Barely a month after issuing a public “repentance,” and apologizing for a lawsuit he called “fearful and defensive,” disgraced, former Harvest Bible Chapel senior pastor, James MacDonald, has sued a believer again. This time, the target is Chicago radio personality Mancow Muller—a former church member and confidant whom the lawsuit accuses of defaming MacDonald.
The new lawsuit filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court accuses Muller of falsely calling MacDonald a “con man” and fabricating stories about MacDonald on Muller’s morning show on WLS-AM. These stories included claims that MacDonald was scheming to murder “rivals” and to plant “kiddie porn” on Muller’s computer.
This is the second defamation lawsuit MacDonald has filed in just over a year. In October 2018, MacDonald and Harvest Bible Chapel sued the authors of The Elephant’s Debt blog, their wives, and me for defamation. MacDonald and Harvest dropped the suit last January after a court ruled that documents subpoenaed in the case could be made public. Harvest has subsequently apologized for the lawsuit and reimbursed The Elephant’s Debt authors, their wives, and me for court costs and damages.
In the new lawsuit, MacDonald is seeking more than $50,000 in damages from both Muller and WLS parent company, Cumulus Media, for several counts of defamation, invasion of privacy, inflicting emotional distress, and eavesdropping.
Also targeted in the lawsuit are “John Does 1-5”—“unknown individuals and/or entities participating in the production, recording, editing, distribution, and/or ownership” of the “Mancow Podcast.” The inclusion of these unknown defendants is related to a “hot mic” recording of MacDonald that Muller aired on his program and podcast.
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The lawyer representing MacDonald in this latest lawsuit is Phillip J. Zisook of Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg. In 1995, Zisook won a $1.6 million settlement against Muller for ex-Chicago Bear Keith Van Horne.
I talked to Muller yesterday afternoon and he said he had not yet been served notice of the lawsuit but learned about it when it was published by the Cook County Record. The lawsuit says Muller aired defamatory comments about MacDonald “to build up listener interest for his radio/podcast shows.”
Muller said he couldn’t comment on the specifics of the lawsuit but maintained that “everything I said is true.” As for why he spoke out against MacDonald, Muller said that he had endorsed MacDonald on air for years, so “I wanted my listeners to know (MacDonald) was a fraud once I discovered it.”
Last month, Harvest Bible Chapel published the results of an audit and legal review, which found that MacDonald had “extensively” misused church funds “for improper financial benefit.” The church also has formally disqualified MacDonald from ministry, saying his behavior does not meet biblical standards. Harvest currently is in arbitration with MacDonald over ownership of Walk in the Word, MacDonald’s former broadcast ministry.
Below is the lawsuit MacDonald filed against Muller:
Lawsuit Vs Mancow
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Spanish
55 Responses
Not a fan of Calvin, but I’m sure JMac is.
And this was meant to be a reply to the long post comparing JMac to Calvin and King David (really?).
RD if your take away to my comment was that there was a direct comparison in Jmac to God’s anointed servants than may I kindly say you woefully missed the point and that this is an example of why born again believers who desire to grow into spiritual meat are leaving the organized church system in droves.
There is a recurring theme in the comments That true born again Christians simply don’t do certain things.
Would that it were the case, however, A quick glance of the comments posted here reveal many murdering and devouring with their written words along with comments that do not appear to be Spirit led.
My comment was directed at this specially: “believers (do not) look to have their earthly enemies murdered” and the claim that James is saved utterly ridiculous. Calvin didn’t just “look to do it” he participated in the execution of a spiritual enemy. Yes it was medieval times and Calvin did do much good for which we are grateful, but this is not the point. David, a spiritual hero after God’s very own heart, pre-meditated and contracted the murder of a trusted soldier after committing adultery with his wife.
I made no attempt to compare James to these men, simply speaking to the idea God’ people don’t do evil things and speak to the lordship salvation theology seemingly prevalent in the comments.
We can add Ananias and sapharis to the list of Christians doing ungodly things, as well as Peter, who denied the LORD three times and who the LORD Jesus Himself called “satan” when Peter unwittingly was yielding his ideas to the worldly designs of satan and not God. Anything less desirable than being called satan by our LORD and savior?
The point was that sadly that Bible is full of examples of God’s people doing ungodly things and reveals man’s failure and God’s mercy through the ages.
None of us are qualified nor biblically responsible to determine salvation On behalf of another and it’s is disheartening to see believers doing so publically.
We are instructed to stay away from those who teach false doctrine or do not act in accordance with holiness as set out by the scriptures. Had this been done with James, he would not have been able to rise to power.
We are all implicit in it as for reasons only known to God, we all desired something James and his organization offered.
If the true Gospel was preached, including the cross, the blood of Christ shed and the risen and ascended Christ as our ONLY means of salvation, and our good works flowing from that understanding; if the organized church returned to the teaching and preaching of Jesus Christ of the Bible, and focused on HIM rather than the jesus of self worship; if the church preached a call to holiness by the power of the Spirit and repented of the man centered gospel under the new age cosmic false christ being worshipped, than we might see a revival and change of hearts and less bad behavior on the part of Christians and professing Christians.
I note another post comparing James to stain, Hitler or John Wayne Gacy. This is not in defense of James sinful actions, but that is an actual direct comparison and clearly degrades the victims of those men.
There will be no more “long posts”. I’ve been keeping up with these blogs since the elephant debt began years ago and have never once posted anything. One thing is clear:
The apostasy is upon us. Perilous times are here.
May we all grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ
I think it is pretty clear. David repented.
I’m not sure if Calvin repented. It’s not mine to say. I know the work he left still does untold damage in the church. Perhaps some good as well – maybe the Scottish church?
An evildoer in the church who does not repent should be put outside the church. (But not burned at the stake – this isn’t medieval times, after all.) James MacDonald keeps suing fellow believers. He does not appear to be repentant.
“We are instructed to stay away from those who teach false doctrine or do not act in accordance with holiness as set out by the scriptures. Had this been done with James, he would not have been able to rise to power.”
Read your Bible. And your history books.
Kitty B: Read the Word of God from Jesus’ mouth Himself: Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law (JMac) and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, (that which calls itself God’s Church) you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
I attest that the Matthew 23 verse about Harvest is accurate. When I was in one of the last services James lead at the end of 2018, James and many of these so called pastors were on stage all rallying about what good they have done for the church. God wanted me to open my bible to Matthew 23 and he convicted my heart that all of them were just like those he spoke of in Matthew 23. In a way I was shocked because I didn’t think James and these pastors were that corrupt. Thank you God for that truth as we should always count on him and be not wise in our own eyes. As this story unfolded, I was not surprised as God warned me. Thanks be to God who loves us beyond words!
I haven’t kept up with this and don’t know the full truth, but Muller is making horrific statements against a pastor which are hard to believe and are still unproven. Including:”MacDonald was scheming to murder “rivals” and to plant “kiddie porn” on Muller’s computer.” Since this involves Muller himself, and it apparently never happened, any intelligent person should be able to see this Muller is a bit off his rocker, or very malicious. (How could he know what JMD intends to do?) Whether Muller is a Christian or just a professional liar, I don’t know, as the Bible only prohibits suits against “brothers.”
James MacDonald, Jeff Smith the money bag man and the rest of crooks from old HBC gang need to be investigated by State Attorney General and FBI. ASAP!
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/