A Shocking “Confession” from Willow Creek Community Church

Is this where all the lack of fear and reverence of God comes from? I've noticed over the last few years how badly it is growing. Then a few weeks ago, it really hit me when literally half of the church strolled in at different times during praise and worship. They didn't just come in late, they came in talking to people who WERE TRYING TO WORSHIP. Then in the middle of a song our associate pastor hugged us and started talking to us while WE WERE TRYING TO WORSHIP. Can you actually believe in God and have absolutely no fear of Him whatsoever? The only thing I can figure is there has been some very poor instruction going on in the church, and I fear for our pastor, because I know the complete nature of God, and He is no doormat.

Our "seeker oriented" church is not only relevant, but also deep. I find that the denominational churches that teach nothing but doctrine like to look down their nose at us, though they do much worse at growing believers. I am afraid this research will validate the some lousy churches into thinking that they have the answer, or the Catholic/Orthodox churches will say that as usual they are right. Maybe a combination of all is what is needed. The seeker movement grew out of the failure of the denominations and the Orthodox.

All true, but is there repentance and growth ? My experience in traditional evangelical churches is maturity is rare. Knowledge of the Bible matures, but character doesn't.

People come because they see people loving each other, they hear the Word of God, seeds of truth and grace are planted, and ministries in the Body of Christ will cause them to become a Christian and live a life of service to others, repentance and good works given in love in the name of our Christ. Nothing else matters; Study the Bible until you're an expert, but if your character doesn't show it, people really don't want to know the Christ in your heart. IMHO in the Body of Christ, there is "sin in the camp" as there was with Joshua. Christian recovery programs show about 1% of Christian men repent. Discipleship programs rarely teach people to think, act and be like Jesus Christ. Bible knowledge is critical & isn't enough, your character has to also grow through obedience & serving others in Christian love.

"If you simply want a crowd, the “seeker sensitive” model produces results. If you want solid, sincere, mature followers of Christ, it’s a bust. In a shocking confession, Hybels states:"

Some people can find some help anywhere but when the founder says it is a bust you can't get any better confirmation than that.

I tell my people that if the Holy Spirit and the Word cannot inspire you to serve and grow then there is no man that can do so. As we can see from this the flesh can be motivated to do some things but real motivation and faith comes by the solid teaching of the Word of God and sound doctrine. All else is fluff and icing. A carnal scratch for itching ears.

As to the broken swords, you can get some results even with a broken sword but best result come with a finely honed, unrusty one. We have had the best for 400 years and it has produced more solid believers and less confusion than all the MVs combined. What isn't broken needs not to be fixed.

Before I attended a so called "seeker church", attending a "traditional American evangelical church" had failed for me. I had given by being a Sunday School teacher, participating in Men's ministries etc. But, when I needed help on how to live, to save my marriage, to repent from sin etc, I was told to "pray harder" and "read my bible more". I tried that, and I, like most biblically illiterate people today, didn't know how to do these things. The so called "purpose driven seeker church" I now attend in Southern California, by attending small groups has taught me how to live a Christian life of service, repentance and ministry. I read my bible and have a quiet time everyday and regard Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. Their ministries have taught me how to live; a real discipleship program exists where I can be honest about my shortcomings. I wish I had done it earlier, I wouldn't have wasted 20+ years of my life. I read the NLT, BTW, curiously the Holy Spirit speaks to me through it.

This is something we Fundamental Baptists knew from the start but were mocked when we crticized the movement. One day the Purpose Driven People will come to the same conclusion. Seek ye the old paths and be Spirit driven for none seek after God!

Fads like seeker churches, 40 days of purpose and the prayer of Jabez come and go but the Word of God, the KJV, stays the same as does the way of salvation. The only only big and rich church in Scripture is the dead church in Revelation. The real church will nomally be small, poor and persecuted as it always has been.

When we start realizing that we are in a nation of pagans and start preaching like the Apostles we will see true church growth. Preach against sin and the culture it builds not kiss its feet and beg it to come into the Church. All Evangelicals have done is repeat the errors of Catholicism by trying to appease the Lost rather than deliver God's ultimatum. Only then can they appreciate the Gospel.

