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. Chung turned over leadership of the church he founded in 2019 to a team of associate pastors, according to Ministry Watch. But TRR said that the ruling may still be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCA's General Assembly. 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. The friend urged the victim to tell Chung she hadnt consented to his touch. He also said that, for sexual harassment of a member of the congregation, the KCP should have dealt Chung a suspension of a period of years, and perhaps even defrocked him. 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. } CFC separated from Chung on May 27 and has contracted a third-party investigation into his conduct. Another woman reported to Chung that she had been raped repeatedly. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. It was very much like, Why do you think you got into this relationship? After troubling times during the Depression, he was able to open a grocery store in an African-American neighborhood. It was just like, Why, why did we do this all in vain? Park said. [Churches and presbyteries] are not trained to look into [abuse], Langberg said. 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. Websigns of too much calcium in tomato plants. 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 Some people are just too far gone and need a wake-up call.. } On July 9, 1988, Whelchel tied the knot with Steven Cauble, her first husband and associate pastor at The Church on the Way. Leaving the case to be resolved by a higher jurisdiction. 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. A new report appears to implicate Covenant Fellowship Church's former head pastor, Min Joshua Chung, in fostering and creating a misogynistic church environment. Without its RSO status, the church was not able to reserve campus spaces and recruit attendees on Quad Day, an annual event held at the start of the fall semester where new students are introduced to organizations on campus. All videos and transcripts are available on our website. In May 2021, CFC cut ties with Chung. Min committed sexual misconduct against a female young adult whom he was pastoring. Many times, I thought I lost my own understanding in God. Susie An covers education for WBEZ. For Janet Park and other members of the group that filed the initial allegations against Chung and the CFC pastors, the GRACE termination felt like a particularly painful blow. I have to believe that having an an honor/shame cultural background, rather than a right/wrong (or guilt) background, would bring quite a few challenges to conducting an independent leadership investigation. However, nine elders objected to the decision and asked for Chung's suspension. Chung began private counseling sessions with the victim, using that time to urge her to keep silent about the assault, the report states. The church followed the report with a letter apologizing for several wrongs. In September 2019, two other whistleblowers met with Kim as a final step to urge leadership to take proper steps, the report states. His influence extends beyond the church walls. 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. 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. 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. . 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. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-total, bottom: 0; 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. 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. The regional Ive been very hesitant for some while about getting really committed and really involved and back to serving with a church, but I feel like my appetite is coming back, he said. 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. 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Last summer, Kim, writing on behalf of the Oversight Board, promised that CFC would release a full report at the conclusion of GRACEs investigation. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-button > button { 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. Later, the victim called a friend and told her what Chung had done. Hi. font-size: 10px 2nd Peter 1 : 2 ~ 3, by pastor Minho Chung The victim was terrified and did whatever she was told, the report states. 500K PCA and other conservative denominations. Yet whistleblowers, who knew about the alleged assault, pressured Chung for a decade to confess to the church. We at the SOLA Network respect and believe in the due processes of member denominations; we encourage the work that our PCA brothers are pursuing to bring the appropriate denominational actions for proper discipline. 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. But its especially disappointing because now theyve shown that they do have the tools and resources to make better decisions.. 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 Korean Church Stops Independent Investigation into Sexual Charles Zimmerman has been a speaker at One In Love, which Chung founded, and theyve both been main speakers at Global Kingdom Young Adult Missions Festival, where Chung was a board member. While the perfect judgment of God awaits us all, human judgments must be made to reflect His. 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.. Last August, shortly after the WBEZ report was published, the same group of pastors from the KCP appealed the case, which went to the PCAs Standing Judicial Commission (SJC), a quasi-judicial body of sorts, according to several sources. Whistleblowers are making their accusations public after several years of attempts to confront the influential pastor within a reportedly tight-knit, shame-based community. We grieve the fact that our churches have both knowingly and unknowingly created environments where abuse could happen and be kept in the dark. