Harvest Bible Chapel Founder's Sons Resign Days After His Firing

ROLLING MEADOWS, IL — A week after Harvest Bible Chapel's founding pastor James S. MacDonald was fired, his two sons announced their resignation as pastors of the church network. Their decisions were announced in resignation letters written Tuesday and posted to the Harvest Bible Chapel website.

"It has become clear to us that we are not the best people to lead in this church moving forward," Landon wrote in the letter. "These past few months have been painful and heavy in ways I didn’t think possible, but through it all, my loving wife and the AWESOME people of Harvest have supported me."

Pastor Luke included his wife Kristen in the posted letter, and said, "Even after my parent’s ministry at Harvest ended, I was hopeful that with enough humility and time that could still happen. However, conversations with elders and staff over the past week have made it clear that we should move forward to whatever God has next for us."

Both Landon and Luke noted their love for the church and its people, thanking them for their prayers and support.

Harvest Bible Chapel announced last week the firing of senior pastor and founding member, Dr. James MacDonald. According to a statement posted by church elders, a recent development regarding conduct that led elders to take immediate action Tuesday, Feb. 12 against MacDonald. The Tuesday firing of the church network's leader didn't come without much review, discussion and reflection, according to church elders.

On Monday, Feb. 18, Harvest Bible Chapel posted a statement, which said they received a report in September 2018 of an alleged inappropriate incident they said occurred on a private flight in 2005, between Dr. James MacDonald and Mrs. Anne Green.

"The Elders took the matter seriously and began investigating immediately," the statement said. "After hearing of the accusation, the Human Resources department of Harvest Bible Chapel proactively reached out to Mrs. Green on September 30, 2018, via email and text."

Church officials added, "With no complaint filed by Mrs. Green, no report to the police and the testimony of three witnesses on the flight, Harvest Bible Chapel closed the investigation with the elders considering the case appropriately vetted and no further action required."

Related:

• Harvest Bible Chapel Fires Founder, Sr. Pastor James MacDonald
• Mancow Muller Calls For Harvest Bible's MacDonald To 'Come Clean'

However, church officials did reiterate that their offer to talk with Mrs. Green "does not expire."

On Thursday, Feb. 21, church officials announced that a decision was made Tuesday by consensus of the 30-plus member elder board to reduce the board to nine members "who will serve in an interim basis while we transition to a new board." In a statement, the church calls this move one of several "significant decisions that we believe are crucial in helping Harvest move forward in the days and weeks ahead."

Harvest Bible Chapel was founded in Rolling Meadows in 1988, and has eight campuses in the Chicagoland area and in Florida. About 12,000 people attend services.