancianos a esas quejas fue la voluntad ocasional de MacDonald de someterse a una mayor responsabilidad.

Sin embargo, dijo Sperling en las últimas semanas, los ancianos habían llegado a la conclusión de que el comportamiento de MacDonald no estaba "por encima de todo reproche". En cambio, Sperling dijo que MacDonald exhibió “un patrón pecaminoso de lenguaje inapropiado, ira y comportamiento dominante”.

Sperling admitió que los ancianos no habían brindado la "dirección, disciplina y tiempo de respuesta" necesarios con respecto a MacDonald y pidió el perdón de la congregación. También dijo que él y los demás miembros del comité ejecutivo renunciarían.

Un borrador anterior del anuncio de los ancianos, que se me filtró temprano esta mañana, pedía que la junta de ancianos se redujera a 17 en los próximos meses. Esta noche, Sperling dijo que el gran tamaño de la junta era un problema y dijo que habría cambios con respecto a la “composición y estructura de la junta de ancianos completa”. Pero no especificó cuáles serían.

El borrador anterior también pedía a toda la junta de más de 30 ancianos que renunciara para fines de 2019. Sin embargo, en el correo electrónico de Duitsman, dijo que sentía que hacer que todos los ancianos renunciaran parecía equivalente a castigar a todos “por los actos de alguien que era nuestro líder espiritual y nos estaba engañando de una manera muy poco calificativa”.

[pullquote]”Duitsman’s email also revealed a very divided board, noting that some elders ‘refuse to come under the authority of the Elder Board’ and are ‘assisting in the bludgeoning of the Bride of Christ.’”[/pullquote]He added, “There is much talk of resigning by many, let me be the first to lead in that, effective immediately.” Duitsman’s email also revealed a very divided board, noting that some elders “refuse to come under the authority of the Elder Board” and are “assisting in the bludgeoning of the Bride of Christ.”

El borrador anterior también establecía que era “inapropiado entablar una demanda contra algunos de los que están fuera de la iglesia” que plantearon cuestiones sobre la iglesia y MacDonald. Esto fue omitido de la declaración leída esta noche.

También esta noche, Sperling anunció que el campus de Harvest en Naples volverá a la autonomía local y seguirá siendo dirigido por sus actuales ancianos y personal. A principios de esta semana, Harvest Naples anunció que había contratado a Russell Taylor para servir como su nuevo pastor interino para reemplazar al pastor fundador John Secrest. Secreto fue despedido por la cosecha hace varias semanas por "insubordinación" cuando se opuso a los planes de Harvest de permitir que MacDonald predicara en el campus de Naples durante el anterior "año sabático indefinido" de MacDonald.

Sperling también anunció que Harvest no seguirá adelante con los planes para establecer un nuevo campus en el área de Hinsdale. Dijo que los planes permanecerían en suspenso “mientras evaluamos las mejoras necesarias en nuestro gobierno y la forma en que hacemos el ministerio”.

También se dirigió a la congregación esta noche un lloroso Rick Korte, miembro de la congregación que liderará un equipo de transición llamado "Cosecha 2020".

Korte anunció que los miembros del equipo serán el pastor del campus de Crystal Lake, Greg Bradshaw, la directora principal del ministerio, Laura Wiegle, y los élderes Brian Musso, Tod Desmarais y Mike Collett. Korte también dijo que Harvest había contratado a varios “profesionales externos con experiencia relevante”, pero no nombró a ninguno de ellos.

[pullquote]“If we haven’t done something in 30, 60, 90 days, if this team is not able to push us forward, then I will walk with you hand-in-hand and leave.”[/pullquote]However, the earlier version of tonight’s announcement said that the church had contracted with Lawrence Swicegood, a somewhat surprising choice. Swicegood is director of media for Iglesia de entrada, una mega iglesia de Texas que en 2017 tuvo que despedir personal porque tenía ingresos gastados en exceso por $23 millones. La iglesia también ha invitado repetidamente al pastor caído en desgracia y amigo cercano de MacDonald's, Mark Driscoll, a hablar en su conferencias.

