Sources at GRACE told WBEZ that the group had conducted interviews with more than 40 former and present CFC members, many of whom spent hours talking about their experiences. 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WebHe is a bi-vocational pastor and has been in the animation industry for over 10 years. 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 Pastor Min Chung April 21, 2023. into silence those who knew of the incident, the report states. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-button > button { The World Economic Forum ranks the country 115th out of 145 countries in gender equality. content: ''; In one instance, Chung assaulted a woman in the back seat of a car in 2001, the report alleges. 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. 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. Eventually, that group reconsidered and completed the assessment. . peter cancro politics; headway reimbursement rates AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. In this case, Id say this is the logical result of Korean Cultures Confucian-infused hierarchy: father-son, king-subject, husband-wife, elder-younger, friend-friend (where one is above the other in rank). In September 2019, two other whistleblowers met with Kim as a final step to urge leadership to take proper steps, the report states. Serving with a denomination as a District Leader I saw leaders shuffled to different churches who were related to significant people in the denomination who continued to act our inappropiately on women and it was imply ignored or excused. Min The motion requires two-thirds vote. An Asian American pastor in Illinois was reinstated to ministry in spite of doubts on his character due to sexual abuse accusations. Joshua Generation, commonly called J-Gen, a ministry for high schoolers that Chung founded, also severed ties with Chung. The motion failed to pass, allowing Chung to remain an ordained minister in good standing with the PCA. .jet-smart-listing__post-title:after { 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. K.J. Covenant Fellowship Church is nondenominational, has no elders, and is not a PCA member. After that, he was One was a claim from many years ago of inappropriate touch with an adult woman. 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. What remains is for the regional body that originally adjudicated the case to respond about procedural steps needing correction for the future.. 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. I really did not see this coming, she said. Inside the Actresss Marriage to a Pastor. Especially in the Korean community, to call out a pastor, youre going against God-given authority.. 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 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. Chung discouraged her from reporting the incident to police. Would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to help our journalists continue to report the truth and restore the church? .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-loaded, But after receiving the findings and recommendations from its investigation team, the KCP decided to restore Chung to his post. Singer said any organizations that back out do so because they dont understand the nature of an independent assessment or investigation. The leader of a Christian cult in Kenya is due to appear in court next week, as the exhumation of bodies found in mass graves on his land continues. 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.. However, some internal tension caused many leaders to depart the church, with Chung stepping down as head pastor in 2019. Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story or making a contribution. Follow her on Twitter @WBEZeducation and @soosieon. 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. 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. background-color: rgba(219, 78, 136, 0.075); But The Roys Report said Kim has been accused by a whistleblower group of covering up other past misconduct by Chung. Nine teaching elders protested the KCPs ruling, saying they didnt think Chung was truly repentant, and called for indefinite suspension. We judge that his relationship with God is restored as we consider the grace of God. Dr. Min J. Chung is the founding and lead pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, an .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time { 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. During that time, he pastored the church, served on several ministry boards, and taught at the seminary. Chung was also an adjunct professor at Urbana Theological Seminary from 2005 to 2018. The KCP ruled only on the sexual assault allegation, calling it sexual harassment. They determined that Chung was guilty but has done enough for restoration to ministry. 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. Webwhat happened to pastor min chung CMI is a proven leader at applying industry knowledge and engineering expertise to solve problems that other fabricators cannot or to conduct a third-party investigation. Park is one of the whistleblowers who submitted the report to the KCP. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of Jesus v. Evangelicals: A Biblical Critique of a Wayward Movement by Constantine Campbell. Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado. According to U of I spokeswoman Robin Kaler, Covenant Fellowship is once again a registered student organization with the university this school year giving the 32-year-old congregation access to the schools facilities and a new crop of potential members. In May, CFC severed ties with Chung and hired Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (G.R.A.C.E.) 4 min read. We pray that CFC reconsiders this course of action and chooses to re-engage with GRACE for completion of this independent assessment.. Pastor KJ shows no signs of remorse, shows no sign of pastoral care, only concerned with keeping us quiet.. Pastor 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. 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. 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. For almost 20 years, Chung kept the alleged sexual assault from church leaders and his wife, Park said. Theres such a pressure put on women to be pure going into marriage, but then we create this environment in the church where its kind of ripe for abuse, and for women to stay silent when there is some kind of assault, Pinyo said. Susie An covers education for WBEZ. } Covenant Fellowship Church changes little after scandal | WBEZ He also referred WBEZ to Tim LeCroy, a pastor who chaired the PCAs committee that wrote the domestic and sexual abuse report. } The Roys Report We extend an invitation to worship with us if you are ever in the Champaign area.. Victims of abuse who express their grievances on social media, who protest, who take their stories to the media theyre like that woman in that parable, LeCroy said. /* Track progress bar background (amount of track fully loaded) Chung founded CFC in 1990, and its now home to more than a thousand members hailing from more than 20 ethno-linguistic groups, according to its website.
