She added that the apartment the Chungs lived in was owned by the church, which WBEZ confirmed via public records. Chris Sotelo was an officer at CFC the highest position a lay leader could hold, responsible for leading various aspects of church ministry. Catalogue no.55, p.20. The first stepin becoming a member is attendance at ourMembership MattersClass. Sammy received a BA in Pastoral Ministry from University of Valley Forge and a M.Div with a Intercultural Studies focus from Alliance Theological Seminary. 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 wish that I had said no but I was afraid, Candis Lee said. After completing his residency in 1998, he worked as a primary care doctor while pursuing his Master of Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL). Pastor KJ Kim, one of the pastors on the senior leadership team, announced at the meeting that seven months earlier Chung came to him and another pastor and admitted to touching a female over the clothing for a brief moment about 20 years ago, according to a secret recording of the meeting provided anonymously to WBEZ. Allegation group members who spoke to WBEZ said Kim often quoted the same two Bible passages as Chung, and did not take steps toward accountability and transparency until the fallout from the @letters_from_rahab Instagram account brought unwanted attention to CFC. I shouldnt have been drinking.. In our families and community we want to bring hope to our region through the life giving good news of Jesus. In God, and in Samuel Nathaniel Booth Jr. One by one, Mr. Booth's family, his fellow ministers and his congregation step to the microphone to lavish praise and share affectionate, sometimes funny . We create the spaces and places where leaders gather to sharpen and to be sharpened. After working as an engineer for some years, he entered pastoral ministry and received his M.Div at The Master's Seminary. Not a day goes by without regret, remorse and repentance. You can feel a kind of security, reliability, predictability., Wong-Heffter works at the Allender Center, a subsidiary of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology in Washington that specializes in trauma and abuse. Pastor Min will no longer receive any ongoing financial support and will no longer practice ministry in any capacity with CFC.. 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. Alliance of Baptists. Samuel was a Levite from the descendants of Kohath. Reggie Ramos Associate Pastor. More About Us. Dr. Samuel Lee > Gospels and Acts (NT) By Dr. Samuel Lee 08-22-2000 2070. Part of Chungs plan for dealing with Samuel Lees sexual misconduct also included relocating Lees victims to the Champaign-Urbana area and promising them counseling and healing, sources told WBEZ. You would go to a place that holds some accountability and [there] would be steps and protocols., However, in churches, pastors are seen as the head and that they have been given leadership and power from God, then it almost puts them in a separate category, Wong-Heffter explained. Smith said she agreed to report the incident and received help from the University of Illinois Womens Resources Center. Fax: (770) 593-9124 Christian and Missionary Alliance churches often offer children's ministry, youth group, missions, nursery, and community service programs. Reports of sexual misconduct and their subsequent mishandling at CFC were not confined to the Champaign-Urbana area. While WBEZ offers anonymity to victims of sexual abuse or assault, Smith wanted to be named in this story to advocate for other survivors. It is our desire to see people respond in repentance and faith and to see believers grow in their love for, and obedience to, Jesus Christ. Bob Petty, district superintendent for the Christian and Mission Alliance (CMA), FABCs parent denomination, confirmed to WBEZ that Samuel Lee had abandoned his pastorate and congregation and moved to California. Samuel Lee pointed out that his property is not located in a floodplain. In January 2020, at a CFC leaders retreat, former CFC associate pastor Sean Lee, who stepped down this past April, said they had reached out to the victim to ask if she had any other concerns or any other disagreements toward Pastor Min. Thats according to a second secret recording obtained anonymously by WBEZ. Smith also encouraged survivors to report CFC by filing a Title IX complaint. When she asked why he continued to preach after his misconduct, Park said Chung described a dream in which God showed him he was a lampstand for this generation. Park said Chung also told her that God had shown him in the dream that he was not as bad as [Samuel] Lee, the FABC pastor who relocated to California after officials learned of his sexual abuse cases. Chung then discouraged her from reporting the incident to the authorities, Rhee said. These women didnt receive the justice that they deserve; they didnt receive the healing and professional help that they require.. For more information on water baptism, see the Christian and Missionary Alliance informationlink. Eight days in, the account creator announced in a post that she had created a Google form for stories from survivors. Susie An covers education for WBEZ. Every person has encountered situations in life that evoked an initial response of fear. Samuel Lee Pastor For Tap Mundy Park. Hophni and Phinehas were "good-for-nothing men . 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. The Bible says "the Lord remembered her," and she became pregnant. The Sacred Search Thursday Nights 6:30 PM Feb 2nd - Mar 23rd Location: FBAC She said it has taken many years and a lot of therapy to get to a place where she feels comfortable coming forward with her story. This story was produced for web by Katherine Nagasawa and Mary Hall. 