After Hybels Resigns at Willow Creek, Some Say They Wanted to See More Contrition
By Manya Brachear Pashman and Jeff Coen
They sought his repentance, not his resignation. So when the Rev. Bill Hybels, founder of northwest suburban Willow Creek Community Church, announced Tuesday he would step down to avoid hindering the megachurch’s ministries, women who recently alleged inappropriate conduct expressed disappointment that he did not more fully acknowledge his wrongdoing. “The goal for me was never connected to Bill resigning,” wrote Nancy Beach, the first female teaching pastor at the South Barrington church. She recounted more than one conversation or interaction she felt was inappropriate during moments alone with Hybels over the years. “The goal is to usher in the truth, to reveal an abuse of power that spans over 30 years, with women who are scarred and in some cases, terrified to come forward,” she said in a blog entry published Wednesday. Even the president of the Willow Creek Association, a related nonprofit founded by Hybels, said he had expected to see more contrition from Hybels if he is to reclaim a role in the group, according to Christianity Today. Hybels recently resigned from its board. The church, through a spokesman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night. Hybels’ departure came less than a month after a Chicago Tribune investigation disclosed that the pastor had been the subject of inquiries by church leaders into claims that he ran afoul of church teachings by engaging in inappropriate behavior with women in his congregation — including employees — allegedly spanning decades. The inquiries had cleared Hybels. But one woman who participated in one of those inquiries said she felt like a victim again during the inquiry and did not believe it proved Hybels’ innocence. Still, Hybels’ tenure didn’t have to end his way, said the woman, who asked not to be identified because she said she had already received calls, texts and visits to her workplace from angry Willow Creek members. “My motivations for coming forward were not to see him resign but in hopes that he would be able to seek restoration for his ongoing inappropriate behavior,” she said. “It’s unfortunate that no one has been willing or able to hold him accountable for his actions.” While he expressed regret for getting angry when the allegations surfaced, and for making comments that he said could be misconstrued, he was adamant that the allegations were misleading or false, and he commended the elders for their inquiries. The woman said his statements, and the church’s inquiries, fell short. “I’m still hopeful that accountability will be brought for the behavior and bad process that further perpetuated it,” she said. The Chicago Tribune examined allegations investigated by elders and other claims of inappropriate behavior by Hybels through interviews with current and former church members, elders and employees, as well as a review of hundreds of emails and internal records. The alleged behavior included suggestive comments, extended hugs, an unwanted kiss and invitations to hotel rooms. It also included an allegation of a prolonged consensual affair with a married woman who later said her claim about the affair was not true, the Tribune found. Elders of the church — appointed members who oversee Willow Creek’s administration and pastor — had conducted the three reviews after claims about Hybels came to their attention more than four years ago. Pushing for an independent investigation were three former teaching pastors, including Beach, and the wife of a longtime president of the Willow Creek Association, a related nonprofit founded by Hybels. Some of those pressing for more scrutiny said the church’s prior investigation had shortcomings in their opinion, and at least three leaders of the association’s board resigned over what they believed was an insufficient inquiry. Compassion International, a humanitarian aid agency, also chose not to renew its sponsorship of the church’s Global Leadership Summit over concerns about the association’s process for reviewing complaints about senior leaders. On Tuesday, Hybels said he would not headline the summit as he has done in years past. Tom De Vries, president of the Willow Creek Association, which runs the summit, told Christianity Today magazine on Tuesday that Hybels had stepped down from the association’s board a week earlier. Some of the simulcast sites for the Global Leadership Summit did not know if they could promote the event if Hybels remained part of it, according to the magazine. De Vries told the magazine that in order for Hybels to return to the association and the summit, he would have to meet certain criteria, though those criteria were not spelled out by De Vries. “We hope there will be a mending of the wrongs that have been done,” De Vries told the magazine. Hybels’ abrupt departure came days after one of his accusers, a former teaching pastor and a former longtime elder posted personal blog entries explaining why they made their concerns public when they did. Vonda Dyer, a former leader of the church’s vocal ministry, who told the Tribune that Hybels kissed and caressed her stomach in an overseas hotel suite 20 years ago, said she stayed silent for decades because she had confronted Hybels privately and believed her encounters were isolated incidents. “I believe the women who have come forward because our stories are so similar,” she wrote. “For the sake of the other women and for the sake of the church, I cannot stay silent.” On Wednesday, she declined to comment and said that Beach’s blog reflected her thinking. Many in the nearly full sanctuary were shocked and saddened on Tuesday at the news that the beloved pastor who had started Willow Creek out of a rented movie theater 42 years ago was ending his tenure like this. Still, John Stob, who attended Tuesday’s announcement, said he was surprised that Hybels didn’t show more repentance. While he appreciated Hybels’ apology for poor judgment in the past, Dyer’s account in her own words made Stob “sick to my stomach." “I was looking for more of a confession,” Stob said. “I think he still brushed it off. It was a long time ago, but it’s still important." Betty Schmidt, a current member and former elder who has pushed for a more thorough investigation since 2016, lamented the way Hybels handled the announcement. The goal was never to oust the pastor, she said. “It was about giving the opportunity to these women to receive the proper healing,” she said. “Those women were not even mentioned. The whole thing was about Bill.” Contact: mbrachear@chicagotribune.com Contact: jcoen@chicagotribune.com
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