Skip to main content

James MacDonald stepping Down From Harvest Bible Fellowship?

I used to be a member of a Harvest Bible Chapel where I live in York Region. I had grown up Catholic, and became a born again Christian outside the Catholic church in 1995. I continued to attend the Catholic church, because I felt that my "conversion" was authentic and I didn't know enough about Bible doctrine, however I understood who Jesus was and for the first time in my life, I knew I had a real faith in the risen Lord. I understood that Jesus is God, and I understood that I had became alive spiritually. On my faith journey, I have come to understand that righteousness is given to us by God, but as a born again Christian I also came to understand eventually that my faith alone is  not enough for justification and that is not what I believe now. I do believe that the bible is God's instructions for salvation, but I do believe that all humans will be judged by their works on the Last Day. I have come to distrust the evangelical doctrine that our justification "covers" our sin, and I believe that our choices now and our character reflect or deflect the image of God within us as humans, (even after our initial faith). I do not believe all Christians have a free pass to go to Heaven or to sin. I believe the bible warnings about pride, spiritual pride and a lack of faith, love and charity will determine if a Christian will go to Heaven or to Hell even after they have been regenerated, either through the waters of Baptism or the doctrine of "conversion."

Being a part of an evangelical church in the past was extremely helpful as it taught me what it means to be a servant of Christ. I love that the bible is opened and taught in these churches and doctrine is insisted upon. In the Catholic Church I love the liturgy and the traditional mass, because like some reformed churches, I believe that the post modern church needs some growing up to do. As a Catholic, I consider my evangelical brothers my friends, and as friends I would love to see Jesus' prayer for Unity realized. Where I can't compromise is with all the infighting and division being caused by spiritually abusive Pastors and leaders within our church.

Church growth methods and schemes, (I have learned) fall outside the pale of orthodoxy and they should be resisted by all true believers in Jesus Christ, wither Protestant or Catholic. I am not writing this to be a cause of stumbling or division, but with my past at Harvest Bible Chapel York Region, I was surprised to hear in a online steaming of a church service "family chat" that my former Pastor talk about James MacDonald stepping down from Harvest Bible Fellowship. He did mention that Pastor James would not be leaving his post as the Pastor or his church in Chicago. HBCYR's family chat vimeo video was online last I checked.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Some Bible Verses on Money.

  Bible verses about money. I bet you didn’t think the bible said that? Proverbs 23:5 When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.  1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Proverbs 13:11 Wealth quickly gained is quickly wasted — easy come, easy go! But if you gradually gain wealth, you will watch it grow. Psalm 62:10 Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the centre of your life. Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storeho...

My Story.

  In 1999 I suffered a mental health crisis and admitted myself into the hospital where I live, in which I was given a mental health diagnosis. I didn’t want to receive medication at the time, but unwillingly accepted it. I was in the hospital for about two months, when I asked my doctor if I could go home, and he said yes, even though he thought it would have been better if I stayed longer.   I was glad to be home though, but at 25, it took some adjusting to feel truly at home. One of the problems I was having at home was it was hard for me to eat the food in the house. I was having a psychosis where I felt the food wasn’t mine, and I literally had to go out to eat, or buy bread from the supermarket and take it home to eat it. Eventually this wore off, but I don’t remember how long.  I was now on ODSP and had a check come to me every month in order to have financial support. I would occasionally have a crisis, and ask my mom to drive me to the hospital, but eventually th...

Why has the church lost its capacity and power?

  The church has modernized itself and in the process has lost something very valuable. It has lost its capacity to be personable. The way we reach lost souls is by seeing them, by getting to know them, and by recognizing them, but people are getting lost in the church. The church has become a busy place and is also becoming a less holy place. To make disciples we have to get to know people, and technology in the church is depersonalizing souls, and depersonalizing God for them. Faith becomes a marketable commodity, whereas in the past, churches and their leaders nourished and valued personal faith. While faith is still valued, it’s becoming something that is marketable, which reminds me of the story of Jesus in the temple turning over tables (Matthew 21:12-17). The problem isn’t that the church doesn’t work or doesn’t want to share the gospel, it could be how we are doing it. The church is currently being run like a business, and each Christian metaphorically speaking has a profit...