{"id":62755,"date":"2018-04-11T06:02:03","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T06:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=62755"},"modified":"2018-04-11T06:02:03","modified_gmt":"2018-04-11T06:02:03","slug":"bill-hybels-prominent-megachurch-pastor-resigns-willow-creek-following-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/bill-hybels-prominent-megachurch-pastor-resigns-willow-creek-following-allegations.html","title":{"rendered":"Bill Hybels, prominent megachurch pastor, resigns from Willow Creek following allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bill Hybels, prominent megachurch pastor, resigns from Willow Creek following allegations<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Prominent pastor Bill Hybels announced Tuesday he is stepping down from his Chicago-area megachurch Willow Creek, just weeks after the Chicago Tribune published allegations of misconduct from several women. Hybels, who with his wife co-founded one of the nation\u2019s largest churches in 1975, was a spiritual adviser to President Bill Clinton around the time of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.<\/span><\/p>\n

He told the church publicly last year that he was planning to step down in October, but he resigned Tuesday, saying he would be a distraction to the church\u2019s ministry. Some members of his congregation shouted \u201cNo!\u201d and gave him a standing ovation following his address.<\/span><\/p>\n

In March, the Chicago Tribune published allegations that he made suggestive comments, extended hugs, an unwanted kiss and invitations to a staff member to hotel rooms. The newspaper also reported allegations of a consensual affair with a married woman, and the woman who said she had an affair later retracted her allegations. Hybels has denied all the allegations and said on Tuesday again that the church\u2019s investigations found no evidence of misconduct. However, he told his congregation he felt attacked and wished he had responded differently.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI apologize to you, my church, for a response that was defensive instead of one that invited conversation and learning,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said that while most of the members of Willow Creek accepted the church\u2019s findings of investigations, \u201csome of the Christian community continue to be confused and conflicted.\u201d The decision, he said, was his, with the approval of the church\u2019s elders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hybels also said that he \u201cplaced myself in situations that would be far wiser to avoid. I was naive. I commit to never putting myself in similar situations again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The church conducted its own internal review, and hired an outside attorney who investigated the allegations and told the Tribune his work led to no findings of misconduct by Hybels. In the Tribune\u2019s report, other high-profile evangelical leaders, including John and Nancy Ortberg, suggested that the church\u2019s internal review of the allegations was inadequate. Hybels had said that those leaders had colluded, to which John Ortberg responded in a recent blog post, saying it was \u201cuntrue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes great courage for women to tell their stories,\u201d wrote John Ortberg, who leads a megachurch in California. \u201cIn this case, the tremendous courage of several women has been met with an inadequate process that has left them without a refuge and with no way to be assured of a fair hearing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hybels has been hugely influential in the megachurch movement, helping to popularize what was known as \u201cseeker-sensitive,\u201d a consumer-friendly approach it has shied away from in the past decade. Willow Creek has also been known for adding women to significant leadership roles in the church. Last year, Willow Creek appointed two pastors to replace him: Heather Larson and Steve Carter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/acts-of-faith\/wp\/2018\/04\/10\/bill-hybels-prominent-megachurch-pastor-resigns-from-willow-creek-following-allegations\/?utm_term=.33dbb251443e<\/span><\/p>\n

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