Disgraced Pastor James MacDonald last night announced that he’ll be returning to the pulpit on March 22 with an 8-part series at Calvary Chapel South Bay in Gardena, California.
Calvary Senior Pastor Jeff Gill introduced his “dear brother” James MacDonald to the Calvary Chapel congregation at services last night and told them that MacDonald would be teaching at Calvary for the next eight Sunday evenings. Gill encouraged congregants to invite people to the services who “don’t know the Lord” or who need “a special word from the Lord.”
MacDonald then addressed the crowd, telling them that he had pastored a “wonderful church in Chicago,” but adding: “God has seen it to be fit to allow us to be separated from the church that we loved for our whole lifetime. And it has been a real crucible of suffering for us.”
Neither MacDonald nor Gill told the congregation that MacDonald’s former church, Harvest Bible Chapel, had disqualified MacDonald from public ministry for a “substantial pattern of sinful behavior.” They also did not mention that an audit conducted by Harvest found that MacDonald had misused millions in church funds “for improper financial benefit.”
MacDonald said that over the past five to six months, “God has really begun to stir within us a hope and an expectation that he had something for us still to do, and that he wasn’t finished with us. And that our—uh, my—failures, were not such in relational matters that he couldn’t forgive those things.”
Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $50 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you can elect to receive a copy of “Dear Evangelicals: The Real Reasons People Are Exiting Church” by Jamin Coller. To donate, click here.
MacDonald said the new series would be entitled, “The Power to Change,” and would feature lessons from “my own life and the things God has been teaching us.”
MacDonald remains in arbitration with Harvest over rights to his former broadcast ministry, Walk in the Word. MacDonald also recently sued Chicago radio and TV personality Mancow Muller for alleged defamation.
Video of MacDonald Announcing He’ll Preach at Calvary:
English 
Spanish
66 Responses
Understand that Calvary Chapels are each Independent churches, and CC South Bay does not represent the view or actions of the CC Movement
Glad to see Pastor James preaching again.
Is this a disclaimer? Trying already to distance yourself from this charlatan?
Rotsa ruck. MacDonald will stick to you like sticky chewing gum. Drop him like a hot potato
In this day of blogs…….any sheep fleeced by james macdonald deserves it…
Give it time. They’ll figure it out. James couldn’t have picked a worse time to relocate. Must’ve been a heck of a drive out to CA, in that big RV, just him and Kathy, worrying about paying lawyer’s fees and selling that big, gaudy, cold house in Elgin.
He could’ve gotten a job and simply, genuinely said he was sorry. No harm in that. But noooooo…….
Welcome back Pastor James Macdonald!
Agree! This is appalling that he is standing up in front of sheeple! Christians need to open their eyes and discern the times and the people standing before them. We are to follow Jesus Christ. To the lady who thinks it’s nice he is preaching again well you can bank roll his lifestyle then. I want authenticity. Not a big mouthpiece with a beard and a nodding wife like a bobble head. She’s accountable too.
God forgives all so stop slandering his name. I’m happy he has another chance.
If God “forgives all” then why is the road that leads to destruction so wide? And why are so many people on it? I’m not trying to be snarky I’d just like to know if you can answer my question.
You wouldn’t want to warn those parishioners to ‘count the silver’?
It seems he is repeating a play from the book of Jonah. God commands him to be obedient
And he gets in his RV and travels thousands of miles in the opposite
Direction. Unbeknownst to him, a new virus is floating around and stops his plans.
I wonder what kind of fish is waiting for him in the Pacific? This is going to be interesting.
MacDonald’s WITW mailing list must be VERY valuable for Pastor Gill to take on this wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Parishioners – look sharp! Do you not have Google on the West Coast? Just look him up; learn for yourself. And “shelter in place” until MacDonald is given the ‘heave-ho’. It won’t be long; plus, his timing is all wrong.
What a lousy sermon, to boot. MacDonald’s not much of a ‘performer’ without an audience of trained seals to bark along with him. Enough of the ‘y’all’, ‘dawg’ and ‘bro’, James. Grow up: dress and act like a man
Still with the hands in the pockets, James??? What are you reaching for?
A few years back, during a sermon MacDonald set a portion of the stage on fire! (Prayer Accelerator) He put people in danger, for Pete’s sake.
