} Former church members expressed dismay over CFCs apparent about-face. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-total, This years conference theme is Witness, and we hope to equip the local church to be a compelling witness despite our divisive and divided society and culture. There are far-reaching consequences to a leaders sins, and as God lovingly and wisely disciplines those he loves, so the church must do the same beginning with her leaders. Commissioners for the Presbyterian Church in America approved a motion to leave the National Association of Evangelicals on Wednesday at the PCAs, The Presbyterian Church in Americas (PCA) highest ecclesiastical court is taking over a case allegedly mishandled by an Indiana presbytery, a letter, The Rev. At the time, the SOLA Council placed trust in the proper processes and authorities of his local church and denomination to conduct an investigation and hold Min Chung accountable. The church followed the report with a letter apologizing for several wrongs. In this case, Id say this is the logical result of Korean Cultures Confucian-infused hierarchy: father-son, king-subject, husband-wife, elder-younger, friend-friend (where one is above the other in rank). In April, the Korean Central Presbytery received an eight-page report summarizing its investigative teams findings and recommendations. In your pain and in your healing, may you be comforted and strengthened by the presence of Christ, your advocate, your protector, and your savior. In April 2021, Chungs denomination, the Korean Central Presbytery, an arm of the Presbyterian Church in America, ruled that Chung was guilty of sexual harassment, but allowed Chung to return to ministry. But now were not really given that chance.. Since there is no room in the culture for open candor, exchange of perspectives, and helpful permissive dissension, there is only a cycle of abuse that continues at all levels of leadership.. Min committed sexual misconduct against a female young adult whom he was pastoring. In 2018, Chung preached a sermon addressing the #MeToo movement in which he told victims to repent for your pain and reaction to your sin nature.. The report states that 62 percent of those surveyed consider CFC to have a works-based culture. The church has been legalistic, the CCG reported, and has lacked transparency and accountability. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-current, I really did not see this coming, she said. 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/. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-total { 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). Anne Rhee (not her real name) recalled when she began to kiss a male friend from church. In one instance, Chung assaulted a woman in the back seat of a car in 2001, the report alleges. As of May 27, 2021, Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) has terminated its formal relationship with Min Chung. CFC came under fire last summer for its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct by church founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung. He said, Your parents are well-respected members of their church, your fathers an elder [at their church], Rhee recalled. Dr. Min J. Chung is the founding and lead pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, an The decision to return Chung to ministry may be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCAs General Assembly. Mayor Lori Lightfoot was handed a stunning defeat, the first time in 40 years a sitting mayor was not reelected. It was another missed opportunity, Amy Han said. These include the SOLA Network, a group of Asian American pastors, and the Joshua Generation, a high school ministry that the minister also founded. One was a claim from many years ago of inappropriate touch with an adult woman. says that as of July 2021, CFC is under the leadership of Reverend KJ Kim and a lay oversight board and is in the process of particularizing or becoming a fully organized church with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Web1215 W. Lambert Rd. WebWorked at Associate Pastor of New People Baptist Church (Sae Kook Min Baptist Church (1978-1987) and PoDowon Baptist Church (2006-2010) Lives in Gimpo Pastor Cyrus Susie An covers education for WBEZ. 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. For investigators at GRACE, CFCs decision to terminate the assessment is a highly unusual move. According to U of I spokeswoman Robin Kaler, Covenant Fellowship is once again a registered student organization with the university this school year giving the 32-year-old congregation access to the schools facilities and a new crop of potential members. However, the gospel also demonstrates that mercy is not given at the expense of justice and vice versa. Influencing the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Later, the victim called a friend and told her what Chung had done. The Roys Report seeks to foster thoughtful and respectful dialogue. Almost every day of the week, they try to recruit people, Ma said. The victim did. Since there is no room in the culture for open candor, exchange of perspectives, and helpful permissive dissension, there is only a cycle of abuse that continues at all levels of leadership," Dan Lee, a whistleblower, revealed. The decision came before an investigation by WBEZ of Pastor Min Joshua Chung of the Covenant Fellowship Church on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. We see this is the third article this month youve found worth reading. The KCP which consists of several pastors who were close with Chung had determined that he had been restored to God, as well as the woman. 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Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Some people are just too far gone and need a wake-up call.. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time { background-image: url("images/mejs-controls-dark.svg"); J-Gen canceled its summer retreats to grieve and reflect.. For almost 20 years, Chung kept the alleged sexual assault from church leaders and his wife, Park said. And I say that as someone who believes the Bible clearly uses language from both spectra, not just one or the other. } Websigns of too much calcium in tomato plants. Editors note: This story has been updated to clarify when the KCP received the whistleblowers allegations and to more accurately state certain charges. Photo: Illustration by Andjela Padejski, Photo by Manuel Martinez/WBEZ News, Move over, Bruce Willis: NASA crashed into an asteroid to test planetary defense, Students protest University of Illinois investments related to fossil fuels. In a situation like this, we believe real accountability, discipline, and repentance are required. . Learn how your comment data is processed. