Minister accused of sexual misconduct remains ordained, Business leader wants AAPI voters to use their money and their vote, Ke Huy Quan responds to rumors about Indiana Jones 5 appearance, Report shows islamophobia and bullying in schools remains high, Naomi Osaka praises Giannis Antetokounmpos answer to question about failure, Indian American founder of tech start-up pleads guilty to fraud, 15,000 signatures submitted opposing Philadelphia 76er arena, Survey: Racism & mental health top concerns of Chinese Am, Vincent Chin Institute Launched to fight hate, Ex-beauty queen double downs on racist video, 2023 resource guide for services to the AAPI Community, A Sweltering Problem Begs For A Cool Solution. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-horizontal-volume-total { 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. 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 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. He also spoke at youth and college-aged events, counseled university students, and preached in several countries. To donate, click here. The presbytery is a ruling body of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the denomination that ordained Chung. Covenant Fellowship Church is nondenominational, has no elders, and is not a PCA member. Chung himself serves on several ministry boards, and even acted as a professor at URbana Theological Seminary for sevearl years. 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.. What Was Twitter, Anyway? - The New York Times background-color: #fff; Copyright 2023 Christianity Daily. Go to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Victims of abuse who express their grievances on social media, who protest, who take their stories to the media theyre like that woman in that parable, LeCroy said. /* Player controls */ Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie has said he closed down his Good News International Church four years ago It was just like, Why, why did we do this all in vain? Park said. In our previous meetings, they had acknowledged that [Chungs case was] within the scope, so Im not certain why that changed.. } In addition, CFC vowed to be clear and transparent with members by providing regular updates on the probe on its website. Moreover, for the sake of god, Min Chung had carried out various beneficial things for the duration of his life. Pastor Chung was claimed and accused in the scandal for certain genuine wrongdoings of sexual and obnoxious attack. In addition, his embarrassment was examined and discovered by numerous people on Reddit. In April, the Korean Central Presbytery received an eight-page report summarizing its investigative teams findings and recommendations. Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premiers news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie has said he closed down his Good News International Church four years ago Its a moment of reckoning for the Korean American church, former CFC member June Pinyo said. 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 new homes for sale in gonzales, la; jfk airport covid testing requirements; norman, ok mayor political party; switzerland cemetery records; CFC has begun posting Leadership Updates on its website. Web.mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-current { Pastor Mins Encouragement to Thai Christians December 4, 2010 CFC Senior Pastor, Dr. Min Chung, gave a message on book of Judges during Servants retreat in August of 2010. Webwhat happened to pastor min chung. Singer said any organizations that back out do so because they dont understand the nature of an independent assessment or investigation. Webwhat happened to pastor min chunguindy football roster. CFC came under fire last summer for its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct by church founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung. In addition, CFC vowed to be clear and transparent with members by providing regular updates on the probe on its website. After that, he was A 124-page extended version of the report, containing copies of texts describing one victims assault and subsequent intimidation, was submitted to an investigative team of the Korean Central Presbytery (KCP) in November 2020, following up on a five-page allegation letter the whistleblowers sent in August. 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. Susie An covers education for WBEZ. Weve lost our reputations. Our hope is to provide care and oversight in whatever way is appropriate. He declined to be interviewed in order to respect the privacy of those involved and due to the ongoing nature of allegations.. .wp-caption p.wp-caption-text { Min Joshua Chung, founder of Covenant Fellowship Church in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, has been "restored to ministry" by an arm of the Presbyterian Church in America despite unanswered questions about alleged sexual misconduct and cover-up. (Image: Screengrab / YouTube) 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. 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 They may get along with that for a long time but somewhere along the way, the rot will show, and it will end up destroying them.. 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. 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. Chung was also an adjunct professor at Urbana Theological Seminary from 2005 to 2018. The cost has been high for the whistleblowers, said Amy Han, one of the whistleblowers who submitted the report. Min Joshua Chung founded Covenant Fellowship Church in 1990 as an outreach effort to local college students. 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. 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. You have entered an incorrect email address! to Pastor 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. } A Presbyterian oversight group refused to defrock a Korean American minister following allegations of sexual misconduct, reports Ministry Watch. Many other ministries have removed Chung from their boards and speaking schedules. Dr. Min J. Chung is the founding and lead pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, an interdenominational, multi-ethnic ministry located on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. } Theres a picnic. Anne Stych is a freelance writer, copy editor, proofreader and content manager covering science, technology, retail, etc. Editors note: This story has been updated to clarify when the KCP received the whistleblowers allegations and to more accurately state certain charges. 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. Chung turned over leadership of the church he founded in 2019 to a team of associate pastors, according to Ministry Watch. 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. The decision to return Chung to ministry may be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCAs General Assembly. For investigators at GRACE, CFCs decision to terminate the assessment is a highly unusual move. 