Willow Creek & Soul Force - Part II
About author from SFIF, Mar 30, 2007: The comment below was posted last night on the "Rainbow Warriors" thread by a gay man calling himself "episcopalienated". I wanted to post it in the features section so that everyone might have a chance to see it. His is one of the most remarkable Christian witnesses I've ever read. Whoever you are Episcopalienated, thank you and may God continue to bless you. Your faithfulness is a model for us all. ed.First of all, I would like to thank the Stand Firm bloggers for taking an interest in the decision of Willow Creek Community Church to end what was a very supportive relationship with Exodus International for more than twenty years. I believe that this is a noteworthy development that merits attention in the Christian blogosphere. I am also grateful to the commenters who responded to the previous article, some of whom have counseled against a rush to judgment in this matter and have expressed a very legitimate concern that Willow Creek’s position not be misrepresented.
As an Anglo-Catholic, I must admit that I do not usually follow trends in the Protestant mega-church movement very closely. It is certainly not my cup of tea, but I have no axe to grind and no dog in that fight. Insofar as I am aware, most people who belong to these churches are sincere Evangelical Christians and I embrace and acknowledge them as such. However, like others who have read them, I have benefited from the numerous postings that Father Matt Kennedy and his fellow bloggers have presented at Stand Firm in recent years about the various heresies associated with the “emergent Church” movement and the insidious effect it has had on the Church at large. My ears have certainly been pricked up in this case and I think it is entirely proper to ask about what is currently going on at Willow Creek.
The impression this church has left many in the conservative Christian community with is an important one and largely negative. A commenter who is a member at Willow Creek has pointed out that there are now only five churches in the state of Illinois that continue to serve as official sponsors for Exodus and its ministry. The only Episcopal Church in the United States that is still identified as an affiliate at the Exodus website is on that short list. All Saints Church, Morton, is a small Anglo-Catholic parish in the Diocese of Springfield. It has an average Sunday attendance of 40 and plate and pledge income of under $90,000. Yet All Saints soldiers on in its support of Exodus and, I think, puts many larger parishes to shame in the process. It also does this in the face of relentless opposition from within a denomination that is now shot through with heresy on this issue. I am left to wonder: how large, successful, and well-attended would a mega-church that has been repeatedly hailed as “the most influential church in America” need to be in order to continue following the example set by lowly All Saints?
We have been reminded that Willow Creek Church has not simply abandoned ministry to those who are afflicted with same-sex attraction and will continue to provide pastoral care to them through ministries of its own. I have no doubt that this is true and, as I was careful to note in the previous article, there is no indication so far that Pastor Hybels and Willow Creek have stepped away from the Biblical standard that the proper expression of human sexuality takes place only between one man and one woman united in matrimony. However, the response given by Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, is not the only reason we may have for suspecting that an ideological rift over the use of reparative therapy as a form of treatment is actually at work here, in addition to any legitimate concerns Willow Creek Church has over how its resources may best be put to use during a period of cut backs and economic difficulties. There may even be more to it than that.
In 2008, Soulforce launched its “American Family Outing” campaign, aimed at persuading large and influential Evangelical churches to make their congregations more “gay friendly” and, if possible, to mitigate their views on same-sex attraction. Julie Nemecek is a Soulforce activist who served as part of the team that was dispatched to Willow Creek Church for this purpose and she has shared the following account on her own blog of their encounter with Willow Creek staff members:
There is a great deal to unpack here. First of all, I am not aware of any church or denomination whose position is that a person’s sexual orientation should exclude them from “being received into their church,” if what is meant by that is a professing Christian who experiences same-sex attraction but nevertheless recognizes that it would be sinful to act upon it and refrains from doing so. Thankfully, Willow Creek is not making that mistake. Nor have I ever heard of someone in that situation being told that they must “marry heterosexually” in order to qualify for church membership, although they have sometimes been wrongfully counseled to do so prematurely. Such a position would have the effect of making a mockery of holy matrimony and would be as absurd and reprehensible as an insistence upon mandatory celibacy for those who are capable of experiencing a significant change in orientation that would enable them to enter into Christian marriage at God’s own calling. Provided, of course, that they are permitted to benefit from reparative therapy and other legitimate means of treatment and healing that might help to make such a thing possible, offered by a ministry that hasn’t seen fit to abandon that approach under influence and pressure from groups like Soulforce.