Showing up in church, wearing football uniform shirts, carrying basketballs, wearing more jewelry than a woman – 4 or 5 rings, looking like a biker dude in leather vests.
Why did no one rein him in then?
So what is it with Pastors wearing jackets, made for outdoor wear, on stage? Is this a thing? Are they all cold or something?
JJC, I’ve often wondered that myself, my wife says its because they’re cold blooded.
i assume you don’t believe drug addicts can be transformed either. i am curious to know what bible you are reading. i pray God heals your heart and forgives you for the unforgiveness you are harboring
Very tragic, Jas. MacD acts “like nothing ever happened” (asked me once “how’s my walk with the Lord?” …does that scum have the right to ask anyone that question now?) And there is that other no-character Hybels who’s still hiding –
They both need to come clean to their former churches!!!
I will NEVER set foot in either “church” as long as I live. NEVER AGAIN !!!
If stepping foot in a church is dependent on the preacher, then your faith is in the preacher and not the faith. I have nothing to do with either Harvest Bible Chapel or Calvary Chapel. I’m just a Christian. And as a Christian we are commanded (this isn’t a suggestion) to forgive as we have been forgiven. Don’t let a mere man bring your faith down. Our God is much bigger!
Lebrenda I’m with you sister. My only concern is that he hasn’t taken ownership or asked for forgiveness. God needs James to ask for forgiveness and confess to the people he has hurt. While I only watch him on line, I can tell the people at Harvest are so precious. They loved him very much and they are hurt to the core by what he did. I don’t presume to have the mind of God or know if he has been forgiven, but I do pray for the man and for the truth that’s in his heart to be revealed one way or the other. God’s speed Harvest.
When was the last time JMac preached at your Chapel? Today is Sunday, 4/5 and I’m looking on-line for his Sunday sermon? Wasn’t he scheduled for an 8-part series?
Have you canned him already?
To those who say, don’t slander because he has been forgiven: He may have been forgiven but it doesn’t mean he should be trusted or hold the same position for a time. It is not slander when it is truth. We should hold him to his own standard he held for those under his leadership – you can never return to the same position in ministry when you sin to this extent.
Amazing how the Devil divides and conquers.
I cannot believe what I am reading in this commentary. I would wonder if any of the nay-sayers are actually Christians at all. How many times does the Bible tell us to forgive? Seven times, no seventy-seven times. I see no forgiveness in the comments above. I did not attend Harvest or have little knowledge of all that transpired. Has James MacDonald repented of his sin. I am not sure that it is up to us to decide that. This belongs to the Lord. No one can say that Jesus is Lord unless he is called by God. Since MacDonald has been preaching this for years, he is, at least, a great apologetic preacher of the gospel. Does he deserve to be preaching again, once again, only God knows that and is qualified to make that determination. I think people who are absolutely trashing MacDonald should be ashamed of themselves and ask the Lord to examine their hearts to see if they are without sin.
Larry,
There are qualifications in Scripture for elders and James does not qualify. Plus, I am in contact with many of those that he has wronged and none of them report he has apologized to them or tried to reconcile. There is zero fruit of repentance. Your comment seems to imply that we let anyone back into the pulpit regardless of what they’ve done or whether they’ve repented and made restitution. That is not biblical.
Julie, I agree with your reply 100%. In my decision of faith, I felt the Holy Spirit required me to make a list of every person I had harmed through my actions, identify how I had harmed them, reach out to them individually to apologize, ask for forgiveness, seek ways to make *them* whole and *then* share the good news of why I was doing this. I think true repentance and reconciliation is biblical but it is still crazy how many ignore the warning to not become teachers with the promise that they will receiver stricter judgement and how many want to skip the repentance and reconciliation to get right back into the “business”. We are to forgive and we are all sinners saved by grace (I am not perfect and still need forgiveness and grace) but accountability and transparency contributed to the Levites needing a string tied to their leg so when serving in the temple, if they were found to be in sin, their body could be removed (since God could not allow the presence of unrepentant and atoned for sin). It is right that you challenge the question of accountability, repentance and reconciliation. Where has the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom in this nonsense?
Any pastor who doesn’t have their head in the ground is aware by now of the Harvest/macdonals issues. That being said I would recommend running as fast as you can from any church who would invite James through their doors and keep one hand on your wallet as you run.