John MacArthur, 81, a popular Christian radio broadcaster. Judge gives Grace Community Church, LA County a, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Judge gives Grace Community Church, LA County a chance to settle COVID case, While California lifts mask, vaccine mandates, some restrictions will endure in LA County, After three days of learning loss due to strike, LAUSD offers two bonus days, LA Countys COVID emergency ends tonight; heres what that means, LA County to lift COVID emergency declarations; some residents urged to be ready, Senate votes to end COVID-19 emergency in the US, In push to block Biden judicial picks, GOP revolts against plan to replace Feinstein on panel, Man wore armor in Northern California hostage killing, report says, They spent their lives teaching. This month, we are celebrating a remarkable anniversary in the life of Grace Church. They believed that if leaders didnt see their situation as grounds for divorce, their names could be read. Call to prayer on Monday mornings, beginning at 9:00 am in the Welcome Center. Editors note: Over the years, some readers have wondered why we publish evidence of wrongdoing by ministry leaders otherwise doing good in the world. Grace Community Church, which defied Los Angeles County orders to stop indoor services in the pandemic, may get $400,000 if a settlement is approved. When she challenged the pastors advice to return to and trust her husband, she said she was reminded of passages like love believes all things and that Jesus said to forgive seventy times seven times. A representative for Grace Community Church said the conference would be held on a later date, which has not been announced. Our philosophy is that if theres been abuse, you dont put them into a room and expect them both to go through the process of getting the log out of their eyes, said Ken Sande, a Christian mediator who spoke of patterns hes seen over decades of conciliation ministry, not about GCC in particular. Events on the other side of the country would change that, however, at a cost to taxpayers. As we explore this vital account of the incarnation, ministry, and atoning work of . To that end, we are looking forward to a day of prayer led by our elders. 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 . Our church leadership remains firmly committed to the truth that Christ is the head of the Church, and we will not yield to governments infringement upon the biblical command to worship and gather together.. In the end, she said, the betrayal of her churchnow her former churchhurt the most. As it turned out, the womans fears proved true, and her husband went to prison for child molestation and abuse. Grace Community Church attorneys cite two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions in their motion to lift the preliminary injunction in its entirety and end the countys effort contempt effort. On Monday, members of the House Judiciary Committee met in New York for a hearing on violent crime in the city. I dont know, but I feel horrible about the enabling effect my silence has had through the years, she told CT in an email. Grace, No One Like Him: A Study of Gods Perfections, Thursday, April 20, 2023 7:00 pm8:30 pm. Your daily news briefing from the editors of CT: European Evangelicals Organize Against Abuse, ERLC President, Covenant Parent Urges Tennessee to Pass Proposed Gun Reform. Reporter Julie Roys spoke with a leader at the California-based megachurch who asked to remain anonymous . A judge on Tuesday rejected Los Angeles County's attempt to temporarily bar a large church in Sun Valley from holding indoor worship services where hundreds of unmasked . In a sermon last August, he drew applause when he said, There is no pandemic, and argued that the number of Covid-related deaths had been inflated. Current and former elders had also raised concerns about Shannons incompetent counsel. In 2022, they will manage a yearlong initiative that will explore a variety of issues around mental health medical, structural, personal, societal and definitional. Cho never imagined himself being in this position and advocating from outside Grace Community Church. The church never retracted its discipline or apologized in the 20 years since. He argued that the health orders were untenable opinion and policy, which unfairly chipped away at the ability to exercise the most fundamental right at a time when the risk of harm was leveling off. In the video, MacArthur spoke during an evening service at Grace Community Church in California. I need to fear God instead of man. While still on the board last March, Cho emphasized the urgency of correcting the record. 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. Remember Me. M-F 8:00 am-5:00 pm 818-909-5500 . The $400,000 for the churchs legal fees will come out of the L.A. County Department of Public Health budget. 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. And we thank God that the sanctifying power of His Word is producing men and women of integrity who hunger Home Bible studies are all about this life-on-life fellowship and accountability. City News Service is a regional wire service covering Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. 