In light of recent events at the church, I was wondering if there were any current or former members who had knowledge of what is happening with the leadership of New Harvest.

It was publicly revealed that the senior pastor was seen purchasing alcohol and when confronted about it had a very questionable explanation about it. He became angry and fired two associate pastors on the spot. Drinking alcohol may or may not be considered taboo, but when you look at how leadership has responded to other members doing the same thing, it's certainly very hypocritical that he would be drinking

I encourage every current member who is contributing money to the organization to reconsider your giving or putting it on hold until this matter is properly addressed. The leadership who controls the finances and the ownership of church property is powerless without your financial support.

I know financial giving is a sensitive subject and you may have been told that you will not receive God's blessing if you do not give. But consider for a moment that your pastors have been entrusted with the care of the church and its people. If they have not been honest and acted with integrity they will be held accountable. Not by you as a congregation, but by God who has placed them in that position.

Please consider putting a pause on your giving for now. If your children are enrolled at the school continue paying tuition, but also begin to look at alternative options if you need to enroll them in school elsewhere.

Do not be afraid to speak up. Do not be afraid to ask questions. If God is really who he says He is, God will not be angered when His children seek out truth and demand accountability from their leaders. If you have a still small voice in your heart that has been telling you something isn't right, or that you are not hearing truth...you must test that and make sure it is from God.

All I know is Pastor Dan Heraldez from the East Long Beach location is preaching tonight (9/23), and some ex-members will be having their own service at a nearby park.

Sounds like the people are divided. Do you know how they are handling everything? Are people leaving?

Unfortunately, I don't.

I'm gathering information I find and piece together on social media. That's it.

September 27, 2020
In order to bring clarity and perspective to the situation concerning Pastor Richard Salazar and the events of
Sunday, September 20, 2020 we, the Leadership Board of New Harvest Christian Fellowship, are issuing the
following statement:

THE ISSUE
Through a series of events, it came to light that Richard Salazar had purchased vodka at a liquor store in
Bellflower, California on or around July 16 2020. A video was taken of him leaving the store with a bag that
looked like one used for alcohol purchases. At first, he denied purchasing vodka claiming that he had
purchased Clamato juice. He gave this answer to the men that saw him at the liquor store, a brother from the
Norwalk church, Pastor Danny Casas Jr., and Pastor Tom Watson. Eventually, 2 months after the initial
accusation, he admitted purchasing the vodka claiming a doctor had prescribed this for his mother who was
dying at the time.
Also during this period, the video has circulated to many, mostly young adults, church members of the
Norwalk church. Many of those people were wondering why it wasn’t being addressed by Pastor Richard or
leadership.

WHAT ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN AND WHY
Pastor Richard has publicly stated on multiple occasions that he’s accountable to the Leadership Board of New
Harvest. Because of this, we have always considered ourselves to be the men he is accountable to.
Upon hearing the initial allegations, we took time to pray and ponder as confronting a pastor of Pastor
Richard’s calibre is an extremely serious matter. After undeniable proof of the vodka purchase and lying came
to us from a variety of sources, we were convinced that it was vital that we address the matter as quickly as
possible. The following Bible verses were our basis for proceeding with an initial meeting.
1 Timothy 3:2 Titus 1:6-9 Christian leaders should be above reproach
Proverbs 12:22 Colossians 3:9 Lying is unacceptable as a Christian
We agree with Pastor Richard’s message on “The Truth About Lying” which he preached last year at our New
Harvest Northern California Conference in Stockton, California which can be found at:
[www.youtube.com]
The purchasing of the alcohol and the lying are extremely serious matters especially due to our Biblical stance
on alcohol. We do understand the great pressure and anguish that Pastor Richard was under as his mother lay
dying. We extended our comfort and prayers to him and his family during this difficult and emotionally

draining time. But the idea this is a private matter and his business alone is untrue. His actions affect the New
Harvest Norwalk church and would eventually spread into the other fellowship churches. At the very least, he
needed to be forthcoming with his trusted men who he claimed to be accountable to.
Unbeknownst to us as we were preparing to meet with Pastor Richard, a Zoom meeting with the Leadership
Board was scheduled by Pastor Danny Casas Jr. with permission from Pastor Richard for Saturday September
19 2020 after the Men’s Discipleship to discuss this matter. Four members of the Leadership Board were sent
to meet with Pastor Richard in person, as we have done with other pastors in the past. The meeting was a
difficult one for everyone concerned and ended with none of the issues being resolved. The Leadership agreed
amongst themselves to rest, pray, and meet again in the week ahead to discuss how to proceed.
While the decision to discipline Pastor Richard or not would be based primarily on his actions of purchasing
alcohol and lying about it, what happened on Sunday following cannot be ignored.
On Sunday September 20 2020 the matter of the alcohol purchase was openly discussed from the pulpit in
both Norwalk church services with Pastor Richard giving his reason for purchasing the alcohol but omitting key
details (such as lying to pastors and church members and his unwillingness to reconcile his actions with Biblical
truth to the Leadership board). None of the Leadership were aware of his intentions to publicly disclose
information in this matter.
Pastor Danny Casas Jr. and Pastor Ruben Sandoval Jr. were also dismissed from ministry after the service in a
manner, in our view, that was not consistent with common decency.
We acknowledge that in these services there were people who agree with the stance of the leadership board
and their outbursts and actions were also unacceptable. When emotions are running as high as they are
people often have difficulty exhibiting self-control but we do not condone their actions.
That afternoon Pastor Richard invited Southern California pastors and wives to a meeting held at New Harvest
Norwalk and gave his side of the story with no input from leadership and inflammatory language such as
“coup” and “ambush” were used to describe our actions. We reject those terms in the strongest possible
sense. It was also said or implied that we were looking to seize control of the fellowship and the assets of the
fellowship, we also wholeheartedly reject this idea. Our motives for doing this was to bring Pastor Richard into
account on this matter, nothing more, nothing less.

