Sunday, August 29, 2021 | Rev. When you have, all of a sudden, 500 [new friends], its pretty cool because you feel seen, you feel like they accept you, like you dont have to explain yourself.. Stop by our Guest Services area in our lobby if youd like more information. He also served as acting lead pastor of Faith Alliance Bible Church (Des Plaines, IL) for six years until he left for the mission field in 2004. He loves exploring the complexity of the human soul and loves to see Jesus restore people in unique ways. Topics: Religion & Faith. And he said, Im accountable to Jesus. . It can be a place where you feel connection. Illinoisans applied in droves for student debt forgiveness. Susie An covers education for WBEZ. Missions; Youth and College; Small Groups; FABC Live Worship 2020; FABC in 2019; Contact. Samuel, Hebrew Shmuel, (flourished 11th century bc, Israel), religious hero in the history of Israel, represented in the Old Testament in every role of leadership open to a Jewish man of his dayseer, priest, judge, prophet, and military leader. Min Joshua Chung himself was an undergraduate at the University of Illinois. This is not intended to restrict use of the . Follow her on Twitter @estheryjkang. Chung then discouraged her from reporting the incident to the authorities, Rhee said. Some members of the church are lawyers who thought the church could win a legal battle over the issue, Lee said. This past April, eight months after the allegation group submitted its charges, the KCP met in a contentious, two-day Zoom meeting of both Korean- and English-speaking pastors with Chung present for much of the meeting and allowed to defend himself and voted to find Chung guilty of only sexual harassment instead of any more serious form of misconduct, according to sources familiar with the case. In the coming months, there would be several more meetings and announcements from the church regarding this matter, including public apologies at other leaders meetings from Chung himself. 271 W. Northfield Road, Livingston, NJ 07039. Is there anything else I need to know? You have folks that find themselves in really vulnerable and often really open spaces.. Courtesy of @letters_from_rahab, Graphic treatment by Katherine Nagasawa. The victim, Sean Lee said in the recording, sent a statement back: I have no further grievances against Pastor Min as Im fully restored. Two days after that, a new kind of post one much more personal appeared on the @letters_from_rahab feed. . 52-week preaching calendar to help you plan your sermons. Members of the allegation group also said Kim initially refused to bring in a third party to investigate the misconduct and instead insisted on conducting the probe on his own. Anna, Kristen, Trinity, and Sage. Rhee also said she is telling her story for the sake of her young daughter. Ridgeway Church465 RidgewayWhite Plains, NY 10605. 2201 Young Road. For a predominantly Asian church like CFC theres another complicating layer, and thats the culture of deference present in some Asian cultures, she added. The church also created an Oversight Board, a group of men all of whom have had long ties to Chung. Called to be a Blessing in Family and to Others | 1 Peter 3:1-12. Samuel didn't know God's voice right away, but God kept calling Samuel until he listened. His lengthy tenure as bishop of the church was a time of steady growth, broken only by two schisms, by Sherrod C. Johnson (1897-1961; Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, 1930) and Smallwood E. Williams (1907-1991; Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, 1957). There's only room for 140,000 'high priests' in the afterlife. For one of the members of the KCP allegation group, who asked to remain anonymous out of respect for family members and friends who still attend CFC, the Instagram page also accomplished its initial goal. In its statement to WBEZ, the Oversight Board wrote: As the leaders of CFC, we are deeply grieved and saddened by the pain that people may have experienced through the ministry of CFC. Kim also said at the meeting the church would not take disciplinary action against Chung because among other reasons the incident happened 20 years ago, the woman did not want to come forward, and there was confession and a sense of remorse, according to the recording. Dick Sayad, agreeing to some concessions, Lee said. These messages were not lost on women like Anna Rhee, Michelle Lin and others who came forward with their stories. Every person has encountered situations in life that evoked an initial response of fear. Sources said the UIUC campus churchs culture, structure and charismatic leader were among the reasons why so many stories of sexual abuse remained hidden for so long. He has served four terms as an elder and has led the Building Committee and is currently the Finance Ministry Lead. He was on top of me, and then he started to undo his pants, and I started freaking out, and I was saying, no, stop, no like repeatedly.. Forcing work from home. Specialized in SQL, Python, and Tableau. God