Tag Archives: YFGC

The Kong job continues (What is Victory Life Centre trying to hide?)

05 Saturday Apr 2014

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Yonggi Cho Kong Hee Phil Pringle

GOLDEN TRIANGLE TRICKERY

The golden triangle is a term we coined to expose the dubious connection of three prosperity teachers. The golden triangle consists of Ps David Yonggi Cho, Ps Phil Pringle and Ps Kong Hee. David Yonggi Cho (of Yoido Full Gospel Church) is both the mentor of Kong Hee (of City Harvest Church) and Phil Pringle (of Christian City Church). Phil Pringle is also a mentor to Kong Hee. Recently, David Yonggi Cho has been convicted of mishandling several million dollars of church funds. We have already seen Kong Hee’s church release an official statement claiming they will stand with the convicted David Yonggi Cho. It hasn’t surprised us that Phil Pringle has said nothing and kept his congregation in the dark over his mentor’s scandal.

Furthermore, Kong Hee is in court facing allegations of mishandling church funds of up to US$40 million.

Once again Kong Hee is still scheduled to speak at this year’s Presence Conference. We’ve already seen Kong Hee misrepresent the investigations and his court case back in Singapore at Phil Pringle’s C3 Presence Conferences in Sydney. At these Presence Conference events, it is not uncommon to have Phil Pringle hoodwink thousands of Christians to financially support Kong Hee’s legal defense fees. Not once has Pringle been honest in explaining Kong Hee’s circumstances to his church or the general public.

Beyond Words… Pringle Sinks To New Depths At Global Presence Conference 2013

Prophet Pringle Plundering People’s Pockets For Kong Hee’s Cause

Phil Pringle Misleading His Church Over Kong Hee’s Case

THE KONG MAN DOWN UNDER

As a result of Pringle and Kong’s scheming, it is common to meet C3 members or leaders who know nothing about Kong Hee’s affairs. You will quickly learn that C3 members have been deliberately kept ignorant and uniformed by Phil Pringle about Kong Hee’s investigations and trial. (Sadly, some carry the idea that Kong Hee is an innocent Christian man persecuted by a pagan government for preaching the gospel.) Pringle has helped Kong Hee travel to overseas churches and campaign his innocence to gain the necessary financial support for his lawyers. The behaviour of Kong Hee and Phil Pringle are causing people to rethink why Singaporean authorities are allowing these men to operate in this manner.

Last year, CHC members had shown concern regarding Kong Hee leaving Singapore to campaign his innocence and rally financial support in places like Victory Life Centre.  Last year, we had a churchwatcher comment about Kong Hee speaking at Victory Life Centre in Perth.

Kong Hee is at Victory Life Church’s annual Conference today in Perth, Australia and is doing a stunning performance. Most of those people and even the Leadership there seem to have NO IDEA what he, Sun and others have been up to…..am expecting that he will happily receive a “LOVE” offering to cover the expenses of his brilliant acting career….the fleecing continues in another country……unbelievable!

Source: Disgusted, The Information Just Keeps Coming And Coming…, C3 Church Watch, https://c3churchwatch.com/2013/09/23/the-information-just-keeps-coming-and-coming/#comment-8465, 2013/09/25 at 5:09 am. (Accessed 05/04/2014.)

This churchwatcher gave us the impression that Kong Hee was portraying himself as innocent to con people for financial support.

After seeing Kong Hee’s performance at Victory Life Church in Perth, WA today…..I’m pretty sure there is no repentance by this man….his lies continue in another church, another city, another nation! He is drumming up support….end of story! (see my comment in The Information Just Keeps Coming And Coming…)

 Source: Disgusted, At Least The Guilty King Saul Repented ‘Apostle’ Bernard…, https://c3churchwatch.com/2013/09/24/at-least-the-guilty-king-saul-repented-apostle-bernard/#comment-8468, 2013/09/25 at 5:33 am. (Accessed 05/04/2014.)

