She had no way of knowing of other incidents and we now see why. Dee, is Julie a new commenter here? * This person really taught the Hybels was like Joseph who was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery. April 13, 2018. * Scripture does not discuss it that way. My wife worked for a Fortune 500 and did grad work in the hard sciences, she taught for a Pac12 university, I have taught law in higher ed for 15 years. Many self/proclaimed Christians dont. Same story we keep hearing again and again. We can all learn from this and make sure to teach your kids. How does one explain it? Followed by the disciples, who never promoted themselves, built buildings, staged shows, had followers, had a staff. Having been a nurse, I told him I found it rather odd that he was focusing on one of the more rare side effects, and that he brought it up to me at all. The comments from some in the WCC Trebuchet Club has brought this home to me. Though Lynne had intended to become a social worker, she did not hesitate to commit her life to church ministry, convinced that God has given the local church a clear mandate to address the needs of "the whole person in the whole world." Last month, the Chicago Tribune published claims that women made against Hybels spanning decades. To get them on the defensive? How many church leaders are not of His sheep ? This will sound horrible to some but I never understood the overall hug culture. Still he says, Willow Creek should be able to survive, even if the allegations against Bill Hybels are true. Actually, those are the tools of the enemy, formerly called deception and it is THAT which God desires to rescue us from. When we overlook this, we open doors for people like pedophiles and other predators to enter the church and carry out their dark deeds. Just to preface: I am a nobody and not a perfect saint. It would seem somewhat of a legal issue to go around wiping documents and videos, no? And my guess is the elders dont know either. If you think about it, that was a planned get out of jail card planted around a few places quite expertly. You get a time out. You watch a kid in a souped up car on the highway darting in and out at excessive speeds and say I hope he gets picked up.. My working hypothesis is that any man intent on seduction of women through grooming them for emotional intimacy and/or sexual involvement will sow in whatever field hes in and will also create or develop the platform that makes it possible to keep the flow of victims going. Some people stay quiet for too long, even good people. Well, yes, absolutely. Im particularly disgusted by They said they could look him in the eye and discern if he was telling the truth.. It goes with safe spaces at college. The next time you make a blanket statement about what the Bible says, pause, think about it, Google and find some help for these difficult concepts. My NPD/Sociopath brother once set up a long con against our stepmother, grooming ally after ally FOR SEVERAL YEARS in his TRVTH! That statement should never have been sent out and hasnt been corrected to this day! U.S. Pastor Allegations. As I continued reading the thread, you did not sound at all like the person on Twitter. They were forced to buy the package and become little Creekers in order to try and stay in the game. Yet, recent expanded personal testimony and wider media discovery has presented material that strongly suggests an Willow Creek senior pastoral history of improper judgement in relation to proper scriptural leading or proper inner-workings of a church representing the teachings of Jesus Christ. Exit music: It creates an incredible amount of cognitive dissonance. My heart goes out to you, all of you, by coming forward you have contributed to breaking this cycle of abuse. And my understanding is that it applies to both criminal cases and civil lawsuits, and in any regulatory actions (like IRS or state Attorney General investigations of corporations). William Hybels (born December 12, 1951) is an American church figure and author. As Im reading the comments, its becoming evident that theres something horribly wrong with Willow Creek church. I asked my mom once why she endured physical abuse so long from my father, and she gave me similar answers. That statement should never have been sent out and hasnt been corrected to this day! It never appeared that they were the type of people that would not speak up. . (2) A face-to-face conversation with Bill Hybels on April 6th. A hint here, a casual comment there, Twenty Chess Moves in Advance. It is in the section entitled, An inquiry begins, about halfway down the page. These things are often expected immediately in the Christian world. Unfortunately, this particular scandal not only impacts specific Willow Creek pastors or employees it impacts the body of Christ and the thousands of people seeking to know Jesus. There was also some sort of one world conspiracy deal. This is ALL so disappointing and disheartening. he did so because there were problems and he knew more would come. Hybel's father was an entrepreneur in wholesale produce whose work ethic was the model for his son. I had the Willow Creek model thrust down on my church over 25 years ago. May God raise up more people like Josiah who tore down the high places and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God until Jesus becomes the only thing worshipped in the church. Im a pastor and a survivor of emotional/verbal abuse (in a relationship, not in a church), and I can tell you that one of the biggest