At the same time, hes writing a book and writing articles for Christianity Today about marriage purity. Heres to better days and better church health. And this is whats so difficult. Briscoe He currently leads a multi-faceted media ministry called Telling the Truth which he shares with his parents Stuart and Jill Briscoe. Well, since you brought it up, youre gonna youre gonna have to address the Vanilla Bean. Its How do we protect the entity and the entity as expressed through the person of Bill Hybels? Once you make that decision that youre willing to protect the entity or the person in charge of the entity to the detriment of members of the body or members of the staff, youve made some poor choices that are going to have consequences. He, Becky and their kids have been part of the fabric of BT for so long, it is Jill and Stuart came to the States from England. Now, I coach pastors and business leaders in communications and self-care. Bill Hybels and Bill Clinton, you know, developed a friendship over the years that at least what Ive discovered in my research, there was an invitation for Clinton to come and speak at the Global Leadership Summit, and a confrontation with the elder board about that because Clinton was on the heels of an adultery scandal. 1 talking about this. Just what I call a deformed leadership culture at the church where certain things became acceptable that shouldnt. Inside their system, they need to be guarded, governed, guided. Yeah, that is super dangerous. And I feel that way with these pastors. The news of Petes resignation landed heavy on my heart. :), I would strongly urge you to research Voice of the Martyrs. The church is nondenominational and has woman pastors and elders. And that set the course for some of these more severe things to continue happening, and then to even get more and more severe. It grows over time. So as we part ways, let us make the departure sweet. It is a collection of people. And sadly, I think they have still. James MacDonald was friends with Ed Stetzer. Scott Dyer was the worship pastor at Bent Tree Bible fellowship. In fact, back in the late 80s, early 90s, we went to Willow Creek and we had a wonderful experience. It manifested at the Human Resources level. Can you imagine what that does for book sales to be on stage at the Global Leadership Summit among people all over the world and touted as an expert in something? And he offers keen insights that are desperately needed as many churches today struggle to be healthy and to avoid the mistakes other megachurches have made. I think they can do it effectively. And I think that Bill Hybels created an advocacy structure around him by having that many lawyers on the board. Stuart Briscoe died on August 3 "of natural causes unexpectedly" according to a tweet from his son, Pete Briscoe. One of those is that you had your senior pastor resign kind of suddenly. it is. Great question. Yes, I have be disillusioned many times by churches and some leaders. The church is nondenominational and has woman pastors and elders. Its my understanding that was a watershed moment. I dont know. And I can only imagine what the economic forces are behind the scenes for that, but it really disappoints me, that that hasnt happened. This is a person who is pushing a boundary because they want to do something bad. I think there were a few major events. I just, Im amazed that they were in such geographic proximity to one another dealing with almost the exact same problem. 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. Later Telling the Truth began airing in several countries in southeast Asia and across 10 countries in southern Africa. So, thanks for taking the time and you know, anybody whos willing to take a few minutes out of their vacation for a podcast, I just really appreciate it. Whats our theology? The outside investigation report said something along the lines of, Bill Hybels hundreds or thousands of emails with this woman were, not available. Well, as it turns out my understanding from talking to witnesses, those emails were actually destroyed. And yet, when these issues started being raised about Bill Hybels, the larger church, other than you know, a few people you mentioned the Ortbergs, for example, they came forward and spoke. All the times something didnt seem right. I think these women would still like to know the answer to that. But lets talk about since were talking about the media, Willow Creek had unbelievable resources at its disposal, right. 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. I dont agree with a lot of his views, but he said something and it is true, we need to have, you know, church leader needs to have two voices, one for gathering the sheep and one for scaring away wolves. But theres something wrong in the whole business of Church. As a lawyer whos represented some of Bill Hybels victims, Mitch Little has seen a side of Willow Creek that few others have. The fact that, I dont know. And I thought, I think I knew what he was doing when he named it that, but heres why I think its so ironic. Pete has offered to It grows on the vanilla orchid, and it only grows in really exotic places like Tahiti, and there are some places in Mexico it grows too, but what is unique about the vanilla orchid is when it blooms, its got to be pollinated within one day. Thank you for joining us in seeing to it that no one misses the grace of God. They had these Global Leadership Summits. You know, Hybels daughter had her own book on Oprahs book club. On this episode of The Roys Report, Julie explores these important questions with Mitch Little, whos not just an attorney for victims. And what lessons can we learn from Willow Creeks mistakes? So, Mitch, how is it that a lawyer from Texas ended up representing victims of sexual harassment at a mega church in Chicago? And I do think theres a spiritual stronghold, I hope and pray that it will be broken in our area. Because it was lawyers advice, you know, and its like, where does the word of God play into our decision making? Pete Briscoe was Senior Pastor of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Carrollton, TX for nearly 30 years. For the next 90 minutes, Pete Briscoe enraptured us with his presentation of The Bema. I was blown away. Thankyou in advance. Like they didnt read a book, figuring out how to do it, but there are warning signs that people need to be aware of. The Elder Board has accepted Petes decision, and his resignation is effective March 31, 2019. So Im guessing youre not against lawyers being on board. And its not something you can control like traditional mainstream media. WebPete Briscoe answers that question by pointing us to Paul as the perfect example of one who speaks with tender boldness. Its good to be visiting with you again. (See page 54 and following) The radio program