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Author Topic: Willow Creek's Entire Elder Board, Pastor Heather Larson Resign Over Bill Hybels  (Read 4355 times)
ShineTheLight
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« on: August 09, 2018, 08:35:58 am »

Just in case you haven't been following -it seems like Willow Creek leadership finally realized they were the problem, not the solution. I hope this example inspires others who have been part of the problem.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/willow-creek-entire-elders-board-pastor-heather-larson-resign-bill-hybels-scandal-failings-226694/

There are multiple articles if you do a google search.

The entire elder board of Willow Creek Community Church, including executive pastor Heather Larson, have announced that they are resigning over the Bill Hybels sex abuse scandal.

"While Bill Hybels was our founder and pastor, he was human, broken, and self-admittedly sinful. We believe that his sins were beyond what he previously admitted on stage, and certainly we believe that his actions with these women were sinful. We believe he did not receive feedback as well as he gave it, and he resisted the accountability structures we all need," declared Missy Rasmussen, one of Willow Creek's elders, in a statement Wednesday.

"We, as a board, know Willow needs and deserves a fresh start, and the entire board will step down to create room for a new board. This board replacement process will start promptly and proceed in waves to ensure an orderly transition, with all current Elders leaving by the end of the year," she announced.

"The first wave of Elders will leave by August 15. The members of the current board will not control the implementation of the findings of the governance review and investigations we are announcing tonight."

As Rasmussen explained, the resignations follow new accusations against Hybels, made by Pat Baranowski, who says she served as Hybels' gatekeeper in the 1980s.

Baranowski told The New York Times on Sunday that while living and working with the Hybels family, she was repeatedly undressed, groped, and had oral sex performed on her by the married pastor.

Hybels insisted he did no such things, stating, "I never had an inappropriate physical or emotional relationship with her before that time, during that time or after that time."

The former senior pastor, who founded Willow Creek in 1975, has maintained his innocence in the face of multiple accusations by several women earlier this year, and decided to retire prematurely in April.

Willow Creek's leadership has been strongly criticized by New Testament scholar and author Scot McKnight, a church member for 10 years, and many others, for initially deciding to back Hybels and not believe the women's stories.

Willow Creek's Lead Teaching Pastor Steve Carter, who was named as one of Hybels' successors last year, announced his resignation on Sunday.

Carter said that in light of of the "horrifying" new allegations by Baranowski, he decided to make his decision pubic, admitting he can no longer serve at Willow Creek due to the "fundamental difference in judgment" between himself and the elders.

Rasmussen offered an apology on behalf of the Elder board to all the women Willow Creek initially did not believe, and also addressed Carter's resignation.

"Steve advocated for a number of action steps with respect to investigation and transparency, several of which were already in process when he made the request. We invited Steve to participate in setting up an outside, impartial investigation council, and we reached alignment with Steve in many areas," she stated.

"There were also other requests Steve made that we were not able to accommodate, and in the end, he felt he needed to leave Willow. We wish Steve and his family all the best in the next chapter of their lives."

Rasmussen insists that the board was shocked when the first allegations against Hybels were made known back in 2014, namely that he had cheated on his wife. An internal investigation did not find wrongdoing, however, which the elder now admits "was flawed."

"It focused on whether there was definitive evidence of an affair rather than whether Bill's actions were above reproach. We viewed the allegations through the lens of trust we had in Bill, and this clouded our judgement, which resulted in us not acting quickly enough to secure and examine his devices and in us allowing him to have counseling conversations with the woman who was the subject of the first investigation," she explained.

Rasmussen went on to apologize for subsequent flawed investigations that looked into sexual misconduct allegations against Hybels this year, and also apologized to all the people of the evangelical megachurch.

"To all of the women who have come forward, the church should always follow in Jesus' footsteps to help the wounded find healing, and we are sorry we added to your pain. That was not our intention, and we regret that it has taken us this long to acknowledge that," she added.

"While we will probably never know with certainty everything that's true about each of your stories, we have no reason not to believe you. We are sorry that our initial statements were so insensitive, defensive, and reflexively protective of Bill. We exhort Bill to acknowledge his sin and publicly apologize."

In her own statement, Larson said that the "circumstances have been heartbreaking and devastating on many levels."

"In recent days and weeks, it has become clear to me that this church needs a fresh start. The staff, this staff that I dearly love, they also need a clean running lane to heal, to build, to dream," the executive pastor explained.

"As hard as I have tried, I simply have not been able to get the momentum that we need to address the issues that need to be addressed and to bring about the fresh start," she added.

"Trust has been broken by leadership, and it doesn't return quickly. There is urgency to move in a better direction. It is the job of a leader to define reality, and it is the job of a leader to put the team and the organization first, and I am committed to doing that."
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Janet Easson Martin
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« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2018, 02:15:06 pm »

Thank you, ShineTheLight!  My sister just told me about this a few minutes ago.  Here is one of the highlights I appreciated, that they said to their congregation.

"To all the women who have come forward," said Missy Rasmussen, one of the nine elders, speaking to the hushed congregates, "we are sorry that we added to your pain."

