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By Mancow MullerSpecial to the Daily Herald

Updated

1/25/201911:54 AM

Straight from the Source »

Mancow:Speaking mytruth toHarvest BibleChapel'sPastor James

Harvest Bible Chapel Pastor JamesMacDonald, left, and Mancow Muller at amen's retreat in Michigan.( courtesy of Mancow Muller )

Editor’s note: WLS radio personalityMancow Muller of Wilmette hasattended Harvest Bible Chapel since2014 and been friends since 2016 with

Suburban Chicago's Information Source

founding pastor James MacDonald, anationally known church leader andpreacher. Muller has been outspoken inrecent weeks about the controversy atthe suburban network of megachurchesthat led to MacDonald suing critics fordefamation and then withdrawing thesuit when it became clear he wouldhave to reveal internal documentsabout the church. The episode led toMacDonald taking what he calls a“sabbatical” to reflect in Naples,Florida, where Harvest has a church.The quotations pulled out withinMuller’s essay below were selected byMuller himself.

"Do you worship Jesus Christ or JamesMacDonald?" I asked someone yellingat me over the phone this past Sundayafter I dared go to Harvest churchagain.

Dumbstruck to silence. Nothing."Exactly," I said, "you can't answerme." The phone went dead.

Last time I checked, the Bible saysJesus is the "author and finisher of ourfaith" and that should be our focus --not Pastor James MacDonald.

"For it is time for Judgment to beginwith God's household ..."

1 Peter 4:17

MacDonald's books line my shelves.His CDs are scattered about my car. Ihave only one Bible, but so muchJames MacDonald.

Two of my recent vacations have beenwith him, including one halcyon daywhere he baptized me in the JordanRiver in the Holy Land of Israel.

At Harvest Bible Chapel, with itsnetwork of seven Chicago-areacampuses run by MacDonald, I wasbut one of the many thousands seekingChrist. I wanted my twin daughtersand my formerly Catholic wife to havea real, living and current relationshipwith Jesus Christ just as I have.

Dressed in a weathered black leatherjacket covering his hulking frame,snow-white Van Dyke beard andgleaming bald dome, MacDonaldmakes for a striking figure at thepulpit. His Bible-based sermons aresome of the most entertaining you'llhear. You leave one of his services on aSunday jazzed and revved up for theweek ahead.

His preaching is good for the soul andgood for the community.

Big questions are asked and answeredat Harvest. Is there a God? Do Imatter? What happens after we die?Everyone says the same thing whenthey witness his command of the altar."What a gift he has!" But gifts are easyto abuse, easy to take for granted.

It's taxing to be a pastor, I'd imagine.Everybody watching your every move,your private life always on view. Butthat's just the way it is when youaccept the yoke of ministry. It's whyI've never pursued my lifelong dreamof Bible thumping live.

Let me be clear: Wanting to dosomething isn't the same as having"the calling" from God. I believe PastorJames had a calling. It's also why hewas fascinated with me. I'm able totalk about anything and everything,and my performances don't come fromone source. It must be a challenge andfrustrating to him to be giving basicallythe same message endlessly. Andmaybe that's why he's just playingvideotapes of his sermons more andmore rather than preaching live thesedays.

But while I traffic in trivia and kitsch,he is answering the most importantquestion on earth: Why are we here?

Harvest Bible Chapel Pastor James MacDonald,right, and Mancow Muller. - courtesy of MancowMuller

As a man with a reputation dating backto the 1990s as the wild man ofChicago radio, I expect people to beweary of the spirit-filled side of me. Iget it. I also don't care. Jesus ofNazareth hung with an assortment offringe characters, so why couldn'tPastor James MacDonald be myfriend? We had many wonderful times.I love the guy. He's got a brilliant mindand a sense of humor that is world-caliber. He remembers everything.

His advice put me "on the sunny side"

and kept me on the right path morethan once.

But he also created THIS: a culture ofauthoritarianism, secrecy,intimidation, outlandish fundraisingexpectations, poor financial controlsand debt.

He taught me forgiveness, trust, beingauthentic and taking a stand for what'sright. Some of those around himremind me of Wormtongue in theTolkien novels -- telling him whateversweet half-truths he wishes to hear.