granted Hannah's request, and, true to her promise, Hannah dedicated . And those who speak out on behalf of victims, Du Mez added, are painted with a broad brush: People who are raising these issues that the church is not responding appropriately to sexual abuse, many of these people are getting defined as liberals, defined as enemies. , Du Mez added that churches often are ill-equipped to handle sexual abuse. His story in the Bible began with a barren woman, Hannah, praying to God for a child. Park said Chung requested to meet her alone, without her husband present, and told her, Now you know Im only human., She said she asked Chung if he had told anyone; he answered no. It is there, God burned in him the vision to train up disciples (forerunners) that will work together to break the boundaries in their own community and beyond. The Lord and Samuel reject Saul as king not once but twice (1 Samuel 13 and 15). How we respond makes all the difference. That when she says no, that means anything beyond that is not OK., She continued: If this happened to her, I would hope that Id be the first person that she would tell that we would report it to the authorities and pursue legal action, and then also put her in counseling therapy. How much do [girls] think about food? They toured the country, mostly the Midwest and the East Coast, leading worship at churches and retreats. The church, she said, has done whatever it can to be a good neighbor. She said she believed Lee and his congregation "got kind of a raw deal.". WBEZ has learned from UIUC officials that in May CFC chose not to renew its status as a registered student organization, or RSO. After her boyfriend became physically abusive, she said she tried to make his life so miserable, so that he would finally leave me alone.. We hope that you will get acquainted withour church and, most importantly, Jesus Christ. More About Us. She agrees with the steps CFC is taking to join a denomination and is hopeful that the church will handle reports of sexual abuse better in the future. At times God had His prophets fulfill additional duties such as anointing future kings and working with them. Prospect Rd. Eventually, Samuel has to protect David from Saul (1 Samuel 19:18-24). Why wouldnt you go to CFC? Blog. Last summer, against the backdrop of a raging COVID-19 pandemic, a group of men and women all former CFC members who refer to themselves as the allegation group began gathering over Zoom to talk about bringing formal charges of sexual misconduct against their former pastor, Min Joshua Chung, to the Korean Central Presbytery (KCP), a denominational body to which CFC pastors belonged. The document included an account from someone who had spoken to the victim, who said the incident with Chung was unwanted, non-consensual touch in her private area. The document also provided details about how Chungs account differed from those shared by sources who spoke to the victim, and how he himself initiated one-on-one counseling with her after the incident. Rich Hutton, who has led a fight against the church expansion, said flooding was a "compelling purpose" to halt the plan even though Rev. This is held several times per year, and is an overview of the basic truths of Christianity and the unique ministries of our church. It was not less than that, but not more than that. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. [Chung] is a very prominent individual, and my understanding is that he just has a lot of sway [and] influence in that presbytery with the first-generation pastors, because he does have a very large, influential church, and a lot of their own children attended CFC and were blessed by CFC., He continued: Also for the second-generation guys, a lot of them were mentored by [Chung]; [he] was a spiritual father to them, so theyre very loyal.. And I wasnt the only one being told that theres some fault on my end.. Norma Hulett has lived one house away from the church for 31 years on Michael Road. 2. About. 11 At a young age, Samuel witnessed genuine wickedness and corruption. The girl controls the guy based on how she dresses, how she presents herself.. In one particular case, according to sources, Chung took steps to cover up sexual abuse committed by a fellow pastor, Samuel Lee, who was leading Faith Alliance Bible Church (FABC) in suburban Des Plaines from the 90s to the early 2000s. In Acts 10 - God loves to challenge our thinking, He confronts our "box thinking" and He leads us to new doors of opportunity and transformation. Check out our Student Ministriespage for more information. 