So a young person in our high school ministry. And its pervasive, and people are, theyre using it. I hope you have a great day and God bless. Boy, and if more churches did that, how much pain and heartache among the sheep would have been spared? Again, thanks so much for joining me today. And which really makes me sad because theyve had a change in leadership. WebSince that time he has ministered on every continent, written more than 40 books, pastored a church for 30 years, and founded a media ministry called Telling the Truth which now broadcasts daily worldwide. Character always has to come first in hiring, then competence, and then chemistry. That nonprofit corporation and its bank accounts, thats not what the biblical church is. Because we represent their interests. Absolutely. And I think theres a kind of an old guard of megachurch pastors and leaders that think that theyre above accountability and theyre beginning to realize theyre not. I was the senior pastor of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship for nearly 30 years. Hybels at one point had a major conflict with a woman who was serving on the elder board, who was trying to hold him accountable and essentially used a reconciliation process involving some other big names in evangelicalism to essentially run her off, put her under an NDA. It is also the church in which Pete Briscoe, my former wonderful pastor, grew up in. How does our elder board navigate things differently with that Pastor? And you mentioned to me that there were some stop signs along the way. The news of Petes resignation landed heavy on my heart. I think ultimately, we are still kind of under the inertia of a culture that was fomented by Pete Briscoe, which was a culture of goodness, a culture of grace and its still carrying forward under that momentum. Tell us what you learned through you know, bringing this person to light, confronting him and dealing with the entire situation that we can learn from as a church. Toward that end, the site requires that people use their full name when commenting. Lawyer for Bill Hybels Victims Shares Inside Story. The Journal Sentinel reported: Elmbrook resignations are the latest to rock evangelical Christian churches. I wasnt throughout the representation. Now, I coach pastors and business leaders in communications and self-care. I Its really pride. And I realized that as we were discussing this, that there might be some people who have heard about what happened at Willow Creek, but somewhat superficially, through the headlines and dont really know beneath the surface. Growing up in a ministry family, Pete watched and learned from his parents and witnessed the reach and power of Telling the Truth 's media outreach. But at 22, I completely bought it. And Im like, Ive never seen a spiritual leader ever, ever have that sort of self disclosure in front of the church before he preaches. I mean, you dont need to be trying to fit a round peg into a square hole, because it is gonna manifest itself in bad ways. So he said something about so and sos clothing. At the urging of a friend working in the radio industry, the Briscoes followed God's leading and used the tape sales proceeds to purchase local radio time, which launched Telling the Truth's radio outreach. About Stuart and Jill Briscoe This is the kind of thing that you would expect from someone whos cruel and not in relationship with Jesus. He currently leads a multi-faceted media ministry called Telling the Truth which he shares with his parents Stuart and Jill Briscoe. What eventually broke the culture of secrecy and protection? There are therapy notes to support her story. Pete reminds us that our goal is not to win arguments, but to win people. And you you actually refer to it as multi-level marketing. Gifted with wisdom, discernment, and a bit of English humor, the Briscoe's bring God's Word to life. Petes teaching and emphasis on the sufficiency of Christ leaves an indelible mark on so many of our souls. Pete was preaching from Hebrews, and he was making the New Covenant come alive before all of us. It is what manifests. Heres my belief, Julie, I think the church at large, the big leaders in evangelicalism, we can name names if we want to, and Im sure that people have names on their mind when theyre hearing this, Why were they silent? As a lawyer whos represented some of Bill Hybels victims Mitch Little has seen a side of Willow Creek that few others have. Im good friends with Vonda Dyer, who worked at Willow and was one of the women who bravely came forward with her story about her interactions with Bill Hybels. Well, to answer your question, very bad. WebHi friend, I'm Pete Briscoe. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Pete Briscoe, our pastor at our church came out in support of the Dyers, which was bold, and it was brave. Continue Reading The Upper Room: John 15 Posted by Nate Murray The news of Petes resignation landed heavy on my heart. It took me a long time to agree that he had done the things of which he had been accused. Whats our theology? I think one of the things that happens in churches, from a deformed leadership standpoint, is requiring boards to operate in unanimity or using unity as a cudgel against people who have firm convictions about things. Their board operated by unanimity as well. And so, you know, as a lawyer on the board, youre not absolved from the obligation of complying with the mandates of Scripture. Pete Briscoe was Senior Pastor of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Carrollton, TX for nearly 30 years. So when you have someone who is trusted, whos supposed to be an expert, you know, like a pastor, like a longtime senior pastor whos supposed to be a theological expert, and someone whos in authority like a senior pastor, people are willing to do things to satisfy that person that they would not otherwise do, even if those things seem harmful to another person. In fact, back in the late 80s, early 90s, we went to Willow Creek and we had a wonderful experience. https://www.billionbibles.com/voice-of-the-martyrs.html. It is. WebBriscoe says that he wants Bent Tree to be a place where people can agree to disagree over this issue. Was there any evidence found that he actually had an affair? And if youd like to find me online, just go to JulieRoys.com. And while youre at it, wed really appreciate it if you help us spread the word about the podcast by leaving a review and then please share the podcast on social media so more people can hear about this great content. And its not something you can control like traditional mainstream media. But it really had the tone has to be set by leadership for a culture of goodness. And this is a huge problem in the Evangelical Church in the southern baptist