William Hybels (born 1952, Kalamazoo, Michigan) is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, one of the most attended churches in North America, with an average attendance of 17,115 as of 2003.^[1] The church has been listed as the most influential church in America the last several years in a national poll of pastors. ^[2] He is the founder of the Willow Creek Association WCA. Hybels is also an author of a number of Christian books, especially on the subject of Christian leadership. Kalamazoo redirects here. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... This article is about work. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... Kalamazoo redirects here. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      A pastor is an... Willow Creek Community Church (or simply Willow Creek Church) is an American interdenominational super-megachurch located in the Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois. ... South Barrington is a village located in Cook County, Illinois. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (140,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... North America North America is a continent [1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... The Willow Creek Association (WCA) is described by WCA President, Jim Mellado, as follows: Since 1992, the Willow Creek Association has been linking like-minded, action-oriented churches with each other and with strategic vision, training, and resources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Leader redirects here. ...

Qualifications

Hybels has a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies from Trinity International University, near Chicago, and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from TIU's Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.^[3] Trinity International University is an evangelical Christian institution of higher education headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City 234. ... Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is an evangelical Christian seminary located in Deerfield, Illinois. ...

Hybels and Willow Creek Church

In the early 1970s, Hybels was studying at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School when Gilbert Bilezikian, a lecturer, challenged the class about an Acts 2-based church. Hybels was captivated with the vision and abandoned his business aspirations for ministry. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is an evangelical Christian seminary located in Deerfield, Illinois. ...

In 1971, Bill Hybels, youth pastor at Park Ridge's South Park Church, started a youth group with friend Dave Holmbo called Son City.^[4][5] Modern music, dramatic skits and multimedia were combined with Bible studies in relevant language helped the group grow from 25 to 1,200 in just three years.

After 300 youth waited in line to be led to Christ in a service in May 1974, Hybels and other leaders began dreaming of forming a new church. They surveyed the community to find out why people weren't coming to church. Common answers included: "church is boring", "they're always asking for money", or "I don't like being preached down to." These answers shaped the group's approach to the new church.^[6]

In October, 12, 1975 the group held their first service Palatine's Willow Creek Theater. 125 people attended the service. The rent and other costs were paid for with 1,200 baskets of tomatoes, sold door-to-door by 100 teenagers. Hybels spoke on "New beginnings"^[7] Within two years the church had grown to 2,000.

Challenges in 1979 led to a recommissioning of the church's vision to be broader and deeper than before. Hybels apologised for the example of his relentless schedule and overemphasis on grace. "We've set up all our leadership structures and goals to grow a full-functioning Acts 2 community, as opposed to just an evangelizing machine that doesn't drive the roots down deep and do all the other things it's supposed to do."^[8]

In 1981 the church moved to its current location in South Barrington. By 2000, 15,000 were attending weekly services over six weekend services in a 352,000-square-foot building.^[9] In 2005, the new Worship Center was opened. With a capacity of 7,200, the state-of-the-art auditorium is the largest theater in the United States and the church currently averages 20,000 attendees per week, making it the second largest church in America. An auditorium is the area within a theatre, concert hall or other performance space where the audience is located in order to hear and watch the performance. ... For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle &#8212...

In 1991, concerns about the large church maintaining community led to the adoption of a cell-based approach. The church now has over 2,600 groups focusing on a broad range of needs. The cell group is a non-denominational form of church organization that is used in some Christian churches. ...

Willow Creek Community Church has become well-known as the prototypical megachurch, with modern worship, drama and messages focused toward the unchurched. Willow Creek's four weekend services are "seeker sensitive", with the mid-week "new community" services providing teaching for believers. The interior of Rev. ... Bill Hybels and Willow Creek Community Church are prime examples of the seeker sensitive church movement in 1990s American protestant non-denominational Christian groups. ...