12 Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. Let us all . In one particular case, according to sources, Chung took steps to cover up sexual abuse committed by a fellow pastor, Samuel Lee, who was leading Faith Alliance Bible Church (FABC) in suburban Des . Kim said the pastors reached out to the woman and got a statement from her saying that, from the beginning, Chung had honored her wishes to keep the situation private and respected her desire to restore the relationship and move forward. Kim said, in the statement, the woman also condemned the rumors that had surfaced that year, according to the recording. Upcoming Discover Alliance Luncheons will be listed on our Events Page. Maranatha Bible Church. He wanted you to have purpose in your life, wanted you to grow, wanted you to live a fulfilling life all of these things that we want to hear from our own parents that we did not hear because they were trying to survive as immigrants, [Chung] filled.. How, if something happens you probably asked for it. Anna, Kristen . Even so, it was a terrible sin and absolutely wrong. Still in his mid-50s, he said he was not retiring but passing the baton to the churchs associate pastors, who would take a team approach to leading CFC. I put 50 hours of work into church on top of my 40-hour job that I didnt do well in, and I got negative reviews from my bosses, Lay remembered. Theres certain things we cant talk about sexual misconduct, sexual assault, you know, this will make the church look bad., She added: Theres no consequences for [the perpetrators] sin, no consequences for their crime.. His sermons very rarely were they boring or dry. #GodStories are about lives transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. But the Bible's way of handling these is often believed to be counterintuitive and even surprising. Eight days in, the account creator announced in a post that she had created a Google form for stories from survivors. If we don't practice His Presence or know Him personally, fear can . Keep up to date on the latest news and media from Acts Ministries International. Who We Are. Smith also encouraged survivors to report CFC by filing a Title IX complaint. We create the spaces and places where leaders gather to sharpen and to be sharpened. Those steps included meeting with the CFC pastoral staff regularly for mutual encouragement and care, receiving pastoral care and counseling from outside sources, notifying boards on which he sat about his misconduct, and preventing him from preaching at CFC unless invited by the pastoral staff, with the earliest date being January 2021. Abby Wong-Heffter is a licensed mental health counselor who specializes in spiritual abuse. The quotation in the title comes from a 1947 issue of The Alliance Weekly, the official organ of the C&MA, in which a report is given about the Presbyterian Church in . The final tally 22 voting for the motion, 12 against and one abstaining showed that the motion fell just shy of the two-thirds majority needed for it to pass. JT Park said he could not agree to that, and he and his wife left his church of 18 years. She said religious institutions are sometimes the most fertile soil for abuse. She locked the door and remained inside until he left. 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (doors open at 9:00 a.m.) BRETHREN CHURCH, INC, THE (ASHLAND, OHIO) (see NAE) - Endorsing Exec: Ch, Col Steven West, USAF, (Ret) - POC: David E. Graetz. This story was produced for web by Katherine Nagasawa and Mary Hall. Chung was responsible for setting up the churchs governing structure, which gave him unchecked power and little oversight. We just literally were out all day because there would be things like Wednesday night prayer meetings where we were expected to be there until 3 in the morning., She added, The language they used was, Were building up kingdom workers, and you take it in, like, Yeah, that makes sense. Chung helped Samuel Lee to quietly step down from FABC and move to California, telling people that he had to leave to care for his ailing mother. Sam serves as our pastor of Tapestry Mundy Park, a diverse and vibrant church plant in Coquitlam. 8 A third time the Lord called, "Samuel!". Im doing a good thing. But after a while you realize this isnt healthy. His family is a gift from God that reminds him daily of Gods joy and kindness. He was tried on the basis of what he confessed, the pastor said. The 124-page allegation document, sent to a five-person investigation committee at the KCP, included written accounts from several former CFC members sharing information about Chungs alleged misconduct. Lee said he has promised to limit future expansions of the church, increase the parking lot setback on the south boundary, reduce parking spaces to 108 and shield lights on the parking lot. Lin soon found herself in a relationship with a fellow CFC member. Many former CFC members who spoke to WBEZ said these practices were all part of a culture of deference and loyalty to the charismatic pastor. We were told that the more we hang out at Pastor Mins, the more he sees us, so the more he will pray for us. Pastor Sam made a decision to follow Jesus Christ in High School, a decision he is thankful for everyday of his life. For the past 15 years Sammy has been part of various ministries on the East Coast contending to see the things of heaven here on earth. Samuel, whose name means "heard of God," was dedicated to God by his mother, Hannah, as part of a vow she made