Posted on 02/23/2021 7:19:16 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Shauna Niequist has apologized for failing to speak out after her father, Bill Hybels, the founding pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, was accused of decades of sexual misconduct.
In a lengthy Instagram post Monday, Niequist, a popular author and ministry leader, addressed the allegations along with a simple image that features the phrase “An apology.”
“I apologize for my silence & for all that it communicated. I’m so sorry. I continue to grieve alongside every person who’s grieving,” she wrote.
Niequist, whose husband, Aaron Niequist, formerly served as a worship leader at Willow Creek, said that the “season” in which her father retired from his position at the church after he was accused of sexual misconduct “shook” her “to the core,” causing her to “shut down.”
“Wise people encouraged me to take some time to grieve & listen & recover. They were right--silence was necessary for me initially, but I extended that silence too long,” she admitted.
“I now understand that my silence communicated to many that I defend my father’s actions and his ongoing silence. I don’t. I grieve both of those things. I now understand that my silence allowed many people to assume that I don’t care about the people he hurt. That’s not true, & that’s something I regret so deeply. I’m so sorry.”
Niequist’s social media post comes after she and her husband have been criticized for not speaking out against her father’s actions.
In 2018, The Chicago Tribune published an investigative piece documenting allegations of sexual misconduct against Hybels, presenting various allegations, including suggestive comments, extended hugs, an unwanted kiss and invitations to some women to hotel rooms.
Hybels, who served as head of Willow Creek for over four decades and oversaw the church as it grew into a multi-site megachurch, denied the accusations. However, weeks after the story emerged, Hybels resigned from his role at the church.
The following February, the Independent Advisory Group released an investigation report concluding that the allegations against Hybels were “credible” and criticized his leadership style.
Several publishers, including Tyndale House and InterVarsity Press, pulled Hybel’s books after evidence of his inappropriate behavior toward women emerged.
Women, some of them church employees, said Hybels had invited them to hotel rooms or made suggestive comments about their appearances. One woman alleged the pastor kissed her against her wishes. According to another account, Hybels allegedly engaged in oral sex with his former assistant.
In her statement Monday, Niequist said she remains “in relationship with my dad.”
“I love him, & I always will. I can’t apologize for his choices, but I do apologize for mine,” she explained. “I can’t make amends for his actions, but today I’m taking the first step in making amends to the people I’ve wounded by my silence.”
The bestselling author admitted that in this area of her life, she has “been living according to my fear, not my values.”
“I carry so much regret, & I apologize. I know it might not make sense that someone who writes for a living, literally, could find herself so unable to say what needed to be said. But that’s the truth. I was wounded, & I waited too long,” she wrote.
Hybels is among a slew of high-profile Christian leaders who have lost their ministry positions in recent years due to revelations of sexual abuse and other sinful behaviors.
In an interview with The Christian Post, megachurch pastor and bestselling author Michael Youssef of The Church of The Apostles in Atlanta stressed that such cases reinforce that “accountability” must be a significant pillar of ministry.
“Accountability is a word that's almost a dirty word among some of the celebrity preachers, and that's got to come back,” he said. “Whether a church has 10 members, 100 members or 10,000 members, he must have accountability. This is a word that is lost in today’s churches and must be returned to our vocabulary.”
“We have put these people on a pedestal,” Youssef stressed. “Weekly, I tell my congregation, ‘If you're here because of me, go somewhere else. If you want to worship Jesus, then, welcome.’ We are about Jesus. We're not about the preacher. We're not about celebrities because that is deadly as far as the Gospel of Jesus Christ is concerned.”
Youssef warned that pastors should never get to the point where they can say, “I trust my own judgment.”
“Because you cannot,” Youssef said. “Scripture tells us the heart is deceitful above all. So what do you do? You build a wall around those areas that are going to cause your downfall.”
She has no obligation to say anything.
This is more communist agit-prop
Ping from Zacharias story, detailing the pain brought upon the families of the preachers and pastors in question.
The children of the pastors in question are not to blame. But to minimize the ramifications of the scandal is foolish. The damage from within the Christian community is wreaking far more cultural havoc than anything the Left cooks up...in fact, it’s precisely what’s leaving the door wide open for the liberal Left to step in. Because Christians have failed to hold the fort and behave comparably if not worse than non-believers.
Wheat from chaff before our eyes.
Myself, I try to discern whether any person's message has wisdom and value, beyond that I am never star-struck. The human heart is exceedingly wicked. My focus and hope is always on the One who Created me.
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
I have been in the ministry for many years, in varying degrees. For the last ten years or so, I have been a senior pastor. Before that, I was an associate a few years, and a children’s pastor for several years before that.
So, I feel reasonably qualified to say this:
In my observation, many in the church have moved away from serving Christ, to a position of thinking of Jesus as its servant.
