In October 2018, MacDonald and Harvest filed a libel lawsuit against The Elephant's Debt bloggers Ryan Mahoney and Scott Bryant, and against journalist Julie Roys. In September 2014, Harvest and MacDonald apologized for their actions toward the two former elders and lifted the church discipline against them. The discipline was meted out soon after a group of former elders had laid out concerns about MacDonald's character in a letter to the remaining elders. In October 2013, World reported: "As MacDonald and Harvest celebrate 25 years of ministry, they face a barrage of criticism from former elders, pastors, and staff who say the church leadership has operated in recent years with too little transparency and accountability." After three elders resigned their positions, citing a "culture of fear and intimidation," Harvest publicly reprimanded two of them and removed them from church membership. Controversies and allegations 2013 excommunication of former elders Launched formally in 2012 as Vertical Church Band, their song "Open Up the Heavens", co-authored by MacDonald, was nominated in 2014 for Worship Song of the Year at the 45th GMA Dove Awards. Vertical Worship is Harvest's worship and songwriting ministry. Harvest announced on May 9, 2019, that "Walk in the Word is a ministry of Harvest Bible Chapel and as such, it is under the direction of Harvest's leadership," and " this time, Harvest has decided to take down the Walk in the Word website until further notice." Harvest also decided to not launch digital content and revealed that it had been returning contributions to Walk in the Word since the beginning of March 2019. In February 2019, MacDonald announced that Walk in the Word would no longer be broadcast on radio and television, but would be available in digital format, citing the financial strain stemming from the controversies surrounding him. In 2012, and again in 2016, the program received the "Billy Graham Award for Excellence in Christian Communication" from the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB). ![]() By 2016 it was heard on more than 1,100 radio and television outlets across North America. Launched in 1997, Walk in the Word was Harvest's radio teaching ministry. The church was included in Outreach Magazine 's "Top 100 Fastest Growing Churches in America" and "Top 100 Largest Churches in America." Walk in the Word Harvest added campuses in Elgin and Niles in 2004 Crystal Lake in 2007 the downtown Chicago in 2010 (the "Chicago Cathedral") Aurora in 2011 and Deerfield Road in 2012. The congregation moved into a converted warehouse in Rolling Meadows, Illinois in 1995. ![]() Harvest Bible Chapel grew from eighteen people meeting in a local high school in 1988 to more than 13,000 in 2012, attending on seven campuses in the Chicago area. MacDonald was fired from Harvest Bible Chapel in 2019 after over 30 years as senior pastor following allegations that he had engaged in conduct "harmful to the best interests of the church." Harvest Bible Chapel He was the senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel megachurch in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, United States and was the host for the church's former broadcast ministry, Walk in the Word. ![]() James MacDonald (born October 4, 1960) is a Canadian-born evangelical Christian pastor, television evangelist, and author.
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