THE DISCIPLINE WE HAVE RECOMMENDED
After taking proper time to pray and ponder the Leadership Board of New Harvest has recommended the
following discipline for Pastor Richard Salazar:
To suspend all of his leadership duties, responsibilities and privileges and in addition one year without
preaching in Norwalk and anywhere else with revaluation at the end of one year.
We considered various degrees of discipline including Pastor Richard’s resignation, but we concluded that in
the interest of reconciliation the lesser discipline put forth was more appropriate.
Our prayer is for Pastor Salazar to repent, accept this discipline and do the right thing by honoring God and His
Word.

CONCLUDING INFORMATION
In conclusion, it is important to remember that we are trusted advisors to the fellowship. We can only make
recommendations to the Corporate Board. None of us signing this statement are on the corporate board. In
other words, we have no legal authority to impose anything further.

Art Valenzuela, Stockton CA Robert Romero, Modesto CA Ignacio Torres, Salinas CA

Edwin Melendez, Chicago IL Phil Aguilar, San Diego CA Tom Watson, Manchester UK

5 Signs of an Unhealthy Church leader
1. Leaders won’t apologize or admit to clear mistakes. Churches and pastors make mistakes just like you do, and humble pastors and leadership teams apologize—privately, publicly, and specifically. I have heard of pastors who repeatedly lose their cool and curse at their staff, explaining it away as “intensity” or “drive to succeed.”
If you dare to confront these issues, you might be labeled as a complainer, soft, or unsupportive of leadership. Unhealthy churches are so driven by the insecurities of worldly success that they can’t admit mistakes without also finding a scapegoat such as a board, staff member, or policy that is to blame.
2. Leaders can’t give clear answers and seek to marginalize critics. A church in our area recently filed a lawsuit to silence its critics. Thankfully, they have chosen to drop the suit. However, churches can exaggerate, threaten, manipulate, or withhold information to marginalize their critics too. God calls elders to have integrity and give a clear answer, not spin. Some churches even have a practice of requiring non-disclosure agreements. Churches need to avoid these types of practices if they care to have the trust of the flock.
3. Former leaders just “disappear” without explanation. When a high percentage of former staff can no longer vouch for the character and health of the church leadership, they often disappear quickly. Most often this is because they are troubled by what they have seen as a staff person and are often conflicted about how to respond. This is a major warning sign. If former staff and elders are removed with little to no explanation, it is generally safe to assume they have lost confidence in the church leadership.



4. Leaders protect what they value the most, and develop a theology to protect it. A church that cares most about its reputation will often mislead the congregation to protect their image. A church that cares most about finances will get very angry if someone threatens their ability to acquire funds or if you question expenditures. If control is the issue, then unreasonable requests will be pressured upon unassuming leaders. The insecurities of a church leader are revealed in conflict. Healthy church leadership will be more focused on serving the church instead of protecting what they personally value.
5. When you’re out, you’re out. A friend of mine commented recently about his church experience and why he never returned to his former church saying “When you’re out, you’re out.” Unhealthy church leaders rarely interact with any former staff, and they seek to erase and transfer any remaining influence that former staff has at the church. Those who leave healthy church staffs want to continue those relationships and feel that they can.

I don't mean to add negativity, but a Coronavirus outbreak took place in the Headquarters (Norwalk) building in late September. They have since deep cleaned the building. Even though this Church is facing a difficult time during the split, nobody should wish Coronavirus on anyone, no matter how evil they are.

Putting people at risk during a public health emergency is a whole new level of irresponsibility and disregard for human life. I hope everyone is healthy and safe.

LA County Dept of Health guidelines for Places of Worship to Reopen

If you have knowledge of NH violating the health department guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, you can file a complaint online or by phone:

Submit a Complaint

I have noticed that even though are no new posts made to this conversation there have been hundreds of views. Are you reading these posts looking for new information? Are you questioning what you have been told or have doubts because you have seen things happen?

If you are a member of the church that has concerns about what is happening I would encourage you to reach out to a trusted person for help on what to do.