Unless Kong Hee provided more information outside these sessions, the commentor may have been overreacting. However, when we received the sessions of Kong Hee, it is clear that the footage at Victory Life Centre edited out information Kong Hee said about his case. We need to ask the question: What is Kong Hee and VLC trying to hide?

It is of our opinion that Kong Hee was speaking dishonestly at this conference. In saying this, Kong Hee also bought up the Yonggi Cho scandal to the people in Perth. We would like to know if Kong Hee has informed his CHC congregation at any point in time about the Yonggi Cho scandal prior Cho’s charges.

We invite you to offer your thoughts on the below videos of Kong Hee.

VIDEO 1

[yotube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GM3-8x8ze0]

“You know I go through all these trials. When I read about what the newspapers say of whom I’m supposed to be- and when I read it- let me tell you, the first time I read the newspaper in the midst of the trial I said, “Man! If that guy is me, I deserve to go to jail for life!”

Because the way they wrote is so sinister. It’s so negative! And it’s very easy to feel depressed. It’s very easy to feel defeated.”

VIDEO 2

We focus on the love of God our heavenly Father. And you know the last time I came I talked about the love of Abba. Every focus on the communion, the help, the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. We thank God for our many lawyers and many advisers. But when all is said and done, we know the victory’s gonna come from the Lord and no one else.

So we focus. We turn our eyes on Jesus every single day. And I know that you’re here today- and we live in a broken down world, where bad things do happen to good people. And I want to leave a final story to encourage you. Because if I can do it in Singapore, you can do so much more. In a country that where you have so much blessings.

You know, one time a group of tourists went to the Louvre Museum in Paris. And I don’t know – have you been there? But the Louvre Museum is viewed upon as the greatest art museum in the whole world. Well, in this group of tourists, there was an international chess champion. So they’re walking, walking, walking and they came across a painting. A very interesting painting. And this painting, if you look, is called ‘Check Mate’. It’s called ‘Check Mate’. It’s a picture of a man playing chess against the devil. And he is- he was so stressed out. His hands- his head was between his hands because it seems like all steps are gone. I mean he’s check mate.

And the devil was looking smug and laughing. And basically he’s dead. The group look at this painting and they move on. But the chess champion stay back. He was staring at it. He was staring. Staring at it. Staring at it. Staring at it. Staring at it.

The group leader after a while came back to him and say, “Sir why- why you standing here? You know- I mean we are all leaving. You know- why you keep staring at this picture?”

The chess champion say, “You know what? Something is wrong. Something is wrong with this picture. Something is wrong with this painting. This painting got to change the name. It shouldn’t be called ‘Check Mate’ because I’m an international chess champion. I have won many competition and I can see the king still has one more move! The KING still has one more move!”

Let me tell you, the same is true for you and me. Many of us have a wrong vision. Many of us gotta change the name of our vision. So our heads our down. It seems as the devil is laughing at us and there’s no way out. It seems like we’re finished and we are dead. But I am here to tell you that just like I am doing it in Singapore, you can do it in Perth Australia, that our king has one more move. We’re gonna come out victorious!

Come on! Give the Lord a big hand! Jesus Christ our king has one more move. Everybody say, “My king has one more move”. Say, “I’m gonna win”. Turn to your neighbour and say, “Your king has one more move and you’re going to win”. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”

VIDEO 3

“Even in the midst of our severe trial, for Sun and I our passion, our vision is [edited out by VLC] – church. Every waking moment, I’m consumed for the well-being of my people. Even though I like to tell them, “You know what? I’m going through a tough time right now. Give me some space and God will take care of you”, I can’t help it! Every single day! Even when I’m sitting on the dock for hours and hours, all I could think about was my church. “How’s the members? Are they alright? How are they taking this?”

We really, really love the church that God has given to us. The welfare of my members is my passion. They are what makes my life exciting. And because of this revelation that God has given to me even as a kid, that Matthew sixteen verse eighteen that God will build His church. Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will never prevail against it”. That I have this revelation, that my church in Singapore would be the most powerful weapon against the kingdom of darkness in that region. That is my revelation. This is the one thing I know. I may know not a lot of things, I mean I- I wish I could be a better speaker. I wish I could be more stylish and suave in my delivery. I wish I can be better on television. I wish I could do so many things. But one thing I know, God has called me to build a church and I want to make it the most glorious church I can and in my generation. What is that one thing you know? What is that one revelation God has given to you?”

