At the end of the day, I know what I know. The cases at Grace Community Church land in a larger debate around what qualifies as abuse and whether Christians should prioritize reconciliation in abuse cases, with the church and its seminary holding a prominent place among conservative biblical counselors and the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). Instead, he discovered they appeared to be repeating them. [ This article is also available in Church attorneys fought back, filing a motion to have the injunction lifted and the contempt request dismissed, citing two U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The $400,000 for the churchs legal fees will come out of the L.A. County Department of Public Health budget. Professor Margaret M. Russell of the Santa Clara University School of Law said the countys decision to settle was pretty pragmatic.. Shannon is among the leaders who did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. Certain parallels to Eileen Gray were immediately clear to him. These allegations specifically came from areportwritten by investigative journalist Julie Roys, the founder of the Christian media outletThe Roys Report. According to the GCC website, Shannon continues to provide formal and informal counseling to members, teach the churchs premarital and marriage seminar, and preach sermons for an adult small group. All women are invited to join us as we resume our study in the gospel of John. . Cho, the former elder, said that at this stage, elders must unanimously approve cases that go before the church body a few times a year, during monthly Communion services. "The church is not only a building but is the bride of Christ and exists to proclaim the truth.". Copyright 2023 Grace Community Church. This was the fifth time the Supreme Court had rejected the lower courts analysis in a case involving Californias COVID-19 restrictions on freedom of religion, the majority opinion noted. Of the $8,000 in fines the county has levied for violating the public health orders, Grace Community Church has paid $6,500. His appeals drew from Scripture, sometimes quoting more than 20 verses on reconciliation, wrongdoing, and justicelike James 4:17: Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin (NASB 1995). Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, violated the Constitutions protection of the free exercise of religion. Contact. Cho and his wife resigned their membership the next day. Read More Grace Community Church in Sun Valley has been in a legal battle with L.A. County and the state after the church defied COVID-19 mandates prohibiting indoor worship services. I need to fear God instead of man. Image: Video screengrab via Vimeo / Grace Community Church / Religion News Service via AP. Would my sharing sooner have brought about change at Grace Community Church or other churches who follow their leadership model? He then quibbled with media reports that the church had experienced multiple COVID-19 outbreaks. Aug. 25, 2020 4:37 PM PT. A declaration from the other pastor and elder, Brad Klassen, said that the woman came to him concerned about pictures taken by her husband but that she didnt have evidence of the abuse. Thousands of maskless congregants gather weekly at Grace Community Church as Pastor John MacArthur ignores orders from a judge and public health officials. Contact the City News Service newsroom at 310-481-0404 or news@socalnews.com. Childrens Ministry has been actively planning for Vacation Bible School, and we invite you to join us! "After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that some public health safety measures could not apply to houses of worship, resolving this litigation is the responsible and appropriate thing to do," the county's counsel said in a statement. The Essential Church is an upcoming feature-length documentary that traces the history of governmental assaults on the church, both ancient and modern. It's Not the Role of Government to Protect Us From Apps, Don't Put Tiktok Out of Business Based on Hypotheticals, Biden Admin Uses Trump's Own Words to Blast McCarthy's Wall St. We need to worship. Then, on Feb. 5, the high court struck down the indoor worship ban while allowing caps on attendance and a ban on singing, according to the churchs attorneys. According to Cho, who served as the board secretary and was responsible for taking notes, MacArthur replied during the March meeting that the comparison didnt apply to Eileen Gray. Over almost 17 years of membership there, Cho met his wife, began teaching the Word, and rose to leadership on the churchs board of elders . the state of California would also pay $400,000. Its reporting and editing staff cover public safety, courts, local government and general assignment stories. The church filed its lawsuit on the grounds that the restrictions infringed on religious freedom. My job was not to rile [my husband] up., While the woman was hospitalized due to her husbands physical abuse, Shannon called her and advised her to go home without calling police, she told CT. At times, the torment at home was bad enough that she worried she was going to die, but she said she was told that her situation may be Gods will for your life.. Heres why we do it. John 19:1642 | The Crucifixion of Jesus. Sign up for our newsletter: Patricia and I enjoyed our own bout with COVID for about a week and a half, said MacArthur, who was absent from the pulpit late December. Gray had refused to follow leaders counsel to lift a restraining order against her abusive husband, David Gray. Current and former elders had also raised concerns about Shannons incompetent counsel. Until now, Cho had not publicly spoken about the circumstances that led to him leaving GCC and his advocacy efforts since. By Gods amazing grace, the