reasons I stayed as long as I did was because I was convinced that I didnt deserve better, I made my own bed and had to sleep in it, and that what I got was as good as I could ever hope for. Uh oh..then we are in trouble. Or your friends husband. No one walks away unascathed. Nope. Whether anyone associated with any of his accusers is a jerk or not, I fail to see the pointunless, of course, the point is to smear whoever accuses him so that people will think twice before bringing forth any more stories. (Exod. Strange things are happening on Twitter on this case. The mistake people make is thinking everything can go back to normal. Will the clay say to the potter, What are you doing? Or the thing you are making say, He has no hands ? Isaiah 45:9. ISBN13: 9780310533719 Release Date: June 1993 Publisher: Zondervan Length: 240 Pages Weight: 0.40 lbs. We NEED a full and unbiased accounting. That said, this is all so tragic. People want to see us deal with our sin openly and humbly. Just wondering??? But If you make a big deal about nothing, you are the problem. Frankly, I think people went to great lengths to protect Hybels including the women he groomed and hit on. I do and I wont allow this pathetic attempt to hurt another. https://cryingoutforjustice.com/2018/03/01/for-professionals-who-work-in-domesic-abuse-dv/. At times I have even wondered if it is not even being used to distract from addressing the root of the problem. One caught my eye: Courageous Leadership. This is a serious question we all need to ask ourselves about our own churches. This is being dealt with by the appropriate people and I will follow up when I learn more. Im probably talking to the air, though, because hit-and-run scolds like you seldom have the courage to come back. How can you say to your brother, Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? But the church's growth also took a professional and personal toll on Hybels, who had married his. He was the it guy on leadership in those circles for some reason. Cant people be sincere and caring without all that? Anybody who doesnt respect your boundaries, whatever they are, is suspect. That is hard to deal with. The pair is living in Chicago and is blessed with two children; both boys. Jodi may want to keep her resume refreshed. In hindsight, it is exactly as others have stated predatory, calculated and manipulative all with a facade of kindness and mentoring. Did her husband ask her not to say anything for FEAR of losing his job? Jack wrote: Time for repentance not damage control. We could apply those words to the most recent statement by Mr Hybels. And it still doesnt negate what Bill Hybels did, even if it were to be true. Lets pretend we know what we are doing., When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time. Maya Angelou. To be in on developing and overseeing the budget? Enough has been said about BH for him to be disqualified in my book, and given how Williow Creek model was push on much of christainity, we are all well within the commands of the NT to exhibit judgement and wisdom if want, we can start playing the verse naming game if you wish. Ultimately only Willow Creek congregants can decide the fate of their church sad state of affairs with millions of dollars at stake. It would take only one cracker to spill all that confidential information to the world (or one thief of the pastors unencrypted computer). Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? (ed deleted link). A quick glance at google and apparently hugging is drugging when it comes to the brain. I cant help but see your point here. I dont want to think poorly of John Ortberg too. To me (and probably to a lot of jurors), timely Disappearing of Evidence = ADMISSION OF GUILT. Stop the Nonsense, WCC Trebuchet Club!!!! The Eleven and Jesus followers went on to be faithful in following their Lord in establishing the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. I am one of His people. Like you, quite a few of us have spent years studying it deeply. Sadly, this woman does not understand how business is conducted. It is sadly, surprisingly easy. I guess Billy Graham never led anyone to Jesus then. Conferences in exotic locales, entitlement, accolades, a volunteer workforce that actually gives you 10% of their earnings. I was contemplating a megachurch model the other day where teaching pastors had term limits or rotating speakers. This is why I have posted the 1 Tim 5 passage in two threads recently: Just read what the Bible says about leaders and ask, Is it even possible that God would set these high standards for elders/overseers/pastors and then only give us promiscuous, abusive, and manipulative leaders?. Brad, given my age, their is a high probability that I was taking college bible class before you were born. Cherry picking scripture out of context wont convince many here, scare or shame them. Hybels, the influential founder and pastor willow creek, resigned in april 2018 after 42 years leading the church. Plus overtones of the old attorneys way to defend against a rape charge: Discredit the Victim making the accusation. No wonder you have no qualms about slamming the Church, the bride of Christ. I was extremely uncomfortable with Hybels repeatedly reminding the church he was the one leading the charge to empower women. For many years, they were THE place when on job hunt. 1 kiss Whats His true name you should know youve written a lot of books, etc and been a pastor for a very long time. The whole church is in our thoughts and prayers. At one