what happened to pastor min chung

The victim was suicidal and traumatized by her initial and continuous interaction with Pastor Min, the friend stated in testimony included in the report. CFC had been regularly updating the church on GRACEs investigation. 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. They were also concerned that other victims may exist, she said. However, nine elders objected to the decision and asked for Chung's suspension. After that, he was 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. bottom: 0; Go to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Its a moment of reckoning for the Korean American church, former CFC member June Pinyo said. Last summer, amid the outcry that resulted from the revelations by an Instagram account called @letters_from_rahab, CFC said it would cut financial ties to the pastor and hire a third-party group to do a full investigation. It contracted with an organization called Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE) to assess the church and its response to allegations of abuse. All videos and transcripts are available on our website. They also ruled that the period when Chung wasnt preaching at CFC was enough discipline for his sin. But TRR said that the ruling may still be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCA's General Assembly. 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. Now, more than a year after WBEZ broke the story, former members and others familiar with the church say CFC is quietly reversing course. 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 I personally do it for the survivors. He kept this information hidden for nearly 20 years from his wife, his church leaders, and other leaders outside the church. Great! 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.. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls, 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.. My heart breaks. URBANA For Janet Park, the events of last year feel like a waste of time and energy. WebDr. In April, the Korean Central Presbytery received an eight-page report summarizing its investigative teams findings and recommendations. A sexual assault victim who wished to remain anonymous, but whose identity TRR confirmed, said that CFCs culture discouraged reporting sexual assault to police. /* Progress and audio bars */ 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). SEOUL, South Korea A prominent church pastor whose behavior came under scrutiny when the #MeToo movement took hold in South Korea was 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. WebPastor Min Chung (@pminchung) Instagram photos and videos pminchung 119 posts 1,287 followers 21 following Pastor Min Chung This Account is Private Already follow 6 min read. 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. height: 3px; The church consists of predominantly a Korean American congregation. Zimmerman didnt answer calls or emails to comment on his relationship with Chung. Im tired, said Tim Ma, who previously served on the CFC worship team. 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. .grecaptcha-badge { visibility: hidden; } Members didnt feel safe talking to leaders and sometimes felt ostracized, the report said. 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. margin-top: 9px; But its especially disappointing because now theyve shown that they do have the tools and resources to make better decisions.. In May, CFC severed ties with Chung and hired Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (G.R.A.C.E.) Chung didnt respond when The Roys Report tried to reach him for comment. That same year, the actress retired from acting to start a family with her new husband. Covenant Fellowship Church is nondenominational, has no elders, and is not a PCA member. One of those associate pastors was KJ Kim, the new head pastor of CFC. But the way to combat shame isnt to fix yourself or cover your misdeedsit is to be truly known and loved. Chung began private counseling sessions with the victim, using that time to urge her to keep silent about the assault, the report states. 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. 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. Many other ministries have removed Chung from their boards and speaking schedules. 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. Almost every day of the week, they try to recruit people, Ma said. /* Reduce height of the progress and audio bars */ [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-horizontal-volume-total { Chung showed Minari to his parents around Thanksgiving 2019, a couple of months before its Sundance premiere. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-embed, 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 On January 17, 1990, the couple welcomed their first child, Tucker Stephenson. margin-top: 18px . Get new articles and breaking news delivered to your inbox. top: 19px; We apologize for the ways we may have contributed to an unhealthy culture if we have been silent. } Frank Barker, whose 4,000-member Briarwood Presbyterian Church grew from a Birmingham, Alabama, storefront before he helped found the conservative Presbyterian. In our previous meetings, they had acknowledged that [Chungs case was] within the scope, so Im not certain why that changed.. Chung continued to speak elsewhere during this time. The friend urged the victim to tell Chung she hadnt consented to his touch. WBEZ Chicagoalso uncovered about an Instagram account created last May which grew to become a platform for sexual assault survivors, exposing the abuses that have been happening in the church for almost thirty years. I have the privilege of living near a large population of Korean Americans, both Christian and otherwise. My experience is that more gets done for the perpetrator versus the victim. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-horizontal-volume-slider .mejs-horizontal-volume-total, Later, the victim called a friend and told her what Chung had done. 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. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-hovered, He received disciplinary measures that included temporary leave from the pulpit and acknowledgment of previous personal acts of piety as self-imposed discipline. Regarding recovery, the pastor reconciled with his victim, and regarding his relationship with God, he recognized his sin before God and relies on the blood of Christ, Rev. Sometimes weve lost purpose and direction. 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. Web1215 W. Lambert Rd. /* Track progress bar background (amount of track fully loaded) 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. font-size: 13px The audit report isnt linked to any of the online church leadership updates. } Many CFC members are students there who hail from the Chicago area. 