The Apology I Would Have Made

The interim elders of Harvest Bible Chapel recently issued an apology to Julie Roys, Ryan Mahoney, and Scott Bryant for suing them last fall. The apology was a good step. That alone was a bit counter-cultural for Harvest. Still much more could have been said. Much more should be said.

Before I resigned from the elder board in a call for reform, I pushed for three actions to make things right with Julie Roys, Ryan Mahoney, and Scott Bryant plus Ryan's wife and Scott's wife. 

1. A public apology where we would acknowledge Harvest was wrong and had lied about these brothers and sister. We could not unsay what had been said about them. But we could acknowledge all of our sins against them in a public forum at Harvest.
2. Private meetings of the elder board with each party where we would acknowledge Harvest was wrong, that we sinned against these brothers and sisters, where we asked for their forgiveness and listened to anything they might want to say to us.
3. Remove every post, letter, elder update from the Harvest web site that maligned these brothers and sister. Replace them with a statement correcting the lies, a statement with the same level of specificity as those made before.

Harvest has not taken any of these actions. The April 30 email was a step toward the first action. Even that included a reference to the lawsuit being legal. Why comment about the lawsuit being lawful? There is no question the lawsuit was not biblical. 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 is clear. Christ followers do not take disputes with fellow Christ followers to court in front of unbelievers. Biblical trumps legal.

To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded (1 Corinthians 6:7 ESV)

Here is what I would have said in a private meeting of the elder board with each party and included in a statement correcting the lies. Stick with me. There is a lot here.

(NOTE: To see the statements referred to here that Harvest made about Julie Roys, Ryan Mahoney, and Scott Bryant, refer to Jessica's (@ex_harvest) May 1, 2019 tweet.)

Final Appeals from the Elders (October 3)

Harvest questioned Julie Roys' journalistic integrity before she had published a word about Harvest Bible Chapel. That was uncalled for. It was wrong. I have seen Julie Roys' journalistic integrity. Please forgive us for calling that into question.

Harvest insinuated that if Julie Roys went ahead with an article it would "badly distort faults in leadership" through "poor quality journalism." It is painfully evident now what was actually distorted at Harvest. Julie Roys' quality journalism has served to expose the unfruitful works of darkness. Please forgive us for attempting to discredit your work.

Harvest wrote that Julie Roys was going to lie about the church, again before she ever published a word about Harvest. That was presumptuous, dismissive, and alarmist. Julie Roys is not a liar. I have seen nothing but truth in what she has published about Harvest. Please forgive us.

Finally, even the title and introduction sent to the Harvest congregation with the email sent to Julie Roys was misleading. Harvest made no other appeals to her before this "final" appeal. Please forgive us for misrepresenting our interactions with you. 

October 2018 Elder Update

In an October 2018 elder update to the Harvest congregation, the elders accused Julie Roys, Ryan Mahoney, and Scott Bryant of a "prolonged and divisive effort to undermine the elder governance of our church and to discredit our primary leaders." Almost every word here is wrong. Their work was not divisive. I now see their efforts were to call James MacDonald to account and toward repentance and to bring reform to Harvest and healing to the people. They were not trying to undermine the elder governance of Harvest. They were trying to help us. Please forgive us. Ryan's and Scott's efforts through The Elephant's Debt were prolonged. I am now thankful for their perseverance.

The Harvest elders wrote that the lawsuit was to "protect our church family from defamation and other illegalities." Julie Roys, Ryan Mahoney, and Scott Bryant were not even writing about the Harvest church family. The elders also wrote about stopping the "wounding of innocent church members." Again, this stated goal is nonsensical. Please forgive us for making these statements about you in another attempt to position you as the enemy.

Response to World magazine article (December 13)

"Defendant fails to uncover desired scandal, opting to publish old gossip"

In the December 13 response to her "Hard times at Harvest" World magazine article, the Harvest elders accused Julie Roys of attacking Harvest while describing her as a "professing Christian" as if questioning whether she was truly a Christ follower. Julie Roys didn't attack Harvest in the World article. In reality, Harvest took the first offensive action. Julie Roys has not attacked Harvest in anything she has published. Rather she has pushed for reform, healing, and reconciliation. Please forgive us for falsely accusing you of attacking Harvest and for even hinting at anything close to questioning your commitment to Christ.

In that same response, the Harvest elders described Julie Roys' work as "an obviously biased effort" in an effort to sway the Harvest congregation from reading much less trusting anything she might write. Please forgive us. Your work has helped bring so many things to light about James MacDonald and Harvest.

Also, in the title of that response, the Harvest elders characterized the charges Ryan Mahoney and Scott Bryant brought against James MacDonald and Harvest over the years through The Elephant's Debt site as "gossip." Please forgive us for accusing you of ongoing idle talk when in reality you were exposing darkness to light, asking questions that needed to be asked and answered, and giving a forum to so many who have been hurt by Harvest.

Pastor James, Randy Williams, and Harvest Elder Authority (December 18)

In this update, the Executive Committee (EC) responded to Julie Roys' post of a text exchange involving a former EC member. In a section titled "Why Julie is Attacking our Elder Governance," the EC described "her ongoing effort to divide and destroy Harvest Bible Chapel." Again, Julie Roys was not attacking Harvest. She was not trying to divide or destroy Harvest. The EC goes on to accuse her of resurfacing "an old lie" about how James MacDonald does not submit to elder authority and has no accountability. That statement is false. It is ironic that the EC made the statement since it was their job to provide that accountability. Everything that has come to light in the last few months is evidence that this was not "an old lie" but rather a reality.

Because the EC wrote and published this update, the EC members at the time owe an apology to Julie Roys for the things they accused her of in this update. The EC also owes an apology to Scott Phelps, Barry Slabaugh, and Dan Marquardt for writing again that these men were lying.

Is Harvest Deaf? Executive Committee Response (December 21)

In another response published to the Harvest congregation, the EC refers to "existing slander" and states that the goal of the lawsuit was to get the bloggers to "stop attacking our church." Julie Roys, Ryan Mahoney, and Scott Bryant did not slander anyone at Harvest. They did not make false statements damaging to someone's reputation. They were not attacking Harvest.

Again because the EC wrote and published this update, the EC members at the time owe an apology to Julie Roys, Ryan Mahoney, and Scott Bryant for the things they accused them of in this update.

Why write and post this now?

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24 ESV)

I was not serving on the elder board when Harvest published these statements. I rejoined the board for the December 31, 2018 meeting. Still as an elder of the church, I wanted to do what I could do and what we should do to make it right with a brother or sister who has something against us. So I wanted sit at a table with other Harvest elders with Julie Roys and tell her what I have written above, apologize for what our church wrote and said about her and ask for forgiveness. Similarly, I wanted to do the same with Ryan Mahoney and the same with Scott Bryant. Before I could influence the board to take those steps, I resigned from the elder board in an urgent call for reform.

I was encouraged to see the apology from the interim Harvest elder board this week. Still much was left unsaid. Much is left undone. I hope this post is a step toward reconciliation and healing.

Should any of the people mentioned here want to share this post on their site, they have my permission.