mega, the pastors alleged other woman was the missions director. Old school stuff. Including the Ortbergs. You are right, the whole situation smells of cover-up. Hybels' name should be mentioned, yes, but in a Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) sort of way, with seasonal or continuous confession and sorrow and repentance. May God raise up more people like Josiah who tore down the high places and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God until Jesus becomes the only thing worshipped in the church. Publishers are pulling back for a reason. It was recently revealed that Bill Hybels' wife, Lynne, filed for divorce after 37 years of marriage. He pulled me aside and asked me if anything had happened. Nothing would happen there. However, I am not going to let every Tom, Dick and Joe Salitas to copy and paste the letter into this comment section. Your experience fits my own. : The church Elders allowed Bill to stay in an unsupervised counseling relationship with her, while neither her husband nor Bill's wife was made aware of the situation. If he is sincere about his reasons for retiring early, make a very public statement for people to knock it off and let him go away quietly. However, just noticed a mega the founding family kids were using as their cash cow, followed by sexual indiscretions. Who are the people our Creator said were His people?, Are you one of those Serpent Seed believers? Oh yeah. Its ridiculous. And, yes, some people dont come forward with their experiences for dozens of years. Redemption. I believe the accusers in this case especially since you corroborate that they knew the difference in a hug and a hug. As it has been stated in widening circles of social media, under these circumstances (such as: improper investigation, witness discounting/tampering/intemadation, and most important lack of following scriptural guidelines) the Willow Creek 501(c)3 church organization by many credible voices has been deemed/proscribed as no longer a(n) safe or scriptural place to attend or be a part of. We sat under their leadership at Willow Creek for several years.. . @ dee: Brad I am the Bride of Christ, the Church, as are Dee and Deb and many others who post here. God is a title. Thats only whats been reported. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. @ AbuseCrusher: @ Davis and Natasha: Honestly, there is a lot of gossip here and on other social media about all this. Your boss? They are fighting for Hybels. @ Barbara Roberts: Things add up all too well, sadly. This one is so true. Good grief, until this minute I had no idea there was such a thing as a hug culture. Gregory of Nyssa was about as Orthodox as one can get, and yet he was also about as universalist as one can get. I know its not popular here, but Im also thankful for their seeker sensitive approach. Be nice and your comments will be let through. Peter was upset. And, no, it does not minimize their words concerning what Bill Hybels has done. Everyone who is still there from the elders to the lowliest either thinks like this or doesnt dare open their mouth. Ive learned how to see the tactics of abusers because Ive been listening to the victims of domestic abuse for years, am a survivor of CSA and DV and spiritual abuse myself plus Ive read many of the statements which perps make when their sins are called out and exposed. People you work with? Are Lynn and Bill Hybels still married? That is common respect for other people. Hybels used Yahweh (God) for his own desires and celebrity. Read Paul on Mars hill. It is when people naively do not realize that everyone has an agenda, not to be cynical, that they fail to ask important questions and perform essential (to them!) Nancy Ortberg remains affiliated as a board member and husband John Ortberg a prolific speaker, author and leader continues to return to be a guest speaker at Willow Creek for several years after they left Willow Creek? Unfortunately, this particular scandal not only impacts specific Willow Creek pastors or employees it impacts the body of Christ and the thousands of people seeking to know Jesus. If we do that, whether it is an elderly shut in praying for her friends and family in solitude or a person such as Peter standing in front of thousands, so long as we do whatever the Lord asks, that is a great work. Huge. A high five or handshake can do the same. * It is about power and control and until people in churches get this, they will be waaaaay behind the culture. Try as I might, I do not see that sort of response in ScriptureDo not be the disciple with the sword. No one. It is now obvious to me why Ortberg not only believed the accounts of the other victims but why she advocated for them. The gossip inspectors have arrived. Sad! We have a problem with people who now want to pile on the growing number of women who are coming forward with similar stories. The only thing you can blame other people for is making his deception known. A former minister of mine would give the teenage girl side hugs, which put his hand in a place it shouldnt have been. Anyone who says otherwise or who tries to slam someone for not telling immediately just doesnt know what theyre talking about. if this was mishandled, was else has been mishandled? This is largely Christianese. Dee and Brad, have you read my series about Don Hennessys work? Who is Bill Hybels? Statement removes all doubt, in my opinion, regarding serious sexual sin and leadership issues at Willow Creek Community Church as it comes to Bill Hybels. This morning, Nancy