Chris Reed on Rick Joyner Fallout: ‘They Wanted to Bury Me’
Chris Reed is speaking out following Rick Joyner’s message to MorningStar Ministries regarding Chris’ resignation from the ministry.
After Chris Reed’s departure from Morningstar, Joyner expressed frustration with Reed’s absence from the ministry.
“I did not feel that there was a shepherd’s heart revealed,” Joyner said. “A shepherd lays down their life for the sheep and certainly has regard for them. I didn’t quite feel like there was regard for me, for our board, any of this stuff that we had entrusted a lot to him. And I don’t think to just quit like that is what we ever need to do with anyone, with no notice.”
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Since this statement, Reed has now posted a video called, “‘You Need to Know What’s Really Happening.'” In the nearly 40-minute-long video, Reed re-asserted that he left MorningStar because of the lawsuits that have come out about the minors from MorningStar who were sexually abused by a former volunteer at MorningStar. He also discussed Rick Joyner’s comments about his departure from the ministry.
“I’m still kind of in shock. I’m heartbroken. It’s unbelievable,” Reed says. “I’ve been quiet since I resigned as the CEO and president of MorningStar 13 days ago.”
Reed thanked those who have been kind to him and his family during this time. He says this time has been incredibly difficult.
“…when somebody can dehumanize you to the point to where, like right now, we’re receiving threats on our family, threats on me,” Reed says.
He notes that these threats have been bizarre and terrifying.
“I’ve actually had people texting our house, texting my wife, telling–more than one– ‘Bring you and your kids over to such and such address, and we’ll save you, we’ll protect you, we’ll keep you from harm.’ And then a few minutes later, walk out my front door and those people be parked in front of my house on the curb, watching me walk out my front door. And then when I walk over to their car, they put it in drive and take off,” Reed says.
He also says that Joyner’s reference to Bill Clinton in his update to MorningStar was out of line.
“…he’s compared me to Bill Clinton. And I can assure you one thing: nothing that I did comes close to a Bill-Clinton, Monica Lewinsky scenario,” he continues. “Nothing like that happened. Nothing even close to something like that happened.”
Reed re-iterated the heartbreak he feels for the victims of the lawsuits that have come out against MorningStar.
“My consideration was for the families of the victims,” says Reed. “There have been three or four lawsuits that have come out in the last week, week and a half, or something like that, that are saying that sexual assault, rape, molestation, those kinds of things that go back 15 years. And of course I am not named on those lawsuits, which is one of the reasons why I felt like I could not defend the ministry when so much from the past is being relitigated.
“…if I answer one way, it looks like I’m on the side of the victims and against the ministry, which of course, I am on the side of the victims. If I say another thing, it looks like I am against the victims. You know, it was just a no-win situation” he continues.
Reed says that as painful as it was for him to walk away, he believed this was something he must do. He believes there is a “mirage” happening right now.
“You need to know the truth,” Reed says. “I’m not talking about what I apologized for. I’m talking about what’s being said from the top leadership of MorningStar Ministries, and that is a mirage, a smoke screen, and I’m going to prove it to you.”
Reed pointed out the reason why he cannot use “.com” in his URL for his ministry, which is why he chose ChrisReedMinistries.net. Showing a screenshot from February of this year, Reed showed that the URL with the “.com” ending would take people to a site about Dave Yarnes. However, it now has been updated that if someone goes to the domain with the “.com,” viewers are taken to the article page from The Roys Report article which discussed Reed’s resignation and relationship from a few years ago with a woman previously associated with MorningStar.
“Whoever controls that domain page, they didn’t want me to be able to buy it either,” claims Reed. “When I tried to purchase it they had it for sale for $800,000.”
Reed says he believes he was used as a scapegoat to get the public to focus on him instead of the lawsuits surrounding MorningStar.
“Here’s what you need to know that has come out of his circle,” says Reed. “[they are]…using me as a scapegoat to cause the public to look at me and the controversy surrounding me, so that the public doesn’t look at the controversy over here regarding the lawsuits. Smoke screen. I’m the scapegoat.”
Reed shared with viewers the text message communication between himself and Rick Joyner. Reed also asserted that he did not intend to harm the ministry.
“I never wanted to hurt MorningStar,” says Reed.
Further, the comments from Joyner regarding Reed’s departure and its impact on the people who call MorningStar their church home is what he finds most concerning.
“I think the thing that bothers me the most is when Rick Joyner said last week that I abandoned the sheep. No, I abandoned a ministry that it took me a year and a half as the senior leader, as the CEO, to figure out that there was such a toxic, corrupt environment. I’m not talking about the Sunday morning crowd. I’m not talking about the saints, the people that just attend. I’m talking about the management, the structure itself,” says Reed.
“They wanted to bury me. Forgetting that I have a wife and that I have six children that are depending on me to provide for them, and they were okay with burying me,” Reed concludes.
During this difficult time, please pray for Chris Reed, his family and all those affected by this situation.
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Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