Otra elección algo sorprendente fue el predicador del sermón de esta noche en Harvest, el pastor asistente principal y el élder Rick Donald. Donald ha estado en Harvest desde sus inicios y es considerado uno de los amigos y aliados más cercanos de MacDonald. Brian y Tammy Anderson, que asistieron a Harvest durante 10 años, me dijeron que abandonaron el servicio cuando Donald comenzó a hablar, al igual que entre 30 y 40 personas más. 

A pesar de los problemas en Harvest, Korte instó a la congregación a no irse, sino a darle al equipo de transición la oportunidad de cambiar las cosas. Aunque la congregación estuvo extremadamente tranquila durante la declaración de Sperling, vitoreó después de algunas de las declaraciones de Korte.

“Si no hemos hecho algo en 30, 60, 90 días, si este equipo no es capaz de empujarnos hacia adelante, caminaré con ustedes de la mano y me iré”, dijo Korte. "Pero quiero que te quedes con nosotros ahora".

Vea el video del anuncio de esta noche a continuación:

COMPARTIR ESTE:

¡OBTÉN ACTUALIZACIONES POR CORREO ELECTRÓNICO!

¡Manténgase en contacto con Julie y reciba actualizaciones en su bandeja de entrada!

No te preocupes, no te enviaremos spam.

Más para explorar
discusión

155 Respuestas

  1. Mike Collett??!! Greg Bradshaw??!! ARE YOU FLIPPING KIDDING ME???!!!! Cringe-worthy MacDonald boot-licking cheerleading sycophants and co-conspirators for DECADES.

    Why not just keep MacDonald himself???

    This proves these people are absolutely incapable of anything even close to reform. Unbelievable.

    What a cesspool.

  2. Rick Donald was joined at the hip with James MacDonald. He should Act Like a Man and resign immediately. Let the church turn the page to it’s next chapter…

  3. Rick Donald preaching on this night of all nights??!! Like having Hitler open the United Nations first plebiscite.

    ????

    The moron factor there is off the scale…

  4. “…some elders “refuse to come under the authority of the Elder Board” and are “assisting in the bludgeoning of the Bride of Christ.”

    Does anyone – anyone??!! – in leadership at Harvest have more than a third-grade education? Ever actually read a Bible?

    You can’t make this stuff up…

  5. Can someone help me out? Who are the five elders on the executive committee?

    They can get new elders but imo it’s the high level pastors which have actually had and exercised the most power and influence there.

    Because of the salaries they make and the power of the pulpit ant the public influence that they have.

    I dont see how they can escape responsibility for not holding James accountable and standing up for what is right?

  6. I am the widow of a former elder who was told by Rick Donald that he was insubordinate and had to step down – no longer worthy of leadership (2012) because he disagreed with a decision. I find the fact that Harvest chose Rick to deliver a sermon tonight a very strong indicator of their lack of desire to change status quo. What matters if Rick, or any of the others, resign from XLT if they are allowed to remain on staff and/or influence ‘restructuring.’

  7. Hey Julie, give it a rest. How can you throw stones yet call yourself a Christian? And to the rest of you- what joy is this bringing to the kingdom? Would you stop and examine your sin. YOU are not perfect. Hence why we need a savior.

    1. The Bible teaches there is a higher standard for pastors and elders. Reading all of scripture on judgeing others will give you a much different view. Let scripture interpret scripture. We are to hold leaders accountable as well as fellow Christians not just sit back and say “well I’m not perfect so I can’t judge.” That is the exact mentality that keeps an bully and lover of money in a position like that for many years.

    2. This is the accusation of devils…

      “No one is perfect and therefore no one has the right to call out another’s sin.”

      The Bible says otherwise and you’ve just been following a man filled with pride for too long.

