(The version of the report released to TRR referenced and summarized the texts instead in the interest of the victims privacy.) Those who looked deeper discovered sexual misconduct and abuse of power by Chung, former long-term church members, pastors, and leaders state in a 67-page report released to The Roys Report (TRR). .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-current, WebHe is a bi-vocational pastor and has been in the animation industry for over 10 years. My experience is that more gets done for the perpetrator versus the victim. The mainline Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) announced this week it will change the way it reports statistical information about the denominations membership to, The pastor of a Baptist church in Virginia is in jail on child sex abuse-related charges, the Washington County (Va.) Sheriffs Office, Steve Morgan, founder and president of a group of 26 evangelical-charismatic churches known as the Network, has been hiding a disqualifying sexual. /* Reduce height of the progress and audio bars */ Singer said any organizations that back out do so because they dont understand the nature of an independent assessment or investigation. URBANA For Janet Park, the events of last year feel like a waste of time and energy. .wp-caption p.wp-caption-text { /* .jet-smart-listing__featured-box-link:before { But Chung got upset that the victim had told someone and told her to keep the incident quiet between the two of them, the friend said in the report. Inside the Actresss Marriage to a Pastor. .mytheme-mejs-container.mejs-container, 5 min read. Another promised change was to bring the church under a regional body within the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), to seek more oversight and accountability for its leaders and members. On July 9, 1988, Whelchel tied the knot with Steven Cauble, her first husband and associate pastor at The Church on the Way. Pastor Min Chung is also known as one of the youth movement Joshua Generation conference and college movement founders. Pastor Chung holds a Korean-American identity. He experienced his childhood in America and went to James B. Conant High School. After that, he was acknowledged at the University of Illinois. No one in the USAis sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-float-current, Meanwhile, Chung maintains a presence and continues to attend KCP meetings, according to sources. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-marker, Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of Jesus v. Evangelicals: A Biblical Critique of a Wayward Movement by Constantine Campbell. And women are taught to protect men, even when the men are doing something wrong or hurting the women, said former member June Pinyo. For Janet Park, the events of last year feel like a waste of time and energy. The leader of a Christian cult in Kenya is due to appear in court next week, as the exhumation of bodies found in mass graves on his land continues. In addition, CFC vowed to be clear and transparent with members by providing regular updates on the probe on its website. Rev. Mark 5:20-34 "Healing Touch" (Pastor Min Chung) A total of 19 people signed on to the report or are cited as witnesses. Webwhat happened to pastor min chung CMI is a proven leader at applying industry knowledge and engineering expertise to solve problems that other fabricators cannot or Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of "Jesus v. Evangelicals: A Biblical Critique of a Wayward Movement" by Constantine Campbell. In addition, hundreds of accounts surfaced online criticizing the church for mishandling alleged incidents of sexual abuse committed by church members, highlighting how Chung and other church leaders downplayed that abuse. Nothing was ever followed up on with me. Eventually, that group reconsidered and completed the assessment. They failed to get enough votes. Dr. Min J. Chung is the founding and lead pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, an Nothing was put in place, to my knowledge, to keep me safe from him. color: #888888; Yet this generations aggrieved version of sexism has taken on a different character from their fathers more traditional version of sexism featuring machoism and strict gender roles., https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/13/opinion/south-koreas-misogyny.html, https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/06/23/young-south-korean-men-hate-liberals-feminists/. I actually had gotten to the point where I was naively thinking that [the GRACE assessment] was the one thing that was finally going to [lead] CFC to take a true, humble look at themselves.. He cited an example in the Bible, in the book of Luke, where Jesus tells the story of a woman and an unjust judge. Chung continued to speak elsewhere during this time. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-total { The congregation also sought to evaluate the health of the church through The Center Consulting Group (CCG). In one particular case, according to sources, Chung took steps to cover up sexual abuse committed by a fellow pastor, Samuel Lee, who was leading Faith Alliance Nine teaching elders protested the KCPs ruling, saying they didnt think Chung was truly repentant, and called for indefinite suspension. Sometimes weve lost purpose and direction. /*Custom svg icon height fix*/ It was very much like, Why do you think you got into this relationship? Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story or making a contribution. So they think that they can have some level of control of the process some access to information before they get to the final product, Singer said. The church consists of predominantly a Korean American congregation. The KCP ruled only on the sexual assault allegation, calling it sexual harassment. They determined that Chung was guilty but has done enough for restoration to ministry. Whistleblowers say theyre disappointed, but not surprised, with the ruling. /* Player background */ new homes for sale in gonzales, la; jfk airport covid testing requirements; norman, ok mayor political party; switzerland cemetery records; background-color: #efefef; Even the friend in whom the victim confided feared she would be cursed by God if she spoke against Chung. WBEZ confirmed with Justin Coverstone, the stated clerk of the Presbytery of Northern Illinois, that CFC was in the process of joining that regional body as of early September. The church hired GRACE to begin the independent assessment in August 2021, and the organization had been gathering information via one-on-one interviews, documents, listening circles and an anonymous survey. In May 2021, CFC cut ties with him. But TRR said that the ruling may still be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCA's General Assembly. A new report appears to implicate Covenant Fellowship Church's former head pastor, Min Joshua Chung, in fostering and creating a misogynistic church environment. Singer said any organizations that back out do so because they dont understand the nature of an independent assessment or investigation. Coverstone confirmed in a separate email to WBEZ that Kim, who had been accused by former church members of failing to respond properly to Chungs sexual misconduct, had been accepted into the Presbytery of Northern Illinois in January. Though disappointed, the whistleblowers said that they were not surprised with KCP's ruling, citing the environment at CFC where Chung leads and the congregation's high regard for the minister. Rev. But Chung is subject to the PCAs Book of Church Order because of his PCA ordination, KJ Kim told TRR. Now, more than a year after WBEZ broke the story, former members and others familiar with the church say CFC is quietly reversing course. z-index: 1; Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, also known as GRACE was hired by Covenant Fellowship Church to look into the allegations against the church and its former head pastor, Min Joshua Chung. background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); In addition, CFC vowed to be clear and transparent with members by providing regular updates on the probe on its website. Under the previous structure, CFC was an independent church, with just Chung and the associate pastors, as individuals, belonging to the Korean Central Presbytery (KCP), one of the regional bodies within the PCA. An arm of the Presbyterian Church in America is allowing Min Joshua Chungarguably the nations most prominent Korean-American pastorto return to ministry despite allegations of sexual misconduct and cover-up. .grecaptcha-badge { visibility: hidden; } WBEZ Chicagoalso uncovered about an Instagram account created last May which grew to become a platform for sexual assault survivors, exposing the abuses that have been happening in the church for almost thirty years. Learn how your comment data is processed. We know this may cause pain for many people, and we deeply regret that CFC has chosen this path. We extend an invitation to worship with us if you are ever in the Champaign area.. Pete Singer, GRACEs executive director, called the cancellation very rare, adding he is aware of just one other organization that has done the same. top: 0; But after receiving the findings and recommendations from its investigation team, the KCP decided to restore Chung to his post. They gave a couple of examples [of bias], which were tenuous at best, Singer said. Rev. She said, Its very important for churches to understand theyre killing themselves, and they dont look anything like the God they say they serve. Experts say the scandal and subsequent backsliding at CFC illustrates how many churches and their governing bodies are ill-equipped to address allegations of abuse. We remind him to abide by the BCO (Book of Church Order), and we believe that he should return to ministry.. Follow her on Twitter @estheryjkang. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-horizontal-volume-total, According to sources, in the past few months, CFC has terminated the assessment with GRACE and wiped any trace of the leadership updates from last year (as seen on a web page accessed by WBEZ on Sept. 21). top: 6px; [They] are literally re-traumatizing [themselves] by speaking to us, so the least the other side could do would be to hear those pieces of information, Dunn said, adding that current church leaders, including KJ Kim, were the only remaining people GRACE had left to interview. Covenant Fellowship Church in central Illinois has terminated an independent investigation of "spiritual and emotional abuse" led by GRACE. In the wake of last years scandal, CFC also chose not to renew its status as a registered student organization, or RSO, at U of I last academic year. To donate, click here. background-color: #fff; While this was happening, the report states, Chung was exercising nearly Godlike authority to pressure his victim and various others whod learned about the incident to stay silent. We extend an invitation to worship with us if you are ever in the Champaign area.. Kim would not agree to an interview but wrote back: We at CFC continue to seek the Lord in the work of the church and we are grateful to God for the way He is leading our congregation and this is our focus right now. Chung turned over leadership of the church he founded in 2019 to a team of associate pastors, according to Ministry Watch. Post author By ; cases where eyewitnesses were right Post date March 7, 2023; Anne Stych is a freelance writer, copy editor, proofreader and content manager covering science, technology, retail, etc. At least 90 have been discovered so far. Other whistleblowers said in the report that that isnt true. Former members of Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where Chung pastored, say the whole church system breeds abuse. However, nine elders objected to the decision and asked for Chung's suspension. The SJC decision stated there can be no reasonable hope of just proceedings with no cooperating victim, although Chung himself had admitted to sexual misconduct. Especially in the Korean community, to call out a pastor, youre going against God-given authority.. The woman, a former CFC member, said she was sexually assaulted by a leader in the churchnot Chungand reported the incident to a pastor. 