"We have no reason to not believe any of you.  We are sorry that our initial statements were so insensitive, defensive and reflexively protective of Bill," she said, while some in the church's cavernous auditorium, in South Barrington, Ill., wept openly.  "We exhort Bill to acknowledge his sin and publically apologize."

(NYTimes 8/8/18)


My sister, in hearing of this, wished all GCx Leaders would sincerely apologize and resign not only for ignoring disgusting sexually inappropriate behavior and dismissing the victims' complaints; but for all the harm they have caused for others in continuing to ignore, deny, and even perpetuate spiritual abuse for over 40 years.  She thought how brave and healing these leaders could be to their victims.  I agree.

« Last Edit: August 09, 2018, 07:32:47 pm by Janet Easson Martin » Logged

For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.        - Saint Augustine
ShineTheLight
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« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2018, 02:57:47 pm »

"We exhort Bill to acknowledge his sin and publicly apologize."

One wonders where the public exhortation from ECC leadership to Mark to "acknowledge his sin and publicly apologize" is?   Their silence in this regard is deafening. I went through every line of the update site since the original findings were posted, and I see no place where ECC leadership is calling on Mark to acknowledge his sin and publicly apologize. This needs to be rectified forthwith. If I missed this in my review, please share and I'll apologize for my error.

If any ECC/BOT leadership is "lurking" I challenge you to publicly exhort your former colleague and friend Mark Darling to acknowledge his sin and publicly apologize.  What possible reason could you have for refusing to call on Mark Darling to acknowledgment, repentance and apology? Other than "fear of man" namely those at The Rock who still do not accept this decision.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2018, 02:59:51 pm by ShineTheLight » Logged
Rebel in a Good Way
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« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2018, 07:26:09 pm »

Part of what created this just outcome is that people kept pushing, kept pressuring, kept speaking out publicly.  I hope that is the case with ECC and I cannot BELIEVE they are not watching Willow Creek more closely, although of course I can believe it because--closed group.  I for one am going to see what avenues can be used to continue to point out their continued gross negligence in all of this.

I truly hope all of those pastors and board members are resigning out of godly sorrow and repentance and not just trying to jump off of a sinking ship.  Either way, they're doing better than the main ECC pastors (Mark Bowen, Brent Knox, Doug Patterson) who will cling to power no matter what. 
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OneOfMany
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« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2018, 07:55:45 pm »

This confirms my opinion that Evergreen cannot be saved unless most of the Pastors, especially those who actively covered up Darling's sins, resign. In my opinion this is the only way forward movement can succeed.

I came to the realization today about something that really bothered me about Brent Knox's apology. It was with that chipper "all is well" tone he uses. Not a whit of remorse in his demeanor or tone of voice. He must resign.
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GodisFaithful
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« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2018, 07:55:01 am »

If only ECC would one day say, "I wish we would have believed the women."

Instead, in the BOT communications, it seems they are jumping on ANY string of hope that maybe, just maybe, one or more of the women are not "credible" and that because some things are "not substantiated" then, hopefully they are not true. In fact, the three pastors who are guilty of cover up even changed the wording to "not valid".

The fact that they are offering a severance payment to Mark Darling, and as far as we know have not offered the women a dime for the counseling that they needed to overcome the confusion that Mark Darling's inappropriate behavior caused, is telling of what they REALLY think about the women who came forward. All those words of apology from the BOT and pastors are just that--words, when not backed up by actions. And their words about Mark Darling, the reprimand--just words, when you see the extent of their "love and support" for a pastor who is unrepentant and lying.

I do hope that people in ECC will keep the pressure on. I think that ECC is back to a pastor run church with the BOT rubber stamping. That is how it used to be, and I think it is right back to what it was. After all, the pastors who covered up Mark Darling's sin instead of having it investigated were not reprimanded. They are right back in the position where they were. This is a pastor run church with no congregational accountability.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2018, 08:55:55 am by GodisFaithful » Logged
AgathaL'Orange
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« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2018, 05:13:56 pm »

The Bill Hybels situation makes me so sad, and it highlights something very important.


Calling out our loved one's sins is loving.  It is the very best thing we can do.

Had people called it out, corrected it, taken time for healing, etc, perhaps Bill would still be able to be in leadership.


Why does this matter to me?  It matters a lot, because I do think certain personality types are susceptible to this sort of boundary crossing sin.  Being aware, being accountable, and being honest is huge.
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Linda
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« Reply #7 on: August 16, 2018, 10:21:20 am »

The Bill Hybels situation makes me so sad, and it highlights something very important.


Calling out our loved one's sins is loving.  It is the very best thing we can do.

Had people called it out, corrected it, taken time for healing, etc, perhaps Bill would still be able to be in leadership.


Why does this matter to me?  It matters a lot, because I do think certain personality types are susceptible to this sort of boundary crossing sin.  Being aware, being accountable, and being honest is huge.
I totally agree.

This is all very sad and the people who covered were unloving in their actions (although probably were thinking they were showing love).

It is all very sad. Hybels. Willow Creek. Darling. Evergreen. Very sad. And, they are still not doing the right thing. Although, Willow Creek seems to be closer to doing the right thing. It's hard to see it all drag out over months because of what appears to be pride in the leadership.

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