Ex-Harvest Bible pastor has plans for 2020
Editor's note: A previous version incorrectly stated that one of the ministries listed on jamesmacdonaldministries.org had the same name as a music ministry of Harvest Bible Chapel.
Even as his former congregation at Harvest Bible Chapel tries to recover from a difficult year, the pastor it fired, James MacDonald, is looking forward to new things in 2020.
He has created James MacDonald Ministries. For now, its Web page has only a message from him, along with photos of him and with his wife, Kathy.
"In early 2020, around the anniversary of my last local church sermon, we will begin considering interim preaching opportunities," MacDonald wrote.
Text messages seeking comment have been left for MacDonald, and Facebook messages have been left for whoever is running a Facebook page called "James MacDonald." None have been returned.
At the bottom of the Web page is a list of ministries "coming soon." But there are no active links for them.
One is Act Like Men.
The website also has a logo that appears identical to that of Harvest's.
"Act Like Men: 40 Days To Biblical Manhood" is a book and Bible study written by MacDonald in 2014. Harvest has "Act Like Men" retreats for men, including the 2019 "Act Like Men Palooza Unplugged."
According to the U.S. Patent Trademark Office, Harvest has a trademark for "Act Like Men."
According to the U.S. Copyright Office, MacDonald has a copyright on the book and the "Act Like Men Kit."
"We are hard at work rebuilding my teaching library (literally copying CDs and DVDs of my sermons sent to us by faithful friends) and building a new website. It has been difficult to have no teaching resources to send those who ask or any means of contacting our listeners directly - but in this too we trust the Lord, whom we believe will strengthen my voice to speak for Him once again, in His time and in His own way," the MacDonald website says.
MacDonald and Harvest, the suburban megachurch he founded in 1988, are working through intellectual property and financial disagreements via Christian arbitration.
On YouTube, a channel called "James MacDonald" posted a video Dec. 18 of MacDonald giving a sermon, called "How to Approach Heaven/Christmas in Heaven." It bears a Harvest-style logo. One critic of MacDonald, a former parishioner, says it may be a video of a sermon given in 2009.
The website also says the MacDonalds are preparing written and video devotionals and new preaching content and "developing new ministry models through which we hope to keep sharing the precious Word of God with our ministry friends and partners all over the world."