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. Let us all . Tina Wei Smith thought her story was unique. The church, she said, has done whatever it can to be a good neighbor. How, if something happens you probably asked for it. Seven other charges followed, including the allegation that Chung had insisted on counseling the victim regularly after the incident, that he had sanitized and minimized his misconduct, tried to silence church members who found out about the incident, mishandled other womens reports of sexual assault, and that he helped Pastor Samuel Lee cover up his own sexual abuse. That board, along with the senior pastors, were selected to help govern CFC together, according to the Meet the Team page on the churchs website, accessed by WBEZ on May 24. Christ was so committed to the church that He gave His life for it, and then directed His apostles to establish local assemblies of believers everywhere. LUKE. 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. They said elements of evangelical Christianity, like patriarchy and purity culture, coupled with Confucian and Eastern values such as respect for elders and saving face, created a potent environment that ensnared young college students who were out on their own for the first time. The fastest way to destroy company culture is- 1. It is our desire to humbly listen, learn and grow so that we can be a healthier church moving forward, a church that changes lives and the world with the Gospel of Jesus.. The group also sought a separate investigation and disciplinary process for the associate pastors who handled the case after Chung told them about his misconduct. After seminary, he went to Kenya, East Africa to do missions work with the poor. 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.. 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (doors open at 9:00 a.m.) His greatest distinction was his role in the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. A special thank you to the team which has ably put them together, headed by Bishop Luke Pato: Canon . The one person to whom Chung seemed to listen was a character whose reputation preceded her: a mostly Korean-speaking older woman named Yu Dong Kim whom everyone called Jipsanim (deaconess in Korean). 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. For official denominational history, see Robert L. Niklaus, John S. Sawin, and Samuel J. Stoesz, All for Jesus: God at Work in the Christian and Missionary Alliance (Colorado Springs: The Christian and Missionary Alliance, 2013). Is there anything else I need to know? It was an inappropriate touch over the clothing. You probably wore something that made him think of you in a certain way., Miryung Fontijn recalled one particular message about sex that Chung delivered from the pulpit: He would say stuff like, Girls, you dont understand how much guys think about sex, but let me try to make it make sense for you. I shouldnt have been out that late. Sammy serves as the Pastor of Worship for Ridgeway New Rochelle. So it makes a lot of sense that women would find themselves really vulnerable and susceptible especially when you bring in language like forgiveness. . As an RSO, CFC would be able to recruit new freshmen each year. Instead of burying sexual assaults and abuse, Du Mez said, victims and families in religious settings should report cases to the proper authorities and seek support from professionals trained to help with the healing process. Sam serves as our pastor of Tapestry Mundy Park, a diverse and vibrant church plant in Coquitlam. Chung, Rhee said, gave me this confidence that he was going to take care of it.. Pastor Sam is abundantly blessed with a house full of godly women. have gospel-centered, fun environments for infants through 5th grade. WBEZ is using a pseudonym for Lin. Samuel Lee. We sent a list of questions and asked if Nam would point us to someone who could comment on the case. She said, Often, these churches are also kind of unified around the pastor and supporting the pastor. She added victims are often told it is unbiblical or un-Christian to take any problems to people outside the church. Forcing work from home. */. We have Guest Parking spaces reserved for your visit. 3. Lydia: Seller of Purple in the Book of Acts. Candis Lee said Chung asked them to bring him a Bible so they could look at some passages together. Over the next few weeks, the account creator and a few volunteers all of whom asked to be unnamed to preserve the anonymous nature of the forum read through the submissions and started posting them as text blocks. Dancing With The Holy Spirit. One KCP pastor, who spoke to WBEZ but asked not to be named in this story for fear of retribution, said that without the woman coming forward to give her account, the presbytery could only consider Chungs account. 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. DES PLAINES Des Plaines aldermen voted 6-2 Monday night to deny a conditional-use permit for the expansion of the 300-member Faith Alliance Bible Church at 382 S. Mt. Bible Gateway is a Christian, mission-centered enterprise, focused on making Scripture freely available on the Web in multiple languages and translations. The Human Rights Campaign reports on news, events and resources of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation that are of interest to the general public and further our common mission to support the LGBTQ+ community. Prospect Rd. B. Simpson organized a small group of believers devoted to experiencing Jesus in His fullness and making Him known to New York City's marginalized dock workers. This isnt normal.. The Alliance was birthed in 1881 when Pastor A. 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. Rumors began swirling that their reason for leaving had to do with an incident of sexual misconduct by Chung. Other CFC members who confronted Chung said they were told they were sinning by asking for transparency and accountability. 