9:00 & 11:00 am John MacArthur Jesus' Personal Invitation Matthew 11:28-30. 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. Contact. How Bethel and Hillsong Took Over Our Worship Sets, Died: George Verwer, Who Asked Christians Are You Ready To Go?, United Methodists Lose 1,800 Churches in Split Over LGBT Stance, Lawsuit: Pastor Judah Smith Expects Staff to Leave a Money Trail, Ravi Zacharias Hid Hundreds of Pictures of Women, Abuse During Massages, and a Rape Allegation. 2023 by Grace Community Church. Women have hidden, persevered, and tried to handle things on their own until there was no other choice, she added. As Cho wrote in a 20-page memo to top leaders at Grace Community Church last March, I genuinely believe it would be wrong to do nothing. News and Events 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 . But when issues persisted and escalated, they sought help and counsel on what else could be done. Its reporting and editing staff cover public safety, courts, local government and general assignment stories. But it allowed authorities to leave in place capacity limits and bans on singing and chanting. Our organist, Stephen Sturz, has been ministering to our congregation for 45 years. . 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. The church held indoor services despite the countys ban on such gatherings. If they had learned that theyd disciplined a man wrongly accused of adultery, wouldnt they want to make that right, even if they found out 20 years later? California's Grace Community Church announced that Los Angeles County health officials have cleared the congregation of causing a COVID outbreak this summer. Its amazing to see the Lord protecting us, he said. Each of the women CT spoke with said at some point they considered themselves partly responsible for their husbands behavior or had a church leader indicate they were. The county and the state will each pay $400,000 to Sun Valley's Grace Community Church to settle a prolonged legal battle that began when the church refused to follow Newsom's COVID-19 restrictions last year. The church regularly held packed morning services, defying a court order directing them to refrain from holding indoor services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Image: Edits by Christianity Today / Source Image: WikiMedia Commons. Franais, While a former leader hopes for change, women who sought refuge in biblical counseling at John MacArthurs church say they feared discipline for seeking safety from their abusive marriages. Professor Margaret M. Russell of the Santa Clara University School of Law said the countys decision to settle was pretty pragmatic.. Sun Valley church cites Supreme Court in saying LA County can't stop indoor services. I know God is God and man is man, but I really trusted those people at the church, she said. "The church is not only a building but is the bride of Christ and exists to proclaim the truth.". ,and In marital counseling, pastors asked wives whether their attitudes contributed to the patterns of violence, anger, and manipulation in their relationships. Southern Baptist leader Brent Leatherwood calls on the state to restrain evil through Governor Lees plan to keep weapons from those deemed a threat to themselves or others. News . . But those admissions mean you need to make it right with the person you wronged; that is utterly basic Christianity.. The virus itself would only get worse, with COVID-19 caseloads and deaths hitting their highest levels days in the months after that hearing. The county then sought contempt proceedings against the Roscoe Boulevard church and its pastor, John MacArthur, for continuing to hold indoor services and for not enforcing masking and social distancing in violation of Beckloffs injunction. Women told CT that pastors saw their husbands continued involvement in counseling, caring treatment of their kids in supervised settings, and verbal promises that the abuse would stop as indications that they no longer posed a threat. Sun Valley, CA 91352, MF 8:00 am5:00 pm This story was updated to include the cost of the countys legal fees. Every Woman's Grace 2022-2023. Copyright 2023 Grace Community Church. In February, the high court struck down the all-out ban on indoor services after a series of California churches brought a case. 10:00 am & 7:00 pm, Wednesday, April 19, 2023 John 19:16-42 | The Crucifixion of Jesus. All Rights Reserved. He said he needed to talk about a "sad situation." . Sunday, April 23, 2023 9:00 am12:30 pm Grace Community Church regards the wearing of masks in worship first of all as a matter of conscience, MacArthur said and explained to the court that GCCs biblical stance on masks. In the settlement, the wife did not retract the abuse claims made against her husband. MacArthur claimed that the pandemic was a government plot to control Christians, according to the Times. 