  8. AB, I’ve seen you a few places. We are all sinners saved by grace. It would be foolish to claim to be anything else. Does that mean we do not call out unrepentant patterns of sin? Should we not want anyone to call it out in our own lives? What theology is this?

    Do you think there are wolves among the sheep? How do we recognize these wolves?

    1. cheerios- Yes, I believe there are wolves among the sheep. Tell us how you know your minister is not a wolff among the sheep at your church. And tell us how you know Mancow is not a wolf.
      Sorry, but there are obvious and easily understood motives why Mancow and even Julie herself could be wolves. I mean, I bet Julie has been called a ‘wolfette’ by somebody by now.

      So how do the sheep know who the wolves are?

      1. You weren’t taught logic in school?

        Because you are describing a fallacy. For fun we could call it tu quoque ad nauseam.

        “You’re a sinner! Who are you to judge me? Or him??” It’s nonsense, and it’s from the father of lies.

  9. It appears business as usual unfortunately, as you can shuffle the shell in a shell game but it’s stiill going to be found underneath the cup! Better would be 10 random congregants to stand up each service and give their testimonies than rehashing the shells of the elder board. At this point, none are trustworthy. The whispers behind the curtain have been made known. Choose this day whom you will serve!

    1. SadnessinCall- I agree with you. I went to Harvest RM and every weekend people are baptized and give their testimonies. I guess this is not common at a lot of churches. But what shows better the Presence of God in a Church and what they are being taught then the congregation themselves talking about God in their lives? The ‘God at Work’ videos I think Dallas Jenkins was in charge of at Harvest where people talk about what God has done in their lives are all really excellent.

      1. Don ERacer- God did work through James to further HIS kingdom… Not James kingdom just like God used Balaam and his donkey! However, at least the donkey feared God. Through James’s actions, reactions, and manipulations… He and his family members have become exceptionally wealthy off of your back’s. In light of the truth and even through the allegations I challenge you to go back and listen to even one of Jame’s sermons, and realize his public persona was one thing and his private persona was entirely a different story.

        I am deeply heartbroken as I considered him to be my pastor and was a supporter of his WITW radio program. Using those unauthorized funds to buy a Deer Hunting Farm, as outlandish as that is, pales in comparison to someone who would threaten to put child porn on someone’s computer. Even in my most sinful state that thought would never enter my mind. That is just horrific and Indefensible.

        For those people who are still in support of James, even after all of the past and current revelations, shows how he was able to so easily manipulate the system and pull the wool over people‘s eyes. It certainly allowed him to dictate and do whatever he pleased behind the scenes with no consequences or accountability. I fear that just the first domino has fallen but hundreds will crumble after it. Praying for all the congregations that are reeling from this spiritual abuse. I have been there and the pain is real but God is faithful to restore. And by the way the pastor that did this to my family here in California over 15 years ago has never apologized. So don’t expect one!

  10. Just to add:
    It has been profoundly said, and how true it is, that the only thing necessary for evil to exist is for good people to remain silent… Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

  11. We are people who have been on staff for 10 years and on elder board for 4.

    1. It was only a month ago that all staff and elders all signed on the dotted line to “unconditionally support pastor James” did I say Elders?
    2. Pastor Rick preached tonight? Seriously? He’s been aware and has made excuses for gambling and much more.
    3. Is Swicegood on the team? Is Harvest paying this group? Seriously? Look history up on this company.
    4. So many people have lived such pain , but the elders have known his/James language, attitude, control, fear based toxic culture at church. Especially Rick Donald nothing was done.
    5. Reducing the size of the elders to 17, because it was too large, truth of the matter, the governence was established to deliver information to the larger elder board that they wanted to them to hear and how information was packaged. The governance was established and hindered from the former elder board to go wide instead of deep. The “governance” needs to go and return to a traditional elder oversight.