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. However, it quickly became clear that the Instagram account also became a place for survivors of sexual abuse to share their stories for the first time. Who are you accountable to? we were asking this question of Min, Sotelo remembered. While Chungs salary was always kept modest at one point as low as $6,000 per year many of his familys expenses were taken care of by the church, CFC alums and other benefactors who were close to Chung, Lay said. Dan and Candis Lee, former longtime members at CFC who are part of the allegation group, said they asked Chung for a meeting when they found out about his misconduct. How we respond makes all the difference. If we don't practice His Presence or know Him personally, fear can . He was constantly saying it was an issue that happened a long time ago. This podcast will unpack some of the cultural issues were facing and how we can continue to Fight the good fight of the faith (1 Tim. Chung was permitted, however, to preach outside of the church provided that he submit speaking engagement requests to the CFC pastoral staff. One pastor in particular KJ Kim, now CFCs sole remaining pastor was named numerous times in the allegation document. Alliance Bible Fellowship. Institutional injustice, reconciliation, and forgiveness are deeply felt issues in human experience. 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. 2 Sungwoo Nam, the presbyterys clerk, responded that the case was still ongoing and that he did not have permission to comment on it. Stop by our Guest Services area in our lobby if youd like more information. Some said she held strong views on women, insisting that they dress modestly and saying that when not if a husband strays in a marriage, women should be quick to forgive. Anna, Kristen . Back on the UIUC campus, Chung served as something of a patriarch to the hundreds of students at CFC. Stop by our Guest Services area in our lobby if youd like more information. Now I kind of almost think that nothing was done, that the whole point was that I would just shut up and not tell anybody and it would go away.. More. God's grace in all that we are. We also reached out to Samuel Lee via phone. Download . He was one of the few biblical characters to have a detailed birth narrative. Sources told WBEZ that the seeds of that culture were planted in the earliest days of CFC and allowed to grow due to the churchs structure, its revered leader and the exuberant and youthful flock he would attract. We would be happy to further explain the organization of Alliance Bible Church and expectations for membership. Smith went home for Christmas break and told her parents she needed help. TWO OLD PERSONS' LIFE OF FAITH Luke 1:1-25 Key Verse: 1:6 "Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blam.. INTRODUC. At Alliance Bible Church, weencourage a firm commitment to the local church. Search 320,000+ churches. Wong-Heffter added that one key facet of spiritual abuse is [using] tenets of faith as a way to gain access, and I would say, take over the mind and will of an individual.. In that conversation, Lin said, Chung did not advise her to report the abuse or to get counseling from a trained professional. #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; width:100%;font: 14px Raleway, sans-serif;} #mc_embed_signup input#mce-EMAIL,#mc_embed_signup .mc-field-group input {display: block;width: 100%;padding: 8px 0;text-indent: 1%;border: 1px solid #d9dddd;border-radius: 0px;line-height: 1;font-size: 16px;min-height: 42px;background-color: #f4f5f5!important;} #mc_embed_signup .mc-field-group { padding-bottom: 0;} #mc_embed_signup input#mc-embedded-subscribe { height: unset !important; } #mc_embed_signup div#mce-responses { padding: 0; margin: 0 0 20px 0; width: 100%; } #mc_embed_signup .mc-field-group label {margin-bottom: 6px;} #mc_embed_signup input#mce-EMAIL { width: 100% !important; } However, like a logo to a ball team, it does not determine that identity. The follower count for @letters_from_rahab would reach nearly 3,000, with thousands more from all over the world visiting the accounts resources page. I am a MSTM graduate from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign specialized in data analysis, management, project management, and customer service. 28th February 2023 @ Synod of Bishops. Chung also encouraged students to stay in the area beyond their four or five years in undergrad at UIUC, according to many former CFC members who talked to WBEZ. WBEZ requested interviews with KJ Kim and with members of the Oversight Board. Rev. Living Stone Christian Church. CFC referred to Covenant Fellowship Church, a predominantly Asian American church on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). . That is certainly not what I would call [Chungs misconduct]., Janet Park, who first confronted Chung in 2009, said, We tried to do it the right way, through the presbytery, and they basically slapped his hand., For Owen Lee, the pastor in Northern Virginia, the KCPs determination comes as no surprise. And he said, Im accountable to Jesus. Sotelo said Chung told the officers that he did not need an elder board and that the officers themselves could keep him accountable, as well a notion that rang hollow for students and young adults. My hope would be that she would have people that would tell her right away that it wasnt her fault, Rhee said, in tears. The church, well known among Asian Christians in the Chicago area, particularly Korean Americans, also attracts students from all over the country and the world. Some members of the church are lawyers who thought the church could win a legal battle over the issue, Lee said. The Christian and Missionary Alliance are claiming in court documents the land and building belongs to it and is valued at about $75,000. Lee said his 300-member congregation, which has grown by an estimated 20 percent annually during the past several years, hopes to break ground on the addition by September. The church donation came soon after a new preacher came to Lee in the 