Ortberg posted Flawed Process, Wounded Women on her website. Tonight we wept in sadness for all the people closely associated with this story, yes, even for Bill and Lynn and for their adult children. But I believe the women who have been abused by Bill Hybels are telling the truth. No quid pro quo to substantiate. If you want to highlight, in every comment, this is not your blog. manner, outline your thinking and why you believe it to be true. This caliber of leaders dont just stay quiet. there was no hostile work environment attached. These people are the living proof. Another case of a desperate preacher caught with his hand in the cookie jar looking for an excuse and sympathy from gullible followers. Adults need to Stop being snookered by totalitarian niceness. The Kingdom of God is not massive corporate structures and clever corporate game plans. If you all think that personal shopping is sex abuse, you need to get real. So, does that mean the alleged improprieties, at least for them, are not #Metoo worthy offenses? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. Hybels retired early from Willow Creek in 2018 after he was accused by several women, who worked for or attended the church, of sexual misconduct stretching back more than 20 years. Surely someone from the WCC trebuchet club could have found somebody better at weaving a tale. What do you think that Rabbi from Tarsus meant when he wrote For Satan himself can transform himself to appear as an Angel of Light? Often, it is only after literally hundreds of these red flags have piled up and someone else mentions that they have this problem with something pastor said or did, that we finally go, What have I done? Once again, you are doing Satans work not Gods. If any Pastor asked me to have a private, evening chat about leadership I would have looked like a leaf trembling in the wind. If the 21st century church had the same healthy respect for a literal hell that the 1st century church had, we might behave differently in and out of church including church leaders! @ dee: @ April Kasper: People are saved to church. Is it even possible that one leads to the other, as the power dynamic created by abuse is addictive? When one person has an experience like this with a trusted friend and spiritual leader, they typically dont know how to make sense of it. Why not go public 4 years ago?? Just wondering??? He may or may not have been directly abusing his own wife, but he surely was abusing the women in his church who he targeted. 4 unwanted extended hugs (thats including Nancy Ortbergs latest revelation). Still, i know these women and they are godly and credible. Time for some more sacred cows to get smashed. We werent leaders, but we can tell you re: Stowell and many others that they leave and say nothing or little to protect their own reputations and future work in ministry. Why wait until now?? I think Hybels and Billy Graham lost their beliefs somewhere along the way maybe they never really had them. (Hoping they picked the right winning faction). And he could also use the Ambien thing to slander Vonda if she publicly complained about the way he had treated her that night. Im no expert, but my research in such matters suggests how clever and manipulative abusers are. Sexual predation is not based on *wanting to have sex. I get Im not welcome here. Call only those whose backgrounds really do show *above reproach* character. They share two children named Shauna Niequist who is a bestselling Christian author and Todd Hybels Who Is Lynne Hybels Lynne is the co-founder of Willow Creek Community Church and author of Nice Girls Don't Change the World and a columnist for Sojourners magazine. You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye. Less excusable is the behavior of the elders after it started coming out. 1 Peter 4:8 At CertainPublicSchool kids have been caught in the rest room actually having sex as well as dosing on drugs. It was part of his long time abuse of her. We do not allow rank condemnation of anyone who has been victimized, even if said person doesnt believe them. God is always present, even in the hard and dark times. I have been reading sex abuse stories for 9 years. Because you put so much trust and admire a leader like Hybels, your first instinct is to dismiss anything off about them. Bill Hybels stepped down. He didnt seem to follow Yahwehs rules much anyway. I agree. RE got to talking about guys grabbing a boobie feel with side hugs; she thinks it is pretty ubiquitous in the male population. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa0EtdtPi8w. But please dont discard their testimony for the reasons you gave. I am NOT AMUSED! We would have food, beverages, snacks, etc. If anything had happened go around wiping documents and videos, no, it does not their... She thinks it is now obvious to me cant people be sincere and caring without all that,. Sex as well as dosing on drugs to survive, even in is lynne hybels still married to bill WCC Trebuchet Club!!!! Dee: @ April Kasper: people are saved to church people be sincere and caring without all that doing. Was contemplating a megachurch model the other day where teaching pastors had term or!, when someone shows you who they are godly and credible a few of us have spent years studying deeply. 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To church cant people be sincere and caring without all that game plans had no idea there was about! Serpent Seed believers is drugging when it comes to the brain order to try and stay in male.
