Paul's Passing Thoughts

“This is a classic case of not having a thorough understanding of what you are following.”     

The first clue that there may be authoritarian issues at Harvest Bible Chapel is the logo for James MacDonald’s Vertical Church project and book. It is the military insignia for the rank of Sergeant with a steeple on top. The next level up in authority is First Sergeant and Master Sergeant. I asked a few folks here at the Potter’s House what this logo brings to mind when you first look at it. Without any coaching, and like my first thought, the answer was, “military.”

At some point in James MacDonald’s ministry, he converted to New Calvinism which is a return to authentic Geneva style Calvinism. This is a doctrine that teaches the absolute authority of the elders. Calvin referred to this as the “power of the keys.” Whatever the elders bind on earth, heaven will confirm it. If they “declare” you an unbeliever, you ARE an unbeliever—heaven will honor the judgment of the elders.

This is why this stripe of elder, no pun intended, is expected to be feared in circles like Harvest Bible Chapel—they can literally have you blotted out of the book of life. If you doubt this is the mentality of MacDonald and his core elders, you are naive.

They play by their own rules totally, and they at least function like their authority supersedes a literal interpretation of the Bible. All, let me repeat that, “all” New Calvinists function like that. Examples can be found wherever you point a stick. Just one example is the dissenting elders at Harvest who were disciplined. Whether or not these former elders were still members is beside the point, New Calvinist elders routinely declare people unregenerate who are not even members of their church.

But their process for disciplining these elders, protocol for New Calvinist “redemptive church discipline,” does not follow Scripture. Clearly, the matter is to be brought before the church for consideration, and if the church agrees that there has been an offence, and the offender or offenders will not “hear the church,” only then are they to be “treated like” unbelievers, not declared such. New Calvinist elders believe they have the authority to “declare” people as unbelievers.

In the case of the Harvest elders, the matter was not taken to the congregation. The congregation was informed of the elder judgment, and instructed not to associate with the former elders of Harvest. Now, many would argue in regard to the feasibility of sharing matters of dispute with a congregation of thousands. Is this to say that Christ didn’tk foresee congregations of thousands? Or is this to say that congregations of thousands are not the New Testament model? And if small groups are so important to mega churches, why not just have the small groups and be done with it? By the way, in geographies that don’t have American-like money, clusters of home fellowships that cooperate with each other are the norm. The institutional church only exists in geographies that thrive monetarily.

Also, in New Testament-like home fellowships (where sharing a matter of dispute with the whole group would be no problem at all), fellowship is the issue, not authority. Overseers lead by example and exhort the people from Scripture, and fellowship is based on likeminded agreement concerning the one mind of Christ. Unity is predicated on the authority of Scripture, not men.

These are thoughts to consider, but yes, aside from foul doctrine, the very way Harvest is organized as an institution will invariably arrive at the current circumstances. It also leads to a blind following unable to see disaster coming. Harvest is presently made up of seven campuses located, for the most part, in upper income areas around Chicago. Again, institutional churches can only operate in that venue. But note, all of the formal preaching is telecasted from one campus to all the other campuses, and is delivered by James MacDonald himself. In other words, this massive ministry is predicated on one man! Who doesn’t see disaster coming in that scenario? This builds a ministry on a personality brand-name resulting in all kinds of politics surrounding efforts  to protect the institution. “Hey, are we going to let the whole institution fall just because the guy isn’t perfect?” The answer to that question is most likely, “no.”

But let’s talk about the blindness issue, and unbiblical authority leading to people turning their brains off. Several churches have left Harvest over MacDonald’s association with TD Jakes. One of the major campuses was kicked out of the “denomination” because they dared to question MacDonald on this issue. I have no doubt that MacDonald and his inner core did the math and decided said campus was worth more to them as a manipulative statement than a future partner.

Nevertheless, has it occurred to anybody that MacDonald associates with TD Jakes because their core ideology is the same? The pastor of the church that was “catapulted” out of Harvest said that he was perplexed by the relationship. Why? Does he really think MacDonald got up one morning and decided to invite Benny Hinn to preach at Harvest, but when his line was busy, he called TD instead? Why is this so perplexing? He hangs out with people who share the same fundamentals. Why is this confusing? More on the doctrinal aspect in future posts, but people always do what they do for a reason. This is a classic case of not having a thorough understanding of what you are following.

Furthermore, the confused pastor should also understand that MacDonald, in essence, declared him and his congregation unregenerate. He should contact MacDonald and ask what the perceived ramifications are for his church—he might be in for a big surprise.

All in all, this is a huge opportunity for those leaving Harvest. They have the resources to rethink everything and set an example for many other Christians. These situations are unfortunate, but nonetheless very good teachers if we are listening and thinking.

Things happen for a reason, and people act from their beliefs.

NOTE FILE SHARING WIDGET FOR THIS SERIES ON BOTTOM RIGHT SIDE PANEL

“The problem is not James MacDonald’s behavior; the problem is what he believes. What he believes has brought Harvest Bible Chapel to this point.”

I was originally motivated to report on the Harvest Bible Chapel controversy for the following reason: my frustration over the constant use of bogus “church discipline” by New Calvinists to silence detractors. The primary blog leading the way in exposing the tyranny of James MacDonald is The Elephants Debt .com. Without a doubt, it is one of the best, if not the best, organized and written blogs on the internet.

So: why this white paper? Because overall, the anti-spiritual tyranny/abuse movement is still characterized by the following key elements:

1. A primary focus on behavior.

2. A void in understanding that ideology drives behavior.

3. A void in understanding how these ideologies lead to theological error.

4. A void in understanding what that theological error is.

5. Hope is placed in the offenders repenting of their behavior apart from repentance of doctrinal error and theological error.

