Willow Creek lead pastor, elders resign
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 9 August 2018
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The tragedy at Willow Creek Community Church reminds us that we all need grace. This podcast invites us to receive and share the faith, hope, and love of Jesus with our broken world. For more news discerned differently, or to receive the Daily Article via email, please visit denisonforum.org.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Jim Denison with Dennis in Forum, and this is the Daily Article for Thursday, August 9th, 2018. |
| 0:08.0 | I will always remember the first time I heard Bill Heibel speak in person. I've been invited to be one of the teachers at an evangelism conference hosted by Willa Creek Community Church. |
| 0:17.4 | Heibles addressed the opening session, calling us to use our influence to reach the |
| 0:21.3 | unreached with urgency and creativity. His passion for the lost was palpable. His leadership |
| 0:26.6 | charisma was unmistakable. It was not surprising he was leading not just one of America's |
| 0:31.6 | largest churches, but one of our generation's most influential ministries. In the last year, |
| 0:37.2 | so much of his story has changed, |
| 0:39.4 | and now the crisis at the church he founded has reached a new level. Last night, lead pastor |
| 0:45.4 | Heather Larson resigned her position. The entire elder board of the church resigned as well. |
| 0:50.7 | Christianity today is calling their resignations a seismic shock for one of the nation's |
| 0:55.6 | most influential churches. Elder Missy Rasmussen spoke for the board stating, |
| 1:00.2 | We are sorry that we allowed Bill to operate without the kind of accountability that he should have had. |
| 1:06.2 | She added, we exhort Bill to acknowledge his sin and publicly apologize. |
| 1:12.9 | As a consequence of their handling of this crisis, she announced, Willow needs and deserves a fresh start, and the entire board will |
| 1:18.4 | step down to create room for a new board. Steve Gillen, lead pastor at Willow Creek's North Shore |
| 1:24.1 | campus, will serve as interim pastor. the church still intends to move forward |
| 1:28.2 | with an independent investigation into the allegations against Hevels. Why is the story of a single |
| 1:34.0 | church's struggles so significant? Because that church is one of the most significant congregations |
| 1:39.7 | in American history. Bill Hewels was born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the son of a wholesale |
| 1:46.8 | produce operator. He came to personal faith in Christ as a teenager. In 1971, Heibel's was a |
| 1:53.2 | youth pastor in Chicago when he started a worship service called Sun City. The service targeted young people |
| 1:59.7 | by using contemporary music and language, skits, |
... |
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