VIDEO 4

“You see we mustn’t get distracted by the noises and the chatters that are out there especially as we come to the twenty first century. And there are so many noises and chatter. You know Psalms 119 verse 69 says that the Godless spread lies about me but I focus on my attention on what you’re saying. Hallelujah! You gotta focus on what God is saying. 2 Peter 1:19: “We couldn’t be more sure about what we saw and heard. God’s glory, God’s voice. The prophetic Word was confirmed to us and you would do well to keep focussing on it.

Think about it. John the Baptist was a very great man. Jesus said there was none greater than him. But yet even in his greatness, he got distracted by scandalous news. See, that tells me one thing. To maintain focus is never easy. It requires mental strength, emotional strength, spiritual strength, to zero in on the promises of God.

One of the greatest lessons I ever learnt was one day and my wife and I we were in Korea attending a great conference. And then- you know we- we- we got invited into the office of Dr Cho and there were a lot of preachers that day. But somehow Dr Cho just called Sun and I – just walked in together with him.

So we are sitting in this room. At that point in time, Dr Cho was going through uh- uh- s- uh- situation. A crisis in his life. And there were lots of scandalous news that was out there in the market place. In the newspaper. And I saw his elders around him. And one of his elders was a top attorney. A top lawyer in the country who has advised  Dr Cho for forty years. So this attorney was telling him and say, “You know what Dr Cho? You gotta speak up. You know what they’re saying in a newspaper? You gotta stand and fight. You gotta do this! You gotta do that!” And kept on- kept on an- and here I was, you know, me and my wife, sitting there like a fly on the wall, watching his lawyer telling him, “Dr Cho do this! Dr Cho do that!”

For twenty minutes! He was going on and on and on. And finally Dr Cho broke his silence and said to him and said, “Laywer, listen. It took me all morning to keep my thought and my frame of mind focused on God. And in one moment you want me to break this concentration and this focus on the Lord. Will you just shut up right now and don’t spoil the peace that I have?”

I tell you, I learnt something that day. I learnt that to stay focused is not so easy. It requires a lot of mental, emotional, spiritual. strength to keep your mind staying on the promises of God.”

There’s No Business Like Cho Business

13 Thursday Mar 2014

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Not Under The Table does a very good job sifting through the statement of Bob Rodgers. They help clarify the issues around the Yonggi Cho scandal:

Setting The Record Straight on Deluded Christianity

Earlier today, Pastor Bob Rodgers, the pastor of Evangel World Prayer Center in Louisville wrote an article titled “Setting The Record Straight on David Yonggi Cho” in Charisma News’ Opinion section. Pastor Bob is the current president of Church Growth International Americas, the ministry founded by Pastor Yonggi Cho, who was recently convicted of criminal charges of tax evasion and breach of trust by the Korean court and sentenced to 3-years in jail, but jail term was changed to 5-year suspension due to age and mitigating factors.

In his article, he tried to imply that the news that shook the world is nothing more than a “slant of some of the media reports“, and wanted “certain details of the situation to be made known“. While I believe his personal experience of knowing him the past 40 years, and being in the court proceedings, I do think that the accusation of the “media slant” is trying a tad too hard to justify the failure of the highly respected church leader. Besides, as the president of CGI Americas, his position is also conflicted to give such endorsement.

What’s more interesting to note was that the article was shared and re-shared all over social media as some valid explanation to water down the impact of the court sentence that the elder Cho was not entirely at fault – “he trusted his elders and son and didn’t check and read the thousands of pages of paperwork, which was prepared for him to sign. Because Cho relied upon the direction of his choice elders and son, he signed the papers“.