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. He is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Talbot Theological Seminary. 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. SOLA Network, a digital platform and conference including Asian American pastors from all over the country, recently broke ties with Chung. [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. Sorry, your web browser is not capable of supporting the features required by this website. 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. For Janet Park, the events of last year feel like a waste of time and energy. Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE), an organization hired by Covenant Fellowship Church to look into the allegations against the what happened to pastor min chung Others claimed that Chung assaulted them several times, including while on a two-hour car ride. 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. Sources, including Singer, told WBEZ that CFC was concerned the information-gathering process was biased and that it dug too much into Chungs case, which the church deemed outside the scope of the assessment. To Smyrna: Be Faithful Unto Death | Revelation 2:8-11 (Pastor Min Chung) joe 2019.02.19 44. At least 90 have been discovered so far. .grecaptcha-badge { visibility: hidden; } Rhee told WBEZ she reported the incident to Pastor Chung. height: 90px; K.J. Nine teaching elders protested the KCPs ruling, saying they didnt think Chung was truly repentant, and called for indefinite suspension. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-total { For many years, Chung had been a council member and a writer for their site. /* Player background */ what happened to pastor min chung However, some internal tension caused many leaders to depart the church, with Chung stepping down as head pastor in 2019. 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. He added that the Book of Church Order wasnt designed to protect victims of abuse, and that the PCA should consider amendments to the book to help make the judicial process less cumbersome for lay members. According to recordings acquired by WBEZ, Chung had admitted to touching a female "over the clothing for a brief moment" but stopped upon request. One of those associate pastors was KJ Kim, the new head pastor of CFC. } 4 min read. The Revelation of Jesus Christ | Revelation 1 (Pastor Min Chung) joe 2019.02.19 52. In the aftermath, CFC promised to make changes and to be transparent. 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). 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. Another day, theres basketball. 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. Webwhat happened to pastor min chung. My experience is that more gets done for the perpetrator versus the victim. In the aftermath, CFC promised to make changes and to be transparent. Several survivors would ask theKorean Central Presbytery(KCP), a denominational oversight group, to investigate Chung's inappropriate touching incident before WBEZ's reporting. Illustration by Andjela Padejski, Photo by Manuel Martinez / WBEZ News, Fertile Soil For Abuse: A Reckoning At Covenant Fellowship Church, CPS knew for years about sexual misconduct claims against staff at a city high school, but promoted principal anyway, records show, Inside the sexual misconduct scandal involving workers at Evanstons beaches, How Covenant Fellowship Church Is Dealing With Old Sexual Abuse Allegations, Edgewater man started creating crossword puzzles to ward off pandemic boredom, gets published by The New York Times, How Chance the Rappers Acid Rap changed an industry and Chicago, Illinois assault weapons ban enforcement blocked by federal judge in southern Illinois, West Side travel agent takes Chicago youth on field trips at home and abroad. Donate today >>. 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. 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.. 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. 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). CFC came under fire last summer for its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct by church founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung. Other whistleblowers said in the report that that isnt true. } Chung joined the church in 2005 as the minister of missions, taking over a storied tradition of deploying missionaries around the world, said Walter Kim, an A church in Urbana-Champaign reverses on promises to address abuse allegations. I personally do it for the survivors. 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 victim was terrified and did whatever she was told, the report states. During that time, he pastored the church, served on several ministry boards, and taught at the seminary. position: absolute; Daughter of Disgraced Megachurch Pastor Jeremy Foster Speaks Out, Christian Rocker Posts Stunning Response to Recent Apostasy of Christian Leaders, Chicago Radio Host & a Former Bodyguard Say James MacDonald Asked Them to Arrange Murders, James MacDonald Took Millions from Harvest & Now Demands Broadcast Ministry, Mancow Airs Shocking Comments By James MacDonald: My Response. Langberg helped an ad interim committee of the PCA write a new report on domestic and sexual abuse in churches. 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. 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. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-current { 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. He said in a statement to WBEZ that the presbytery is currently working with CFC and is discussing whether to receive the congregation into our jurisdiction. Korean Covenant Fellowship Church Halts Investigation Into .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-float, 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. We remind him to abide by the BCO (Book of Church Order), and we believe that he should return to ministry.. My heart breaks. We continue to seek the Lord for His leading in this season of ministry, he said. He said in a statement to WBEZ that the presbytery is currently working with CFC and is discussing whether to receive the congregation into our jurisdiction. 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. We judge that his relationship with God is restored as we consider the grace of God. what happened to pastor min chung - nordicya.com .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-total, 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. 