We see this is the third article this month youve found worth reading. Many organizations that have a board of directors consisting of yes men or yes women who are inclined to go along with the board chairman and/or are friends with them. The woman had come forwarded, but then later recanted her story. Heres my belief, Julie, I think the church at large, the big leaders in evangelicalism, we can name names if we want to, and Im sure that people have names on their mind when theyre hearing this, Why were they silent? Heres my belief, Julie, I think the church at large, the big leaders in evangelicalism, we can name names if we want to, and Im sure that people have names on their mind when theyre hearing this, Why were they silent? And that set the course for some of these more severe things to continue happening, and then to even get more and more severe. Its the biblical admonition, you know, to hold a knife to your throat lest you desire the Kings delicacies. If they have the character to lead the accountability will help keep them you know, keep them honest, so to speak, you know, its kind of like when you put a bike lock on your bike that. Think about the psychology of someone who could be doing what was alleged by Pat Baranowski to have been done to her. And theres an element to which a church like Willow Creek was a global church, right? I think one of the ways that Willow tried to reckon with the situation was to permit Bill Hybels to retire from his role at the church. So, thanks for taking the time and you know, anybody whos willing to take a few minutes out of their vacation for a podcast, I just really appreciate it. Theyre involved in their own issue right now. In context, I think my meaning becomes clear as I say soon after, agreeing with Mitchs assessment that unanimity is bad: Absolutely horrible. You know, when you have somebody like Bryan Loritts, who when hes talking about why when he was at a former church, he didnt disclose to the church that they had a sexual predator among them for six months. Can I talk about Scot McKnight for a second? Right? Pete Briscoe, our pastor at our church came out in support of the Dyers, which was bold, and it was brave. I attended Willow for seven years. How are you? It manifested at the Human Resources level. This is Chicago Tribune. This is people who are dissillusioned, who wanted big jobs at Willow and didnt get them. But when Scot, the the intra tribal dissenter steps up and says, This is wrong, things shifted. Mitch is an attorney, a church elder and an advocate for abuse victims. With distinctly different teaching styles, you'll be moved by the emotional appeal of Jill and the compelling logic of Stuart, as they boldly proclaim God's sovereignty, grace, and love. They had so many churches, thousands of churches coming on board and being a part of those. Jesus said, I call you My friend. When I came onto our board, the terms that Pete Briscoe used were, guide, govern and guard. And I think policy governance has the governing part. It manifested even at the IT level at the church. 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. WebPete Briscoe, Stuart and Jills youngest son, was a key contributor to the ministrys teaching team from 2003 to 2021. It was the summer of 2000, and I was a college student on staff at Pine Cove Christian Camp. So you can go to Amazon and enter in Boz Tchividjian and his book will pop up but you need to know what youre looking for because people who are sexual predators, they have an acuity for blending into society in ways that they dont stand out like this is not like, you know, the sexual predator in your church is not some, you know, grease ball sitting outside your kids ministry just kind of looking for a way to get at, like, thats our common image of what a sexual predator is. I am with you in this sad place of justified disappointment in the church. Yeah. Thank you so much. WebIt is with heavy hearts that the Elders of Bent Tree announce that Pete Briscoe has submitted his resignation as Senior Pastor. For the next 90 minutes, Pete Briscoe enraptured us with his presentation of The Bema.. Its my understanding that was a watershed moment. I cant do this authentically anymore. And as hard as the last year and a half has been, I applaud him for that. Theyve got a little bit of the guide part. The church is literally a collection of people. But lets talk about since were talking about the media, Willow Creek had unbelievable resources at its disposal, right. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. Thank you so much. And to do that, we must avoid falling into the trap of our Christian beliefs being pitted against culture in the public sphere of debate. Well, and I hope there are Christian leaders listening to this who take note because is the time of just being silent and thinking that because youre silent, nothing will come back on you, thats past. I am thrilled to be here. I was blown away. 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. Although theres been some. And he came back and said, I cant do this anymore.. What is it that causes so many people who know better, to look the other way and allow evil to prosper? Now, I coach pastors and business leaders in communications and self-care. I did live it. Serving in the role of elder is a huge responsibility. Powerful ministry at some points. It involves a level of compartmentalization that is truly stunning. It is also the church in which Pete Briscoe, my former wonderful pastor, grew up in. Talk to me about how you saw this playing out at Willow Creek. With distinctly different teaching styles, you'll be moved by the emotional appeal of Jill and the compelling logic of Stuart, as they boldly proclaim God's sovereignty, grace, and love. Correct? This is what manifests. Yet Mitch isnt just the lawyer whos seen megachurches as an outsider bringing accountability. On this episode of The Roys Report, Julie explores these important questions with Mitch Little, whos not just an attorney for victims. But it just has not really looked like true repentance in so many ways. And my understanding was the elder board set some boundaries for Clinton to be able to come and speak. Whats our theology? So when you have someone who is trusted, whos supposed to be an expert, you know, like a pastor, like a longtime senior pastor whos supposed to be a theological expert, and someone whos in authority like a senior pastor, people are willing to do things to satisfy that person that they would not otherwise do, even if those things seem harmful to another person. And sadly, I think they have still. The Journal Sentinel reported: Elmbrook resignations are the latest to rock evangelical Christian churches. So I was really struggling with my faith. Youre its just not its not a matter of if its a matter of when. Its one of the beauties and the deformities of social media is social media is agile. And I think theres a kind of an old guard of megachurch pastors and leaders that think that theyre above accountability and theyre beginning to realize theyre not. 