Yes, he is back already armed with a horrible "apology."

::::::::

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. -- 1Timothy 3:2-3 (ESV)

https://www.charismanews.com/us/78747-james-macdonald-issues-my-repentance-announces-he-s-joining-new-church-as-preacher

We see it all the time. A popular and successful pastor resigns in disgrace only to magically reappear months later claiming repentance or some sense of piety that will generate the waves of forgiveness chatter that will grease the skids for their return to ministry. Mark Driscoll stole $250,000 in tithes to cheat the NY Times Best Seller List and bragged about the people he victimized in ministry by referring to them as "the pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill bus" he was driving. Within a year he had a sparkly new church to abuse and is back on the writing circuit as if any Christian should ever want to hear what he has to say again. Do you remember Ted Haggard? He was the head of the National Association of Evangelicals over a decade ago and used his pulpit to rail against homosexuality while he was secretly carrying on a decades long relationship with a male prostitute he did crystal meth with. While Driscoll slinked away in the night to start his new church in a different state than the one he had just destroyed, Haggard just opened a new church in the very same state. He is still pastor there to this day. Tullian Tchividjian has just started his new church after declaring that his affair with a congregant a few years back was not abuse because she consented to it. This is the sad state of the apostate church today. Sinners in the world are villainized at every turn while those who are clearly disqualified from ministry are rushed back into the pulpit to generate money for the Purpose Driven Industrial Complex.

Before we get to MacDonald, let's deal with the notion of forgiveness and restoration. Christians are and should be the most forgiving people on the planet because we understand what Jesus forgave of us. When Driscoll, Tchividjian, or Haggard fell, no one was rooting for their eternal demise. Restoration however is related to their walk, not their ministry. The bigger issue each man faced was their need for personal repentance, not that they lost their job. I just do not understand why we cannot follow the bible. The key verse is just the first portion of the qualifications of a pastor. Reproach simply means disapproval or disappointment. All three of the examples discussed will always be remembered for what they did in the authority positions within the church. That is not unforgiveness. The issue is not fairness to the disgraced pastor but rather fairness to the body of Christ. It is also to avoid the obvious appearance of rabid hypocrisy which will not be missed by the lost. There is real damage to the witness for Christ and the cause of the Gospel. So forgive? Absolutely. Restored in their walk? We should pray for that. Return to the pulpit? Sorry but no.

This brings us to the case of James MacDonald. He had grown Harvest Church in Chicago to over a 12,000 per week attendance, with multiple sites and a TV and radio broadcast ministry that was national and extremely popular. As his ministry grew however, MacDonald became increasingly hostile, bullying, and financially reckless. When the story first broke, I had written this:

"It details decades of financial malfeasance committed by James McDonald to the tune of having his church once fall 70 million in debt while he was receiving a 40% pay increase to $350,000. Tales of a Mark Driscoll-esque power grab where McDonald expanded his board from 12 to 30 so they would have less individual power. Publicly admitted gambling problems from McDonald after railing against gambling from the pulpit. Accusing three such elders of being "satanic to the core" publicly because they had the temerity to ask for a line item budget of expenses. I know this much beloved, when there is this much smoke there is usually a house on fire." -- Anthony Wade (November 2018)

The stories of abuse for anyone who challenged MacDonald were far worse than this. He was then recorded in an interview with a radio personality where he stated that he wanted to plant child pornography on the computer of someone who dared to write about his abuses at Christianity Today. He was summarily dismissed from Harvest Church and he in turn tried to sue them because you know, when you do not follow the bible anyway, why not? This month, as reported by Religion News, Harvest Church declared MacDonald "biblically disqualified" from ministry:

In a statement released Sunday (Nov. 3), the church elders found MacDonald was prone to anger, "had a pattern of improperly exercising positional and spiritual authority over others to his own advantage" and sought to profit from the church's ministry. "Because of these findings, James was biblically disqualified from the position of Elder, meaning he did not meet the spiritual standards to which a Harvest Bible Chapel Elder is held," the statement read. "The Bible does not teach that disqualification from ministry is permanent; however, with the scope of the damage caused by his behavior, James will not be able to serve again as an Elder or Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel."

Now it is sad that when a church has been led by someone who does not actually follow the bible it is inevitable that they do not understand the bible themselves. The verse they use to claim the bible does not teach permanent disqualification is Galatians 6:1, which is NOT dealing with pastoral restoration. It is dealing with the aforementioned personal restoration. I am not saying that someone needs to be permanently exiled but it simply should not be considered for a very long time for the sake of the individual, the sheep and the Gospel. Unfortunately, MacDonald seems to be laying the groundwork for a return by putting out a statement that clearly shows he not only has not repented but he still does not get it. Let us reason together once more and go through his "apology."

