Two Megachurches Face Financial Shortfalls
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“Gateway Church and Grace Community Church [John MacArthur] are facing challenges with their long-time leaders missing.” - MinistryWatch
Christian counseling group removes Grace Community Church pastor from approved counselors list
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“Although ACBC continues to recognize GCC as an approved training center for counseling, the counseling organization is also investigating complaints against the megachurch regarding its counseling practices.” - CPost
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Grace Community Church Rejected Elder’s Calls to ‘Do Justice’ in Abuse Case
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“The elders had publicly disciplined a woman for refusing to take back her husband. As it turned out, the woman’s fears proved true, and her husband went to prison for child molestation and abuse.” - CToday
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John MacArthur’s Church to Produce Feature Length Documentary About Fighting Pandemic Health Restrictions
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From the synopsis: “When Grace Community Church faces state orders to shut down indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they realize the state’s attempt to replace Jesus Christ as the head of the Church” - C.Leaders
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California, LA County both to pay $400,000 settlement to John MacArthur’s church
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“The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Aug. 31) voted to authorize a $400,000 payment to settle a legal battle with Grace Community Church over lead pastor John MacArthur’s defiance of COVID-19 restrictions in the early months of the pandemic.
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John MacArthur's church has multiple COVID cases, staff pressured to keep silent: report
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“L.A. County requires places of worship to report to the Public Health Department when there are at least three COVID-19 cases within a span of two weeks, after which the agency determines whether there is an outbreak. GCC did not respond to a request for comment by press time.” - C.Post
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Church vs. Public Health Orders: Buildings, Spheres, and Statements
My heart goes out to churches in places where COVID-related health orders have made it impossible to “gather in a normal way,” to use a phrase from Grace Community Church’s (GCC’s) “Statement from Pastor and Elders.”
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Church vs. Public Health Orders: A Case for Complying and Resisting
Much of the debate over whether churches should submit to COVID-related rules in California has been inaccurately framed. “We must obey God rather than man,” they say (drawing from Acts). Using phrases like “ban on indoor worship” or even “ban on worship,” they represent the options as totaling two: We can (1) obey God by continuing to meet, disobey the manmade rules, and stand up for our rights or we can (2) disobey God by not meeting at all, comply with oppressive orders, and watch our liberties be slowly stripped away.
But these aren’t really the choices anywhere in California.
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A Judge ruled that John MacArthur's church can sidestep the COVID rules, then a higher court said no
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“The California Court of Appeal late on Saturday set aside a lower court order and reinstated a ban on indoor worship services [in groups larger than 250] for Grace Community Church pastored by John McArthur in Sun Valley.” - WORLD
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“It’s possible I misunderstood the GCC elders’ statement. I’m happy to be corrected.”
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“Aside from what the authors of this [Grace Community Church] statement may or may not believe, the statement itself makes no provision for the possibility that a Christian might choose another path and still be counted as faithful.” - 9 Marks
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