Simply put, there is a “what’s in it for me” attitude. No, it’s not the majority of the church, but it has crept in and caused people to lose focus.
I’ve had enough of all of these prosperity gospel preachers. That comment alone is going to unsettle some here. Yes, God blesses His people, but that should be a side effect of serving Him diligently. Anyone that disagrees with me should simply send me $10,000 and see how much God blesses you for it.
In 1 Corinthians 11:1, the Apostle Paul states, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”
Also, in Luke 8:18, Jesus told us to “Be careful what you hear....”.
The church is in trouble with this kind of stuff because the congregations don’t always demand excellent Christian behavior from it’s leadership.
I don’t care how big a church is. My concern is whether or not the Pastor follows Jesus.
Priorities.....
Well said Pastor, well said. This needs to be preached in Church often as a reminder to those who are in ministry.
Amen. Proverbs 11:29.
There is another thread that is about an Oriental woman of God who wrote that when need to be more mindful of how men perceive them by the way they dress.
No one but a man of God understands the way they can be tempted by the wiles of a woman. Even if said woman does not realize she is doing it. I would never apologizes for another persons behavior, that is between them, the church, and the women they offended and God.
However, if anyone thinks it’s easy to stay away from sin, you are truly delusional, and NO ONE is tempted more than those who proclaim Christ as the Savior of man. Billy Graham made a pact years ago when he was a young minister. Never ever be alone with a woman that is not your wife or daughter. Alway have another woman present, and the doors wide open.
He knew what Satan would do, and you know, so did his wife. His wife protected him. When ever she was able, she was there for him, and stood guard. Not because he was weak, but because Satan would send women his way to tempt him.
My wife is a paraplegic, and I could tell you tales of women I respect who have come on to me, and made it known they wanted me. While I was a deacon at my church, women would approach me right in the church with reasons that had nothing to do but to strike up conversations. I would talk thinking nothing, but as time went by they seemed to be a bit too friendly.
I remember one time I saw my wife in the waiting area taking to one of her friends. I excused myself and walked over to my wife. I sat on her lap, because she uses a wheelchair, wrapped my arms around her and gave her a big kiss telling her how much I loved her. I wanted her, the women, and everyone to see how much I loved my wife. Satan has used my wife’s situation to tempt me many times. It is hard. I even had elderly women at the nursing home I ministered at flirt with me, and begin dressing more eloquently as time went by. VERY Very difficult.
These men should have removed themselves from their situations the moment they realized they were getting weak. When they got to the point of caving, they should have temporarily resigned from their position, because they knew they were unable to withstand the temptation. That is what I have to do time and time again. I must remove myself from a situation that becomes too difficult for me to handle.
I also know women are tempted, and men come onto them all the time. Yes, even in the church. Satan loves using God’s house to tempt us all. That is why we must always remind our spouses that we love them and let everyone know we are off limits.
I understand his daughter taking her time, and I understand her apology. We all must handle the affairs of our family members as best we can. No one is perfect, and while the abused is hurt the most, we must never ever believe that the pain of the abusers family is not real. They have found out that their rock, their spiritual guide, the head of their home who is respected by all, was a man who miserably failed when it came time for him too be strong. Not only did he fail, he went the way of Eli’s sons.
It is a fact, that when a man of God falls, he falls farther than anyone could imagine. God moves away from him. The Holy Spirit backs off, because he refused to listen to the Spirit. Thus he is left open for Satan to move in and make him worse than many unbelievers.
Sam Kinison comes to mind. He was an aspiring minister, how had a knack of making people laugh. Then he fell away, and his stand up routines was one of the vilest of all. Andrew Dice Clay was mild compared to Kinison.
He left the stage, and had a rebirth with Christ, and returned to his first love. He thought he could go back to doing stand up, but clean this time. Well, on his way to his first gig, he died in a car crash. I believe God told him, no, time to come hime before you mess up again.
Interesting story of him. He wasn’t all that bad after the accident. His friend said that Sam was sitting off to the side talking to someone, but no one was there but him. He heard sam say,
“No, I don’t want to go, I’m not ready”
Then he was quiet, he friend was going to ask him who he was talking to, when he heard Sam say,
“OH Ok, OK, I’ll go with”.
That’s when hi friend said Sam fell over dead.
You make out of it what you will. I think God said, no, don’t go, you will fail. I think it’s time for you to come home Sam. He finally said OK.
Never underestimate Satan’s ability to destroy good men, but also. Never underestimate God’s ability to forgive and renew one. Manasseh comes to mind. King Hezekiah’s son. He was the most evil of all kings. He started real bad, but if you read in 2 Kings, you will see that he finished well. He repented.
I pray for the women this pastor molested and abused. I also pray for the pastor, and his family.
God bless, Chuck
Wise words, indeed. Thank you my FRiend.
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