What is perhaps most troubling is the notion that any church could rely on hermeneutical principles that leave it poorly equipped to recognize what is in fact a clear condemnation of homosexual behavior that is found throughout Holy Scripture in a number of places. Even the members of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association can understand the Bible better than that and they attribute the Church’s “homophobia” to the teachings of our Lord Himself. How long is a misguided policy of permanent "abstinence only” for those afflicted by same-sex attraction destined to last anyway if it is imagined that it depends on one passage in Genesis alone (and I’m not even sure which one) if that is truly what Willow Creek now believes and has in mind for its own ministry? And If Soulforce could meet with such a cordial reception from Pastor Hybels and his staff, what response will they give to members of the congregation who “live lives of deception and secrecy in order to be accepted and still enjoy sexual expression in their committed relationships” if Ms. Nemecek is right about that too and those members begin to come forward to demonstrate her point that “we’re just like everyone else”?
These are legitimate questions and fair concerns. By all means, let us wait patiently and prayerfully for a reply from Willow Creek to Jackie's recent inquiry. If Ms. Nemecek’s version of events is regarded by them as being less than fully accurate, they may wish to set the record straight for obvious reasons. Let them do so. In the meantime, those who still suspect that a great mistake has been made here, including Alan Chambers, are surely entitled to the same open-minded reception that some of Willow Creek’s ardent supporters are now urging upon the rest of us on its behalf.
As an Anglo-Catholic, I must admit that I do not usually follow trends in the Protestant mega-church movement very closely. It is certainly not my cup of tea, but I have no axe to grind and no dog in that fight. Insofar as I am aware, most people who belong to these churches are sincere Evangelical Christians and I embrace and acknowledge them as such. However, like others who have read them, I have benefited from the numerous postings that Father Matt Kennedy and his fellow bloggers have presented at Stand Firm in recent years about the various heresies associated with the “emergent Church” movement and the insidious effect it has had on the Church at large. My ears have certainly been pricked up in this case and I think it is entirely proper to ask about what is currently going on at Willow Creek.
The impression this church has left many in the conservative Christian community with is an important one and largely negative. A commenter who is a member at Willow Creek has pointed out that there are now only five churches in the state of Illinois that continue to serve as official sponsors for Exodus and its ministry. The only Episcopal Church in the United States that is still identified as an affiliate at the Exodus website is on that short list. All Saints Church, Morton, is a small Anglo-Catholic parish in the Diocese of Springfield. It has an average Sunday attendance of 40 and plate and pledge income of under $90,000. Yet All Saints soldiers on in its support of Exodus and, I think, puts many larger parishes to shame in the process. It also does this in the face of relentless opposition from within a denomination that is now shot through with heresy on this issue. I am left to wonder: how large, successful, and well-attended would a mega-church that has been repeatedly hailed as “the most influential church in America” need to be in order to continue following the example set by lowly All Saints?
We have been reminded that Willow Creek Church has not simply abandoned ministry to those who are afflicted with same-sex attraction and will continue to provide pastoral care to them through ministries of its own. I have no doubt that this is true and, as I was careful to note in the previous article, there is no indication so far that Pastor Hybels and Willow Creek have stepped away from the Biblical standard that the proper expression of human sexuality takes place only between one man and one woman united in matrimony. However, the response given by Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, is not the only reason we may have for suspecting that an ideological rift over the use of reparative therapy as a form of treatment is actually at work here, in addition to any legitimate concerns Willow Creek Church has over how its resources may best be put to use during a period of cut backs and economic difficulties. There may even be more to it than that.
