Paul had something to say to the Corinthians concerning a brother going to law against another brother in his first letter to that church but nevertheless, James McDonald did and settled with Harvest Chapel for over two million!

It does seem that quite a few of these celebrity preachers forget not only what Paul said in 1 Corinthians but what he said to Timothy about the love of money is the root of all evil…

Well in spite of all that ‘Disgraced celebrity pastor, James MacDonald, has filed a lawsuit accusing a Chicago attorney and accountants hired by Harvest Bible Chapel of engaging in a “smear campaign.” 

MacDonald also has posted two videos online with former Harvest elder board chairman, Ron Duitsman, asserting MacDonald is innocent of wrongdoing.

The attorney named as a defendant in MacDonald’s suit, Sally Wagenmaker of Wagenmaker and Oberly LLC, conducted a financial review of Harvest in 2019 and concluded that MacDonald had misused millions in church funds.

Named in the lawsuit is not only Wagenmaker and her Chicago law firm— Wagenmaker and Oberly LLC—but also Schecher Dokken Kanter, a Minnesota accounting firm.

According to the Daily Herald, the lawsuit, filed Nov. 4, accuses Wagenmaker, her firm, and the accountants of knowingly publishing false information so Harvest could gain an advantage in its arbitration with MacDonald.

“Wagenmaker, Todd, and HBC agreed that they would seek to delay responding to MacDonald’s arbitration demand until after they published the defamatory information against him, and that they would aggressively pursue counterclaims against him in the arbitration once they had publicly destroyed his reputation,” the lawsuit states.

The suit also alleges that Harvest’s elders disqualified MacDonald from public ministry in November 2019 to similarly impact the outcome of the arbitration.

Harvest settled its arbitration with MacDonald in mid-August. As part of the settlement, Harvest gave MacDonald all digital and physical assets of Walk in the Word (MacDonald’s broadcast ministry), including nearly $2.5 million in deferred compensation, cash, and insurance money.

Apparently dissatisfied with the settlement, MacDonald earlier this week published a statement accusing Harvest of stealing $6.6 million from Walk in the Word and running a “campaign to destroy my reputation.”

I have repeatedly reached out to Harvest for comment about MacDonald’s accusations, but the church has not responded. I also reached out to Wagenmaker seeking comment but was told she would not be available until early next week.’

More on this on-going saga is at https://julieroys.com/macdonald-videos-lawsuit/?mc_cid=ec62f2f7f2&mc_eid=b13d34ad49