    We share the grief and anger. We trust God..,

  12. My heart hurts.

    Because I just prayed along with that prayer. And we do need to humble ourselves. And I prayed to humble myself. But will James MacDonald humble himself? If he doesn’t, that’s between the Lord and him. But the church he built and franchised isn’t a place to attend.

    James MacDonald is known in the Elgin community as a bully – someone who is entitled. Not as someone who humbles himself. Until he comes back and makes it right, he is disqualified to be an elder or a teacher.

  13. Don’t be anxious; Justice is coming. The cult is going down but that only happens when all the money and personal freedoms are stripped away by the government that God established.

  14. One BIG thing troubles me……the Elders and many of the pastors act like there has been some new light shown upon Jmac and that they are stunned at all of the NEW and SHOCKING sin that has been exposed …but this is nothing new and they know it, most of these same elders signed a document just a few short weeks ago stating that they supported James UNCONDITIONALLY…..are they aware What the word UNCONDITIONALLY means????? because it means WITHOUT CONDITION…like no matter what anyone says or what evidence is presented we still support him…..
    there isn’t a person alive or dead that I would support UNCONDITIONALLY not my wife, my kids or anyone else…the only one who is worthy of UNCONDITIONAL support is Jesus Christ and him alone….Haven’t these Guys ever read Luke 14:25-27??? If they haven’t maybe they should. ….by the way transparency isn’t something you work on ….your either transparent or your not… these Guys have been talking about being more transparent for years maybe decades .

  15. Watching Rick get up and say this week has been hard and he is shock too and he just wants to be honest is almost too much to take. He has been by James side EVERY SINGLE DAY for decades allowing and covering his behavior. Two steps forward, three steps back…

  16. Anyone else pick up on the fact that Rick is still “confused”? Where is the confusion? What’s so confusing? Was he blindsided? Are you kidding me?

    1. Bahhahaha! That’s hilarious!

      Someone shared on Twitter: “Rick told us at the end of the message to not listen to the voice of the devil if he whispers to us to leave this church.”

      Okay Rick…because leaving would probably make it really hard for you guys to hit your already impossible to hit budget. Pretty sure it ain’t the devil telling people to leave.

  17. While many of Harvests decisions recently are highly questionable, such as having MacDonald’s right hand man preach tonight, I find the tone of the dialog here and on social media from those who claim the name of Christ to be very troubling. There is much in the way of foul speech, mockery, vulgarity, and general vileness emerging… many of the same things James MacDonald was known for. Don’t become so consumed with dancing on his grave that you become a monster yourself.

    If someone else had preached this may have gone over better, but either way, Korte is right. They should be given a chance to make good on their word. If they don’t, everyone should leave, but things are happening that never would have happened in the MacDonald empire.

    God may be working here in these men’s hearts. He can change any heart and turn it wherever he wills. Far be it from us to say what God will or won’t do here. We should watch and pray.

    1. The glaring GLARING issue is Naples. The way they handled that debacle shows not one heart has changed and they remain tone deaf to the Spirit of God. Also no one is reacting or making comments like you have described. Stop exaggerating about the dissenters. Really it’s the diehard harvest defenders that have been the unhinged ones acting very similar to their father James. Harvest is going to become a heap of ashes.

Deja una respuesta

El Informe Roys busca fomentar el diálogo reflexivo y respetuoso. Con ese fin, el sitio requiere que las personas se registren antes de comenzar a comentar. Esto significa que no se permitirán comentarios anónimos. Además, se eliminarán todos los comentarios con blasfemias, insultos y/o un tono desagradable.
 
Artículos MÁS RECIENTES
Artículos MÁS populares
es_MXSpanish

Donar

Hola. Vemos que este es el tercer artículo de este mes que ha encontrado que vale la pena leer. ¡Estupendo! ¿Consideraría hacer una donación deducible de impuestos para ayudar a nuestros periodistas a continuar informando la verdad y restaurar la iglesia?

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 “The Atlas Factor: Shifting Leadership Onto the Shoulders of Jesus” by Lance Ford.