As of November 2007, however, Hybels repented of the entire Seeker Sensitive model, after God touched the heart of Greg Hawkins, the Executive Pastor of Willow Creek:

"Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back it wasn't helping people that much. Other things that we didn't put that much money into and didn't put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for...We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become 'self feeders.' We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their Bible between services, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own."^[10][11]

Hybels and the Willow Creek Association

In 1992 Hybels launched the Willow Creek Association (WCA) to link like-minded, action-oriented churches with each other and with strategic vision, training, and resources. WCA is driven by a calling to serve Christ-following leaders as they build biblically functioning churches—authentic, Acts 2 communities of faith that reach increasing numbers of lost people and grow them into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. This has since grown into a network of over 11,000 churches worldwide. The Willow Creek Association (WCA) is described by WCA President, Jim Mellado, as follows: Since 1992, the Willow Creek Association has been linking like-minded, action-oriented churches with each other and with strategic vision, training, and resources. ...

Hybels has largely avoided association with specific political parties or movements. He did receive some criticism when at a leadership conference hosted by the WCA in 2000, he interviewed Rich DeVos (Amway co-founder) and carried out a 90-minute interview with President Bill Clinton in which he questioned the president on many key issues. When Karen Hughes (former advisor to President George W. Bush) in the following year spoke at the Summit, Hybels said to the attendees jokingly afterwards, "There, we are even." - in a reference to bringing a counterbalance to Clinton's visit. Richard DeVos (1926-) is one of the founders of Amway, reorganized as Alticor in 2000, now distributes more than US$4. ... Headquarters in Ada, Michigan Amway is a multi-level marketing, or network marketing, company founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... Karen Parfitt Hughes (born December 27, 1956 in Paris, France) is a Republican U.S. political professional from the state of Texas. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the forty-third and current President of the United States of America, originally inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ...

The "seeker sensitive" movement that Hybels is associated with has been the subject of much debate. While many are enthusiastic about Hybels' achievements, some fundamentalists express concerns with Willow Creek and the seeker-sensitive (or "church growth") movement. WCA churches on average have expanded church membership in a climate of declining overall national church attendance. This has been described by some as a business method or "market driven philosophy." The movement's association with culturally relevant worship styles and emphasis on applying the Bible to people's needs have also been criticized.

Willow Creek leadership and Hybels' role

While Hybels serves as senior pastor at Willow, he is not heavily involved in day to day operations. Gene Appel serves as lead pastor of the South Barrington Campus. This allows Hybels the ability to serve a more direct role in the Willow Creek Association. There are four other campus pastors at each of Willow Creek's regional locations which also enable the church to operate in a more efficient style. South Barrington is a village located in Cook County, Illinois. ...

Hybels frequently travels abroad, teaching church leaders how to manage and direct their congregations in more effective ways. He maintains a regular teaching schedule at Willow Creek, however focuses less on Willow Creek, and more on the global church movement. Hybels believes that "the local church is the hope of the world", and that is evident in his work around the globe.

Leadership summit

Hybels started the Global Leadership Summit in 1995 as an annual training event for church, ministry and other leaders to sharpen their skills. Each year this two and a half day conference features experts in the arena of leadership in lecture and interview formats, plus worship singing and dramatic skits. Past speakers have included Bono (former Time Magazine Co-Man of the Year and U2 lead singer), Ken Blanchard ("One Minute Manager"), Marcus Buckingham ("StrengthFinders"), Jim Collins ("Good to Great" and "Built to Last"), and Mike Singletary (NFL Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears). The event is broadcast live from the Willow Creek campus in suburban Chicago to 100+ video sites across America, plus later via delay for another 70 international sites. 80,000 attendees were part of the 2006 Leadership Summit. The 2007 event featured live and taped sessions with Colin Powell, Carly Fiorina, Floyd Flake, Marcus Buckingham, John Ortberg, Michael E. Porter (Harvard), Richard Curtis (film producer) and Former President Jimmy Carter. For other uses, see Bono (disambiguation). ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... Person of the Year is an annual issue of U.S. newsmagazine TIME that features a profile ostensibly on the man, woman, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that for better or worse, has most influenced events in the preceding year. ... This article is about the Irish rock band. ... Marcus Buckingham is a motivational speaker, trainer, public leader, researcher and author. ... Jim Collins Jim Collins is considered to be one of the major American business gurus. ... Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap. ... Built to Last is a 1989 album by the Grateful Dead. ... Michael Singletary (born October 9, 1958 in Houston, Texas) is a former linebacker in American football who played his entire career for the Chicago Bears in the NFL, after starring in college at Baylor University. ... NFL logo For other uses of the abbreviation NFL, see NFL (disambiguation). ... City Chicago, Illinois Other nicknames Da Bears, The Monsters of the Midway Team colors Navy Blue and Orange Head Coach Lovie Smith Owner Virginia Halas McCaskey Chairman Michael McCaskey General manager Jerry Angelo Fight song Bear Down, Chicago Bears Mascot Staley Da Bear League/Conference affiliations Independent (1919) National Football... General Colin Luther Powell, United States Army (Ret. ... Carly Fiorina (António Milena/ABr. ... Reverend Dr. Floyd Harold Flake (born January 30, 1945 in Los Angeles) is an American politician (Democrat) and former member of the House of Representatives, as well as the senior pastor of the 23,000 member Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamaica, Queens, New York. ... Marcus Buckingham is a motivational speaker, trainer, public leader, researcher and author. ... John Ortberg, Jr. ... Michael E. Porter (born 1947) is the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, based at Harvard Business School where he leads the Institute for Strategy and Competitveness. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... Richard Curtis in London, 1999 Richard Curtis CBE, (born 8 November 1956), is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, best known for the TV programmes Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley as well as movies such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Love Actually. ... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. ... For other persons named Jimmy Carter, see Jimmy Carter (disambiguation). ...

