Access to MinistryWatch content is free. 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. . 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 (Illinois defines criminal sexual assault as using force or threat or force, and the defendant knows the victim is unable to give knowing consent.). 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. Korean Church Stops Independent Investigation into Sexual . Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox! At that meeting, however, the KCP instead considered a motion to rescind the April 2021 judgment and to hold a retrial, according to a July 15, 2021, statement from the presbytery. 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. Diane Langberg, a prominent psychologist and leading voice on abuse within church communities, said CFCs termination of the GRACE assessment is yet another move to silence the individuals the church has hurt. Conversations about sex, including consent, are taboo. 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Pastor KJ Kim acknowledged that Chung has been accused of a pattern of abusing his authority. 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). She says he then began to force himself on her and pull his pants down until she pushed him off and ran into the bathroom, locking the door until he left. font-size: 13px Especially in the Korean community, to call out a pastor, youre going against God-given authority.. } .grecaptcha-badge { Its disappointing, but kind of in line with what weve seen from them over the past several yearsprioritizing the institution over the victims, said former church member June Pinyo. The Council in particular, as men in pastoral leadership of Asian American churches, want to offer an apology. 6 min read. Sometimes weve lost purpose and direction. Great! Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado. background-image: url("images/mejs-controls-dark.svg"); It requires public forms of accountability and repentance. WebView the profiles of professionals named "Min Chung" on LinkedIn. WebTHE RADIO SHOW WILL BE LIVE! You have entered an incorrect email address! 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. Whistleblowers say theyre disappointed, but not surprised, with the ruling. The friend urged the victim to tell Chung she hadnt consented to his touch. To make a donation,click here. He received disciplinary measures that included temporary leave from the pulpit and acknowledgment of previous personal acts of piety as self-imposed discipline. CFC separated from Chung on May 27 and has contracted a third-party investigation into his conduct. The report accuses Chung of orchestrating a cover-up of sexual abuse allegations against another Korean-American pastor of a church with close ties to CFC. 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. LeCroy said victims of abuse, who cannot get redress via the means provided by the church or denomination, can take to various means to seek justice. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time { WBEZ emailed CFC lead pastor KJ Kim and the churchs Oversight Board with questions about why the church terminated its contract with GRACE, as well as CFCs plan for any long-term changes in the wake of last years events. The woman pastor at the center of the Southern Baptist Convention's decision to oust Saddleback Church the California 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. 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. height: 90px; } 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 Why do you think youre staying for so long? . Follow her on Twitter @estheryjkang. Zimmerman didnt answer calls or emails to comment on his relationship with Chung. 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. SEOUL, South Korea A prominent church pastor whose behavior came under scrutiny when the #MeToo movement took hold in South Korea was He still preaches as a member in good standing. Its time to move on.. They were also concerned that other victims may exist, she said. background-color: #fff; figcaption.wp-caption-text { That same year, the actress retired from acting to start a family with her new husband. And he bullied . CFCs main ministry is to the students at the University of Illinois and the church recruits heavily during new student week, said Tim Ma, former CFC member and 2014 Illinois graduate. CFC also hired The Center Consulting Group to conduct surveys and evaluate the health of the church. Though the assessment is nearly complete, the termination by CFC effectively halts our work at this time. Other whistleblowers said in the report that that isnt true. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Pastor Kim also promised that church leadership would add more layers of accountability and would humbly listen, learn, and grow so we can be a healthier church moving forward.. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-total { 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. Get Your Domain Names Here! SOLA Network, a digital platform and conference including Asian American pastors from all over the country, recently broke ties with Chung. AsAmNews is a community of users interested in reading, learning and commenting on news, events, people & issues in the Asian Americans and Pacific Islander communities. Leaving the case to be resolved by a higher jurisdiction. The woman, a former CFC member, said she was sexually assaulted by a leader in the churchnot Chungand reported the incident to a pastor. background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); Nothing was ever followed up on with me. She bangs on his door all hours of the night until he finally comes and gives her justice, LeCroy explained. More than a dozen former CFC members, leaders, and volunteers came forward to 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. There are 300+ professionals named "Min Chung", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-current, 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 disciplinary measures are followed. On July 9, 1988, Whelchel tied the knot with Steven Cauble, her first husband and associate pastor at The Church on the Way. 