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted. But its especially disappointing because now theyve shown that they do have the tools and resources to make better decisions.. A year later, the group of 14 whistleblowers submitted their report to the PCAs Korean Central Presbytery and called for the KCP to investigate Chung, arguing CFC associate pastors had failed to discipline him, said Park. bottom: 0; Get Your Domain Names Here! The treatment and reception of Asians in the broader American society has shaped the theological tendencies of Asian American Christians, ranging from very radical to very conservative theologies and all of these tendencies, even though often at odds with []. But lay leaders and congregants began leaving the church in recent years, which was also a registered student organization at UICU. Its a moment of reckoning for the Korean American church, former CFC member June Pinyo said. Toward that end, the site requires that people use their full name when commenting. Chung turned over leadership of the church he founded in 2019 to a team of associate pastors, according to Ministry Watch. Per a New York Times opinion piece from June 13, 2016 called South Koreas Misogyny, Women made up 86 percent of all violent crime victims in 2013, according to police data (most violent crime is sexual in nature, and women suffer disproportionately from sexual crimes)., Per a June 23, 2021 article from foreignpolicy.com, sexism has been a long-standing issue in South Korea. The SOLA Network exists to influence the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many have called into question the biblical sufficiency of these measures, and the SOLA Network also expresses strong concern regarding the decision of the KCP. All rights reserved.Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. } Last weekend a sermon by Evangelical pastor Francis Chan went viral, as in the sermon Chan shared about Communion and his discovery of the scriptural and historical basis for transubstantiation - that the bread and the wine become the literal Body and Blood of Christ. We are sobered and shudder at the human propensity for sin; we seek Gods grace so that we can be committed to keeping the church protected and honored as the Bride of Christ. background-color: #efefef; Park said when she confronted Chung, he said had a dream in which God showed him that he was a lampstand for his generation, and that he should keep preaching as part of his healing. 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. If you think that is bad, consider this; We have a PCA pastor, Kiernan Stringer in Toronto, Canada who admits in writing a letter to us and his congregation to breaking the 7th commandment ( You shall not commit murder) and the 9th commandment ( You shall not bear witness against your neighbour), refuses to repent and everyone in the PCA hierarchy refuses to anything about it. We here at SOLA Network affirm these words: SOLA Network exists to influence the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The CCG called the allegations against Min Chung an inappropriate moral failure between Min Chung and a woman. As James 3 warns us, teachers will be judged more strictly. We judge that his relationship with God is restored as we consider the grace of God. There was never a feeling that this should be reported.. The Council in particular, as men in pastoral leadership of Asian American churches, want to offer an apology. visibility: hidden; 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? Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado. "Regarding recovery, the pastor reconciled with his victim, and regarding his relationship with God, he recognized his sin before God and relies on the blood of Christ. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-handle-content { One of those associate pastors was KJ Kim, the new head pastor of CFC. margin: 0; And women are taught to protect men, even when the men are doing something wrong or hurting the women, said former member June Pinyo. A sexual assault victim who wished to remain anonymous, but whose identity TRR confirmed, said that CFCs culture discouraged reporting sexual assault to police. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-hovered, They also ruled that the period when Chung wasnt preaching at CFC was enough discipline for his sin. WBEZ uncovered multiple other allegations against CFC, including pastors at the church making sexual comments to teen girls, church officials brushing off women who were sexually assaulted who went to them for help, and an overall culture that diminished women. LeCroy said the procedures and laws of the PCAs Book of Church Order by which churches, presbyteries and pastors abide dictates that the lower court, [the presbyterys] decision is to be respected, and that the SJC often does decide things along procedural grounds, and not the merits of the original case. Marco Morante was eliminated in episode 8, Military, since the judges werent impressed by his outfit with a military motif. Frank Barker, whose 4,000-member Briarwood Presbyterian Church grew from a Birmingham, Alabama, storefront before he helped found the conservative Presbyterian. In addition to the alleged sexual assault, the report lists several other allegations against Chung. text-align: left; } In 2019, Chung told two associate pastors in a vague and minimized confession that he had sexually touched a woman from his congregation, the whistleblower report states. For many years, Chung had been a council member and a writer for their site. background-color: rgba(219, 78, 136, 0.075); 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. 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. And he bullied . .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-marker, /* Current track progress and active audio volume level bar */ Its time to move on.. CFCs current senior pastor, KJ Kim, was also accused of aiding in the cover-up of Min Chungs misconduct in a report compiled by a team of whistleblowers. Pastor Kim confirmed the churchs decision with TRR but did not give a reason. } .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-current, Many times, I thought I lost my own understanding in God. Despite the procedural errors, the SJC also declared the case would effectively be terminated and not sent back to the KCP to be retried. WBEZ first reported the allegations against Chung and the crisis unfolding at CFC as the victims of sexual and spiritual abuse shared their stories online. Nothing was put in place, to my knowledge, to keep me safe from him. It affects your identity, making you want to hide parts or even all of yourself. 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. by National Public Radio station WBEZ in Chicago, Covenant Fellowship Church and its former head pastor Min Joshua Chung for years fostered a misogynistic environment that included sexual mistreatment and oppression of women. In our previous meetings, they had acknowledged that [Chungs case was] within the scope, so Im not certain why that changed.. background-color: #fff; .wp-caption img { Not every religious leader is trained in handling the needs of sexual assault victims They should assist with reporting to the appropriate authorities and seek referrals to the victim services and professional counseling services!!! The church also hired The Center Consulting Group (CCG) to assess problems at CFC and offer solutions. Whistleblowers say theyre disappointed, but not surprised, with the ruling. 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