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. Heres my belief, Julie, I think the church at large, the big leaders in evangelicalism, we can name names if we want to, and Im sure that people have names on their mind when theyre hearing this, Why were they silent? 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. And he offers keen insights that are desperately needed as many churches today struggle to be healthy and to avoid the mistakes other megachurches have made. Let me give you some examples. Youve youve created a fiction when you organize church, what is a church organization but a legal fiction, right? 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. Because it was lawyers advice, you know, and its like, where does the word of God play into our decision making? Pete reminds us that our goal is not to win arguments, but to win people. "For many of you, he was preacher, pastor, mentor or friend. Happened so often, I quit altogether. And I could explain why I think thats funny, but you have to have extreme accountability, the larger your platform gets. About Stuart and Jill Briscoe I came out of Wheaton College, as I know a lot of kids do when youre in a Christian environment and maybe see some disillusioning things and I just, it was really a hard spiritual time for me. He has been married to Jill for more than 59 years and has three children and 13 grandchildren. This is a person who is pushing a boundary because they want to do something bad. Everything started to make sense. And we need to start on the work of reconciliation and repentance now. And you have two or three board members who go, I dont think so, they did nothing. Yes, I would view it far differently today. I agree, Pastor Bob. We were talking a little bit about the elder board. And so when I looked at that in the context of James MacDonald going, you know what, thats the type of accountability that man needed and was denied. I have plenty of authentic friends just not at church. The Roys Report seeks to foster thoughtful and respectful dialogue. Amen. So there were more than 10 women that came forward and said that there was sexual misconduct by Bill Hybels. But I have to say that in the middle of dealing with a lot of tall weeds and bugs, God has also given me some flowers and fruit trees to enjoy. Hi. Its How do we protect the entity and the entity as expressed through the person of Bill Hybels? Once you make that decision that youre willing to protect the entity or the person in charge of the entity to the detriment of members of the body or members of the staff, youve made some poor choices that are going to have consequences. About Stuart and Jill Briscoe 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. I think its incredibly dangerous. Lawyer for Bill Hybels Victims Shares Inside Story. After a failed attempt to travel alone in his truck out west, he came to church with us that very day. Theres a lot of church boards that operate that way. Heres my belief, Julie, I think the church at large, the big leaders in evangelicalism, we can name names if we want to, and Im sure that people have names on their mind when theyre hearing this, Why were they silent? I think that they were scared of what Ill call the Christian Industrial Complex that had risen up around Bill, the economic consequences of speaking out on a topic of high consequence. Jill Hi Julie, my name is Teresa and I was wondering if Voice of the Martyr was a good place to donate. Hes a complex character. He is with us today to talk about growing communication skills to improve preaching as well as how we can find deeper fulfillment in our work and lives. 1 talking about this. People can do the job of preaching and leading a church for, you know, 40 plus weeks in the pulpit at a church of this size. ) So, Willows pride did not allow them to see any flaws in their leadership, especially their premier leader. Amen. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted. Is that correct? 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. The Journal Sentinel reported: Elmbrook resignations are the latest to rock evangelical Christian churches. And thankyou for all you do in the NAME of JESUS! I dont think I could survive the corruption I see today had I not seen so much thats good and beautiful in the church growing up. And which really makes me sad because theyve had a change in leadership. But he had the emotional and spiritual fortitude to say, You know what? It grows over time. It is simply to feed ourselves. Hes also the chairman of the elder board at a multisite megachurch in Dallas, Texas. At one point, the elder board at Willow became what people call a policy governance board. Do you understand what Im saying? Destroyed by a staff person is my understanding. (etc. Yeah, totally agree. Okay. So if you think of Willow as being a living thing, we are willing to put other things to death on the altar of preserving that organism. You know, I believe in spiritual strongholds and things like that. WebHi friend, I'm Pete Briscoe. 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. Julie, it is great to be with you again. When the when the mans lying on the side of the road, naked and bleeding, theyre the priests who cross the street. So, you know, Julie, its really its death by 1000 cuts. 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. Well, and it troubles me too, that so many of our Christian organizations seem to be more beholden to lawyers advice and counsel than they do the Word of God. 