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. But that system broke down: Oversight entities had limited power and the denominations governing rules proved to be inadequate for addressing the issue of abuse in the church. But he said the church had recently decided to hire an outside group to investigate in order to work towards rebuilding trust and create a healthier culture that better reflects Jesus.. Over the course of the past few years, the leadership of Covenant Fellowship Church has sought to investigate claims of abuse regarding our founding pastor, Kim wrote in a statement to TRR. While we do not want to minimize the importance of seeking justice on earth, we want to encourage you with the reminder that it is God who has the final say. Former members of Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where Chung pastored, say the whole church system breeds abuse. They called for the rescission of the ruling in July but fell short of votes when only 22 individuals sided with the move, out of 35, with 12 who went against it and one abstention. 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. 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. However, there have also been a number of accusations of abuse of power and harsh treatment towards others that continued to surface regarding this same pastor, Kim continued. .grecaptcha-badge { document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. My experience is that more gets done for the perpetrator versus the victim. A sexual assault victim who wished to remain anonymous, but whose identity TRR confirmed, said that CFCs culture discouraged reporting sexual assault to police. They were also concerned that other victims may exist, she said. 6 min read. Fontijn, Park and others told WBEZ they are angry the victims of sexual and spiritual abuse who came forward to be interviewed by GRACE will not be heard. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted. Donate today >>, Wednesday, March 1, 2023 Todays headlines: Caterpillar and the United Auto Workers have reached a new tentative six-year agreement, averting a strike. He is the ultimate judge who will make right all wrongs and the one who will both save and destroy. Chung didnt respond when The Roys Report tried to reach him for comment. left: 0; The sermon was maligned by many Protestants and praised by many Catholics, The investigation, which began last summer, came after multiple allegations that CFC had silenced and intimidated those who reported sexual misconduct by the churchs former well-known pastor, Min Joshua Chung. Several CFC Survivors came forward to tell their stories on an Instagram account. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls, Learn how your comment data is processed. A total of 19 people signed on to the report or are cited as witnesses. .wp-caption p.wp-caption-text { We apologize for the ways we may have contributed to an unhealthy culture if we have been silent. The victim was suicidal and traumatized by her initial and continuous interaction with Pastor Min, the friend stated in testimony included in the report. Some former CFC members told TRR they believe CFC leaders have lost their way. Join with thousands of others to keep this important public media-based resource available to all. WebLearning to Groan in the Holy Spirit | Romans 8:13-16, 26-27 (Pastor Min Chung) .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-marker, Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story or making a contribution. 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. Finally, we desire and pray for justice and healing for all past and present survivors of abuse. What Happened To Marco From Next In Fashion? But theres, of course, a lot under the surface as well, he added. However, the gospel also demonstrates that mercy is not given at the expense of justice and vice versa. How Can the Church Support Asian American Women? He received disciplinary measures that included temporary leave from the pulpit and acknowledgment of previous personal acts of piety as self-imposed discipline. Pastor KJ shows no signs of remorse, shows no sign of pastoral care, only concerned with keeping us quiet.. 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. In one instance, Chung assaulted a woman in the back seat of a car in 2001, the report alleges. CFC also took steps to join the Presbytery of Northern Illinois and move its pastors credentials from the KCP to the Presbytery of Northern Illinois. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-total, Email:[emailprotected] The council also encouraged a member in the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) to inform the denomination of the information SOLA had received regarding Min, who is a member of the PCA. To make a donation,click here. They also ruled that the period when Chung wasnt preaching at CFC was enough discipline for his sin. Even the friend in whom the victim confided feared she would be cursed by God if she spoke against Chung. As outlined in WBEZs initial report, in April 2021, the KCP a regional presbytery of the PCA to which Kim, Chung and other former CFC pastors belong had found Chung guilty of his admitted sexual harassment for inappropriately touching a female congregant in 2001 (instead of a more serious form of misconduct). We remind him to abide by the BCO (Book of Church Order), and we believe that he should return to ministry," Sungwoo Nam of KCP stated. margin: 0; 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. padding: 1px; 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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