Its so HARD today to know who to donate to. How do we deal with claims of sexual abuse? I mean, its an accurate criticism of people within the church. And so, you know, as a lawyer on the board, youre not absolved from the obligation of complying with the mandates of Scripture. Its good to be visiting with you again. Growing up in a ministry family, Pete watched and learned from his parents and witnessed the reach and power of Telling the Truth 's media outreach. WebPete Briscoe answers that question by pointing us to Paul as the perfect example of one who speaks with tender boldness. The woman had come forwarded, but then later recanted her story. Stuart and Jill Briscoe have always had a passion for teaching God's Word and speaking Truth into people's hearts and moving them toward God. The Journal Sentinel reported: Elmbrook resignations are the latest to rock evangelical Christian churches. Character always has to come first in hiring, then competence, and then chemistry. Its a calling of God. So since youve seen a lot of this kind of up close and personal through talking to witnesses and elders and staff people, how bad was the abuse at Willow Creek? David Jankowski. They know there would be swift and sure discipline, if not firing, even with one mistakedepending on the severity of the misbehavior. And heres what we have to do as people leading churches, okay, you have to understand what the signs of grooming are so one of the things that I did that really helps me, my good friend, Boz Tchividjian, put out a book through his organization G.R.A.C.E. In fact, back in the late 80s, early 90s, we went to Willow Creek and we had a wonderful experience. The church is nondenominational and has woman pastors and elders. "For many of you, he was preacher, pastor, mentor or friend. After a failed attempt to travel alone in his truck out west, he came to church with us that very day. I know for a fact that his article was circulated among the staff at Willow, and they crossed the Rubicon of credulity. The other thing I wanted to talk to you about in you mentioned this in earlier discussion we had about the identity of elders and how so often, and I dont think its just elders, I think its a lot of the senior pastor leadership and staff that their identity tends to become enmeshed with the success or failure of the organization theyre a part of. Leave them alone. I can see the elders (more than half of which were women), and people in general saying, It was only a hug. Tell us what you learned through you know, bringing this person to light, confronting him and dealing with the entire situation that we can learn from as a church. This is a calling. I was kind of thrust into the middle of it out of love for wanting to help my friends and man, that thing escalated pretty quickly. Right? You have your identity rooted in something other than Christ, the centrality of Christ. In this Milgram experiment, they found that people are willing to do things under collar of authority and that they would not probably otherwise do. Because I often wonder what would have happened if he had come back and you know, not been well are not been really able to do his job but said, You know what, Ive got to do this. This is the you know, erither, I need the job, or, This ministry completes me. or whatever, whatever the excuse is. So whos supposed to hold whos supposed to hold the leaders accountable in that structure? To me, this was one of the beautiful God moves about the entire situation. WebSince that time he has ministered on every continent, written more than 40 books, pastored a church for 30 years, and founded a media ministry called Telling the Truth which now broadcasts daily worldwide. As a lawyer whos represented some of Bill Hybels victims Mitch Little has seen a side of Willow Creek that few others have. Lawyer for Bill Hybels Victims Shares Inside Story. WebPete Briscoe is a podcaster and evangelical pastor. Then, I did what all good Christian college students did at that time I acquired a boot-leg copy of the drama and listened to it several times on my own. So there were more than 10 women that came forward and said that there was sexual misconduct by Bill Hybels. Heres to better days and better church health. Later Telling the Truth began airing in several countries in southeast Asia and across 10 countries in southern Africa. Jill and Stuart came to the States from England. which Hybels assented to including you know, repenting for his behavior and not talking about politics and some other things as well. Well, and thanks so much for listening to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. Yeah, they eventually did. When you think about the economic reach of an organization that was that size within evangelicalism, my goodness, even Christianity Today was scared to run articles about it. A man who "dedicated his life to sharing Gods Word with the world" has died at the age of 91. Yeah, my understanding of that of the history has come from interviewing witnesses, talking to people who have served in those roles and hearing their stories at Willow. Id like to share a few things as we navigate this loss together. And Hybels said, essentially, Yeah, well, well do it that way. And Clinton showed up and then didnt comply with anything that the board had said. Pete has offered to Can you imagine what that does for book sales to be on stage at the Global Leadership Summit among people all over the world and touted as an expert in something? But he had the emotional and spiritual fortitude to say, You know what? And there was also a service at WC where the board interviewed him and was he was questioned about an affair. I think it took courage and boldness on his part to be able to do that. I understand that the desire to have elders dealing with what Ill call Echelon or tier level, theological topics: What does the church think about, you know, for example, racial reconciliation? That has been documented and proven through therapy notes. Yeah, were all saints who sometimes sin. Julie, thats whats so interesting about this story to me as I got deeper into it, I started to understand That, you know, when you go to the movies, and you see a story, you expect, okay, that guys the villain. That nonprofit corporation and its bank accounts, thats not what the biblical church is. (See page 54 and