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 .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-current, 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. Many people were waiting to see what came out of this and then what their response would be to that, Pinyo said. More than a dozen former CFC members, leaders, and volunteers came forward to TRR. Dozens of Illinois, CHAMPAIGN Plans have resumed for a carbon dioxide pipeline in Illinois after a brief delay. They gave a couple of examples [of bias], which were tenuous at best, Singer said. 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. We here at SOLA Network affirm these words: SOLA Network exists to influence the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. WebLearning to Groan in the Holy Spirit | Romans 8:13-16, 26-27 (Pastor Min Chung) 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. For almost 20 years, Chung kept the alleged sexual assault from church leaders and his wife, Park said. 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. Harold Kim (Christ Central of Southern California), Steve Chang (Living Hope Community Church), Owen Lee (Christ Central Presbyterian Church), Hanley Liu (First Chinese Baptist Church Walnut), Will Chang (New Life Presbyterian Church), Michael Lee (All Nations Community Church), Hannah Chao (All Nations Community Church), Soojin Park (Christ Central Presbyterian Church), Tim St. John (Lighthouse Community Church), Moses Y. Lee (Rosebook Presbyterian Church). Brea, CA 92821 | 562.694.2100 2022 Living Hope Community Church. } */ Why do you think youre staying for so long? . Even the friend in whom the victim confided feared she would be cursed by God if she spoke against Chung. Dr. Min J. Chung is the founding and lead pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, an The CCG called the allegations against Min Chung an inappropriate moral failure between Min Chung and a woman. Hence, the SOLA Network writes the following statement so that the emerging generation of Asian American pastors, leaders, and Christ-followers can be gospel-centric in processing and dealing with the stated incident. color: #888888; . Influencing the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Theres a picnic. Follow her on Twitter @estheryjkang. Despite the procedural errors, the SJC also declared the case would effectively be terminated and not sent back to the KCP to be retried. There are 300+ professionals named "Min Chung", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. 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. .elementor-widget .elementor-icon-list-icon svg { We know this may cause pain for many people, and we deeply regret that CFC has chosen this path.. 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. Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox! 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 fostered a misogynistic environment that included sexual mistreatment and says that as of July 2021, CFC is under the leadership of Reverend KJ Kim and a lay oversight board and is in the process of particularizing or becoming a fully organized church with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). In a situation like this, we believe real accountability, discipline, and repentance are required. Many times, I thought I lost my own understanding in God. It is because we believe in the power and sanctity of the gospel that we are publishing this statement. 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. Join with thousands of others to keep this important public media-based resource available to all. 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. 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. The sermon was maligned by many Protestants and praised by many Catholics, Min committed sexual misconduct against a female young adult whom he was pastoring. }. } Pete Singer, GRACEs executive director, called the cancellation very rare, adding he is aware of just one other organization that has done the same. 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. They dont know how to assess it, and so I would think the first response would be one of humility., But instead, she said, churches think they are right, and somebody in that position isnt going to listen to any instructions, no matter how wise or good it is.. We grieve the subtle undertones of misogyny that have been present in our churches and have contributed to unbiblical hierarchies and unhealthy power structures. 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. His influence extends beyond the church walls. They described various experiences of mistreatment by an unhealthy leadership culture over a couple of decades. Hi. The cost has been high for the whistleblowers, said Amy Han, one of the whistleblowers who submitted the report. 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 background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); We judge that his relationship with God is restored as we consider the grace of God. We see this is the third article this month youve found worth reading. 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. WebTHE RADIO SHOW WILL BE LIVE! Esther Yoon-Ji Kang is a reporter for WBEZs Race, Class and Communities desk. 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. height: 90px; /* Player controls */ background-color: #efefef; We continue to seek the Lord for His leading in this season of ministry.. As the leaders of CFC, we repent and acknowledge our failings and the many ways that we need to change.. 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.. As of May 27, 2021, Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) has terminated its formal relationship with Min Chung. 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. font-size: 10px 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. A total of 19 people signed on to the report or are cited as witnesses. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-horizontal-volume-total, document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Park is one of the whistleblowers who submitted the report to the KCP. 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'S suspension sometimes felt ostracized, the victim confided feared she would be to that, Pinyo.! Is to provide care and oversight in whatever way is appropriate week, they try to recruit,. New husband the period when Chung wasnt preaching at CFC was enough discipline for his sin PCA...

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