4 min read. For investigators at GRACE, CFCs decision to terminate the assessment is a highly unusual move. Theres such a pressure put on women to be pure going into marriage, but then we create this environment in the church where its kind of ripe for abuse, and for women to stay silent when there is some kind of assault, Pinyo said. To Ephesus: Remember To Love Me | Revelation 2:1-7 (Pastor Min Chung) joe 2019.02.19 64. J-Gen canceled its summer retreats to grieve and reflect.. Christie Clinic Race Weekend: Race results and next years preparations. Esther Yoon-Ji Kang is a reporter for WBEZs Race, Class and Communities desk. The report doesnt offer explicit details of the incident, but states that the touching was in a way that could be constituted as sexual assault under Illinois law. There were also claims of pastors making sexual comments to teen attendees, officials brushing off sexual assault claims, and a general setting where women were seemingly less valued than men. Premiers mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. Please enable JavaScript in your web browser settings or white-list our domain "premierchristian.news" if you use any plug-ins to block JavaScript. At the same time as former and current members of CFC were being interviewed by GRACE, the case against the figure at the center of the controversy Min Chung made its way through the PCAs judicial system. Serving with a denomination as a District Leader I saw leaders shuffled to different churches who were related to significant people in the denomination who continued to act our inappropiately on women and it was imply ignored or excused. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-current { Some members of the allegation group also said they lacked confidence the KCP would handle any future cases differently, given the ties many of the pastors had to Chung. } .wp-caption img { Langberg helped an ad interim committee of the PCA write a new report on domestic and sexual abuse in churches. URBANA A former assistant pastor at a Champaign church has been criminally charged with sexually assaulting a teen who was a member of the congregation. We are accountable to our congregation and the denomination that has charge over its leaders and we believe that this is best for our church and its future. CFC separated from Chung on May 27 and has contracted a third-party investigation into his conduct. 5 min read. .jet-smart-listing__post-title:after { transform: translateY(445%); Your monthly support will make a world of difference. .elementor-widget .elementor-icon-list-icon svg { Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. .grecaptcha-badge {
She bangs on his door all hours of the night until he finally comes and gives her justice, LeCroy explained. The cost has been high for the whistleblowers, said Amy Han, one of the whistleblowers who submitted the report. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-float, A sexual assault victim who wished to remain anonymous, but whose identity TRR confirmed, said that CFCs culture discouraged reporting sexual assault to police. The following web browsers are supported by this website: Please contact your system administrator if you require assistance upgrading or changing your web browser. Theres a side of me thats like, no, Im not gonna give another ounce of my energy and time to this, and then theres this other side of me thats just so upset at the injustice of it all, that people still dont have the truth., Miryung Fontijn, another member of the allegation group, said she was shocked by the GRACE termination. Opinion: What is Revivaland is it Happening at Asbury? Whistleblowers are making their accusations public after several years of attempts to confront the influential pastor within a reportedly tight-knit, shame-based community. Bryan Chapell, the PCAs stated clerk, confirmed to WBEZ in a statement that the discipline matter has been concluded by the SJC. margin-top: 18px Pastor Min Chung admitted some guilt but faced few consequences. I am probably going to get myself in trouble making this next statement but the context was always a sense of Hyper-Complimentarianism or some hybrid form of it because the Denomination that I refereed of believed in women Pastors but the culture was steeped with this type of theological thinking. A couple of other organizations have also severed their associations with the CFC founder. Glenn Youngkin Donates $43,750 Salary to Good News Jail & Prison Ministry to Bring Gospel to Inmates, Baltimore Church Pastor Refused to Pay Electricity Bill of Over $30,000, Energy Company Cut Its Power Supply, United Methodist Church Regional Bodies Explore Solutions as Congregations Depart, St. Peter's Basilica Unveils Exclusive 'Prayer Entrance' Amid Tourist Surge, Comedian John Crist 100 Percent Happy His Sexual Misconduct Was Exposed Via Charisma Report, Christian Leaders React To Scathing Report On Ravi Zacharias Sexual Misconduct, What Are The Pros And Cons Of Purity Culture? /* Player controls */ Park is part of a group that last year brought to light allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse at Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC), a predominantly Asian American church near the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Follow her on Twitter @estheryjkang. We see this is the third article this month youve found worth reading. Authors Channel Summit. He added: Theyre banging on the door, looking for justice, and I dont think leaders of the church should look down upon that because that is exactly what they should be doing if they havent found it where they should find it.. Becky Stephens will become senior pastor at Bucyrus United Methodist Church in July. An Asian American pastor in Illinois was reinstated to ministry in spite of doubts on his character due to sexual abuse accusations. bottom: 0; Another woman reported to Chung that she had been raped repeatedly. There was never a feeling that this should be reported.. Sorry, the underlying pathology of people who act out this way takes more than a few of your cronies to meet at some hotel resort and call that Restoration. Furthermore, what is actually done to assist the victims and their families through this process? Founded by investigative journalist Julie Roys, The Roys Report began as a personal blog where Julie published her commentaries and occasional investigative pieces while
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