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. And so I thought it was so funny that James MacDonald had his house in the name of an entity called Vanilla Bean LLC. He was running and we were praying that he would surrender fully to God. He even cites a conversation with Darrell Bock, a member who disagrees with the elders but who also says it is not an issue worth dividing over. I think it took courage and boldness on his part to be able to do that. Manipulative theatrics. As a lawyer whos represented some of Bill Hybels victims Mitch Little has seen a side of Willow Creek that few others have. Also I want to let you know that Judson University is planning to resume in person classes this fall for traditional transfer and adult students and its still not too late to apply. Well, and thanks so much for listening to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. And what lessons can we learn from Willow Creeks mistakes? What eventually broke the culture of secrecy and protection? So Im guessing youre not against lawyers being on board. James MacDonald was friends with Ed Stetzer. The cover up of his behavior manifested at the elder board level. Stuart Briscoe died on August 3 "of natural causes unexpectedly" according to a tweet from his son, Pete Briscoe. I know that the original elders of Harvest thought they could keep James accountable despite the knowledge that he had glaring character flaws from the beginning. Amen. I mean, you dont need to be trying to fit a round peg into a square hole, because it is gonna manifest itself in bad ways. Dear anonymous. And really, I came back to the Lord at Willow and He used that church to help me reestablish my relationship with Him and with His church. etc. About Stuart and Jill Briscoe I want to thank Pete too for advocating for women participating fully in leadership and for Libby modeling what it means to be a true helper (ezer kenegdo). Now, I coach pastors and business leaders in communications and self-care. They have a responsibility to the larger church to speak. Id like to share a few things as we navigate this loss together. Pete Briscoe, our pastor at our church came out in support of the Dyers, which was bold, and it was brave. In fact, I know some of them. And there was also a service at WC where the board interviewed him and was he was questioned about an affair. And thats not what this is about. I dont know. Petes leadership at Bent Tree casts a long shadow with a legacy that will endure. And it had all of these allies not just in the media, but among the angelical industrial complex, other megachurch pastors, everything. Gifted with wisdom, discernment, and a bit of English humor, the Briscoe's bring God's Word to life. And Harvest was the same thing. And Ive been a critic of megachurch multi-site model. This is simply a place where I share the message of Gods unadulterated grace through my preaching sermons and bible teaching. And he realized that he had missed an opportunity to share Christs love with this person, and he didnt even feel worthy to give this message tonight, you know, and he got teared up and, and Im watching this, you know, as a 20, early 20 something right? and Im going to butcher the title. He currently leads a multi-faceted media ministry called Telling the Truth which he shares with his parents Stuart and Jill Briscoe. Put a skin tag on it or a flesh tag. Its so HARD today to know who to donate to. Well, early on in the process after the Tribune article, we had to make a decision, How are we going to fight a machine of this size that is basically promulgating lies about these women and their families and their supporters? And I reached out to people that I already knew within, you know, the watch blogging community. I was just trying to build a relationship, or whatever you just go, But I see you for what you are and youre gonna have to go.. I mean, that is just huge. Im still waiting for the apology for the public apology for giving. David Jankowski. There are therapy notes to support her story. Theyre not holding anybody accountable then. He now coaches Pete Briscoe | Brookfield WI. And now lets put that in the past. Willow did not want to reckon with the deformed culture that had manifested underneath Bills leadership. 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. This is simply a place where I share the message of Gods unadulterated grace through my preaching sermons and bible teaching. I WebHi friend, I'm Pete Briscoe. Thats a rhetorical question. I was just following following lawyers advice. So its okay. I mean, it was a great time. In the late 1990s, Telling the Truth was blessed with opportunities to expand the broadcasts overseas with a newly formed Christian radio station in London, Premier Christian Radio, which today remains the only Christian station across the entire United Kingdom, with 1.2 million weekly listeners. https://world.wng.org/sites/default/files/issues/pdf/world_sep012018.pdf, Also, Id encourage you to read the website below. He even cites a conversation with Darrell Bock, a member who disagrees with the elders but who also says it is not an issue worth dividing over. Its a calling of God. The other woman that Mitch represented will remain confidential but both these cases enabled Mitch to peek behind the curtain at Willow Creek and view upclose some of the dysfunctions that led to that scandal. Senior pastors dont need advocates. Pete served as the senior pastor at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas for nearly 30 years, and he now ministers to pastors and organizational executives through personalized, professional coaching. But the thing that was so shocking to me, is that Bill Hy Hybels was the first pastor I had ever seen be so vulnerable from the pulpit. If anything has a whiff of impropriety, we would jump on it immediately. Thank you for joining us in seeing to it that no one misses the grace of God. Im so grateful now for that heritage. They didnt have the ability to move quickly. How do spot a safe pastorand can. Bill Hybels and Bill Clinton, you know, developed a friendship over the years that at least what Ive discovered in my research, there was an invitation for Clinton to come and speak at the Global Leadership Summit, and a confrontation with the elder board about that because Clinton was on the heels of an adultery scandal. And so when you know from the pulpit, that might be a strength. Like if you go back and you actually read his books line-on-line, there are some things in there in those books where you go, For a pastor, that should be unacceptable. But he was attenuating his church culture and culture at large to him in his behavior. Stuart Briscoe died on August 3 "of natural causes unexpectedly" according to a tweet from his son, Pete Briscoe. Yes, I have be disillusioned many times by churches and some leaders. And wasnt there something with Bill Clinton coming to the church and speaking? One of those women is Vonda Dyer. 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