"Iron sharpens iron," as it says inProverbs 27:17. Real men tell theirChristian brethren like it is; we "actlike men." So here goes!

I have prayed and sought highercounsel in writing this. I believe PastorJames MacDonald would urge me towrite this.

Sometimes it's impossible to separatethe man from his ministry. Like thetwo faces of Janus, he is a man of greatcomplexities. Unfortunately, he and

his caldron of yes men have lost theirway. Nobody can put on the brakesnow. Nobody but Pastor himself.

He has it set up so only Pastor Jamescan fire Pastor James. That's the law ofthe church! Only he can fire himself.How sick is that?

It was cultlike when Pastor James andelders instructed us to not listen to"outside noise" (meaning no news orblogs criticizing Pastor). And I didn't.

Harvest Bible Chapel Pastor James MacDonaldbaptizes Mancow Muller in the Jordan RiverIsrael. - courtesy of Mancow Muller

But then I couldn't understand manyof his tearful conversations with me. Itold him repeatedly I felt like Mr.

Magoo wandering around blindly.Who were all these people that wereout to get him? What were they lyingabout? How were they attacking ourchurch? "If they are lying, you mustfight back!" I told him: "Get ahead ofthis thing!"

I gave him the number of my lawyer.

He then decided to sue some of hiscritics and one pesky reporter who wasasking difficult questions.

He told me that simply by suing hisdetractors he would win becausepeople would be afraid to talk abouthim for fear of a lawsuit.

When I read the lawsuit online, mystomach sank. To me it seemed as if itwere written by Pastor JamesMacDonald himself. Still I continuedto believe "God is good and willprevail" and "all things work togetherfor the good."

I really believe that is happening evennow. I believe we must "speak thetruth with love" like Paul instructs usin the Bible.

"We are on God's side and we will

win!" I argued with someone justweeks ago. "Are you so sure? Have youheard the whole story?"

When this ostrich finally pulled hishead out, it was a revelation.

Truth is a defense. This was not goingto work out so well for Pastor Jamesafter all, I feared.

"Don't you feel small? It happens to usall."

The Moody Blues

When he seemed shocked about thisthing called "discovery" in a court case,the writing was on the wall. He wouldreveal nothing! The case was droppedimmediately.

In a long, rambling text I receivedfrom Pastor James the next day, I felt Iwas basically blamed for all the badthat has happened to him -- a patternI've seen over and over. It's never hisfault. He is always without blame. AndI'm an easy villain to cast in the KabukiTheater production that is his life. ButI gave advice -- and my lawyer's

number -- based on what I considernow to be mostly lies.

He was hurt and I was crestfallen.

But Pastor James often uses tears tomanipulate. I don't buy it anymore.

Nobody buys it anymore.

Harvest Bible Chapel Pastor James MacDonald,right, and Mancow Muller, center, at a churchretreat in Michigan. - courtesy of Mancow Muller

I believe Jesus Christ was the son ofGod in human form. Crucified. Buried.He rose again and will still yet return. Iwanted only Jesus, but I got the bonusplan of wicked church politics anddrama.

Now it's been suggested by an elder atthe Rolling Meadows campus and by

some parishioners that it would bebest if I not return to Harvest.

The pain from this I've learned is alltoo familiar with far too many. "Askquestions or step out of line and youare out!" I'm easy to cast aside, but mykids? My sweet wife? Families arebeing hurt. This is wrong. My familyloves Pastor James. How do I explainthis to my kids?

I believe hell is a real place ofunending torment. I would giveeverything I own to keep just oneperson out of that place. When peopleleave Harvest, oftentimes they nevergo to any church ever again. So when itcomes to souls on the line, I felt I mustspeak up. As I've said, I believe PastorJames wants this. He wants someoneto speak truth to him.

Some questions I would ask of PastorJames (or whoever else is reallyrunning things) if they would listen:

Why is Harvest $42 million in debt, asthe church has stated on its website?

