And so I hope your listeners understand what I mean, when I say this, thats how good God is that he can use people who are even morally bankrupt, to bring people to himself. And the thing that is astonishing to me, you used the issue of emotional vulnerability is that, you know, a lot of times our strengths are our weaknesses. At the end of the day the aftermath of destruction is felt on so many levels by so many people and we all react differently in our humanness. And its designed to be acretive, right that they gain strength over time. And it turns out there were a lot more women who had been affected by Bill Hybels. At the same time, hes writing a book and writing articles for Christianity Today about marriage purity. Basically, theyre a rubber stamp., Julie, I have a different take on what happened at WCC. Glad that Jesus is still our anchor! I am thrilled to be here. God showed him through that sermon how his trip was actually isolating and began a process of transformation. I was the senior pastor of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship for nearly 30 years. 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. This was an excellent interview and elders need to read this interview. Well, to answer your question, very bad. 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. Your browser does not support JavaScript. I attended Willow for seven years. These are people that are in your country club. There were some areas or some some critical times when things could have gone differently, but the elders caved in essence to Bill Hybels. Jill and Stuart came to the States from England. So, you know, Julie, its really its death by 1000 cuts. I did live it. By the way, the best thing that was said in the recording is that if character isnt there, none of the regulations will matter, and if character is there, one doesnt need the regulations. He said, Pete, you should have one lawyer on your board but not more than one. And I believe that there is some really sound wisdom in that. They were almost sacred and benevolent and unable to do wrong. Below is a link to a PDF of the article World Magazine did on a sex abuse scandal involving VOM. The small tape recording process drew the attention of many people who were eager for a copy of the teaching they heard at church to share with friends and neighbors. Pete Briscoe @petebriscoe 12 Dec 2021. And something else that you mentioned about the board, which I found fascinating was that the Willow Creek board had an awful lot of lawyers on it. About Stuart and Jill Briscoe For more information just go to JudsonU.edu. What makes you stick with that model and believe it can still be used despite how badly that model has been abused? WebLearn More About Pete Today - Pete Briscoe God loves you to distraction, There is nothing you can do to make Him love them more or less, And, that Life with this Lover God is rich beyond description, regardless of your performance. They had these Global Leadership Summits. You know, I believe in spiritual strongholds and things like that. :), I would strongly urge you to research Voice of the Martyrs. And he committed sex acts with her. A person whos not walking in the Spirit is susceptible to that type of behavior, even a senior pastor. These little bitty people, from Willows perspective, who helped win the PR back, its a miracle. So since youve seen a lot of this kind of up close and personal through talking to witnesses and elders and staff people, how bad was the abuse at Willow Creek? Explain that. And so when you know from the pulpit, that might be a strength. And if you think its not, you know, go and look in your church building right now, if youre quarantined under COVID, or youre not gathering. Just what I call a deformed leadership culture at the church where certain things became acceptable that shouldnt. The ministry began in 1971 while Stuart served as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, which grew into the largest evangelical church in the state. Thank you for joining us in seeing to it that no one misses the grace of 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. Hes also the chairman of the elder board at a multisite megachurch in Dallas, Texas. The woman had come forwarded, but then later recanted her story. I thought that emails could always be recovered, even after being erased, by a good IT person. For that we are forever grateful. Thats a bad default state. The church is nondenominational and has woman pastors and elders. And in the few times Ive spoken with him, I found his insights to be profound. Thank you so much. To me, Bill did not come across as a predator, flirty or suggestive with women. Pete is the son of Jill and Stuart Briscoe. Today were talking with Pete Briscoe, who served as the senior pastor for nearly three decades at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Carrollton, Texas, and now consults with and coaches pastors. I will let you know as soon as I figure it all out. I was a member of WCCC for many years. It was a huge fixture in evangelicalism. Yet, Scripture and to how to teach it became new and deep and exciting every week as I listened to Pete in the short three years I have been at Bent Tree. If you want to know what grooming looks like in the context of church, every elder at a church of any size should read this book. I do. They know there would be swift and sure discipline, if not firing, even with one mistakedepending on the severity of the misbehavior. Lawyers are, by definition, advocates, right? I cant do this authentically anymore. And as hard as the last year and a half has been, I applaud him for that. Hes also a strong believer and advocate for abuse victims. And I think there was, but I think that theres a spiritual stronghold around celebrity culture within evangelicalism writ large. Im still waiting for the apology for the public apology for giving. Maybe some of your listeners are familiar with that you can go on YouTube and and see what thats all about. I mean, there were some things that you learned specifically, that were done to potentially cover wrongdoing by Bill Hybels. And gratitude is where we must go in this time, as Kurt Baxter reminded us on Sunday. WebIt is with heavy hearts that the Elders of Bent Tree announce that Pete Briscoe has submitted his resignation as Senior Pastor. It is a collection of people that we are to care for. Welcome to the Roys report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. Pete has offered to Well Mitch, one of the things Ive never discussed is that we used to attend Willow Creek. And that that was something that taught you an awful lot about how elder board should deal with sexual impropriety or sexual abuse within their own walls. And you have to, there must be assiduous accountability going on in the life of someone who has the big radio show has the big platform, his platform at conferences and large organizations, because the temptations are greater. And I think that Bill Hybels created an advocacy structure around him by having that many lawyers on the board. Hes just an affectionate kind of guy. However, there should be a bubble level of character in Christ that we return to. Stuart Briscoe died on August 3 "of natural causes unexpectedly" according to a tweet from his son, Pete Briscoe. I want to share that God used Petes sermon on not being isolated (Ecclesiastes) in our sons life. In another area, it might be used to groom someone and use vulnerability as a mechanism to draw people into something that is corrupt. Jill It is. WebLearn More About Pete Today - Pete Briscoe God loves you to distraction, There is nothing you can do to make Him love them more or less, And, that Life with this Lover God is rich beyond description, regardless of your performance. Its the biblical admonition, you know, to hold a knife to your throat lest you desire the Kings delicacies. And its pervasive, and people are, theyre using it. This is the kind of thing that you would expect from someone whos cruel and not in relationship with Jesus. Continue Reading The Upper Room: John 15 Posted by Nate Murray Now, I coach pastors and business leaders in communications and self-care. And I think it wasnt a problem, Mitch, because everybody always agreed with whatever the senior pastor wanted. That is a very fair question. Yeah, were all saints who sometimes sin. Briscoe 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. But as you say its Gods grace that despite all that hes used these men to bless many, despite everything. May you and your family be richly bleSSed!!! And unless theyre pollinated by hand, on the one day that the bloom opens, they wont make anything. Mike is a dear friend and Im sad this day has come. 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. Like so many of you, I love Pete. Because it was lawyers advice, you know, and its like, where does the word of God play into our decision making? This is simply a place where I share the message of Gods unadulterated grace through my preaching sermons and bible teaching. Nobody has said they had intercourse with Bill. In our church, we have a no tolerance policy. And there was also a service at WC where the board interviewed him and was he was questioned about an affair. But you had said you had gotten this manual and it was about, you know, basically how to be an elder and how to lead. Amen. Everything started to make sense. Yeah, I think youre gonna be waiting a while. They made a lot of friends. You can choose from more than 60 majors and learn in a Christian environment known for its spiritual values, leadership opportunities, and strong financial aid. Yes, in the course of representing these women, it became obvious that this was not what Ill call an echelon or tier leadership problem, just at Bill Hybels level. Im Julie Roys. Hes like, I wasnt trying to protect the man, who by chance was his brother in law. We needed to go to the hills and fight as guerillas, you know, what is guerrilla warfare? Judson is located just 36 miles outside Chicago on a beautiful 90 acre campus. Youve youve created a fiction when you organize church, what is a church organization but a legal fiction, right? That has been documented and proven through therapy notes. 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. They didnt have the ability to respond to new issues as they arose. Pete reminds us that our goal is not to win arguments, but to win people. If you have six members of the Board of eight, lets just say its eight or 10. This person or these people were hurt as a result, you have a pride problem. Yeah. Because they were required to move by unanimity. Well, one thing I did want to cover, and our time is getting to an end, but I know that you have dealt with having a sexual predator within your church. He has been married to Jill for more than 59 years and has three children and 13 grandchildren. Id like to share a few things as we navigate this loss together. And thats what, thats what you end up protecting right? Jill and Stuart came to the States from England. Do we have a theology of goodness at our church? Likewise. Their board operated by unanimity as well. The thief knows how to how to get through that lock, right? Pete grew up in a home with intelligent and committed parents: both And its not something you can control like traditional mainstream media. Its scripturally rooted. What is it was Chicago? I mean, I Timothy 5:20 says that we should publicly expose elders who are sinning so that others may take warning. One of those is that you had your senior pastor resign kind of suddenly. 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