80s. When Smith went to her area pastor for help, she said he was very kind, but without resources or training. Smith said he told her that they were speaking to [the CFC member who raped her] and confronting him and that they were counseling him. She said her area pastor also made her feel responsible for what happened. Pastor Sam made a decision to follow Jesus Christ in High School, a decision he is thankful for everyday of his life. Lee Greenwood said that this weekend, as he performs for Americans, he'll be reflecting "on those moments when it was so tragic for all of us, on 9/11." "And thank God for sports events," added . #GodStories are about lives transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Although you are welcome to attend without obligation, we encourage you to learn about us and theChristian & Missionary Alliance (C&MA). Samuel Lee was a notable Puritan divine who was close to John Wilkins (see catalogue nos. Said Wong-Heffter: If a kind of sexual assault happened in a workplace, you have human resources. The church has also hired a consulting group albeit one with personal ties to Chung, according to sources to conduct a survey about CFCs culture. Sam Lee (Pastor/Elder) Sam has been serving MBC as a pastor since July 2020. . She talked about how in late 2003, a male member of CFC took her out to the bars, provided her with a fake ID, got her drunk and then raped her. 158 Myers Corners Rd. 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. 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. In turn, the Lord and Samuel anoint young David as the next king (1 Samuel 16). Its Asian churches that operate with a similar culture, saving face, shame, she said. Samuel had compassion for God's people. 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. Then, Chung stepped in front of church members and read an apology, according to the recording. But it is also a story about the lifelong impact of sexual assault, the trauma experienced by survivors, and the actions they are now taking to advocate for themselves and to seek justice on behalf of others. Im doing a good thing. But after a while you realize this isnt healthy. Website: www.allianceofbaptists.org. His sermons very rarely were they boring or dry. Check out our Events Page. It can be a place where you feel connection. Sammy serves as the Pastor of Worship for Ridgeway New Rochelle. Youre up at 6 in the morning to go to work, but then [there is] church stuff [afterwards], Marah Sotelo said. 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. "If things go well, the whole new plan could come before the Council early in July," Sayad said. It's a church with more than 200,000 devoted followers promised salvation from Armageddon. Bill Winston Ministries invites you to an exclusive Women's event. Trinity Annual Conference 47th Session. 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. Samuel cared for Saul and served as an instructor to him in his early years of kingship (1 Samuel 9:25 . Alliance Bible Church is a gospel-centered, biblically-grounded church whose core mission is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ locally and globally. The directive for this fellowship is provided by scriptures that emphasize a unity for God's people. She locked the door and remained inside until he left. When they asked him to share his side of the story, Chung spoke about the incident in the third person, Dan Lee said. WBEZ reached out to the KCP via email in June. 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. Send an EMAIL Click Here. 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. Customizable sermon manuscripts for verse-by-verse preaching. -CFC survivor.. samuel@ridgewaychurch.com. It is a story about sexual abuse, spiritual abuses or the misuse of power within the church, the alleged mishandling of those abuses, and a culture of piety and shame that sought to keep it all hidden for nearly three decades. Samuel is a Nazarite. 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. He later confessed to sexual abuse charges and both his Ministry License and Ordination were permanently revoked under Christian and Missionary Alliance Formal Discipline process in 2003.. Criminal acts were committed against these women. Later renamed Covenant Fellowship Church, the group would function as a church but also as a campus organization. Victims of assault or abuse submitted stories from within their suburban churches in the Chicago area and beyond to the @letters_from_rahab Instagram page. Some who spoke to WBEZ said that when they sought help from church leaders who were CFC alums, they were told boys will be boys or that they should simply forgive their perpetrators. The account had about 20 followers at the time. 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.. Many have said they still wonder if they bore some responsibility for what happened to them. Lin said the area pastor was sympathetic and that he suggested she speak to Chung. She said she asked him what would happen if she got pregnant, and he replied, Well, youre going to have to leave school., After leaving the conversation, I was like, Well, I guess Im on my own, Lin said. On July 13, 2021, the KCP held a special meeting to discuss and vote on a complaint filed by a group of pastors who were dissatisfied with the presbyterys April determination and sought to indefinitely suspend Chung from ministry. Litt.D., 70, called by God and dedicated his entire life for Bible Korea and world mission as a student evangelist and shepherd in University Bible Fellowship; went to the Kingdom of When Chung found out about his friend and fellow pastor, he discouraged various parties from reporting the incidents to FABCs elder board, according to sources knowledgeable about the situation. "The church has demonstrated a willingness to adjust its plans and be reasonable about the way they've looked at this," Wiltse said.