Pastor James and a fundraising

campaign called Closer asked me todonate $3 million recently. Thisseemed rather tone-deaf to me becauseI was unemployed at the time. Thenumber kept shrinking until I wasasked if I could at least sell all of mymemories (in the form of mymemorabilia) and give that money toHarvest. My weakness was sickening. Iwish I had said something moreaggressive about how awful it was.Instead, I just sat there with a stupidsmile on my face.

"Why don't you sell your Harley?" Ijoked with Pastor James, trying tolighten the mood. "No," he responded,"I like my motorcycle ... but if youdon't give, see who is more blessed --me or you."

Pastor James and others suggestedthat I buy a house in Naples, Florida,where Harvest has a church and wherehe sits in exile, and then leave it to thechurch when I die.

"What about my family?" I asked."Wouldn't I leave my house to my owndaughters?"

No answer.

Who really owns all the land, thechurches and the camp in Michigan?

Why the years of him lying about hishouse? I've been in it numerous timesand it's not that extravagant. Own upto it!

(He even asked me to move next door.)

"When I show them around my house,to my bed. I had it made like amountain range with a snow-whitepillow for my big fat head. And myheaven will be a big heaven, and I willwalk through the front door. Big time!"

Peter Gabriel

If anyone came to Pastor James withany problem, would he ever instructthem to lie? No! That's never been myexperience. So why call the long-planned, paid vacation to Naples,Florida, a "sabbatical" and "a time ofenforced self-reflection?"

When it comes to Pastor James, it'sbetter to do as he preaches and notalways what he practices.

Will Harvest lift all nondisclosure

agreements that employees are forcedto sign and let them out of theseprisons of silence and allow them tofinally tell what actually has gonewrong?

When Pastor John Secrest asked forhis church back in Naples, why wasn'tit given back to him immediately? Isn'tthat the right thing to do?

Why bother having church "elders"when, like a marionette quartet, theyhave no power whatsoever over puppetmaster James from what I can tell?

The service I attended this pastSunday basically began with "Theelders and Pastor James agree that ..."Uh oh!

"He's still calling the shots fromNaples just like Capone from prison,"whispered the guy next to me.

Why is it every time Harvest fires,kicks out or excommunicates someonethey say it's "covered in love?" How isthat "covered in love?" It creeps meout.

Paul tells us in the Bible to "avoid the

very appearance of evil." Harvest hasfailed.

Pastor James should come home andface his church family and stop thisgame of charades. The so-called"elders" must all be fired. An outsidetruly independent group, not picked bythe MacDonald clan, must be broughtin.

Parishioners should stop giving theirhard-earned money because Harvestwill not change until we stop fundingthis madness.

Pastor James taught me throughProverbs 17:17 that "a brother wasborn for a time of adversity."

A friend shows love by speaking truth.I'm giving my truth now.

I pray this message reaches him onvacation in Florida.

This past Sunday we were instructed to"pray for Pastor James."

"Really?" I thought. "I am praying forhim as always, but what about praying

for the people?"

EGO = Edge God Out. He's alreadygotten enough attention.

"When will thou save the people? Oh,God of Mercy, when? Not kings andlords, but nations. Not thrones andcrowns, but men."

Godspell

We are instructed by Christ thatforgiving someone 70 times 7 is justthe beginning. We need to pray formore forgiveness and less litigation.

And while we're at it, how aboutpraying for those who have been yelledat and browbeaten? You know, themeek?

Pray for those of us who donate 10percent of our income and would liketo know where the money really goes.Pray for those outside the faith whowill never come to salvation because ofhow this appears to them.

What about praying for those brokensouls scorned by Pastor James thatthey may realize before it's too late

that Pastor James is just a man and asinner and shouldn't be used as ascapegoat when rejecting God?

For a great many, it's time for the cultof personality of James MacDonald atHarvest chapter to close and the actualBible to be opened again.

I'm doing this without malice orbitterness, although I've had gusts ofboth. As a Christian, I learned fromPastor James to stand up for what'sright, which is the gospel of JesusChrist.

"Gospel" means "good news." All of usat Harvest are ready for a little goodnews.

Isn't it time for Pastor JamesMacDonald to face his church beforehe meets Our Maker?

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