Read Part One HERE
In this post I will begin to share the story of Lina's abuse by James Macdonald, pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, Rolling Meadows, Illinois, USA. (He has since been fired).
Lina: "I attended Harvest Bible Chapel for 8 years and served as the Women's Ministry Director. A year or so before leaving Harvest I had written a blog post on holiness in which I had referenced the growing fad of tattoos in our culture. I hadn't realised that James had gotten a tattoo that week. My blog had indirectly underminded James. As a result I was asked to meet with the elders, pull the blog piece and write a new one that James would first approve. James ended up sending me a copy of the newly approved blog post and out of fear, I complied. I didn't want to be rebellious against authority. I also managed to write an apology to James for the pain I had caused him. I regret staying at Harvast after that meeting with the elders. I should have left that week, but I was too afraid to cause damage to Jesus and His Kingdom and the women I was leading at that time."
Lina: "By the time I left I had discovered something dark about myself. I was a woman ruled by fear. I didn't want to upset James."
Lina: "There is no question in my mind that what I did see and experience increasingly at Harvest was a culture that functioned and was sustained by fear and the desire to please James at any cost."
P.S. I will comtinue the story of Lina's abuse at Harvest Bible Chapel in my next post.
Read Part Six HERE
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