following) And its pervasive, and people are, theyre using it. I appreciate your feedback. Understanding & Overcoming Spiritual Abuse, Part II, Understanding & Overcoming Spiritual Abuse, Escaping & Healing from Abusive Churches, Part 2, https://world.wng.org/sites/default/files/issues/pdf/world_sep012018.pdf, https://www.billionbibles.com/voice-of-the-martyrs.html. Their board operated by unanimity as well. It involves a level of compartmentalization that is truly stunning. And I realized that as we were discussing this, that there might be some people who have heard about what happened at Willow Creek, but somewhat superficially, through the headlines and dont really know beneath the surface. I think its Pat Baranowskis story that ran in the New York Times that actually caused that. You know, Willow creeks pastors family members benefit from the Penumbra of Willow Creek and its just sheer size within evangelicalism. It is not a building. Pete Briscoe @petebriscoe 12 Dec 2021. Briscoe stepped down as senior pastor at the end of 2000 but remained involved in the church and active in overseas missions. My husband and I actually bought our last car from our court and we had a great experience. Everyone I knew from childhoodparents, grandparents, pastors, Sunday School teacherswas upright and honest. Pete has offered to One of those women is Vonda Dyer. And youre in the process right now of looking for a senior pastor. We bought the routine and its shocking. Oh Well, and I appreciate your service to the church. Its biblical. And Im like, Ive never seen a spiritual leader ever, ever have that sort of self disclosure in front of the church before he preaches. Jill John and Nancy Ortberg had been at Willow Creek as pastors. Im Julie Roys. "For many of you, he was preacher, pastor, mentor or friend. Vonda was at one time the director of Willow Creeks vocal ministry, and she was one of the first women to come forward and speak publicly about Bill Hybels alleged sexual misconduct. So Scot, its like the scene in The Avengers when Iron Man just kind of drops out of the sky. Hes also a strong believer and advocate for abuse victims. Theres a lot of church boards that operate that way. As I look back on my own four years on staff, Im thankful for the teaching and leadership that Pete Briscoe has brought to Bent Tree, and I know that so many of us have been impacted by his attention to the Lord and quick obedience to however God leads him. And so when you see behaviors that look like grooming, you know, John Calvin, Im not a Calvinist. And another womans situation, theyre in an elder board meeting, and Bill Hybels, you know, has his hand on a womans leg, and no one else can see. However, there should be a bubble level of character in Christ that we return to. Its about serving God. How are you? And I was sitting in my office one day and Vonda picked up the phone and gave me a call and kind of told me what was coming down the pike in terms of the Chicago Tribune article that basically lit the fuse on that entire situation at Willow. The cover up of his behavior manifested at the elder board level. Much has been written on establishing criteria for board member selection. Really what it is, Julie, if we want to get down to it and go to spiritual or biblical terms, these are these are works of the flesh when were not led by the Spirit. Well, to answer your question, very bad. And yet here we see a church thats ostensibly about serving God, and its about proclaiming the gospel and yet this is happening within the church. Why is it that nobody outside a very small group of women who had no power, really no position, why didnt others come to their rescue? Im still waiting for the apology for the public apology for giving. So, while I have strong feelings about this, as you can imagine being a lawyer, but at all points, legal advice has to be subservient to Scripture. Briscoe says that he wants Bent Tree to be a place where people can agree to disagree over this issue. So many people are looking the other way. He was running and we were praying that he would surrender fully to God. At the end of the day the aftermath of destruction is felt on so many levels by so many people and we all react differently in our humanness. I think one of the things that happens in churches, from a deformed leadership standpoint, is requiring boards to operate in unanimity or using unity as a cudgel against people who have firm convictions about things. Pete Briscoe @petebriscoe 12 Dec 2021. Im so grateful now for that heritage. And basically, my understanding is his cavalier attitude was, Well, Ill just pick up and Ill open a new church down the street [if] you dont you dont like me the way I am.. And where does whats legally expedient for our organization? And if you are not willing to as an organism, or as an organization say, We messed up. Stuart Briscoe died on August 3 "of natural causes unexpectedly" according to a tweet from his son, Pete Briscoe. So Mitch has a very unique perspective. Also, make sure you subscribe to The Roys Report on Apple podcasts or Google podcasts. To me, Bill did not come across as a predator, flirty or suggestive with women. Happened so often, I quit altogether. When the when the mans lying on the side of the road, naked and bleeding, theyre the priests who cross the street. Well, I want to turn our discussion to what youve experienced at your own church, which is a multi-site mega church there in the Dallas Fort Worth area, because those are things where youve been able to apply some of these lessons that youve learned from watching the negative example maybe of Willow Creek, youve learned an awful lot from going through crisis at your own church. But theres something wrong in the whole business of Church. Briscoe says that he wants Bent Tree to be a place where people can agree to disagree over this issue. At the same time. "For many of you, he was preacher, pastor, mentor or friend. He has been married to Jill for more than 59 years and has three children and 13 grandchildren. Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox! Can you imagine how many books that sold her? I encourage leaders to research their selection criteria carefully before they recruit for their next vacancies. Pete is the son of Jill and Stuart Briscoe. 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