Categories
Uncategorized

Open Letter to Willow Creek Association Board and Tom De Vries

See the post that lists all the developments in the Bill Hybels situation that has been updated through September 18, 2018. 

List of articles from allegations to resignation of Bill Hybels and its aftermath

 

__________________

 

Dear Tom De Vries and the Willow Creek Association Board,

I'm a ministry leadership professor at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota and I attended the Global Leadership Summit last year. Bill Hybels was one of my heroes. 
 
I am concerned about the latest article in the Daily Herald about the GLS and about the May 17 public statement by the WCA
 
Benjamin Ady reports that as of June 8th he had heard that 205 of 700 North America sites (29%) according to his tally.  Update: the Christian Post reports July 27, 2018 that 111 of 600 sites (so 18.5%) have pulled out of hosting the GLS because of the Hybels situation and the WCA's response. Those include Christ Church of Oak Brook and Eagle Brook Community Church (and Eagle Brook's pastor Bob Merritt was listed as being on the 2017 WCA Board). 
 
 
Therefore, it was hard for me to imagine the statement in the Daily Herald article today was truthful about the same number of attendees being expected this year. But then I looked at the exact quote and I see that it could be weasel words. "the number of registered attendees both for South Barrington and around the world is right on track with previous years, De Vries said." Possible translation: Attendance is way down in US and Canada BUT the home site and other international sites are expecting stable attendance. 
 
The article did not note that the WCA Board has put out a statement about the issue:
  
It seems to me that this statement is rather weak and leaves room for a comeback for Bill Hybels and does not take any responsibility for holding him accountable or looking further into these issues. It is hard to understand what a board is for if they abdicate these responsibilities. 
 
Furthermore, the WCA Board has been avoiding responsibility since 2015 when three members resigned because of a failure to look into these issues. 
 
See these comments from Nancy Ortberg about being on the WCA Board. 
 

Months later, at a meeting with certain Elders and Willow Creek Association Board members, Bill was asked about these women. Bill characterized both of them as “having drinking problems,” being “unstable” and “stalking his family.” I was the only person on either Board who knew the identities of both women, and I knew they were smart, kind, and diligent leaders.

At this same meeting, Bill was asked about his “special arrangement with I.T.,” where his emails are permanently deleted on a frequent and regular basis. During that meeting, an Elder told a WCA Board member that Willow Creek had “no document retention policy.”  This was the first time either Board had heard about this arrangement, but both of these women told us separately that Bill had told them about this “special arrangement” years prior.

Bill also admitted that the woman alleging an affair had spent many nights at the Hybels’ home when Lynne was out of town.

In July 2014 I told the Elders about the story from 2006. They had not been aware of it and did not ask a single question, nor ask for the woman’s name until I brought it up again three months later.

In addition to everything we were learning, I and others on the Board of the Willow Creek Association grew deeply alarmed at Bill being allowed to continue in a counseling relationship with this woman who was suicidal, as well as the slipshod nature of the investigation and the overall lack of accountability in the Willow Creek culture.

 
 
Then see this section of an article from the original article about the allegations against Hybels: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-willow-creek-pastor-20171220-story,amp.html 
 

For Ortberg and two other board members, the decision was the last straw.

Ortberg, along with Jon Wallace, president of Azusa Pacific University, and Kara Powell, executive director of a research center at Fuller Theological Seminary, resigned from the association board in January 2015, later citing what they deemed an inadequate review.

“It is our firm belief that leaders should be open to examination of and accountability for our actions,” Wallace and Powell said in a joint statement provided to the Tribune earlier this month.

Ortberg told the Tribune that the board’s decision not to pursue another inquiry was, in her opinion, a “complete abdication of fiduciary responsibility,” and left the board vulnerable to litigation if the allegations were proved true.

Soon after, there was more fallout from the board’s decision. Compassion International chose not to renew a long-standing sponsorship of the Willow Creek Association’s Global Leadership Summit.

“The decision was made, in part, as a result of Compassion’s concerns over WCA’s process for reviewing complaints regarding Willow Creek Community Church senior leadership,” the organization said in a statement.

 
 
You can see my summary of the events and a few comments at:  
 
 
 
 
It seems to me as well that there should be a public list of who are the Board members of the WCA so they can be held accountable for their role in this. It seems odd, secretive, and inappropriate that there is not a list on the WCA website.  Update 7/29/2018: See board members at 2017 Willow Creek Association Annual Report. Benjamin Ady is researching who these people are. 
 
I have nothing against the Global Leadership Summit–I love it actually–but I am troubled by Tom De Vries and Dick DeVos and whoever else from the Willow Creek Board made the May 17 statement and then also De Vries's comments in this article. It perpetuates the culture of secrecy and lack of accountability and half-truths that got Willow Creek Community Church and the Willow Creek Association into this situation. The Willow Creek Community Church elders and pastors have begun to sharply reverse course and admit Hybels and the church Board and pastors were in the wrong–not the women and the reporters telling the truth, and it is time for the WCA to do the same. Someday conceivably Bill Hybels could make some sort of return to something but how will you and the 400,000 GLS attenders know whether that is appropriate unless you all have had an independent credible investigation look into what happened and how both the Willow Creek Community Church elders and the Willow Creek Association failed to stop it and give recommendations going forward? Demonstrate your leadership competence and integrity by paying for an outside investigation and then giving up all control over what they look into, who they talk to, and the nature of their public final report. Please be different than many organizations that hire a public relations firm to put the best face on things and then hope people move on to focusing on other things. If other pastors are any indication, Bill Hybels will reappear soon and the outcry and sense of cynicism and anger toward leadership and Christians will bloom again. Take this seriously now. It is not going away. Many sites have pulled out this year because it is unappetizing to receive leadership training from a group that is downplaying the misconduct of its leader with half-truths. The Global Leadership Summit will never recover its credibility and thus also its ability to do its mission unless the WCA Board addresses the abuse of leadership power by its founder and its failure to listen to those who were concerned including the resignation of three board members in 2015.        
 