Is that really the case? I’ll share my opinion of why I feel so wrong about the slant contained in this article:

Blaming The Prodigal Son

“Cho has three sons. The second and third sons are very productive and work in church-related ministries. His eldest son has been the prodigal. He has been married four times and has been involved in sexual scandals with national personalities. In addition, he has served prison time for investment scams and embezzlement. His scandalized life has been an embarrassment to his family and the church.

Twelve years ago, this son purposely defrauded the church in excess of $12 million in a stock-related scheme. Cho testified that he trusted his elders and son and didn’t check and read the thousands of pages of paperwork, which was prepared for him to sign. Because Cho relied upon the direction of his choice elders and son, he signed the papers. He never received any monies from the transaction.”

Pastor Bob, you can say that the eldest son hoodwinked the elder Cho to sign certain documents, but you cannot deny the intention of the elder Cho to cover up the deed deliberately. In fact, when confronted, he denied it and instead, claimed that it was a “a smear campaign by a very small group of people in his church” and that “those who filed the complaint will have to take responsibility accordingly” (ST, 22 Sep 2011)

“Ha Sang-ok , who was part of the group for nearly two decades, admits to being involved in some fraud : ” In the last 14 years I have seen and done bad things. I tried to convince the pastor to stop, but he paid no attention. His behavior is not that of a Christian, but like that of a guru of a sect“. (source)

“First, they claim that Cho returned only 64.3 billion won (US$60.2 million) of the 163.3 billion won (US$152.9 million) he borrowed from the church while building the CCMM Building between 1992 and 1998, when he was chairman of the church‘s Mission Society. The remaining 99 billion won (US$92.7 million), they say, was never returned.

It is also being claimed that Cho’s third son Seung-jae’s International Club Management Group bought three floors of the building from the church for 29.5 billion won (US$27.6 million) and sold them back three years later for 37.2 billion won (US$34.8 million) – pocketing the difference of 7.7 billion won (US$7.2 million).

They also claimed that David Cho’s wife Kim Sung-hae, president of Hansei University, has yet to account for 10.5 billion won (US$9.8 million) paid by the church as support for Bethesda Christian University, an institution she runs in the US. The elders also view US real estate purchased by the university for around US$15 million as having been bought with church money.” (Source)

Not to mention, being man-handled by an elder with a choke-hold and threatened for speaking up:

He never took the lead in any of the crimes

“Third, the presiding judge said, “The court considered that even though Pastor Cho had the final say in the church, he never took the lead in any of the crimes, including tax evasion, committed on the suggestion of the accounting firm.””

It was quite obvious for a man of his stature and power, that surely he must have given some instructions in order to make certain things happen:

“David Cho received a report from a general manager at Yoido Full Gospel Church surnamed Kim that said, “If the elders and believers find out that the church is purchasing I-Service stock at the high price of 86,984 won per share, stock which the church has absolutely no need for, there could be a huge uproar.” Nevertheless, the pastor said, “We have no choice, since Hee-jun is in a difficult situation right now,” directing that the matter be dealt with as quietly as possible to avoid causing any trouble in the church. In other words, David Cho was receiving reports about and giving orders concerning the purchase of the stock that resulted in a loss for the church.” (source)

The Prodigal Son Instigated the Crime

“The court also considered Cho’s life journey as a religious leader and his long-term contribution to social welfare as mitigating circumstances on his behalf. The court ruled that his son, Cho Hee-Jun, was the instigator of the crime related to the purchase of the shares of 1-Service stock.“

“Although the judge believes that Cho should be severely punished for committing breach of trust, especially for a person of his status in society, he gave a light sentence on Cho’s tax evasion in consideration of Cho’s long-term contributions to the society, the Yonghap News reported.” (source)

Fact is, he gave the green light. Period.

For all the justifications that we can give to the religious leader, let’s not forget that he had a choice – which is to silently use church funds to buy his son’s shares at a high price in order to save his son, or let the judicial system and God work its course – to pay the price, and give his son the chance of a brand new life. Unfortunately, he chose the former.

To all pastors out there, instead of justifying why his deeds are “acceptable” and/or “circumstantial”, why not reflect on what the bible says about the requirements to be a good Christian elder/leader? Forgotten Paul’s instruction to Timothy?

