About a year after being fired from Harvest Bible Chapel for conduct “harmful to the best interests of the church,” disgraced former pastor, James MacDonald, has launched a new online ministry and Home Church Network.
MacDonald’s new website features dozens of video sermons recorded during MacDonald’s more than 30-year tenure at Harvest Bible Chapel. More than 50 of the sermons were uploaded to YouTube yesterday.
MacDonald had been in arbitration with Harvest Bible Chapel for rights to his sermons. I reached out to Harvest, inquiring about whether the church and MacDonald had reached a settlement, but the church did not respond. I also reached out to MacDonald, but he did not respond either.
According to MacDonald’s website, MacDonald’s new Home Church Network (HcN) will provide people who “struggle to get to church or to stay in church,” a non-traditional way to do so.
For leaders who qualify, HcN says it will provide a video Bible teaching recorded specially for home groups. HcN also promises to include worship from “some of the most loved and widely appreciated worship leaders in the world.”
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According to the website, there are four “HcN beta-groups” that will complete the ministry’s training in February.
Last November, the elders at Harvest Bible Chapel formally disqualified MacDonald from public ministry, saying his behavior did not meet the standards for leadership outlined in Scripture.
The church also released the results of financial review, which found that under MacDonald, the church had suffered a “massive corporate governance failure.” The review also found that MacDonald had used secret accounts to funnel millions in church funds to himself for personal use.
However, in the “controversy” section of his new website, MacDonald asserts that the “financial accusations are simply false” and denies having had any secret account. He also asserts that the use of church funds for apparel and gifts were not “outside the norms” for a ministry of Harvest’s size.
MacDonald also addresses what he calls “sensationalized trips,” presumably a reference to church-funded excursions I reported last March. These included an African safari, a month-long Naples vacation, and a trip to a Dominican Republic resort.
MacDonald says the trips were “publicized gifts” that “were approved and given to worthy recipients” for their “faithful service.”
MaDonald also addresses use of church funds for the cultivation of a trophy white-tail deer herd at Camp Harvest, saying the deer herd was “a more cost-effective way” of fundraising with high-capacity donors.
James MacDonald Ministries also announced on the website a planned tour of the Holy Land in November 2020. There’s also a form on the site for pastors who want to be trained in “better biblical preaching.” And there’s a form to fill out to invite MacDonald to speak at your church or ministry event.
The website also is selling five of MacDonald’s books. Both Moody Publishers and Lifeway said last year that they will no longer sell and/or carry books by MacDonald.
It’s not clear whether James MacDonald Ministries is a registered nonprofit with the IRS. When you click on the “Give” button, it says that James MacDonald Ministries is not accepting online donations at this time.”
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57 Responses
If the disgraced Jmacd ever went back to preaching he has a couple of problems, 1) who would he get to follow him (as eventually all will know his histroy) and 2) who would he get to write his surmons for him ???? As far as the elders at HBC, it took the roof to fall in on them to finally drive him out, they all knew and enabled him at best or were profitting from the same sceme at worst. I left HBC in 2012, in my mind I was not a member, I was a customer who brought money every week. One last observation, as I drive up and down Randall Road and pass the campus I can’t help but be discusted by the emblem on the sign (the sargent stripe looking thing from Jmac’s book). That should be a wake up call to all, where’s the Cross of Jesus Christ??????
I agree those are Sargent stripes. Some yahoo on twitter said “no no no those aren’t Sargent stripes”. Right I was a Sargent in the Army so I think I know what the symbol is. Heck that painted Rolling Meadows olive drab – what did that cost??? But MacDonald likes to prance around in his Army field jacket and pretend he is a soldier. Did Luke or Landon ever serve?
Why would you continue to pull this man down.The things that went on at the church were the leadership as much as him.They didn’t speak against him once until their decisions were brought into the light.
I see churches buy pastors cars, trips, and gifts all the time
McDonald-like greed and church “elders`” failed oversight can happen anywhere. Why do few churches disclose the pastor’s salary and benefit package? As a former attendee at HBC who now attends a church in central Virginia, I asked that question to a pastor and his almost scripted answer was “we have strong oversight.” I didn’t pursue the question for fear of being labeled a troublemaker or worse. Although there is not a hint of inappropriate finances at this church (with a multimillion dollar budget), I don’t understand their reluctance to disclose the lead pastor’s salary and benefit package. If a corporation and most nonprofits publish the CEOs’ pay, then why are churches so overwhelmed about it. The argument that disclosing salaries will cause grumbling and disunity is hollow, especially if only the lead pastor’s pay is published. Greater financial transparency won’t stop greed and failed leadership, but it will be a step in reconciling those disillusioned with church.
After I left harvest my wife and I found a nice church out in the country. We attended the finance meeting where all attendees saw every single penny of the pastors salary and benefits. There was even a point where they asked the pastor to step out while members gave their input. Now that’s transparency! I would have big red flags if a church can’t disclose every cent of a pastors salary after the jmac scandal. I’m done with mega churches. One other thing our new pastor shows so much humility like none I have ever seen before. He knows he is there as a servant of God and to do the work he was called to do. This church brought me back to my roots and I really needed that. His messages are online pastor Kevin Garner, Fox River Lutheran Church.