Sincerely,
Andy Rowell
 
—————————-
I have given permission for Scot McKnight to repost this on his blog.  
 
P.S. On the same day or the day after (July 4), Rob Speight wrote a similar Open Letter to Tom De Vries. https://robsp82.com/2018/07/04/trouble-at-the-gls/
 
 ________________________________________
Update 8/6/2018 

Willow Creek Association Announces Independent Investigation
Tom De Vries, President, WCA

Published August 6, 2018 

https://globalleadership.org/news-and-updates/willow-creek-association-announces-independent-investigation/

https://twitter.com/wcagls/status/1026583410171633669

See more developments at: 

9 replies on “Open Letter to Willow Creek Association Board and Tom De Vries”

Dear Andy, thank you for using your discernment to call out many of the leadership failures and deceptive maneuvering of the central issues that Willow Creek and the Willow Association have exported as truth. Bill Hybel’s has not faced his demons and the structure around him has set itself upon covering it up and protecting him and itself, at all costs. This has been a selfish and costly decision that has affected Bill’s family, the church, the Association, the Summit, the network of churches, the global audience, and the women and leaders whom hen and his leadership structure has wounded, maligned and slandered. Thank you for speaking out as you have watched the injustice unfold. Your observations lend credibility to the circumstances we face as many have tried to address these issues personally, then in the elder and leadership circles and now, in the public forum, because they would not open themselves to listen and to act in a manner fitting of the gospel they teach. This has been a harrowing and costly battle for simple biblical honesty, transparency and accountability for the good of Bill and those whom he leads, as well as to the women who found themselves a part of fulfilling Bill’s unhealthy needs and patterns as opposed to being lifted up as sisters and leaders who trusted him to steward his leadership role and calling with integrity. This is not a war of defense between Willow Creek, it’s lawyers, the business it stands to protect and the women it is vehemently and now partially denying. This is a war between righteousness and evil. Will God’s people surrender to the Heavenly Father on matters of sin, oppression and self interest that undermine the church and the sanctity of the living gospel we profess, or will they continue to act in prideful defense of the kingdom that crumbles and stands as a witness to power of their own making. Like Esther who faced Haman, who was known for his self-aggrandizing leadership and demoralizing of people, I make an appeal to the people of God to fast and pray on the behalf of the women who are facing this giant, but the larger giant that we pray for is the war against evil and good within the church divided, God’s designed image bearer of abundance and LIFE at work on this earth. Humility and surrender to Christ have historically been the most powerful leadership tools in the hands of God’s leaders. I ask for your continued prayer. Gratefully, Vonda

Andy, as one who has worked with dozens of clergy sexual abuse situations, I affirm your insights and courageous admonitions. What I fear has happened at Willow Creek right now is kind of a King Solomon situation. He got off to a great start–lots of inspiring wisdom and visioning and worship. God was glorified and people came from afar to wonder at the wisdom and glory of it all. But then the king, to whom God had entrusted so much, stumbled into a moral swamp, taking along his entourage of enablers. Meanwhile the shiny new temple remained as a sad reminder of what once was–and could be yet again if the leaders and elders humbled themselves and repented.

Here is part of an email I (and thousands of other pastors, I presume) received from Tom de Vries: “We want to share something with you of serious concern. The Chicago Tribune just published an article that is extremely negative toward Willow Creek. It is based on false allegations resulting from a campaign by a group of former church members who want to damage the reputation of Willow Creek Community Church and its senior pastor, Bill Hybels. They have mounted a campaign to accuse Bill of inappropriate behavior.” I’ve looked in vain for a follow-up email apologizing to the people he accused.

Andy, thank you so much for flagging these important issues. I appreciate how you (and Vonda as well) presented the facts and the related Scriptural issues.

My wife and I never met Bill Hybels, but we endured cult-like harassment and retaliation from senior members of Willow’s Pastoral Response (ERT) and Conciliation teams.

We learned firsthand that the ERT doesn’t like to be expected to be held accountable for its actions, as was the case in how the ERT kicked us out of Willow because we requested copies of Willow’s policies and procedures on handling complaints against staff and pastors because how they responded to our complaints was not at all in submission to Scriptural mandates.

The ERT’s conduct against us became so bad – and even escalated after we parted ways with Willow – that I was able to obtain a a 21-day Stalking No Contact Order against Willow. (Any court granting this Order against a church is pretty much unheard of).

There is A LOT more that happened that I won’t get into here, but Willow knows full well the wrongdoings they committed. Willow skipped all Scriptural obligations in dealing with the issues we brought forth, and has hid behind their attorneys since January, so I’m definitely considering next steps as this is a huge spiritual warfare crisis for Willow and as I’m particularly concerned about my friends who still affiliate with Willow despite Willow’s pervasive refusals to submit to Scripture and to be transparent and accountable to its members and attendees.

Bob, I apologize for my tardy reply – I just saw your reply. I’ll send more information to your Religion News e-mail address.

Comments are closed.