In 2008, Soulforce launched its “American Family Outing” campaign, aimed at persuading large and influential Evangelical churches to make their congregations more “gay friendly” and, if possible, to mitigate their views on same-sex attraction. Julie Nemecek is a Soulforce activist who served as part of the team that was dispatched to Willow Creek Church for this purpose and she has shared the following account on her own blog of their encounter with Willow Creek staff members:
After the service we were led to a private meeting room where we ate together (wonderful boxed lunches provided by the church) and talked casually around tables arranged in one large, open-in-the-middle, rectangle. There were 29 of us allowed at that meeting and 5 people from Willow Creek including their founding (and current) pastor, Bill Hybels. Both sides shared their issues and concerns in a very gracious dialogue. The Willow Creek staff seemed genuinely taken back that our emphasis was on committed, monogamous, loving relationships and families . . . not sex. One of our group members said, “We’re just like everyone else; too busy with our lives to have much time for sex!” Pastor Hybels also responded in disbelief on hearing that many gay and lesbian Christians are being told to marry heterosexually if they expect to be part of a church.
One of our team members is a survivor of “ex-gay” therapy. He went through $35,000 of therapy – including electroshock treatments – before he came to reject this hateful treatment and accept the truth that God made him as he is and the problems people had with this were their problems and not his. He now works with thousands of others who suffered ineffective – often harmful – indignations because they wanted to be welcome in unwelcoming churches.
For our part, we were surprised and pleased that Willow Creek’s own 30-year study of homosexuality has led them to conclude that: (1) Sexual orientation is unchangeable. and (2) Sexual orientation should not keep someone from being received into their church. They acknowledged that 6 of the 7 verses used to condemn homosexuality are irrelevant; really referring to other things. Unfortunately, they still felt that one Genesis text supported their position that gay and lesbian members must commit to celibacy to become members. We told them how this perspective has caused many in their congregation, because of their love for Willow Creek, to live lives of deception and secrecy in order to be accepted and still enjoy sexual expression in their committed relationships.
There is a great deal to unpack here. First of all, I am not aware of any church or denomination whose position is that a person’s sexual orientation should exclude them from “being received into their church,” if what is meant by that is a professing Christian who experiences same-sex attraction but nevertheless recognizes that it would be sinful to act upon it and refrains from doing so. Thankfully, Willow Creek is not making that mistake. Nor have I ever heard of someone in that situation being told that they must “marry heterosexually” in order to qualify for church membership, although they have sometimes been wrongfully counseled to do so prematurely. Such a position would have the effect of making a mockery of holy matrimony and would be as absurd and reprehensible as an insistence upon mandatory celibacy for those who are capable of experiencing a significant change in orientation that would enable them to enter into Christian marriage at God’s own calling. Provided, of course, that they are permitted to benefit from reparative therapy and other legitimate means of treatment and healing that might help to make such a thing possible, offered by a ministry that hasn’t seen fit to abandon that approach under influence and pressure from groups like Soulforce.
What is perhaps most troubling is the notion that any church could rely on hermeneutical principles that leave it poorly equipped to recognize what is in fact a clear condemnation of homosexual behavior that is found throughout Holy Scripture in a number of places. Even the members of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association can understand the Bible better than that and they attribute the Church’s “homophobia” to the teachings of our Lord Himself. How long is a misguided policy of permanent "abstinence only” for those afflicted by same-sex attraction destined to last anyway if it is imagined that it depends on one passage in Genesis alone (and I’m not even sure which one) if that is truly what Willow Creek now believes and has in mind for its own ministry? And If Soulforce could meet with such a cordial reception from Pastor Hybels and his staff, what response will they give to members of the congregation who “live lives of deception and secrecy in order to be accepted and still enjoy sexual expression in their committed relationships” if Ms. Nemecek is right about that too and those members begin to come forward to demonstrate her point that “we’re just like everyone else”?
These are legitimate questions and fair concerns. By all means, let us wait patiently and prayerfully for a reply from Willow Creek to Jackie's recent inquiry. If Ms. Nemecek’s version of events is regarded by them as being less than fully accurate, they may wish to set the record straight for obvious reasons. Let them do so. In the meantime, those who still suspect that a great mistake has been made here, including Alan Chambers, are surely entitled to the same open-minded reception that some of Willow Creek’s ardent supporters are now urging upon the rest of us on its behalf.
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