"Dear Friends: I trust this timing finds you well in the Lord and growing in your awareness of how good He truly is. Our efforts to work through existing channels in our former church have reached an unsuccessful end, leading to this release of words we have long sought to express. Our lifetime calling continues to be "igniting passion in the people of God through the proclamation of truth." Yet God, in His sovereignty, appointed for me and Kathy this chastening (Ephesians 1:11; Hebrews 12:7-11) and abrupt termination last February from the church we founded and have loved for more than 30 years. It has taken an extended time of silence to see the Lord's hand, see my sin fully and speak about it non-defensively." -- James MacDonald

Yeah James, no one cares about what you think your lifetime calling is. You spent years igniting the passions of people who disagreed with you by publicly berating and humiliating them. It is not God who appointed your chastening, as if you had nothing to do with it. Your actions are why you are where you are today. MacDonald just does not get it beloved. Harvest Church was not "abrupt" at all. This story has been brewing since 2013 and stories of abusive tactics like using the pictures of elder's wives he did not like as target practice at church events go back to 2009. MacDonald also expanded the board to dissipate their power. Mind you, while a decade MacDonald thinks is abrupt, the "extended time of silence to see the lord's hand and his sin" has been less than a year.

"My Repentance - I was, am, and will remain very sorry for the careless and hurtful words that were illegally recorded and publicized. I immediately sent written apologies where appropriate, grieving what it revealed about the state of my heart at the time, as well as the hurt caused to those who trusted us to be a more consistent example of Christlikeness. I have no excuse and am truly sorry. I confess to all who have followed my ministry, a regression into sinful patterns of fleshly anger and self pity that wounded co-workers and others. These sin issues had been points of growth and victory as expressed through my preaching and writing, but I fell back beginning in late 2016 and have only myself to blame. I wrestled with the stress I felt, the injustice I endured, etc. Yet, over time I have come to see only myself and my own relational failing in the mirror, and with grief and sorrow I ask your forgiveness. As part of this, I have come to see my sin of handling pressure in a way that got things done, but neglected the priority of love and the presiding humility of serving others first. Letters have been sent to those the Holy Spirit has brought to mind, owning what is true without reference to what is false. We are looking to the Lord to keep my focus here as long as it takes in hopes of reconciliation with every willing heart." -- James MacDonald

Seriously? Didn't he bother to have someone edit this? You claim to have no excuse in a paragraph where you provide an excuse? I am not going to get into the claim of illegality because it is simply not relevant. MacDonald sounds like he simply mad that he got caught! You do not sound vaguely repentant when in the same sentence you claim you are sorry you immediately deflect to your belief that you should not have been busted. As for this apology campaign for those he has hurt look how he couches it. By stating he was owning what was true and not mentioning what was false he is muddying the waters again to provide the illusion that he is somehow the victim here. He is not. I might add, one of his victims, who he spoke most disgustingly and falsely about is Julie Roys, who was surprised to hear about this apology tour with letters for victims as she has not received one:

"I also don't know of anyone else who's received [a written apology] either, including the more than two dozen sources who went on the record with me with horrific stories about MacDonald," -- Julie Roys

That's some apology tour. Sounds more like MacDonald wanted to get back into the public spotlight, throw some shade at the story that ruined him, and lay the groundwork for a return. This is not repentance beloved. The beautiful thing about repenting is you do not need to write an article about it or shout it from the rooftops to try and convince others. MacDonald's statement continues:

"I confess to all who have followed my ministry, a regression into sinful patterns of fleshly anger and self pity that wounded co-workers and others. These sin issues had been points of growth and victory as expressed through my preaching and writing, but I fell back beginning in late 2016 and have only myself to blame. I wrestled with the stress I felt, the injustice I endured, etc. Yet, over time I have come to see only myself and my own relational failing in the mirror, and with grief and sorrow I ask your forgiveness. As part of this, I have come to see my sin of handling pressure in a way that got things done, but neglected the priority of love and the presiding humility of serving others first. Letters have been sent to those the Holy Spirit has brought to mind, owning what is true without reference to what is false. We are looking to the Lord to keep my focus here as long as it takes in hopes of reconciliation with every willing heart." -- James MacDonald

This sounds eerily familiar as Mark Driscoll claimed the same thing when he left Seattle in the middle of the night with his church on fire. That church then disintegrated and the wounded sheep hobbled away. Driscoll was also using the press to spread stories about his great repentance and how he was seeking to reconcile with everyone he hurt. Except there were so many who never received any such outreach that they started their own support group online. Mark Driscoll was not interested in making anything right. If he was he would have stayed in Seattle where he knew he was facing church discipline. Instead, he went into hiding for a couple of months and then appeared at Robert Morris' church before moving onto a Hillsong appearance. Having been welcomed back into the machine, he quickly moved to start a church in Arizona. It seems MacDonald has learned from Driscoll's success but this apology falls flat for its utter disconnect to what he did and why he needs to own it. As the church he founded declared, he has disqualified himself from ministry -- period.

