We grieve the subtle undertones of misogyny that have been present in our churches and have contributed to unbiblical hierarchies and unhealthy power structures. In September 2019, a member of the new leadership team, Pastor KJ Kim, said Chung had admitted to touching a female over the clothing for a brief moment about 20 years ago but had immediately stopped when she asked him to, per a recording obtained by WBEZ. We lost our church family and community, she said. Web[130609] On the knowledge of God. 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. 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. And he bullied . As WBEZ previously reported, those restorative steps had included meeting with the CFC pastoral staff regularly for mutual encouragement and care and preventing Chung from preaching at CFC for a limited time. Susie An covers education for WBEZ. It is because we believe in the power and sanctity of the gospel that we are publishing this statement. In April, the Korean Central Presbytery received an eight-page report summarizing its investigative teams findings and recommendations. He still preaches as a member in good standing. Web1215 W. Lambert Rd. Yet this generations aggrieved version of sexism has taken on a different character from their fathers more traditional version of sexism featuring machoism and strict gender roles., https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/13/opinion/south-koreas-misogyny.html, https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/06/23/young-south-korean-men-hate-liberals-feminists/. Influencing the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 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. Several CFC Survivors came forward to tell their stories on an Instagram account. Conversations about sex, including consent, are taboo. 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. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-total, .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-total { .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-embed body { As of May 27, 2021, Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) has terminated its formal relationship with Min Chung. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time { Many people were waiting to see what came out of this and then what their response would be to that, Pinyo said. How Can the Church Support Asian American Women? The woman pastor at the center of the Southern Baptist Convention's decision to oust Saddleback Church the California 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. The World Economic Forum ranks the country 115th out of 145 countries in gender equality. Even the friend in whom the victim confided feared she would be cursed by God if she spoke against Chung. Members didnt feel safe talking to leaders and sometimes felt ostracized, the report said. Many other ministries have removed Chung from their boards and speaking schedules. 6 min read. But TRR disclosed that CCG's senior consultant, Charles Zimmerman, has ties with Chung. Nov. 22, 2018. Unfortunately, GRACE has been informed by CFC that they are terminating the assessment, an update linked on GRACEs website stated. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-float, The cost has been high for the whistleblowers, said Amy Han, one of the whistleblowers who submitted the report. The SOLA Network exists to influence the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. figcaption.wp-caption-text { Chung began private counseling sessions with the victim, using that time to urge her to keep silent about the assault, the report states. 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. But its especially disappointing because now theyve shown that they do have the tools and resources to make better decisions.. We grieve the fact that our churches have both knowingly and unknowingly created environments where abuse could happen and be kept in the dark. .wp-caption-text { Anne Stych is a writer in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. Almost every day of the week, they try to recruit people, Ma said. I would be interested to know how much of the loss of members comes from the PCA and how much comes from the-once much larger-PCUSA(not PSUSA). The political influence of the Senior Pastor in most independent churches is always a problem but in a denomination the hope is that people with oversight can minimize the political influence I guess not. Especially in the Korean community, to call out a pastor, youre going against God-given authority.. 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. /* Reduce height of the progress and audio bars */ Theres a picnic. 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. In May 2021, CFC cut ties with Chung. CFC came under fire last summer for its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct by church founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung. Weve lost our reputations. } */ To Thyatira: Hold Fast What You Have Until I Come | Revelation 2:18-29 (Pastor Min Chung) joe 2019.02.19 43. We judge that his relationship with God is restored as we consider the grace of God. To make a donation,click here. 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.. Whistleblowers say theyre disappointed, but not surprised, with the ruling. 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. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-handle-content { 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 font-size: 10px Its a moment of reckoning for the Korean American church, former CFC member June Pinyo said. Chung reportedly abused a number of congregants at CFC. Theyre a very inclusive, very inviting community. [Churches and presbyteries] are not trained to look into [abuse], Langberg said. Nothing was ever followed up on with me. One was a claim from many years ago of inappropriate touch with an adult woman. 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. 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. The report also recommended that the church hire a third-party auditor to address some members financial concerns, though the Center didnt think there were financial irregularities.. In addition, hundreds of accounts surfaced online criticizing the church for mishandling alleged incidents of sexual abuse committed by church members, highlighting how Chung and other church leaders downplayed that abuse. 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. [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. The group said that though the was guilty, what he did was already enough for his reinstatement and that his hiatus from preaching was also enough to discipline him for the sin. However, the gospel also demonstrates that mercy is not given at the expense of justice and vice versa. 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.. He received disciplinary measures that included temporary leave from the pulpit and acknowledgment of previous personal acts of piety as self-imposed discipline. Rhee told WBEZ she reported the incident to Pastor Chung. A total of 19 people signed on to the report or are cited as witnesses. } For many years, Chung had been a council member and a writer for their site. We grieve that this incident will cause many to experience confusion and lose trust in their pastors and elders. /* Player controls */ .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-marker, color: #888888; Some people are just too far gone and need a wake-up call.. Joshua Generation, commonly called J-Gen, a ministry for high schoolers that Chung founded, also severed ties with Chung. 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. Im tired, said Tim Ma, who previously served on the CFC worship team. 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