April 11, 2018
Forty-two years after founding (click here) one of the nation’s most influential evangelical megachurches, the Rev. Bill Hybels told his congregation Tuesday night that he would step down from the helm of Willow Creek Community Church six months ahead of schedule.
His departure comes less than a month after a Chicago Tribune investigation disclosed that Hybels had been the subject of inquiries by church leaders into claims that he ran afoul of church teachings by engaging in inappropriate behavior with women in his congregation — including employees — allegedly spanning decades. The inquiries had cleared Hybels....
...Referring to his wife, he said, “It has been extremely painful for Lynne and I to see this controversy continue to be a distraction.”...
The real reason for leaving the church is:
...He also announced that he would not lead the church’s Global Leadership Summit, an annual event featuring leaders from business, government, entertainment and churches hosted by the Willow Creek Association, a nonprofit dedicated to leadership development, where Hybels had planned to focus his energy after retirement....
The money. Today, there is little tolerance to sexual assault or misconduct. It's the money.
...“I too often placed myself in situations that would have been far wiser to avoid,” he said, adding: “I was naive about the dynamics those situations created. … I commit to never putting myself into similar situations again.”...
The real evil ones are the liars.
...Vonda Dyer, a former leader of the church’s vocal ministry, who told the Tribune that Hybels kissed and caressed her stomach in an overseas hotel suite 20 years ago, said she stayed silent for decades because she had confronted Hybels privately and believed her encounters were isolated incidents.
Evidently, a country full of women believed their encounters were isolated or oppressed by a non-disclosure agreement. It is amazing. Just amazing.
“I believe the women who have come forward because our stories are so similar,” she wrote. “For the sake of the other women and for the sake of the church, I cannot stay silent.”
Betty Schmidt, a current member and former elder, said that current elders had misrepresented what she told them when she met with them 15 months ago....
...The Chicago Tribune examined allegations investigated by elders and other claims of inappropriate behavior by Hybels by interviewing current and former church members, elders and employees, as well as reviewing hundreds of emails and internal records.
The alleged behavior included suggestive comments, extended hugs, an unwanted kiss and invitations to hotel rooms. It also included an allegation of a prolonged consensual affair with a married woman who later said her claim about the affair was not true, the Tribune found....
...He also served as a spiritual adviser to President Bill Clinton around the time of the Monica Lewinsky scandal....
The hearings surrounding the Lewinsky affair resulted in the resignation of three Speakers of the House.
Three politicians (click here) (Newt Gingrich, Bob Livingston, and Dennis Hastert) served or nearly served as Speakers of the House during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton; all three men experienced public sex scandals of varying severity.
Where were we? Women were "looking younger," tummy tucks and facelifts because Monica was the dreaded "younger woman." Women were not out marching. At least today they are marching.
December 20, 1998
Fearing (click here) that a controversy over his sexual past would undercut his power and tear apart his family, Rep. Bob Livingston (R-La.) yesterday told an astounded House he will not assume the speakership he claimed last month but would instead resign from Congress next year....
Just amazing. The priority of power over family is interesting, too. See, it was his power that enabled his sexual escapades. If the power is gone, then so is the family.
I guess Hybel was losing his power and then, "oops" there goes the family. What awaits a man with a family in such circumstances is divorce, alimony and child support.
Yep.
