Willow Creek Leadership Summit Goes on Despite Mass Resignations

SOUTH BARRINGTON, Ill. (RNS) — The Global Leadership Summit at Willow Creek Community Church began Thursday (Aug. 9) morning by addressing the elephant in the room: Its opening speaker was not the event’s accustomed headliner for 26 years, church founder Bill Hybels.

Instead, Craig Groeschel, senior pastor at Life Church, which meets across the country and online, opened the conference. He began by talking about why he had not backed out of his speaker’s slot despite a still-unfolding sexual harassment scandal that forced Hybels to step down from Willow Creek and that, just 12 hours before the summit’s start, prompted the mass resignation of the church’s board of elders and its lead pastor.

The leadership summit has long showcased Willow Creek’s success and the man who engineered its growth from a neighborhood house church to a 13,000-member, multicampus behemoth. Hybels’ conversational preaching, sharp marketing sense and charisma made the summit popular beyond those interested in copying his church building methods. Past speakers have included former President Bill Clinton and the U2 rocker Bono.

But in April, Hybels stepped down months ahead of his planned retirement, after a Chicago Tribune investigation revealed allegations against him of inappropriate behavior with women. Four speakers, including actor Denzel Washington, pulled out of this year’s…