"Failed Decision Making - This relational decline led to regrettable decisions, such as Senior Staff transitions with some of our best leaders departing, my reactive resignation from Harvest Bible Fellowship, the fearful and defensive lawsuit, the rapid move of Walk in the Word to digital-only, etc. All of these big-impact "retreat decisions" were initiated out of the desperation I felt, and from my clearer thinking today, I see how wrong I was. I recognize how these actions undermined team member support for my leadership, eroding the margin of grace between us. I am especially grieved for certain co-leaders who felt wounded by me and deserved better -- those who have expressed it and those who have not. We had many moments of joyful partnership, the memories of which I will always treasure. I am deeply and forever sorry to each of you and pray, in God's timing, for the opportunity to say that personally. Decisions by the current Elder/staff, along with inaccurate announcements and recent public condemnation, signaled clearly the timing to communicate our message directly. With sadness we accept that no face-to-face confession or truth-advancing interaction will be forthcoming. The above matters are now in Christian arbitration where impartial believers will hear and give a written, objective ruling. As we cannot give specifics, we are trusting the Lord for truth to be revealed in His time, and we covet your prayers.

2 Corinthians 3:2,5-6 - "You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all... Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."' -- James MacDonald

This is so sad beloved. to watch him clearly struggle to even understand what true repentance is. He spends several sentences in what sounds like such a heartfelt plea to people he has hurt and then immediately seeks to blame others yet again! It's all my fault, except have I mentioned the decision by current elders? Yep it is all my fault but did I mention that recent public condemnation? Oh because that is what triggered my release of this statement? Is MacDonald serious here? Why is there a need for a "truth advancing interaction" if you are allegedly accepting responsibility? Why are you purposefully throwing doubt on your own guilt that you claim to be confessing to? What "truth" needs to be revealed James? Was it not you on that recording where you threatened to plant child pornography on the computer of your perceived enemy? This does not sound like an apology other than, "I'm sorry I got caught illegally and look at what everyone else has done to me."

After waiting many months in hope of a pathway toward restoration, we have been welcomed into the congregation of New Life Covenant Church in Humboldt Park, Chicago. A multi-ethnic church under Pastor Wilfredo DeJesus, New Life has embraced us in love, offering us a place to serve and the beginnings of healing community. Please know that God continues His work in my heart -- we have never doubted the Lord or His Word and believe He is not done with us. We are planning a future focused on preaching and teaching God's Word, helping pastors preach the Bible more impactfully, living the mandate of Christ's love, and being free from the weight of large organizational leadership, which was simply too much for me. In time we hope you will think of us as serving the Lord with gladness while we enjoy our kids and grandkids, who continue to flourish in local church ministry where God has planted them. We look forward to more frequent communication with you as the Lord continues giving light to our next steps. Thank you for your interest and prayers.

There it is. The announcement that he is making his comeback. Interestingly, it was first reported that he was coming back to ministry and when the outrage erupted it was corrected that he was merely going to attend New Life Covenant Church, oh and serve in the food pantry because what doesn't say pious repentance other than that? Look at what he admits though. Where his focus truly is. He is planning on a future focused on preaching and teaching, which he has already disqualified himself from. Arrogantly, his vision for himself is above other pastors, teaching them how to preach more impactfully, live a mandate for Christ's love and get this -- being free from large organizational leadership. He signs off by warning us that more communication will follow after he convinces himself that the Lord is directing his next steps. Sorry James but He did not direct this step. This was an apology devoid of any humility whatsoever. You just continued to cast more blame and aspersions upon people you feel did you wrong. Thank you though for reminding us why restoration is for our walk and not our ministry after we have abused the trust to the extent that you have. You remain not above reproach. You remain disqualified. You are to be marked and avoided. I do pray that James MacDonald truly finds repentance and seeks the Lord for his own sake and not the sake of this obvious attempt to return to a ministry I hope we never have to see him in again.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- November 22, 2019

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.