Ninro Ruiz Peña
USA- Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor of one of the largest megachurches in the US and one of the most famous in the world, Willow Creek, announced his retirement. He resigned after being charged with “misconduct” and “improper behavior.”
An investigation was carried out independently to find out the facts and Hybels was found innocent, but he made it clear that this cost him dearly. He had announced last year that he would transition to new leadership in October 2018, but accusations have surfaced in recent months that he would engage in “improper behavior” in relation to some women in the church, but there is no substantive evidence of this, only the testimony of five people.
Announcing that he would step down as pastor of the megachurch that gathers more than 25,000 people every Sunday at his Chicago church, he reiterated that the accusations were “misleading and totally false.”
“I have been accused of many things that I have never done,” he told worshipers, noting that the entire process was “extremely painful” for him and his wife, Lynne. He decided to step down now to allow other Willow Creek leaders the “freedom to carry out the important mission God has given them.”
“It is increasingly clear to us that leadership [de la iglesia] you cannot use your full potential while your precious time and attention are divided. Hybels founded the church in 1975, with a small group. In a few years the church had “explosive” growth, becoming one of the largest in the United States. The ministry became known worldwide through the books written by the pastor, translated into dozens of languages, and also through the events of the Global Leadership Summit, which offers annual leadership training broadcast to many countries.
The pastor will also walk away from the activities at the summit, of which he was a presenter and stressed that “the decision was mine, after much prayer.”
accusations without evidence
Hybels’ resignation was announced less than a month after the publication of a Chicago Tribune report detailing the pastor’s alleged “inappropriate conduct” in relation to five women.
Material published by the Tribune included accusations of “inappropriate conversations, prolonged hugs, an unwanted kiss, and invitations to hotel rooms.” One of the women, who was married, claimed to have had an extramarital affair with Hybels, but she ended up backing out when she was investigated by the church commission.
One of the women accusing Hybels worked with him at Willow Creek as a pastor for the Ministry of Teaching. Her accusations referred to what she considered “inappropriate attitudes” on the part of her leader on trips she made with her in 1998 and 1999.
The scandal that rocked Willow Creek came to light after the wave of allegations of abuse against Hollywood producers in the MeToo movement. This had repercussions in the ecclesiastical milieu, with some churches seeing the names of their leaders involved in accusations.
What is striking in the Bill Hybels case is that there was no hard evidence. He always denied all the accusations. He has gone so far as to accuse a group of former church leaders of wanting to “damage his reputation” for him ahead of his planned October retirement.
In his farewell speech, this Tuesday he regretted having reacted to the accusations with anger, since he felt attacked. He said that he tried to dialogue with his accusers, but that since then he seeks to “understand what God wants to teach me in all this.”
The members of the Willow Creek Council, responsible for the direction of the church, explained to the congregation that there was no “misconduct” on the part of Hybels, something determined after internal and external investigations, which tried to hear all accusations.
Effective immediately, Heather Larson takes over as Willow Creek Senior Pastor and Steve Carter will serve as Teaching Pastor. Hybel will continue to attend the church, but only on a membership basis.
[ Fuente: Reuters y Christianity Today ]
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