Nov 07 2007
Hybels Admits to Failure: A Warning to the Emergent Church
If you don’t know who Bill Hybels is you may have been hiding in a cave for the past 30 years. He is the Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago. Willow Creek for the last few decades has been the model for many church growth experts in the seeker sensitive movement. The premise of this movement is that we should throw out any traditional thought on how we do church and simply meet the “felt needs” of the people that are interested or “seeking.”
This morning the Baptist Press has published an article that says after an extensive study of the effectiveness of their own programs WCCC have found their own programs to be faulty. Here is the quote,
“Willow Creek has released the results of a multi-year study on the effectiveness of their programs and philosophy of ministry. The study’s findings are in a new book titled “Reveal: Where Are You?,” co-authored by Cally Parkinson and Greg Hawkins, executive pastor of Willow Creek Community Church. Hybels himself called the findings “ground breaking,” “earth shaking” and “mind blowing.” And no wonder: It seems that the “experts” were wrong.”
It seems that after all this time, millions of dollars and thousands of people they have found out what many knew all along. You can’t repackage the church. It only works one way, the way the Bible proclaims.
What does Bill Hybels and his billion dollar baby have to do with the Emergent Church? 30 years ago he set out to “wipe the slate clean” and come up with a fresh new way to do church. He looked at it through rose colored cultural glasses and set out to build a church around what he felt were the greatest needs to be met in a community. Obviously now he wishes he would’ve looked through the lens of scripture to see what the church looked like.
The same thing is happening today in the Emergent Church movement. They are trying to once again repackage the church and cause it to be more culturally relevant. The numbers will be there. Multitudes will flock to these places but ask Hybels after 3o years of ministry if it’s all about the numbers?
I have 2 great qualms with the EC. First, they are trying to build a church without a model ( ie.. Hybels. What he did had never been done before). It’s like trying to build a skyscraper without a blueprint or get somewhere you’ve never been without a road map. To be honest it’s insane. We have a model of how the first church was built and functioned and it worked extremely well. As a matter of fact the testimony of scripture is that they “turned the world upside down” through their church.
Secondly, they are doing the same thing Hybels did. In being seeker sensitive he was conforming to culture to make the Gospel more palatable. This didn’t work for Hybels and it won’t work for the EC. Making the Gospel more palatable never works because it violates a scriptural principle. The preaching of the Gospel will always be offensive, foolish and a stumbling block. (1 Cor 1:23).
It doesn’t matter how we repackage it. If the Gospel is preached correctly no matter if it’s in a coffee house or an abandoned movie theater, it’s offensive. It doesn’t matter if we wear a suit or ripped jeans and a t-shirt, if preached correctly it’s going to be offensive. Furthermore, if you repackage the gospel in such a way that it removes the offense you also remove it’s power.
This isn’t a warning to the EC only. It’s a warning to all churches, including and most especially the traditional church. We can’t repackage the church, the way if functions or the Gospel and expect to get the desired results; Vibrant, Passionate, Effective Worshipers of God. It simply doesn’t work. If you don’t believe me, call Bill Hybels and ask Him. He will tell you the same thing.
4 responses so far
I think you are right on the money! I also believe that the modern traditional church, as we know it, is already guilty of this “repackaging” of the gospel, it was just done about 100 years ago. You are correct that we, including Kirksey, have removed the sting of the gospel and we have reduced the purpose of the New Testement Church to simply a place to hear a sermon about how I should be and a place to drop my kids to learn about God. I response to the messages I heard from Bro. Paul Washer and Voddie Bachman given at the recent Hardin Baptist College Conference, I believe that we, including myself, have it wrong. I think as leaders of our church, we should focus our efforts on rebuilding the family and the idea of a God saturated family. I know that for the mean time we must continue on this path, but I think the end result should be that our mom’s and dad’s are the key parts of the church. This is the main reason that I think the Emergent folk missed the point. The only way that the Gospel of Christ will be acceptable in today’s modern world is if men and women grow up in God centered homes. You can put lipstick on a hog, but it is still a hog. You can dress the church up however you like, but if the family is ugly it ain’t gonna work.
Keep up the good work,
Ben
That is a true analogy worthy of Brother ‘Milton’ himself. Ask Carlton what that means. These are good words and they encourage me. Brother I am particularly cut by your words about family as I have a baby daughter on the way I know how much I lack in pursuing God and the complete lacking of such pursuit in my wife and I life. You know we go to church and all but we are missing that life in Christ.
Are you going to the Together for the Gospel conference in April?
I was sent this by a follower of one of Hybel’s followers, who is seeking to return to the Catholic Church. He left because of his disillusionment with the answers he was given or not given. I grew up in the 40/50s and went to Catholic school [my 2nd grade class picture shows 60 students]. One nun ran the class. There was no time for ‘questions’. So we accepted what we were told; problem is there were questions that needed to be answered. Vatican II did what Hybel did, sought answers to the questions. The documents of Vatican II are showing exactly what is said here, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and tomorrow; The truth will win. Hybel’s work served a purpose
It is interesting in that in 1595 the world was faced with a similar world. Islam was threatening Christianity; Science had solved many questions and God was being questioned; The ‘new world’ had been discovered and man was in charge. There was no need for God. Strange how history repeats itself. The Crusades were successful; Evolution theory is being questioned; The Age of Indifferent ism is coming to an end.
What a wonderful journey it is we are on when we at last get back to “WHERE” our journey is taking us. As the song said: “our God is an Awesome God”