before he was born ( 1 Samuel 1:11 ). Samuel Lee, Th.D. Living Stone Christian Church. After seminary, he went to Kenya, East Africa to do missions work with the poor. Weve been portrayed as people who are tearing down [CFC], but this is so much bigger than just Min Chung, said Janet Park. Today, Smith, who served as executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders between 2019 and 2021, said she wants to help survivors of sexual abuse and assault linked to CFC find healing for themselves and accountability for their perpetrators. Water baptism is as anoutwardexpression ofinwardfaith. How women didnt have a voice, how men were revered, specifically pastors, and you couldnt question anything that they would say. Samuel Lee was a notable Puritan divine who was close to John Wilkins (see catalogue nos. 8. As the church grew, so did Min Chungs influence. WBEZ reached out to the KCP via email in June. And then I realized this was going south very quickly, Rhee said. samuel@ridgewaychurch.com. Were trying to solve a problem and make churches a safer place for women., Owen Lee, the pastor in Virginia, has heard similar comments about CFC and the unwanted attention it has been getting on social media. Esther Yoon-Ji Kang is a reporter for WBEZs Race, Class and Communities desk. More activity by Abhishek. Rev. The practical component of the book is the conceptual framework that reveals the operation of holistic transformation and ways to measure the dynamic relationships that occur. Des Plaines Acting Mayor Tony Arredia hopes a compromise can be worked out to allow an ambitious expansion of Faith Alliance Bible Church at 382 S. Mt. Other members of the allegation group said CFC should reckon with its past and that it still bears responsibility to reconcile with victims who are no longer at the church. Island Stories. She liked her new job in town, and many of the friends she met through CFC were staying as well. Smith said she sent her story of sexual assault to @letters_from_rahab when she saw the submission form. The congregation also sought to expand its 58-car parking lot to accommodate 115 vehicles on the 1.6-acre parcel. Check out our, Were a pretty relaxed church, so feel free to dress comfortably and make yourself at home with a cup of our specialty coffee located in our Gathering Grounds, We have Guest Parking spaces reserved for your visit. Alliance Bible Church is a vibrant, growing, gospel-centered community that welcomes people from all walks of life. Smith went home for Christmas break and told her parents she needed help. Said Wong-Heffter: If a kind of sexual assault happened in a workplace, you have human resources. Having heard about CFC from an older friend at her home church in Oklahoma, Lin, like Rhee, was embraced by the large community. Services Events Give Contact Us. Christian and Missionary Alliance churches often offer children's ministry, youth group, missions, nursery, and community service programs. For people who had non-healthy father figures in their life, Min Chung was the epitome of being a loving father, said Amos Lee, a former leader at the church. Even if it was in the past, some of these stories how could you not address them? one member asked. Without its RSO status, the church can no longer reserve campus spaces and recruit new students on Quad Day, an annual event held at the start of the fall semester where new students are introduced to organizations on campus. BUDDHIST CHURCHES OF AMERICA. In September 2019, as more members started talking and rumors about Chung spun out of control, one of the senior pastors decided to address it for the first time at a meeting of leaders. The parties involved have moved on from it; theyve worked through it, Dan Lee recalled Chung saying. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as well as Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and is licensed in the Midwest District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. In our nearly 50-year history, the Christian Leadership Alliance community has invested lifetimes of expertise and experience in the service of strengthening its members and their ministries. Comparing John and the Synoptic Gospels. When we brought our allegation, we did not use the term harassment, she said. Membership is viewed as a covenant of commitment to God and His people in this local body of believers. Follow her on Twitter @WBEZeducation and @soosieon. 19, 36 and ). . Instead, she said he asked her about her heart motives, a topic on which Chung was writing a dissertation for his doctoral degree at the time. Phone: 845/298-8481. I mean, look at this, Im 20 years out, and I still dont know if its my fault.. More than anything else, he desired that all would love God and fear Him. Others said the events of the recent months place an unfair burden on current members who have little or no connection to the CFC of old. Be counterintuitive and even surprising daily of Gods joy and kindness listed on our Page! 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