Do we need a court conviction to wake up and expose a wayward Christian leader? Are we incapable of proper self-governance and to live a life above and beyond reproach, as a religious leader? Is it time we ought to be conducting an internal audit of our leadership and testimony, before we even mercilessly judge the outside world of their sins, while slamming Christians who speak up against abuse of authority and wrong-doings in Church with the “do not judge” tagline? Let’s not forget the bible tells us not to judge the world, but to judge ourselves, those inside the church – so that they will not be a disgrace to the world and bring shame to the name of God – that the church cannot even manage it’s own affairs. 

The Reflection of Pastor Cho – After the Sentence

Pastor Cho on Sunday addresed his congregation that “through “this suffering” he had learned that “an individual shouldn’t possess anything.”

“Besides health, status, fame, authority, money… these are all matters that are outside the body and unworthy of any pursuit,” Pastor David Yonggi Cho told Yoido Full Gospel Church, in Seoul, South Korea. Cho added that he hopes that God forgives him for his actions. (source)

Timely reflection, or a face-saving moment? Not forgetting what happens 3 years before the sentence:

when confronted, he denied it and instead, claimed that it was a “a smear campaign by a very small group of people in his church” and that “those who filed the complaint will have to take responsibility accordingly” (ST, 22 Sep 2011)

Is this another media slant, Pastor Bob?

We are seeing pastors today scooting around in private jet, luxurious homes, extravagant lifestyle – while members are struggling hand-to-mouth, the money collected while many parts of the world people go hungry, lack education, clean water, etc. What would Jesus Do? What would you do?

While I acknowledge that nobody is perfect and all make mistakes, there are some mistakes the everyday Christian who makes a honest living and simply love their pastors by trusting and giving them their best will never commit – unlike what the mega-pastor attempts – threaten the minority, bully the weak, manipulate the generous, etc. They may lie about how they spent their last Christmas because they feel bad about not giving their family the best, having giving much of their finances to the church, but they will not lie like many of the pastors do.

Jesus cursed the fig tree. What would you do, Pastor Bob?

Accept the sentence. A mistake is made. Deal with it. Don’t justify. It’s sick.

Source: Setting The Record Straight on Deluded Christianity, Not Under The Table, http://notunderthetable.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/setting-record-straight-on-deluded.html, Published 26/02/2014. (Accessed 02/03/2014.)

Related articles:

John Piper Publicly Correcting Phil Pringle’s Mentor David Yonggi Cho

Convicted Yonggi Cho States “Dr” Pringle Is “An Honoured Member of The Board of Directors for ‘Church Growth International’”

Charismatic Leader Steven Lambert Versus Charismatic Leader David Yonggi Cho

David Yonggi Cho Scandal Paralleled To The Kong Hee Scandal

ChristianToday Reports On The David Yonggi Cho Scandal

Christian Post Reports On Bob Rodgers Defense Of David Yonggi Cho

Operation Wolf Pack: David Yonggi Cho Damage Control

Charisma Covering Cho’s Woes

CHC Publishes Yoido Full Gospel Church Statement

Christianity Today & Huffington Post Report On Yonggi Cho Scandal

CHC Stands With The Convicted David Yonggi Cho: “We Stand By Him In This Time Of Need”

Cho’s Woes

Kong Hee & Phil Pringle’s Mentor David Yonggi Cho Convicted For Tax Evasion

Ps David Yonggi Cho of Yoido Full Gospel Church Sentenced “Three Years In Prison, Suspended For Five Years, And … To Pay 5 billion Won”

ChristianToday Reports On The David Yonggi Cho Scandal

05 Wednesday Mar 2014

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We are republishing stories from news sources around the world about David Yonggi Cho or Kong Hee for CHC and C3 members.

The fact is, Christianity and the world are stunned with the behaviour of these men. At least they understand this is not the normal behaviour of Christian ministers. Sadly, false teachers like Kong Hee and Phil Pringle will dismiss or demonise those outside their movements as ‘critics’ or backsliders. They often attack the media for ‘misreprenting’ them.