began to attract listeners and supporters, enabling the ministry to expand its broadcasting to a growing number of stations throughout the United States and abroad. And he came back and said, I cant do this anymore.. Lawyers are, by definition, advocates, right? In fact, I know some of them. Stuart Briscoe died on August 3 "of natural causes unexpectedly" according to a tweet from his son, Pete Briscoe. Thank God I have Jesus. And Im good friends with her husband Scott Dyer as well. They wont produce any vanilla beans. I just want to say this was not someone who acted on any behavior at our church, but had someone who was in the process of grooming someone else. Powerful ministry at some points. He is with us today to talk about growing communication skills to improve preaching as well as how we can find deeper fulfillment in our work and lives. Its one of the beauties and the deformities of social media is social media is agile. Pete Briscoe, Stuart and Jills youngest son, was a key contributor to the ministrysteaching team from 2003 to 2021. WebPete Briscoe answers that question by pointing us to Paul as the perfect example of one who speaks with tender boldness. So you caught them before that anything actually happened? Hes like, I wasnt trying to protect the man, who by chance was his brother in law. One of those women is Vonda Dyer. Everyone I knew from childhoodparents, grandparents, pastors, Sunday School teacherswas upright and honest. Hes a complex character. ) So, Willows pride did not allow them to see any flaws in their leadership, especially their premier leader. You know, I think, Julie, the other thing that was really whacked out about Willows elder board, and I didnt find this out until very late in the representation was they operated by design out of unanimity. But the thing that was so shocking to me, is that Bill Hy Hybels was the first pastor I had ever seen be so vulnerable from the pulpit. And yet, they lost the PR battle, which is unbelievable. And presented them with the information, he essentially tossed it to the side and said, So what?, No consequences. Bent Tree is a multi site mega church in the Dallas Fort Worth area thats had its own share of crises over the past several years. Ive asked that question many times. Now, I coach pastors and business leaders in communications and self-care. Fellowship, Church family, Community. And Harvest was the same thing. And Ive been a critic of megachurch multi-site model. I totally agree with you Julie on how I viewed the Clergy and Church growing up. 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. Explain that. So I was really struggling with my faith. Just go to BuyACar123.com. WebPete Briscoe is a podcaster and evangelical pastor. And a lot of us who sat in the congregation and received from them were, you know, duped and we bought it. They know there would be swift and sure discipline, if not firing, even with one mistakedepending on the severity of the misbehavior. And really, I came back to the Lord at Willow and He used that church to help me reestablish my relationship with Him and with His church. Friends are important! None at all. I would love to see Chicago experience revival. Im doing well but probably not as well as you because youre on vacation in Florida. Please note, our website requires JavaScript to be supported. And so when these things happen, they cant just stay silent. But this certainly raises red flags. Well, and I hope there are Christian leaders listening to this who take note because is the time of just being silent and thinking that because youre silent, nothing will come back on you, thats past. 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. Well, I tried other churches and its more of the same. WebPete Briscoe is a podcaster and evangelical pastor. Right. And I was sitting in my office one day and Vonda picked up the phone and gave me a call and kind of told me what was coming down the pike in terms of the Chicago Tribune article that basically lit the fuse on that entire situation at Willow. I mean, it was a great time. This was an excellent interview and elders need to read this interview. In this Milgram experiment, they found that people are willing to do things under collar of authority and that they would not probably otherwise do. I encourage you to start praying again and trust God to open doors for you in godly and meaningful fellowship. Basically, theyre a rubber stamp. Pete is the son of Jill and Stuart Briscoe. I was just trying to build a relationship, or whatever you just go, But I see you for what you are and youre gonna have to go.. So a young person in our high school ministry. I know about the deleted emails. 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. Its something like Child Protection Policies. That night we had a guest speaker come in for a special presentation. I had no idea what to expect as this lone man stood on the stage. Frankly I find church to be excruciatingly lonely. Heres my belief, Julie, I think the church at large, the big leaders in evangelicalism, we can name names if we want to, and Im sure that people have names on their mind when theyre hearing this, Why were they silent? So thank you. I think one of the things that happens in churches, from a deformed leadership standpoint, is requiring boards to operate in unanimity or using unity as a cudgel against people who have firm convictions about things. I And unless theyre pollinated by hand, on the one day that the bloom opens, they wont make anything. But we dont have time on this podcast. Youre absolutely right. This is what manifests. Thats one of the things that attracted me to it is that he would admit something that he had failed, like, I remember one Wednesday night at a midweek service, and he got up and he said how that day he had seen somebody who was, you know, he could tell that they were upset and in need, and he just walked right by the person and totally blew them off. 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. You can read about them at their website Teaching the Truth. So grateful for those who did and Scot McKnight who came out with a just a powerful, I remember when his blog hit and he said, Every elder has to resign. And within what, wasnt it a week, all of them resigned. God uses the faithful and generous support of people like you to continue to change lives through the ministry of Telling the Truth. I am with you in this sad place of justified disappointment in the church. To me, this was one of the beautiful God moves about the entire situation. I think ultimately, we are still kind of under the inertia of a culture that was fomented by Pete Briscoe, which was a culture of goodness, a culture of grace and its still carrying forward under that momentum. 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