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3/18/2019 12:47 PM
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Evangelical financialgroup suspendsHarvest Bible Chapel'saccreditation
An evangelical organization that sets standards for how church'shandle donations, pay leaders and other financial matters hassuspended its accreditation of Harvest Bible Chapel.( Daily Herald File Photo )
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Even as Harvest Bible Chapel(https://www.harvestbiblechapel.org/2019/03/02/faq/)attempts to recover from scandal, its leaders are facing morenegative news.
The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability(http://www.ecfa.org/About.aspx) announced last week itsuspended its accreditation of Harvest, while it investigateswhether the church violated the organization's core principles.
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In its announcement, the organization said it launched aninvestigation of Harvest Nov. 28, and after an on-site visit inDecember, believed the church was in compliance.
But it has received new information, it said, that has it concernedthe church "may be in serious violation" of four standards ofstewardship.
"The investigation has been and will remain ongoing during thesuspension as we work to determine whether Harvest BibleChapel should be terminated, advised of the steps necessary tocome into full compliance or whether they are in fact incompliance with our standards and should, therefore, be restoredto full membership," council President Dan Busby said in anannouncement of the suspension.
The standards (http://www.ecfa.org/Standards.aspx) requirethat every organization be governed by a responsible board of notless than five individuals, a majority of whom are independent;prepare complete and accurate financial statements; exerciseappropriate management and controls to provide reasonableassurance that all of the organization's operations are carried outin a responsible manner; and set compensation of its top leaderin a manner that demonstrates integrity and propriety.
The statement did not provide details about Harvest's suspectedviolations.
Efforts to reach Harvest officials Sunday were unsuccessful.
However, an interim leadership team has announced that thechurch is opening a new bank account to handle members' tithes,and the money will be used only for ministry expenses, "bankingobligations" and staff salaries. None of it will be directed to the
senior pastor's office, or to items in past budgets, the church'swebsite says.
It also announced that donations recently have decreased 40percent. As a result, the church will reduce its weekly operatingexpense by 25 percent, from $409,000 a week to $308,000 aweek. It did not say how it would do so.
And, in response to questions from parishioners, it says thatalthough two of the church's sites were bought by congregantsand leased to the church, no leaders of the church, includingfounder and former senior pastor James MacDonald, have anyownership in those corporations.
Allegations regarding church finances have surfaced on socialmedia, blogs and in reporting by Julie Roys(http://julieroys.com), who was one of five people the church andMacDonald sued in October, claiming they had defamed Harvest.The church dropped the suit after a Cook County judge refused toprohibit the defendants from publishing church documents theyreceived as a result of subpoenas.
Last month, the church dismissed MacDonald as senior pastorand members of the elder board announced they would stepdown. Longtime Assistant Senior Pastor Rick McDonald laterwas placed on leave and pastors Luke and Landon MacDonald,James MacDonald's sons, resigned.
The church says it is attempting to change, and reconcile withpeople who may have been wronged.
The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability
(http://www.ecfa.org/About.aspx) was founded 40 years ago as avoluntary organization that aims to ensure that churches andother Christian organizations follow certain accounting,fundraising and governing practices, to give donors confidencetheir donations are being handled responsibly and spent asintended. Local organizations that belong include WheatonCollege, Willow Creek Community Church, the Moody BibleInstitute and Christ Community Church of St. Charles. Nationalorganizations including the Billy Graham Association also areaccredited by the organization.
Related Coverage
Topics in this ArticleEvangelical Council, James MacDonald, Harvest Bible Chapel, Billy GrahamAssociation, Wheaton College, Moody Bible Institute, Christ CommunityChurch, Willow Creek Community Church, Luke, Cook county, Julie Roys, DanBusby, St. Charles, Rick McDonald, Landon MacDonald
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