For some reason members of CHC and C3 will hold to the belief that their leaders are in the right and are being persecuted or misrepresented for Christ’s sake. To them, everyone outside their movement is in the wrong if they question their leaders behaviour.

If you are a CHC or a  C3 member, please start noticing how much concern the universal church has for you and the ministries you are involved in. Start looking at the Christian and secular news sources that have reported the issues around Kong Hee and David Yonggi Cho.

Do you honestly think Phil Pringle, Kong Hee and David Yonggi Cho have bought honour and glory to the name of Jesus Christ?

To our regular C3 leaders and members who read these articles, please keep printing these news articles and distributing them at your C3 Connect groups. We will continue looking for more articles for you to print and distribute to other C3 members and leaders.

ChristianToday (not ChristianityToday) reports,

Pastor David Yonggi Cho convicted of embezzling $12m

The pastor of the largest Pentecostal church in the world has been sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling $12 million in church funds.

David Yonggi Cho, founder of the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, had instructed church officials back in 2002 to buy stocks owned by his eldest son, Cho Hee-jun, at four times the market value.

In 2011, church elders accused him of embezzling $20 million and again last November, some 30 church elders took their complaints about Cho’s corruption to the press, accusing him and his family of stealing millions in church money over the last two decades.

At the press conference, the elders revealed the findings of an internal investigation into Cho’s financial dealings, including millions of dollars in church money that was borrowed by Cho and never returned.

They also reported a severence payment of around $18 million Cho received when he stepped down as head pastor in 2008 – a payment they say was made without the prior consent of the church and its decision-making bodies, The Hanyoreah news site reports.

At the time, former church elder Ha Song-ok said he had urged Cho many times to abandon his unethical practices.

Cho was sentenced on Thursday and must pay back $4.6 million to the church.  Yonhap News Agency reports that he was also convicted of evading taxes to the sum of $3.2 million.

He reportedly told his congregation that through his conviction he had learned that “an individual shouldn’t possess anything”.

“Besides health, status, fame, authority, money… these are all matters that are outside the body and unworthy of any pursuit,” he said.

Yoido Full Gospel Church is affiliated to the Assemblies of God and has more than a million members.

In a sermon on Sunday, The Gospel Herald reports that Cho told the congregation that his conviction was the hardest day of his 50-year ministry.

“God forbid, if God calls me back today, I will still be able to go to the Kingdom of God,” he was quoted by the website as saying.

Cho Hee-jun was sentenced to three years in prison for colluding in his father’s scheme.

Source: Pastor David Yonggi Cho convicted of embezzling $12m, ChristianToday, http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pastor.david.yonggi.cho.convicted.of.embezzling.12m/35994.htm, Published 27/02/2014. (Accessed 05/03/2014.)

CHC Publishes Yoido Full Gospel Church Statement

28 Friday Feb 2014

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YOIDO FULL GOSPEL CHURCH STATEMENT CRITIQUE

CHC recently published Yoido Full Gospel Church’s official statement about the Yonggi Cho scandal. Before reading their statement, we would like to highlight some concerning elements to our readers in this statement.

Underneath the Yoido Full Gospel Church (YFGC) statement, we will publish the biblical qualifications of Godly leadership. It is important to consider if David Yonggi Cho and his elders fulfill the requirements as we offer our critique.

Snippet 1:

“From this day forward all us who are related to this matter will try our best to prevent something like this from happening again.”

What does this mean? Elders did try “to prevent something like this from happening”. They apparently did the biblical thing behind closed doors with David Yonggi Cho (Matt 18:15-20). They were expelled and made the issues public. They were maligned by David Yonggi Cho but were proven to be right in court. Those apologising appeared to do nothing of the sort. When you read the statement, it does not sound like they are apologising about their complacency.

If they want “to prevent something like this from happening again”, they need to remove Yonggi Cho’s family from leadership and have them counselled under God’s Word.

Snippet 2:

“More than anything, we can’t stop expressing our deepest apologies towards our members and to our spiritual teacher and leader Pastor Yonggi Cho for our inability in properly aiding him.”