Brother, Our congregation receives quarterly finance reports. My entire salary is included in the report. At our annual business meeting my salary is discussed and approved. In our last business me3eting, the congregation wanted to give me an increase in pay — I refused.
If a pastor has 100 members does he deserve the same pay as a pastor that has 1000s of people.James Macdonald May not be perfect but his preaching changed my life.I guarantee that every pastor has weaknesses.He didn’t steal the money they allowed him to have it.The Church was also making a ridiculous amount of money selling his sermons and teaching.Why would he not deserve that money or a portion?
Sadly, your faith in human nature will not be rewarded. For all his many faults and flaws, MacDonald has a driven charismatic personality who will have little difficulty in persuading others to follow him wherever he takes them. His decision to go for a “Home Church Network” is a clever one, in that it ensures that there is no-one with the power to hold him accountable this time, since the “leaders” in the network will basically just be local leaders of small home church groups. This time, he gets to do whatever he wants with the money he collects, without even a pretense of accountability.
Hi Everyone: I’m sorry you all had to go through and learned this, as went through it in the 70-80’s and it almost cost me my life. I write from one who was going fast to hell based on a very evil narcissistic sociopath of a Pastor and out of that learned God does not waste a thing in our lives. Thanks for ALL your comments. Yes Amos Love I’m always saying that also, pastors mentioned only 9 times in Bible. If, Julie will let me post; my comments are on these blogs and other sites named to HELP GET OVER CHURCH ABUSE all the comments mention other sites like: “does benny hinn deserve more consideration than Jesus” by cult news. Mention articles and Books to help as it was a process of crawling out of the abyss of horrific abuse, as have years of book offers.
https://mariomurilloministries.wordpress.com/2019/06/19/but-i-am-not-a-prophet/
https://mariomurilloministries.wordpress.com/2019/06/27/nbc-news-analyst-declares-winner-of-debate/#comments
https://mariomurilloministries.wordpress.com/2020/01/21/7-reasons/#comments
What can help with, is taking it to all media; if anyone wants to help take it to the House/Senate please do so, as it’s a lot of work. These 2 comments to Shosanna tells you how to do it: https://mariomurilloministries.wordpress.com/2020/01/24/christian-leader-do-you-really-care-about-your-people/#comments. Come together and work this.
What I want to know, is why we replace God with these men and or women in ministry who do not look out for our very souls and bring out the best, gifts, callings etc. and are true shepherds? Honest: I hated God until reconciled that because of a Pastor and no one is worth going to hell over, you can do something about it though.
https://mariomurilloministries.wordpress.com/?s=hell+is+real. Don’t murmur and complain, do something!
Google: all emails and all mailing addresses for Media (note the comments on how to). I will also put before Potus.
Just Google: scandal, abused by, controversial articles, abused by James Macdonald, who funded and funded as satanic/luciferian regimes funding pastors/churches, is a mason, masonic and ask if ever prayed for anyone to die.
P.S. Also, very important: Google: people’s negative feedback on James MacDonald as it will bring up other sites and blogs like spiritualsoundingboard.com and in the search box type who you are looking for as in “the messed up church” blog found by googling Amy Spreeman who also post items on Church as many others. So, we all should have been doing our research as not to make our children go through this hellish behavior. Comes under “exploit the need to belong” by Stephen Parsons. By the way: collect articles on church abuse, exiters, brainwashing etc.
Bottom line is what do all these leaders build except empires, regimes, dynasty’s, kingdoms to self=Business; Corporation in the guise of non-profit and self-serving. No different than a smarmy B.S. pyramid scheme.
MacDonald belongs in jail.
James MacDonald for the 12 years I attended Harvest: “The Lord’s people, in the Lord’s house, on the Lord’s day. NO EXCUSES!!”
James MacDonald now that he can’t make money off of the Lord’s people, in the Lord’s house, on the Lord’s day:
“Big churches get in t he way of relationships. Let me in your home – that will work better for both of us”
Just like our politics many many people will only hear what they want to hear. I’m not sticking up for James (I’m a former member) but I have no doubt he will rise up again. Unfortunately as you read his comments he does not own up to anything, so as long as he denies his wrongdoing many of his former sheep from Harvest and around the world will keep following. It’s even hard for me because I truly miss him and had a love for him and my former church but we (especially myself) need to make choices we know in our hearts are right. I just hope many will see through him and not support his efforts. Like James always said “Choose to sin choose to suffer”…to bad he doesn’t abide by his own teachings.
They were not meant to be sergeant stripes even though I agree they capitalized on the whole military aspect. The angle of harvest stripes compared to military stripes is much sharper and they were intended to emphasize “vertical church” with a mindset of striving for the upward cause. As a former member I think Harvest should dump the logo because it reminds everyone of jmac…like it or not that’s a fact. That would also show people they are moving into a new chapter. Part of why I left was the frustration of feeling they were not doing enough and seemed like even though James was gone they still bowed to his nonsensical demands. I never understood why a class action suit has never been filed. It just seems like James is one of those people who always lands on his feet free of any consequences.
Why isn’t he?