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. 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. Shame is worse than embarrassment. Women in many Korean churches are told to be submissive, former CFC members said. Dr. Min J. Chung is the founding and lead pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, an We also introduced two new members of the [], Editors Note: This panel discussion is from SOLA Conference 2021. The SOLA Network, for the gospel-centric reason outlined in the introduction, feels it is necessary to articulate that: We grieve the fact that ministers of the gospel, those who are to represent Christ himself, have sinned against their own sheep, denied the biblical call to repentance, and failed to seek justice. To make a donation,click here. Anne Rhee (not her real name) recalled when she began to kiss a male friend from church. Influencing the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All videos and transcripts are available on our website. CFC came under fire last summer for its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct by church founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung. I have the privilege of living near a large population of Korean Americans, both Christian and otherwise. /* Current track progress and active audio volume level bar */ 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. 6 min read. 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. The congregation also sought to evaluate the health of the church through The Center Consulting Group (CCG). SEOUL, South Korea A prominent church pastor whose behavior came under scrutiny when the #MeToo movement took hold in South Korea was Its time to move on.. 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. Some people are just too far gone and need a wake-up call.. 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. AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. 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). padding: 1px; 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.. 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. Singer said any organizations that back out do so because they dont understand the nature of an independent assessment or investigation. However, a senior consultant at Center Consulting has ties with Chung. 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. 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. It Join with thousands of others to keep this important public media-based resource available to all. 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.. According to a lengthy investigation 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. 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. left: 0; Wade Morris, Popular Baptist Youth Speaker, Dies After COVID-19 Hospitalization. And women are taught to protect men, even when the men are doing something wrong or hurting the women, said former member June Pinyo. [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. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-button > button { 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. We judge that his relationship with God is restored as we consider the grace of God. Members didnt feel safe talking to leaders and sometimes felt ostracized, the report said. 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. 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. [Churches and presbyteries] are not trained to look into [abuse], Langberg said. This story has been updated to clarify CFCs relationship with regional and national presbytery associations. We see this is the third article this month youve found worth reading. 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. Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox! We grieve the fact that our churches have both knowingly and unknowingly created environments where abuse could happen and be kept in the dark. Learn how your comment data is processed. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-loaded { CFC has already disassociated with Chung on May 27 and hired the services of Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment(GRACE) to investigate the pastor. However, the KCP determined at an April meeting that looked only at the single incident that Chung had been restored to God, as well as the woman, and that that discipline instituted by CFC pastors was found to be sufficient.. For almost 20 years, Chung kept the alleged sexual assault from church leaders and his wife, Park said. URBANA For Janet Park, the events of last year feel like a waste of time and energy. These include the SOLA Network, a group of Asian American pastors, and the Joshua Generation, a high school ministry that the minister also founded. UIUC officials told WBEZ that CFC has chosen not to renew its status as a registered student organization for the coming year, meaning it cannot recruit new students at a back-to-school event or reserve space on the campus for meetings. 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. top: 19px; We continue to seek the Lord for His leading in this season of ministry.. 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. CFC, located in Champaign-Urbana, hired GRACE to evaluate the churchs practices, policies and culture for risks relating to emotional and spiritual abuse, after many in the Asian American community called for reform. Though the assessment is nearly complete, the termination by CFC effectively halts our work at this time. } 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. to conduct a third-party investigation. The church consists of predominantly a Korean American congregation. Bryan Chapell, the PCAs stated clerk, confirmed to WBEZ in a statement that the discipline matter has been concluded by the SJC. 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. 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. 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. But its especially disappointing because now theyve shown that they do have the tools and resources to make better decisions.. 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. Would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to help our journalists continue to report the truth and restore the church? Were an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. However, theres nothing on CFCs website about CFCs recent decision to terminate GRACE. As a whistleblower, its traumatic as well, because there are so many places of pain and injustice along the way, Park said. You have entered an incorrect email address! Theres a side of me thats like, no, Im not gonna give another ounce of my energy and time to this, and then theres this other side of me thats just so upset at the injustice of it all, that people still dont have the truth., Miryung Fontijn, another member of the allegation group, said she was shocked by the GRACE termination. For the sake of the churchs purity and healing, we desire for there to be a thorough, fair, and independent investigation completed regarding the incident and the aftermath. Get Your Domain Names Here! However, the gospel also demonstrates that mercy is not given at the expense of justice and vice versa. To donate, click here. z-index: 1; Front-runner for Oscar. 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. font-size: 11px; To donate, sexual misconduct and decades of cover-up, Presbyterian Church in America Votes to Leave National Association of Evangelicals, Presbyterian Pastor Who Sued for Accusers Silence to be Tried in Denominations Highest Court, Pastor Who Helped Found the Presbyterian Church in America Dies, Former Pastor Accused of Rape Resigns from Churchome After TRR Investigation; Church Official Makes False Claims, Arkansas Youth Pastor Pleads Guilty to 13 Counts of Sexual Assault, Bishop Scott Jones Moves from Extreme Center of UMC to Global Methodist Church, A Christian Health Nonprofit Saddled Thousands With Debt as It Built a Family Empire Including A Pot Farm, Bank and Airline, 2 Megachurches Rocked by Allegations They Allowed Pastor Guilty of Clergy Sexual Abuse to Re-Offend, EXCLUSIVE: John MacArthur Shamed, Excommunicated Mother for Refusing to Take Back Child Abuser, Days-long Revival Sweeping Asbury University in Kentucky, EXCLUSIVE: John MacArthur Covered Up Pastors Sexual Abuse, Witnesses Say, EXCLUSIVE: John MacArthurs Church Supported Convicted Child Abuser & Pedophile, Records Show, Dante Bowe Posts, Then Removes, Apology for Behavior Causing Split with Maverick City Music, Matt Chandler Steps Aside After Admitting Inappropriate Online Relationship, John MacArthur Pulls Out of Ligonier Conference, Pastor Resigns From Houston Megachurch After Admitting Affair, Televangelist Creflo Dollar Renounces Past Teachings on Tithing, But Questions Persist. 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