Why is YFGC leadership “expressing [their] deepest apologies” to Yonggi Cho for their “inability in properly aiding him”? Like we just said, a cluster of elders did try to aid and correct Yonggi Cho privately and they were expelled from his church.

The comment is disturbing. It sounds rather cultish that they are apologising to their leader when it was their leader was caught committing illegal activity.

Snippet 3:

“We promise to sincerely do our best to ensure that Pastor Cho’s ministry will be carried out well within God’s grace.”

Dear elders: your minister is unqualified to hold a pastoral or leadership position in your church. Not only is he a false teacher, he doesn’t even tick the qualifications to be in ministry. He can’t manage his own family.

Furthermore, Yonggi Cho does not have a ministry. Every Christian is called to uphold Christ’s ministry, not their own (2 Corinthians 5:17-21; 1 Timothy 3:15). However Cho has counterfeited Christ’s ministry by establishing his own ‘ministry’ which is why you see this entire empire as “Cho’s ministry”.

Snippet 4:

“We urge our members to also continue praying for Pastor Cho’s health and ministry.”

Here is the next mistake in their statement. You do not pray God’s blessing over wolves or God’s enemies (Isaiah 5:20; Proverbs 17:13). Instead, we are called to love and pray for them to repent of their wickedness and turn back to God. As we stated before, the elders need to not only pray for Cho, they need to do the following:

“But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:11-12

Snippet 5:

“In light of this incidence, we would like to put our past behind and set our sights on the bright future as we move forward in faith to lead in the sharing and practicing of love.”

This is both foolish and unloving to say the least. YFGC should not “put [their] past behind and set [their] sights on the bright future”. Why? They haven’t learnt from their past mistakes and have only made the same mistake again. The leadership need to examine the beliefs, the practices and the system of Yoido Full Gospel Church.

This statement lacks substance, lacks clarity, lacks meaning, lacks accountability and shows little regard for God and His word. If they can’t discern and articulate what the problem is then what have they learned?

If you feel lead, please pray that Yoido Full Gospel reforms and submits to God’s Word.

YOIDO FULL GOSPEL CHURCH STATEMENT

CHC published the following,

Yoido Full Gospel Church’s Statement To Its Church Members (23 Feb 2014)

To the members of our church

This is to inform you our members concerning the results of the trial pertaining to our church held on February 20 (Thursday).

1. With regard to the documents which were approved a while back, a judgment has been made by the judiciary. We sincerely apologize for bringing anxiety to all of the members who have loved our church and prayed about all of the matters related to this situation. From this day forward all us who are related to this matter will try our best to prevent something like this from happening again.

2. More than anything, we can’t stop expressing our deepest apologies towards our members and to our spiritual teacher and leader Pastor Yonggi Cho for our inability in properly aiding him. We promise to sincerely do our best to ensure that Pastor Cho’s ministry will be carried out well within God’s grace. We urge our members to also continue praying for Pastor Cho’s health and ministry.

3. For the past 56 years, Yoido Full Gospel Church has never ceased its ministry of saving souls by preaching the gospel and helping the poor and needy, despite the many difficulties that the church has been through. In light of this incidence, we would like to put our past behind and set our sights on the bright future as we move forward in faith to lead in the sharing and practicing of love. To accomplish this, we dearly need your prayers. We beseech you to pray for the church more fervently and more earnestly.

February 23, 2014 (Sunday)
Yoido Full Gospel Church Senior Pastor Young-hoon Lee, Pastors and Members of the Board

Source: Yoido Full Gospel Church’s Statement To Its Church Members (23 Feb 2014), http://www.chc.org.sg/#!yoido-full-gospel-churchs-statement-to-its-church-members-23-feb-2014, CHC, Published 23/02/2014. (Accessed 24/02/2014.)

proof_CHCYoidoChurchStatement_24-02-2014

NOTE: SCREEN GRAB WAS TAKEN ON THE 24/02/2014.

The Apostle Paul says to young Timothy,

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.

1 Timothy 3