Regarding Willow Creek's So-Called Repentance...
10/18/2007 23:46 Filed in: Faith & Reason
Cards on the table: I've attended the Willow Creek Leadership Conference at least twice (although not anytime recently) at the actual South Barrington Campus. I took quite a bit of valuable insight away even if I didn't buy into everything that's a part of the WCA model. And for what it's worth, I like Hybels, although I don't follow him or Willow Creek very closely these days.
But I've been amazed at the inordinate amount of attention given today to statements made by Bill Hybels at last summer's Leadership Conference. The word repentance comes not from Hybels as far as I can tell, but from the title of a Christianity Today blog , Out of Ur, in a post called "Willow Creek Repents?" The statement that seems to be getting the most attention is this:
Well, duh.
But let's be really honest here for a moment. If this is a statement of repentance, can I take the collective planks out of the church's eye for a moment, and simply be the first to say that just about every local body I've ever been a member of, and every church I've ever visited--Baptist, Methodist, WCA, Independent, whatever--should really be ready to repent of the very same thing?
Lot's of folks are having some kind of "Aha!" moment with Hybels' confession. But I would still venture to say that discipleship is seriously neglected (or poorly implemented) among churches of all stripes and variations. Program-driven ministry? The vast majority of evangelical churches engage in some kind of program- or event-driven ministry. At least Hybels/Willow Creek is willing to admit there's a problem.
But I've been amazed at the inordinate amount of attention given today to statements made by Bill Hybels at last summer's Leadership Conference. The word repentance comes not from Hybels as far as I can tell, but from the title of a Christianity Today blog , Out of Ur, in a post called "Willow Creek Repents?" The statement that seems to be getting the most attention is this:
We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.
Well, duh.
But let's be really honest here for a moment. If this is a statement of repentance, can I take the collective planks out of the church's eye for a moment, and simply be the first to say that just about every local body I've ever been a member of, and every church I've ever visited--Baptist, Methodist, WCA, Independent, whatever--should really be ready to repent of the very same thing?
Lot's of folks are having some kind of "Aha!" moment with Hybels' confession. But I would still venture to say that discipleship is seriously neglected (or poorly implemented) among churches of all stripes and variations. Program-driven ministry? The vast majority of evangelical churches engage in some kind of program- or event-driven ministry. At least Hybels/Willow Creek is willing to admit there's a problem.