WebAs of July 2021, CFC came under the leadership of Reverend KJ Kim and a lay oversight board. 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. CFC came under fire last summer for its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct by church founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung. 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. One of those associate pastors was KJ Kim, the new head pastor of CFC. 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. Ultimately my hope is to discover who God truly is, beyond the God that CFC represented.. 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. His influence extends beyond the church walls. Last summer, Kim, writing on behalf of the Oversight Board, promised that CFC would release a full report at the conclusion of GRACEs investigation. AsAmNews is a community of users interested in reading, learning and commenting on news, events, people & issues in the Asian Americans and Pacific Islander communities. 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. WILL and the Illinois Newsroom are committed to bringing you in-depth, relevant coverage that keeps you informed and engages you with our community and state. Kim also alluded to the KCP investigation. 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. We apologize for the ways we may have contributed to an unhealthy culture if we have been silent. 6 min read. To Thyatira: Hold Fast What You Have Until I Come | Revelation 2:18-29 (Pastor Min Chung) joe 2019.02.19 43. 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. They gave a couple of examples [of bias], which were tenuous at best, Singer said. We lost our church family and community, she said. Because of the trust that had been damaged and the pain that had been caused, he said, the church board voted unanimously May 27 to separate from Chung. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Another day, theres basketball. Nothing was put in place, to my knowledge, to keep me safe from him. figcaption.wp-caption-text { As James 3 warns us, teachers will be judged more strictly. In one instance, Chung assaulted a woman in the back seat of a car in 2001, the report alleges. 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. According to sources, in the past few months, CFC has terminated the assessment with GRACE and wiped any trace of the leadership updates from last year (as seen on a web page accessed by WBEZ on Sept. 21). 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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.. 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 brief moment. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time { On December 4, 2022, CFC became a particular church within the Presbytery of Former members of Covenant Fellowship Church say Chungs abuse is part of a larger pattern of abuse and silencing at CFC and affiliated ministries. But he said the church had recently decided to hire an outside group to investigate in order to work towards rebuilding trust and create a healthier culture that better reflects Jesus.. Chung showed Minari to his parents around Thanksgiving 2019, a couple of months before its Sundance premiere. Chung also was accused of covering up sexual abuse committed by a fellow local pastor. However, the gospel also demonstrates that mercy is not given at the expense of justice and vice versa. /* Progress and audio bars */ Mayor Lori Lightfoot was handed a stunning defeat, the first time in 40 years a sitting mayor was not reelected. Prominent Korean-American congregation Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) in central Illinois has terminated its nearly complete independent investigation into alleged spiritual and emotional abuse at the church, according to Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE). CFC made the difficult decision to terminate its agreement with GRACE and this decision was made with much prayer and deliberation, Kim wrote in an email last week. The victim did. It requires public forms of accountability and repentance. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-horizontal-volume-total, 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). In April 2021, Chungs denomination, the Korean Central Presbytery, an arm of the Presbyterian Church in America, ruled that Chung was guilty of sexual harassment, but allowed Chung to return to ministry. z-index: 1; .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-float-current, 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. Access to MinistryWatch content is free. There are Walmart runs. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-total { Pastor KJ shows no signs of remorse, shows no sign of pastoral care, only concerned with keeping us quiet.. All videos and transcripts are available on our website. Chung had no interest in moving back to the weekend and attempted to get CBS to buy her out of the rest of her contract, valued around $2 million with less than a Singer said any organizations that back out do so because they dont understand the nature of an independent assessment or investigation. Korean Christians have had such a tremendous and positive impact over the last few decades on local communities and believers, its difficult to overstate. We see this is the third article this month youve found worth reading. top: 6px; They described various experiences of mistreatment by an unhealthy leadership culture over a couple of decades. 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). He still preaches as a member in good standing. This story has been updated to clarify CFCs relationship with regional and national presbytery associations. In the aftermath, CFC promised to make changes and to be transparent. The report accuses Chung of orchestrating a cover-up of sexual abuse allegations against another Korean-American pastor of a church with close ties to CFC. That is the message of Esther Lius book Shame: Being Known and Loved. In February of 2019, Park said she reported the matter to Kim and urged him to allow a third-party investigation, but Kim refused. SEOUL, South Korea A prominent church pastor whose behavior came under scrutiny when the #MeToo movement took hold in South Korea was Hi. Many CFC members are students there who hail from the Chicago area. Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox! Heartland Greenway LLC refiled its application with the Illinois. Even the friend in whom the victim confided feared she would be cursed by God if she spoke against Chung. .wp-caption-text { /* Current track progress and active audio volume level bar */ He added: Theyre banging on the door, looking for justice, and I dont think leaders of the church should look down upon that because that is exactly what they should be doing if they havent found it where they should find it.. Though the assessment is nearly complete, the termination by CFC effectively halts our work at this time. On July 9, 1988, Whelchel tied the knot with Steven Cauble, her first husband and associate pastor at The Church on the Way. Diane Langberg, a prominent psychologist and leading voice on abuse within church communities, said CFCs termination of the GRACE assessment is yet another move to silence the individuals the church has hurt. 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. Pinyo told TRR that shes advising her current church leadership on how to be a safe and healthy church that doesnt turn a blind eye to problems. Coverstone confirmed in a separate email to WBEZ that Kim, who had been accused by former church members of failing to respond properly to Chungs sexual misconduct, had been accepted into the Presbytery of Northern Illinois in January. CFC came under fire last summer for its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct by church founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung. If they found out, they would be devastated and you know how people talk, and I wouldnt want them to have to go through that. . border: 0 none; In our previous meetings, they had acknowledged that [Chungs case was] within the scope, so Im not certain why that changed.. In August 2019, Chung stopped preaching at CFC, but said it was to facilitate a transition to a team leadership model. Pastor KJ Kim acknowledged that Chung has been accused of a pattern of abusing his authority. top: 0; Yet whistleblowers, who knew about the alleged assault, pressured Chung for a decade to confess to the church. Get new articles and breaking news delivered to your inbox. However, CFC has made some changes. Wade Morris, Popular Baptist Youth Speaker, Dies After COVID-19 Hospitalization. He is the ultimate judge who will make right all wrongs and the one who will both save and destroy. height: 3px; The woman, a former CFC member, said she was sexually assaulted by a leader in the churchnot Chungand reported the incident to a pastor. 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. URBANA For Janet Park, the events of last year feel like a waste of time and energy. (The version of the report released to TRR referenced and summarized the texts instead in the interest of the victims privacy.) The motion to rescind the KCP decision needed a two-thirds vote in favor. Sexual misconduct and/or harassment in any form is a grievous sin that should never be tolerated. The churchs website 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). We here at SOLA Network affirm these words: SOLA Network exists to influence the emerging generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are personally reflecting on where we may fall short and how we can be proactive in preventing abuse and cover-up, instead of just reacting to it. margin: 0; Pastor Kim did not respond to a TRR inquiry about the audit. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In much of Asian culture, you never want to look bad in front of the community and you never want to be the cause of someone else being shamed, said Frank Mesina, a former CFC member. 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. Park is part of a group that last year brought to light allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse at Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC), a predominantly Asian American church near the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Former church members expressed dismay over CFCs apparent about-face. The decision came before an investigation by WBEZ of Pastor Min Joshua Chung of the Covenant Fellowship Church on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. 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