Marantha!!!!!

I have to agree that we should not sit in judgment. Bill Hybels has always exhibited the utmost integrity and it is exemplified in his willingness to be so open about their findings. A dishonest man would have kept this quiet and either covertly made changes in the church or continued to do the same things as long as the people and money rolled in. We should pray for God's grace and guidance to be with Bill Hybels and his staff as they seek to change course.

I've experienced a mega seeker church, and the intentions are good--to create a welcoming environment for unchurched people to learn of the redeeming grace of God. The focus on small group study is great for developing Christian friendships and mentors, but it is not a substitute for a pastor's guidance while learning about scripture and its interpretation. I believe in outreach, but I'm again looking for a church that can challenge me to grow as a Christian, because that work is never done.

I commend the pastoral staff for their rigorous honesty as they explore what it is to "equip the saints". The article, is too critical. I think the "log in your eye" statement of Jesus Christ applies. The churchianity types who criticize attempts to reach others for Christ, have problems they not are willing to admit. Broken people sitting in their own pews cannot safely "confess their sins that they might be healed". Self righteously "studying" the bible they don't realize their character doesn't match up to the scriptures, they criticize instead. When I personally looked in the James 1 mirror, my double standard was brazenly evident, and my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ would not let me forget what I saw when I saw my hypocrisy and self-deceit with respect to my own character vs. what Christ mandated for my character. It was time for repentance.... and so I work out my salvation with reverence for my Savior. So to the critical, look into the James 1 mirror... see any "logs" ?

This article totally frustrated me. The bottom line is that the American church as a whole is failing to produce "self-feeders." Attacking someone who was willing to admit there is a problem only makes honesty even harder to come by.

I believe being a part of the body of Christ requires constantly looking for unbalenced beliefs. It is natural for humans to fall off on one side of an issue while condemning those on the other.

Meeting "felt needs" like divorce care, MOPS, drug abuse, etc has made a huge differece in my family. It will be great to be in heaven where the church will be perfect. Until then, I cheer Bill for taking on honest look at his own ministry.

I really appreaciate this article for pointing out that a prominent pioneer has noticed some flaws in his approach toward ministry. What is even more commendable is that Hybels took the time to air his mistakes so that those coming after him would not do the same. However this article spends too much time criticizing and tearing the subject apart rather than allowing love to cover the matter. This is seen a great deal in the Christian sect; we spend too much time criticizing each other. If we would use more of our energy toward expanding the Kingdom of God rather than pointing out the errors of others we would have less time to do the latter.

I was born in the Chicagoland area, and early in my Christian walk began attending Willow Creek. In the beginning I loved it. The church's contemporary approach was unlike anything I'd ever seen, but the hard part was actually plugging in. It was one thing to accept Christ, but without a strong discipleship ministry ,I always felt uncertain. By the time the church realized it had a discipleship problem during the mid 90s, I had relocated. With the advent of "corporate worship" beginning to take root within certain mega-churches, also came the inevitable sense of apathy for those in search of deeper meaning, or to resolve personal issues the church "outsourced", or waited on a more acceptable climate to discuss taboo issues that were already plaguing churches nationwide. Churches of this scale are precariously close to becoming just another Sunday variety show, more than any other. We're always brought back to the basics from which we've strayed. I began in a small church, I went back.

I agree that a lot of seeker sensitive churches need to do a better job of discipling new & old believers.

However, I hate the I-told-you-so tone of this article. The author clearly sees no good from the mega-church movement and I do see good. This author probably thinks any instrument besides the organ in church is heretical. I say we keep on trying new things to reach the lost and grow the believer. I love that Bill Hybels is focused enough on God to see when something he started is not working. They can change things!! It's awesome. This tells me Bill Hybels is a teachable man used by God in great ways. The author of the article talks about growth in grace v. growth in numbers but I don't sense a whole lot of grace in him.