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. In light of our ongoing litigation and recent threats from the County of Los Angeles and the State of California, we have decided that the most prudent course of action at this time is to postpone the Shepherds Conference, the church said in a statement. GCCs reach extends far beyond the crowds that fill its 3,500-seat auditorium for multiple services each Sunday, through MacArthurs popular books and commentaries; affiliated schools The Masters Seminary and The Masters University; Grace to You teaching ministry; and the churchs annual Shepherds Conference. Sun Valley, CA 91352 Maps and Directions. Account FAQ; Welcome to Grace. 914 talking about this. Charles LiMandri, another attorney for the church, said in a statement, Pastor MacArthur and Grace Community Church refused to bow to government tyranny and they finally obtained the excellent result they deserved.. For this story, CT spoke with eight women who recounted how they and others at Grace Community Church had been counseled to avoid reporting their husbands and fathers to authorities, to accept their apologies, and to continue to submit to them. Last summer, county officials sued the Sun Valley church. Heres why we do it. Copyright 2023 Grace Community Church. Though Cho stepped down quietly, he continued to hear from other women from his former church. (RNS) On Easter Sunday, the worship band at Bethel Community Church in Redding, California, opened the service with "This Is Amazing Grace," a 2012 hit that has . As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Grace isn't Grace Community Church, home to pastor-teacher John MacArthur, is located in Sun Valley, California and has been faithfully proclaiming God's Word since 1956. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of the settlement on Tuesday. The settlement with Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, which also includes another $400,000 from the state avoids further litigation over the matter at a time when the U.S. Supreme Courts conservative majority has signaled that rights to religious practice indoors outweigh the interests of the state to compel places of worship to adhere to public health orders. But the church essentially ignored the injunction, continuing to hold indoor services and violating other health mandates. Now, Mayor Karen Bass wants to rebuild the force, settlement that will pay the church $400,000, rejected a Chula Vista churchs challenge, Do coronavirus social distancing orders violate religious freedom? The high court later struck down the indoor worship ban while allowing caps on attendance and a ban on singing, according to the churchs attorneys. On Tuesday, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved a settlement that will pay the church $400,000 for legal fees from defending the lawsuit. Top leaders at the church became defensive, he said, and wanted to protect MacArthur. Membership Matters 103 - How to Be an Effective Member at GCC. She couldnt wait for that. Last year, Hohn Cho concluded Grace Community Church had made a mistake. 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. Cho still held out that faint hopeThe Lord has so often done far more than I ever could have thought possibleeven knowing that the board was unlikely to move and that his public stance would upset many he used to serve and worship alongside. In Gods providence, he kept placing reminders in front of me, completely unbidden. County attorneys reasonably anticipated that the court would continue along those lines, said Barry P. McDonald, a professor at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. Shannon is among the leaders who did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. Sign up for our newsletter: No one from GCC responded to requests by CT to discuss the churchs counseling philosophy or response to abuse, or to questions about specific cases. In fact, argued attorney Jenna Ellis, the exercise of the statutory power was too broad. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. The elders had called out sin where there was none, he insisted. The Opportunity Sheet is a weekly publication of Grace Community Church, offered as a courtesy to our church family. 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. McCarthy used his speech in NYC to slam President Joe Biden for doing "nothing" to address the nation's financial crisis. GCC and MacArthur haveremained open sinceinitially suspending in-person services for less than a month during the height of the pandemic, in which they reopened their doors forindoor worshipthat resulted in a near capacity crowd during July. 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. As we explore this vital account of the incarnation, ministry, and atoning work of Jesus Christ, our faith will be Wednesday, April 19, 2023 7:00 pm9:00 pm Contact. I knew I could not pass by silently on the other side of the road, that I needed to help this woman and to call out a warning, or else the blood of the people would be on my head.. By Gods amazing grace, the truth of His Word has sounded forth from Grace Community Church throughout five decades of faithful preaching. 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