6. Hope is placed in those who share the same ideology, but not the behavior; it is hoped they will influence culprits to repent of mere behavior.

7. Hope is placed in institutions.

8. No prevention mandate to break the cycle of abuse.

9. No alternatives prescribed moving forward other than hope of people repenting of behavior rather than what they believe.

The problem is not James MacDonald’s behavior; the problem is what he believes. What he believes has brought Harvest Bible Chapel to this point. This series will expose his ideology, his theology, and suggest alternatives for prevention and ministry moving forward.

NOTE FILE SHARING WIDGET FOR THIS SERIES ON BOTTOM RIGHT SIDE PANEL

In this video, Harvest elders claim transparency, but do not explain the 13 accusations brought against them by three other elders. They want the congregation to assume that none of the 13 accusations  have merit just because they say so.  This point doesn’t even scratch the surface of the treachery found in their words overall.  Moreover, in the introduction, James MacDonald makes the claim that elder majority speaks with the authority that is directly from God. My friends, the only authority that speaks directly for God is His truth found in holy writ.

Pastor James MacDonald:  I am so thankful to be a part of this church.  This church is such a great blessing to me and our family and I just want to remind you that God has entrusted a spiritual authority to the local church and every local church has an authority under God.  We believe that the Bible that the authority of the church is vested in the elders.  And that when the elders speak collectively in agreement, they speak for God to our church.  That’s about as serious as serious gets.  Here are four of the elders in our church that have a message for us that we would do well to take heed to, so listen very carefully.  These four men are speaking on behalf of the entire elder board of our church on every campus – listen now.

From Left to Right:

My name is Paul Inserra.

My name is Steve Houston

My name is Randy Williams

My name is Jamie Harrison

Paul Inserra:    All but one member meeting is successfully behind us. We come to you today further fulfilling our pledge for greater transparency with a sad but necessary message from our entire elder board of our church.  We need to communicate with you regarding the discipline of two former elders and their combined effort with other former elders, all outside Harvest working to discredit our elder board and destroy our pastor.

Jamie Harrison:  Three elders who broke with the rest of our 30-member elder board in June have continued to spread discord through their false and unrelenting viewpoint.  It was unanimously rejected by the elders over many months and with finality in our June meeting.  They made their point, we rejected their opinions, but they refused to submit to elder consensus, choosing instead to sew discord and create division.  This is a very, very serious sin, one that we are told in Proverbs 6 that our Lord hates.

Steve Houston:  This week, the elders received a letter with 13 accusations against our pastor and his integrity,  all of which the elders have already unanimously rejected multiple times, nothing new, just a continued refusal to accept the consensus of the elders of Harvest Bible Chapel.

If these men would express even a fraction of the constant and ongoing grace and humility that we see so frequently in our pastor, they could move beyond their bitterness to healing.  Their current refusal to do so is defiling many people and that is great sin.

Randy Williams:  Scott Phelps and Barry Slabaugh have been notified that they are under church discipline and no longer welcomed in our church until they repent.  A copy of our board resolution regarding their conduct was given to them personally, and can be seen online under Elder Updates.  Please pray for their repentance and victory over persistent spirit of superiority and self-righteousness.

Paul Inserra:  Together these men continue to lead and seditiously promote an attack on the credibility of the church elders, our governance of church staff and the integrity of our pastor.

Jamie Harrison:  Their goal is to discredit our pastor and to divide this church and we call upon the people of the Harvest family to make sure this does not happen. This problem is not new.

As Paul said in 2nd Timothy 4, “Alexander, the coppersmith, did me great harm.  The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him, yourself; for he strongly opposed our message.”

Steve Houston:  Church matters are not to be tried in the court of public opinion.  Publicizing viewpoints rejected by the elder majority, for any reason,  is satanic to the core and must be dealt with very directly.   Those who have no standing in a local church, but continue to assault it from outside with factious messages must be rejected according to the word of God.  We warn the people of Harvest Bible Chapel to separate themselves from these false messengers. Don’t stand in the middle, don’t seek to mediate.  Please avoid these former Harvest elders at all cost,  lest you incur great detriment to your own soul.

Randy Williams:  To be clear, the elders of Harvest Bible Chapel – 30 men – who meet frequently and closely with Pastor James and know first-hand his character and conduct, want you to hear that we the elders of Harvest Bible Chapel are completely satisfied with Pastor James’ growth and grace, including the way he responded to the three dissenting elders from January through June, and sought reconciliation with former elders as directed.  Pastor James has gone out of his way repeatedly, to seek counsel, submit to consensus, and welcome and even solicit contrary opinion for the betterment of the church.  The elders of Harvest stand behind his character and integrity without reservation or ongoing concern of any kind.  Great pains have been taken to review and learn from these accusations. But there are no ongoing issues of any kind.   We are satisfied and grateful to our pastor for his Christ-like behavior.

Steve Houston:  We call upon the people of Harvest Baptist Chapel to support these actions of the elder board as biblical.  Titus 3:10-11 says, “as for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self condemned.”

Also 1st Timothy 5:20 says, “as for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, [which, is, what we are doing] so that the rest may stand in fear.”

Randy Williams:  Before honor, comes humility.  In one week, we gather in one service to celebrate God’s amazing 25-year faithfulness to this church, but God is winning a mighty victory in and around us today. Nothing is covered, nothing is unresolved, nothing is ongoing – only this attack from the enemy.  Let us examine ourselves, for unconfessed sin and seek to live in fear of the Lord,  lest bitterness overtake us.

NOTE FILE SHARING WIDGET FOR THIS SERIES ON BOTTOM RIGHT SIDE PANEL