Min Chung is the founding and senior pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church Rev. Its a moment of reckoning for the Korean American church, former CFC member June Pinyo said. 217 Today: 217 Today host looks back on time at Illinois Public Media, Plans are back on the table for a carbon pipeline in Illinois, Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson head to Chicago mayoral runoff. 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. A few months later, a group of pastors dissatisfied with the presbyterys April 2021 determination filed a complaint in an effort to indefinitely suspend Chung from ministry. 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. Even the pastors, I would say, do a good job at that. These include the SOLA Network, a group of Asian American pastors, and the Joshua Generation, a high school ministry that the minister also founded. 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. Gave $3 Million Grant for Reconstruction of Historic First Baptist Church in Williamsburg. Websigns of too much calcium in tomato plants. Chung preached messages urging congregants to submit to leaders and forgive them and calling victims to forgive their abusers. Marco Morante was eliminated in episode 8, Military, since the judges werent impressed by his outfit with a military motif. 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 Chung Chung Dozens of Illinois, CHAMPAIGN Plans have resumed for a carbon dioxide pipeline in Illinois after a brief delay. My heart breaks. The decision to return Chung to ministry may be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCAs General Assembly. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-total { 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.. If they found out, they would be devastated and you know how people talk, and I wouldnt want them to have to go through that. . margin-top: 18px However, a document submitted by a group of former CFC members calling themselves the allegation group, asked the Korean Central Presbytery (KCP), a denominational oversight group, to investigate the incident, called it unwanted, non-consensual touch in her private area., Chung reportedly personally counseled the woman after the incident, and said they reached reconciliation.. Toll free: (866) 364-9980, Florida Youth Pastor Arrested for Attempting Sex with Teen Student, Cedarvilles Plan to Save Anthony Moore Abandoned its Students and Moore, Missouri Church Leaves Presbyterian Church in America Over LGBT Issues, Archbishop Resigns from Anglican Church of Canada over Sexual Misconduct, Cedarville Reinstates President White After Misconduct Investigation. Korean Church Stops Independent Investigation into Sexual Former members of Covenant Fellowship Church say Chungs abuse is part of a larger pattern of abuse and silencing at CFC and affiliated ministries. According to The Roys Report(TRR), a group of whistleblowers submitted a report to the KCP in November 2020, accusing Chung with various incidents of sexual assaults. height: auto; The lawsuit alleges that the property at 19150 Woodward Ave. is dilapidated and a public nuisance, and orders Pastor Marvin 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. Follow her on Twitter @WBEZeducation and @soosieon. 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. In light of this information, on August 15, 2020, the SOLA Council asked Min to resign his position and removed all of Mins content from the SOLA website. It serves as a digital platform for evangelical leaders, writers, speakers, and bloggers who share the same values of faith to provide Gospel-centered resources.View all posts by SOLA Network, This week we continued sharing our content from SOLA Conference 2021. My experience is that more gets done for the perpetrator versus the victim. In addition to the alleged sexual assault, the report lists several other allegations against Chung. We remind him to abide by the BCO (Book of Church Order), and we believe that he should return to ministry.. As reported by The Roys Report (TRR) last year, Min Joshua Chungarguably the nations most prominent Korean-American pastorwas accused by multiple witnesses of sexual misconduct and decades of cover-up and intimidation. We recognize that some have suffered, often silently, because of our church, states CFCs letter. 6 min read. Minister accused of sexual misconduct remains ordained, Meet Todd Gloria the first AAPI Mayor for San Diego, Arrest made in vandalism of Philadelphia mosque, Marvel unveils plans for AAPI Heritage Month stories, Woman accused of lying about her ethnicity resigns from diversity position, Govt. 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? 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. Bryan Chapell, the PCAs stated clerk, confirmed to WBEZ in a statement that the discipline matter has been concluded by the SJC. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-embed body { Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. Pastor Min is the founding and lead pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, a large church in Champaign. We, as a collective voice of Asian American leaders, implore Min Chung to cease all public ministry at least until a new investigation is conducted and proper Eventually, Ashton was removed along with Angel Chen in episode 9 because she didnt live up to the judges expectations. The Austin-area congregation declared itself open to LGBTQ persons on staff and that the church building would be available to host same-sex wedding ceremonies. The commission ruled the KCP had made procedural errors during its initial look at the allegations against Chung, according to Brian Park, one of the pastors in that presbytery who filed the complaint to the SJC. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-loaded, /* .jet-smart-listing__featured-box-link:before { Despite the procedural errors, the SJC also declared the case would effectively be terminated and not sent back to the KCP to be retried. 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. CFC made the difficult decision to terminate its agreement with GRACE and this decision was made with much prayer and deliberation, Kim wrote in an email last week. Chungs church reckoned him to have an especially high place of anointing, making him untouchable when he does wrong, said Dan Lee, another whistleblower in the report. 