truth of His Word has sounded forth from Grace Community Church throughout five decades of faithful preaching. The victims were regularly quoted Scriptures on forgiveness, trust, love, and submissionand were told to reconcile and return home even in cases where they feared for their safety and their childrens safety. Because the county subsequently allowed indoor church services to resume amid declining COVID-19 infection rates, county lawyers later said they wanted the church and pastor found in contempt only on the masking and social distancing issues and for the preliminary injunction to be enforced for 25% indoor capacity. In the first meeting with Bill Shannon, it was made known that my safety was not the No. This mutualization of sin can take place in church settings where both parties are asked to confess and seek forgiveness from each other. As a lawyer and one of four officers on the elder board at Grace Community Church (GCC), Cho was asked to study the case. Sun Valley church cites Supreme Court in saying LA County can't stop indoor services. She blogs at The Migraine Runner. Jaclyn Cosgrove is an assistant editor at the Los Angeles Times. Whenever he met with or saw elders in person, the case came up in discussion. Top leaders at the church became defensive, he said, and wanted to protect MacArthur. MacArthur said that both he and his wife "enjoyed" a bout with the virus at the time. Yet, as Cho brought up in his letters to key elders last year, a string of women over the past decade said they received different counsel at his church when they feared for their safety or their childrens safety. Attorneys representing MacArthur filed a suit in August 2020 against California Gov. Sign in. Responding to Roys report,MacArthursaid, I have never heard or seen any evidence indicating that any of the people on that list believe they were infected with COVID-19 in some gathering at Grace Community Church. In Sun Valley, congregants filling Grace Community Church's 3,500-seat . California and Los Angeles County have agreed to pay a church that repeatedly defied Governor Gavin Newsom's public health restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic $800,000 in a legal settlement. But the church contended that it was following safety precautions, including requiring masks and social distancing. 914 talking about this. County attorneys were not available for comment. In February, after Barrett joined, the court lifted Californias ban on indoor religious services, while allowing capacity restrictions as well as restrictions on singing and chanting. for less than $4.25/month. Last year, when he questioned the decision to discipline Eileen Gray, he said fellow elders suggested they just trust the previous leaders who affirmed it. Often, we view the church as something we attend or a place we go, rather than something we are. They made me look differently at men. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court partly lifted restrictions on religious services in California, blocking a total ban but leaving in place a 25 percent capacity restriction and a prohibition on singing and chanting. Grace Community Church in Sun Valley (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) By Ryan Carter | rcarter@scng.com | Daily News PUBLISHED: August 31, 2021 at 11:23 a.m. | UPDATED . Cho said MacArthur had been warned about the concerns but has defended Shannon and kept him in the same position. After leaving, he kept contacting top leaders at Grace, asking questions and offering to discuss his concerns privately. A website for the conference, which was geared toward evangelical men, had pointed attendees to hotels and promised a full lineup of speakers in English, Russian and Spanish, as well as continental breakfast and lunch. People arrive for the Sunday 8:30 a.m. service at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley on Dec. 20, 2020. Grace Church is involved in several important educational programs that provide multiple pathways to raising children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. One couple said they observed a counseling session where Shannon failed to advise a member of their family to report a man who had confessed to an incident of child molestation; he also did not direct her to leave him, since he hadnt been convicted. Though Cho stepped down quietly, he continued to hear from other women from his former church. They left me brokenhearted. I cannot un-know it, and I am in fact accountable before God for this knowledge, and if you have labored mightily to read this far, you are now accountable before God for it as well.. The church was sued by the county for not following restrictions including a since-rescinded ban on indoor worship, while the church also sued the county and the state over the restrictions. The postponement came after county health officials had said they were exploring their legal options in response to the conference. Over the next few weeks, our church family has the opportunity to partner with CHF; heres how yo. Staff and members of Grace Community Church, which is led by Pastor John MacArthur, say multiple people have been infected with COVID-19 but those with knowledge of the cases are being pressured to remain silent, according to a new report. His review, drawing from his legal background and training, became part of an initial internal investigation. This year we are studying the Gospel of John, one of the most cherished books in all Scripture. Browse 60+ years of magazine archives and web exclusives. Los Angeles County officials had said that the Shepherds Conference was not a religious service, but a prohibited indoor gathering. M-F 8:00 am-5:00 pm 818-909-5500 . Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Mayor Bass seeks $250-million expansion of homelessness program in first State of the City speech, Column: Trump and the NRA might be right about guns and we mostly have ourselves to blame, The LAPD has lost nearly 1,000 officers. Its a reflection of how the pastor has been groomed, Singer said. But those admissions mean you need to make it right with the person you wronged; that is utterly basic Christianity.. Celebrating 45 Years of Worship with Stephen Sturz, Planting Gospel Seeds: An Invitation to Serve Our Children, A Shared Calling: Church-Based Pastoral Training, The Entrusted: The Convictions and Legacy of John MacArthur. But when issues persisted and escalated, they sought help and counsel on what else could be done. The pastor shared in his statement that the handful of congregants who were hospitalized and/or died from COVID-19 from within GCCs 6,000-plus attendees did not get infected at Grace Community Church, because they were not attending services. MacArthur pointed out these people had prior medical conditions and were following strict protocols to avoid getting sick by staying home. Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. At the conference last March, Cho taught on Conscience and Conviction. He spent the rest of the year living out the lesson. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to authorize a $400,000 payment to settle a legal battle with Grace Community Church over lead pastor John MacArthurs defiance of COVID-19 restrictions in the early months of the pandemic. Grace Community Church will be paid $800,000 by Los Angeles County and the state of California after reaching a legal settlement to a lawsuit over COVID-19 restrictions in churches. This meeting is open to our church family. Wednesday, April 19, 2023 Grace Community Church congregants make their way to Sunday service in Sun Valley last September. This agreement, county officials said, was reached in the context of the US Supreme Courts decision in February that told California it couldnt enforce a ban on indoor worship because of the coronavirus pandemic. 818-909-5500. Please login or create an account to use this feature, Learn More | Livestream | Bulletin In Eileen Grays case, overseen by then-associate executive pastor Carey Hardy and involving GCCs longtime pastor of counseling Bill Shannon, he found evidence of mistreatment, bias, and errors in how they handled the case. MacArthur considers church discipline a distinctive at Grace Community Church, where elders follow guidelines taken from Matthew 18first confronting the accused privately, and then with another witness, before publicly announcing cases of discipline that have made it to the third stage of the process, when unrepentance would preclude a member from participating in the Lords Supper. Los Angeles County modified its restrictions to allow indoor worship in December, while most statewide restrictions that applied to churches had been eliminated by mid-June. See for more info . If you have ever felt like most worship music sounds the same, it may be because the worship music is written by just a handful of songwriters.. As we explore this vital account of the incarnation, ministry, and atoning work of . Statutes, the county argued, give local health authorities to act, in part with authority granted by the countys Board of Supervisors. Some did and dismissed its findings anyway. ]. Welcome to Every Womans Grace! The elders had publicly disciplined a woman for refusing to take back her husband. Ellis at the time was also senior legal advisor for President Donald Trumps re-election campaign. Call to prayer on Sunday evenings, 5:00-5:50 PM in the Hive (H114). On Monday, members of the House Judiciary Committee met in New York for a hearing on violent crime in the city. Age discrimination, How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Rainn Wilson, Schiff reports major cash advantage over Porter and Lee in Senate race, The Ultimate L.A. Bookshelf: 110 essential Los Angeles books, This exclusive island town might be Californias biggest violator of affordable housing law, Despite storms, many Californians are still coping with dry wells and awaiting fixes, Column: Lefties never liked Dianne Feinstein. Immediately after last years coverage in The Roys Report, she said, she learned of even more testimonies of mishandled abuse. The church never retracted its discipline or apologized in the 20 years since. After the US Supreme Court ruled that some public health safety measures could not apply to houses of worship, resolving this litigation is the responsible and appropriate thing to do, read a statement from county officials. California's Grace Community Church announced that Los Angeles County health officials have cleared the congregation of causing a COVID outbreak this summer. Editors note: Over the years, some readers have wondered why we publish evidence of wrongdoing by ministry leaders otherwise doing good in the world. A woman reported that church leaders had advised her to move back in with her husband and not get a restraining order despite his documented grooming behaviors, infidelity, and angry outbursts. MacArthur claimed that the pandemic was a government plot to control Christians, according to the Times. Pete Singer, the executive director of GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment), said seeing faith leaders defend a perpetrator in court was part of what prompted prosecutor Boz Tchividjian to start the organization in the first place. Image: Edits by Christianity Today / Source Image: WikiMedia Commons. In his opinion, the bodys immune system along with faith works better than a vaccine. He hoped Grace Community Church would look back at Eileen Grays case and reconsider the evidence that vindicated her. 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