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. /* Progress and audio bars */ z-index: 1; How Tragic. Champaign pastor charged with sex assault of teen He said, Your parents are well-respected members of their church, your fathers an elder [at their church], Rhee recalled. It was another missed opportunity, Amy Han said. We prefer to style these with the main accent color of our theme */ 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. Dr. Min J. Chung is the founding and lead pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, an There are Walmart runs. He experienced his childhood in America and went to James B. Conant High School. . Pete Singer, GRACEs executive director, called the cancellation very rare, adding he is aware of just one other organization that has done the same. The church has, since, grown into a congegration with more than a thousand attendees. what happened to pastor min 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. The victim did. Rev. Why do you think youre staying for so long? . For almost 20 years, Chung kept the alleged sexual assault from church leaders and his wife, Park said. /* Track progress bar background (amount of track fully loaded) Thoughts on @Letters_From_Rahab height: auto; Pastor Min Chung admitted some guilt but faced few consequences. Charles Stanley, an influential Baptist pastor who for more than 50 years preached a conservative message from his Atlanta megachurch, left: 0; 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 SJC decision stated there can be no reasonable hope of just proceedings with no cooperating victim, although Chung himself had admitted to sexual misconduct. Conversations about sex, including consent, are taboo. invitation to love poem analysis; how to take care of your soul sermon; list of largest unsupported domes in the world. Theyre a very inclusive, very inviting community. 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. Especially in the Korean community, to call out a pastor, youre going against God-given authority.. 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. 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. Enter your email address to receive new posts by email. 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. As reported by The Roys Report ( TRR) last year, Min Joshua Chungarguably the nations most prominent Korean-American pastorwas accused Now, more than a year after WBEZ broke the story, former members and others familiar with the church say CFC is quietly reversing course. WILL and the Illinois Newsroom are committed to bringing you in-depth, relevant coverage that keeps you informed and engages you with our community and state. Former members of Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where Chung pastored, say the whole church system breeds abuse. 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). Happened Chung turned over leadership of the church he founded in 2019 to a team of associate pastors, according to Ministry Watch. April 21, 2023. 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 presbytery also determined no additional disciplinary steps were needed for Chung other than what the church had already instituted. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-current, Minister resigns after allegedly peering in neighbors window 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. CFC also hired The Center Consulting Group to conduct surveys and evaluate the health of the church. 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. In one instance, Chung assaulted a woman in the back seat of a car in 2001, the report alleges. 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. Meanwhile, Chung maintains a presence and continues to attend KCP meetings, according to sources. Founded by investigative journalist Julie Roys, The Roys Report began as a personal blog where Julie published her commentaries and occasional investigative pieces while Esther Yoon-Ji Kang is a reporter for WBEZs Race, Class and Communities desk. 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. Pete Singer, GRACEs executive director, called the cancellation very rare, adding he is aware of just one other organization that has done the same. 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 May 2021, CFC cut ties with him. 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. . 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. Chung didnt respond when The Roys Report tried to reach him for comment. padding: 1px; In September 2019, two other whistleblowers met with Kim as a final step to urge leadership to take proper steps, the report states. Chung, who founded the church in 1990 on the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana campus, announced in the summer of 2019 that he would transition out of the head pastor role and a team of associate pastors would lead the church. .grecaptcha-badge { 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. video screenshot / Good Fruit Co. / YouTube, Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, Late Pope Benedict XVI Appears to Nun in Colombia, Delivers Shocking End-Times Message, Indian Police Arrests Two Pastors for Allegedly Desecrating Sikh Holy Book, Generous Church Eliminates Medical Debt for Pennies on the Dollar, Encourages Others to Follow Suit, Man Found Guilty With 18 Charges of Theft for Stealing Lead Roof from Several Churches in England, Britains Supreme Court Excluded Jehovahs Witnesses on A 1990 Rape By Church Elder, Church Vandal Apprehended in Union Gap for Shattering Windows with Stone, Church Community Importance in Finding Support and Encouragement, Devotees Thrash Man After Assaulting Two Sikh Priest, Charged with Deliberate, Malicious Acts, Brunswick Authorities Force Homeless To Leave Vacant Church Due to Safety Reasons, 'SatanCon' Debuts in Boston, Marking a Decade of The Satanic Temple's Defiance Against Religious and Political Norms, Pakistan Census Draws Criticism from Christian Community for Alleged Inaccuracies, Blockbuster Film' Jesus Revolution' Tops Amazon Charts, Predicted to Spark Spiritual Awakening, MAGA Pastor Urges Christians to Lead in Lawmaking: A Call to Shape National Policies, Stratham Enhances LGBTQ+ Flag Display After Being Stolen Two Times, Gov. In August 2019, Chung stopped preaching at CFC, but said it was to facilitate a transition to a team leadership model. A new report appears to implicate Covenant Fellowship Church's former head pastor, Min Joshua Chung, in fostering and creating a misogynistic church WebDr. 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. In May, CFC severed ties with Chung and hired Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (G.R.A.C.E.) Sources, including Singer, told WBEZ that CFC was concerned the information-gathering process was biased and that it dug too much into Chungs case, which the church deemed outside the scope of the assessment. Even the friend in whom the victim confided feared she would be cursed by God if she spoke against Chung. 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.

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