Seeker Friendly Method…Wrong
Some have been saying this for years. Some have even been removed from churches because of such a stance. Bill Hybels, the one many church leaders flocked to looking for the quick fix and fast growth method, has come out publicly saying he was wrong about the seeker friendly method of doing church.
That’s right, you did indeed read that correctly. Bill Hybels has now publicly said the Willow Creek Community Church method used in Chicago, is wrong. In his own words, here’s what Bill Hybels said to Bob Burney, host of Bob Burney Live, heard weekday afternoons on WRFD-AM 880 in Columbus, Ohio.
“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.”
Hybels went on to say;
“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.”
Wow! Can you hear the collective gasp in some portions of the body of Christ as suddenly they realize their self-proclaimed guru of church growth help actually lead them down the wrong garden path? What will the next step be? I’m sure Hybels won’t suddenly close up shop and stop taking in millions of dollars on church growth help. No, instead, he’ll probably come up with a program to sell to all the churches that missed the mark with the seeker sensitive method.
While working on my Doctorate at the Wagner Leadership Institute I remember a comment Dr. Peter Wagner made one day about church growth methods. Commenting on the volumes of material he’d written about church growth Dr. Wagner boldly proclaimed; “Some of what I wrote I need to ask forgiveness for because the thoughts about church growth were simply wrong.” Wow! Now there’s a full cycle comment if I ever heard one. I also remember how some of us in the class applauded Dr. Wagner for such a comment. Not only did he say he was wrong, but he also asked forgiveness. Then, right after making his statement, Dr. Wagner went on to teach about relationship, responsibility, and affecting the environment we live in. After all, isn’t that what the original 12 disciples did who studied at the Master’s feet?
Hey, I have an idea. Let’s simply go back to the what Jesus calls us to do. We’re called to be “salt and light” in the world, affecting the environment we live in, pointing people toward Him. It’s about relationship, not just numbers. There’s nothing wrong with using story, which of course was a large part of what Willow Creek did, and still does, to touch people. Jesus was, and is, the Master Storyteller. But, he never pulled any punches when it came to the reality of what the story He told meant. Yes, we need to mainstream the message, but lets not water it down so the call to responsibility is lost in the mix.
Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus
The complete article by Bob Burney can be read here — A Shocking “Confession” from Willow Creek Community Church.