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.. into silence those who knew of the incident, the report states. 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To Pergamum: Do Not Compromise | Revelation 2:12-17 (Pastor Min Chung) But the way to combat shame isnt to fix yourself or cover your misdeedsit is to be truly known and loved. } Chung showed Minari to his parents around Thanksgiving 2019, a couple of months before its Sundance premiere. height: auto; 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 report, published in June, is intended to provide resources to handle abuse cases and to offer best practices and guidelines for elders, churches, presbyteries and other entities. background-color: rgba(219, 78, 136, 0.075); Anne Stych is a writer in Charlotte, North Carolina. He also spoke at youth and college-aged events, counseled university students, and preached in several countries. 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. In addition, CFC vowed to be clear and transparent with members by providing regular updates on the probe on its website. I would guess the numbers will continue to collapse keep up the good work PCA. 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. transform: translateY(445%); Min committed sexual misconduct against a female young adult whom he was pastoring. Copyright 2023 Christianity Daily. He has either founded or served in leadership for several youth and college ministries throughout the country, and was a board member for international missions organization SIM from 2006 to 2019. But after receiving the findings and recommendations from its investigation team, the KCP decided to restore Chung to his post. 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). During the subsequent year, the SOLA Council learned that: Furthermore, in recent weeks, it has become public knowledge that Min Chung was found guilty by the Korean Central Presbytery (KCP). 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-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-total, 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. The CCG called the allegations against Min Chung an inappropriate moral failure between Min Chung and a woman. Its a moment of reckoning for the Korean American church, former CFC member June Pinyo said. 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. 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. J-Gen canceled its summer retreats to grieve and reflect.. Sungwoo Nam, KCP clerk, said in a statement. 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. We judge that his relationship with God is restored as we consider the grace of God. We here at SOLA Network affirm these words: SOLA Network exists to influence the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Websigns of too much calcium in tomato plants. Chung founded the church in 1990 on the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana (UICU) campus and welcomed students to join. Pinyo told TRR that shes advising her current church leadership on how to be a safe and healthy church that doesnt turn a blind eye to problems. CFC came under fire last summer for its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct by church founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung. What Happened To Marco From Next In Fashion? Attorney Laura Dunn, a contracted institutional response specialist with GRACE, said many of the people with whom she spoke struggled to get through their interviews, some of which took three to four hours. }. background: #db4e88; Ultimately my hope is to discover who God truly is, beyond the God that CFC represented.. There are Walmart runs. Because of the trust that had been damaged and the pain that had been caused, he said, the church board voted unanimously May 27 to separate from Chung. Singer said any organizations that back out do so because they dont understand the nature of an independent assessment or investigation. } The church consists of predominantly a Korean American congregation. It is interesting the there were 5-6 million Presbyterians in the 1960s the number now is down to paltry 1.5 Presbyterians in the U.S. 1 Million Liberal (PSUSA) Toward that end, the site requires that people use their full name when commenting. 2nd Peter 1 : 2 ~ 3, by pastor Minho Chung height: 90px; 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. Sexual misconduct and/or harassment in any form is a grievous sin that should never be tolerated. 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. 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. Pastor Chung holds a Korean-American identity. Im tired, said Tim Ma, who previously served on the CFC worship team. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. The cost has been high for the whistleblowers, said Amy Han, one of the whistleblowers who submitted the report. Sources at GRACE told WBEZ that the group had conducted interviews with more than 40 former and present CFC members, many of whom spent hours talking about their experiences. 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. Numbers will continue to collapse keep up the good work PCA CFC came under fire summer... He received disciplinary measures that included temporary leave from the pulpit and acknowledgment of previous personal acts of piety self-imposed. Founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung organizations accountable and has lacked transparency accountability. Are ill-equipped to address allegations of abuse Amy Han, one of the church Network, a digital and! Against a female young adult whom he was pastoring, want to an. 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