Family

Hybels married his wife Lynne in May 1974, and has two adult children (Shauna and Todd) and one grandchild.^[12] Lynne Hybels is active in the management of Willow Creek Church.

Bill and Lynne live in Barrington Hills, Illinois.

Criticisms

One of the most well-known criticisms of Bill Hybels was his invitation of then President (and personal friend) Bill Clinton to his Leadership Summit in 2000. In front of leaders from all over the country, Hybels questioned the President about a variety of topics. In light of his recent sexual affair and lies under oath, many evangelicals highly disapproved of Clinton's appearance at the church and Hybels was heavily criticized. Fellow evangelical leader Rick Warren received similar criticism for inviting Democratic Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, to speak at Warren's AIDS conference held at his California church in December 2006 as well as another Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton to the 2007 AIDS summit. Hybels' rumored liberal political views have also put him at odds with fellow evangelicals, the vast majority of which are politically conservative. William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... Evangelicalism, in a strictly lexical, but rarely used sense, refers to all things that are implied in belief that Jesus is the savior. ... Richard D. Rick Warren (born January 28, 1954) is the founding and senior pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California, the largest Christian church in California. ... “Barack” redirects here. ... REDIRECT Hillary Rodham Clinton   This is a redirect from a title with another method of capitalisation. ... Evangelicalism, in a strictly lexical, but rarely used sense, refers to all things that are implied in belief that Jesus is the savior. ...

Hybels is also a firm egalitarian or "evangelical feminist," which has brought him into further criticism from many. In particular his statement (which can be seen on the Willow Creek website) that Willow Creek believes that women can be in leadership roles over men. Egalitarianism is the moral doctrine that equality ought to prevail among some group along some dimension. ...

Publications

Books which he has authored or made a contribution to include:

• Authenticity: Being Honest with God and Others (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 9780310265887
• Becoming a Contagious Christian (and Mark Mittelberg) (Zondervan, 1996) - ISBN 9780310210085
• Character: Reclaiming Six Endangered Qualities (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 9780310266020
• Commitment: Developing Deeper Devotion to Christ (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 0310265959
• Community: Building Relationships Within God's Family (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 0310265916
• Courageous Faith Through the Year (and Keri Wyatt Kent) (Inter-varsity Press, 2004) - ISBN 9780830832941
• Courageous Leadership (Zondervan, 2002) - ISBN 9780310248231
• Descending Into Greatness (Zondervan, 1994) - ISBN 9780310544715
• Engraved on Your Heart: Living the Ten Commandments Day by Day (Cook Communications, 2000) - ISBN 0781433967
• Essential Christianity: Practical Steps for Spiritual Growth (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 9780310266044
• Finding God in the Storms of Life (Inter-varsity Press, 2002) - ISBN 9780830865468
• Fit to be Tied: Making Marriage Last a Lifetime (and Lynne Hybels) (Zondervan, 1993) - ISBN 9780310533719
• Fruit of the Spirit: Living the Supernatural Life (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 9780310265962
• Getting a Grip: Finding Balance in Your Daily Life (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 9780310266051
• Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire That Ignites Personal Vision (Zondervan, 2007) - ISBN 9780310272281
• Honest to God? Becoming an Authentic Christian (Zondervan, 1992) - ISBN 9780310521815
• How to Hear God (Inter-varsity Press, 1999) - ISBN 0830865594)
• James: Live Wisely (Zondervan, 1999) - ISBN 9780310227670
• Jesus: Seeing Him More Clearly (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 9780310265979
• Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith (Zondervan, 2006) - ISBN 9780310266693
• Lessons on Love: Building Deeper Relationships (and Kevin Harney) Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 0310265932
• Living in God's Power: Finding God's Strength for Life's Challenges (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) ISBN 0310266068
• Love in Action: Experiencing the Joy of Serving (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 9780310266075
• Making Life Work: Putting God's Wisdom Into Action (Inter-varsity Press, 1998) - ISBN 9780830817887
• Marriage: Building Real Intimacy (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 0310265894
• Meeting God: Psalms for the Highs and Lows of Life (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 9780310265993
• New Identity: Discovering Who You Are in Christ (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 0310265940
• Parenting: How to Raise Spiritually Healthy Kids (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 9780310265900
• 1 Peter: Stand Strong (Zondervan, 1999) - ISBN 9780310227731
• Philippians: Run the Race. (Zondervan, 1999) - ISBN 9780310233145
• Prayer: Opening Your Heart to God (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 9780310266006
• Reaching Out: Sharing God's Love Naturally (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 0310265924
• Rediscovering Church: The Story and Vision of Willow Creek Community Church (and Lynne Hybels) (Zondervan, 1997) - ISBN 9780310219279
• Revelation: Experience God's Power (Zondervan, 2001) - ISBN 0310228824)
• Romans: Find Freedom (Zondervan, 1999) - ISBN 9780310227656
• Sermon on the Mount 1: Connect with God (Zondervan, 2001) - ISBN 0310228832)
• Sermon on the Mount 2: Connect with Others (Zondervan, 2001) - ISBN 0310228840)
• Significance: Understanding God's Purpose for Your Life (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 0310266033
• The Pastor's Guide to Personal Spiritual Formation (and Reginald Johnson, Neil B. Wiseman) (Beacon Hill Press, 2004) - ISBN 083412209X)
• The Real Deal: Discover the Rewards of Authentic Relationships (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 0310266017
• The Real You (Zondervan, 1996) - ISBN 9780310206828
• The Volunteer Revolution (Zondervan, 2004) - ISBN 9780310252382
• Too Busy Not to Pray (Inter-varsity Press, 1994) - ISBN 9780830820047
• Transformation: Letting God Change You from the Inside Out (and Kevin Harney) (Zondervan, 2005) - ISBN 9780310265986
• Transparency (Zondervan, 1997) - ISBN 9780310217152
• Who You Are When No One's Looking (Inter-varsity Press, 1995) - ISBN 9780830820030

References

1. ^ Dr. John N. Vaughn, Church Growth Today
2. ^ ChurchReport.com'
3. ^ http://www.willowcreek.org/teaching_pastors.asp
4. ^ http://www.ascg.org/journal/11Spg00/Reid.html
5. ^ http://www.willowcreek.org/news/retrospective/default.asp
6. ^ http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:o9AIboN9tp4J:https://www.prairie.edu/servant/InnerviewBillHybels.pdf+%22I+don%27t+like+being+preached+down+to%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
7. ^ http://ctlibrary.com/16163
8. ^ Rediscovering Church, Bill and Lynne Hybels (Zondervan, 1997)
9. ^ http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2382.html
10. ^ http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=26768
11. ^ http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2007/10/willow_creek_re.html
12. ^ http://www.willowcreek.org/teaching_pastors.asp

See also

• Willow Creek Community Church
• Willow Creek Association
• Rick Warren
• Brian McLaren