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. We know this may cause pain for many people, and we deeply regret that CFC has chosen this path.. A Presbyterian oversight group has determined that the former head pastor of a Korean church near the Champaign-Urbana campus of the University of Illinois can remain an ordained minister despite allegations of sexual misconduct against him and his church. Chung is also accused of covering up accusations of sexual abuse against a fellow pastor as well as admitting to inappropriately touching a female congregant for a brief moment. Eventually, that group reconsidered and completed the assessment. } I would be interested to know how much of the loss of members comes from the PCA and how much comes from the-once much larger-PCUSA(not PSUSA). .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-total, Nov. 22, 2018. His influence extends beyond the church walls. Yet whistleblowers, who knew about the alleged assault, pressured Chung for a decade to confess to the church. } */ .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-hovered, But theres, of course, a lot under the surface as well, he added. Sungwoo Nam, KCP clerk, said in a statement. 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. 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. Great! To Thyatira: Hold Fast What You Have Until I Come | Revelation 2:18-29 (Pastor Min Chung) joe 2019.02.19 43. . We lost our church family and community, she said. to conduct a third-party investigation. /* Track progress bar background (amount of track fully loaded) Esther Yoon-Ji Kang is a reporter for WBEZs Race, Class and Communities desk. Prominent Korean-American congregation Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) in central Illinois has terminated its nearly complete independent investigation into alleged spiritual and emotional abuse at the church, according to Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE). Chung founded CFC in 1990, and its now home to more than a thousand members hailing from more than 20 ethno-linguistic groups, according to its website. Whistleblowers say theyre disappointed, but not surprised, with the ruling. According to the report, Kim was initially more interested in stopping the spread of gossip and keeping Chungs sexual misconduct private than holding Chung accountable or protecting victims. Through the Presbyterian Church in America's ruling body, Korean Central Presbytery (KCP), Min Joshua Chung, the founder of the Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) in Champaign-Urbana, was restored to his post as a minister in April this year. Another day, theres basketball. Illinois Newsroom gets stories from public radio stations from across the state, including WBEZ-Chicago, WCBU-Peoria, WGLT-Normal, WVIK-Rock Island, WIUM-Macomb, WNIJ-DeKalb, WSIU-Carbondale, WUIS-Springfield, and St. Louis Public Radio. However, CFC has made some changes. He also spoke at youth and college-aged events, counseled university students, and preached in several countries. 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. (The version of the report released to TRR referenced and summarized the texts instead in the interest of the victims privacy.) Covenant Fellowship Church is nondenominational, has no elders, and is not a PCA member. The victim was suicidal and traumatized by her initial and continuous interaction with Pastor Min, the friend stated in testimony included in the report. 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. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-marker, z-index: 1; Opinion: What is Revivaland is it Happening at Asbury? Toward that end, the site requires that people use their full name when commenting. Pastor Kim confirmed the churchs decision with TRR but did not give a reason. 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. Nine teaching elders protested the KCPs ruling, saying they didnt think Chung was truly repentant, and called for indefinite suspension. The woman, a former CFC member, said she was sexually assaulted by a leader in the churchnot Chungand reported the incident to a pastor. The gospel is good news for all sinners; in the blood of Christ, all can find forgiveness and redemption. 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. The church brought in a trauma expert to meet with congregants, added elders to its leadership model, and offered congregants ongoing ways to express concerns. Whistleblowers are making their accusations public after several years of attempts to confront the influential pastor within a reportedly tight-knit, shame-based community. Ministry Watch 2022 All rights reserved. } And I say that as someone who believes the Bible clearly uses language from both spectra, not just one or the other. The victim did. All videos and transcripts are available on our website. Chung also was accused of covering up sexual abuse committed by a fellow local pastor. Kim also alluded to the KCP investigation. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time { Former CFC member Janet Park said that when she confronted Chung in 2009, he told her that he kept the matter a secret because the victim had insisted on doing so. Anne Rhee (not her real name) recalled when she began to kiss a male friend from church. Over the years, Chung rebuked whistleblowers who tried to confront him for causing dissension in the church. They either left or were forced to leave by the leadership they loved, the report states. Creating space for women to be actively involved and included has been so important and it gives me hope for the institution of the church in general, she said. CFC also hired The Center Consulting Group to conduct surveys and evaluate the health of the church. The woman pastor at the center of the Southern Baptist Convention's decision to oust Saddleback Church the California megachurch founded by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren says she will continue to serve as a ministry leader despite her longstanding ties to the nation's largest And women are taught to protect men, even when the men are doing something wrong or hurting the women, said former member June Pinyo. The former AG pastor led his congregation out of the 1.8 million member Pentecostal denomination and presided over the change of policy in his local church on same-sex practices. There are Walmart runs. content: ''; Ultimately my hope is to discover who God truly is, beyond the God that CFC represented.. As the leaders of CFC, we repent and acknowledge our failings and the many ways that we need to change.. Park is one of the whistleblowers who submitted the report to the KCP. They were also concerned that other victims may exist, she said. 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