church, I mean, just absolutely massive problem where so often the predators covered up instead of brought to justice. Well, and it troubles me too, that so many of our Christian organizations seem to be more beholden to lawyers advice and counsel than they do the Word of God. And so when you know from the pulpit, that might be a strength. What I need most is what I dont have. But so far, I havent seen that. The news of Petes resignation landed heavy on my heart. Many more than even Vonda Dyer knew. And so I do think its a healthy thing when youre afraid of doing wrong, because it will be brought up and you will be held accountable. Through Petes teaching on Sundays and through various conversations with other staff members during the week, God shifted my perspective on what it means to live life in Christ one from my own efforts to please God to one of Christs efforts on my behalf to love me deeply, extravagantly, and permanently. The church is nondenominational and has woman pastors and elders. And so I hope your listeners understand what I mean, when I say this, thats how good God is that he can use people who are even morally bankrupt, to bring people to himself. And the thing that is astonishing to me, you used the issue of emotional vulnerability is that, you know, a lot of times our strengths are our weaknesses. How did that all happen? It manifested at the Human Resources level. Today were talking with Pete Briscoe, who served as the senior pastor for nearly three decades at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Carrollton, Texas, and now consults with and coaches pastors. You know, Hybels daughter had her own book on Oprahs book club. I hope someday I can overcome this cynicism because I need Church as it should be. To view their entire showroom online. I was just trying to build a relationship, or whatever you just go, But I see you for what you are and youre gonna have to go.. He, Becky and their kids have been part of the fabric of BT for so long, it is Pete reminds us that our goal is not to win arguments, but to win people. But you have seen the the worst of it. Its good to be visiting with you again. And we need to start on the work of reconciliation and repentance now. And you have two or three board members who go, I dont think so, they did nothing. Yes, I have be disillusioned many times by churches and some leaders. Theres another circumstance that I became aware of where The board had a 360 Review done on Hybels and his leadership and some problems they were experiencing with his management style from, you know, bullying, abusive style. I dont know the answer but rampant clergy abuse just took my discontentment to a whole new level. Its biblical. At the end of the day the aftermath of destruction is felt on so many levels by so many people and we all react differently in our humanness. Yeah, I think youre gonna be waiting a while. The Roys Report seeks to foster thoughtful and respectful dialogue. It was everything from Vonda Dyers situation of being asked to come up to Bills room and talk leadership and a forced kiss, you know, a grab around the waist. But I guess this is the question so many are asking is, Can anybody be in those kind of jobs with the kind of responsibility that is put on one human, one person to lead thousands of people? And so many looking to him for vision for leadership for everything. You can read about them at their website Teaching the Truth. The other woman that Mitch represented will remain confidential but both these cases enabled Mitch to peek behind the curtain at Willow Creek and view upclose some of the dysfunctions that led to that scandal. Yeah, they eventually did. And I feel that way with these pastors. For the next 90 minutes, Pete Briscoe enraptured us with his presentation of The Bema.. Its the biblical admonition, you know, to hold a knife to your throat lest you desire the Kings delicacies. Its so HARD today to know who to donate to. 1 talking about this. Pete has offered to that keeps the honest person honest. My personal belief, not speaking on behalf of anyone else, my personal belief is that that structure is designed to fail, because elders cant elder in that structure. And so when these things happen, they cant just stay silent. Well, early on in the process after the Tribune article, we had to make a decision, How are we going to fight a machine of this size that is basically promulgating lies about these women and their families and their supporters? And I reached out to people that I already knew within, you know, the watch blogging community. Like so many of you, I love Pete. So Mitch, thank you so much for taking the time to join me today. Understanding & Overcoming Spiritual Abuse, Part II, Understanding & Overcoming Spiritual Abuse, Escaping & Healing from Abusive Churches, Part 2, https://world.wng.org/sites/default/files/issues/pdf/world_sep012018.pdf, https://www.billionbibles.com/voice-of-the-martyrs.html. Great! (etc. There was a period of time, Ill call, The Great Loneliness after that Chicago Tribune article came out, where they were radioactive. I havent seen a lot of true owning, true repenting, true confessing. I mean, I cant tell you how many stories I heard just like the one that you told the people who said, Well, I was at a conference with Bill Hybels, and he was awful to me. It should be something that he learned from, right? Amen. I encourage leaders to research their selection criteria carefully before they recruit for their next vacancies. I wonder, I wonder what effect that might have had on them. He even cites a conversation with Darrell Bock, a member who disagrees with the elders but who also says it is not an issue worth dividing over. You have to have a lead pastor who creates a strong culture of accountability. Thats one of the things that attracted me to it is that he would admit something that he had failed, like, I remember one Wednesday night at a midweek service, and he got up and he said how that day he had seen somebody who was, you know, he could tell that they were upset and in need, and he just walked right by the person and totally blew them off. What eventually broke the culture of secrecy and protection? Bent Tree family and friends of Bent Tree, we invite you to post here (or on social media) your comments of encouragement, gratitude, blessing, remembrance, and tribute to the many long years our brother Pete and sister Libby have poured out their lives for the building up of Christs church. I did live it. God uses the faithful and generous support of people like you to continue to change lives through the ministry of Telling the Truth. And you have to, there must be assiduous accountability going on in the life of someone who has the big radio show has the big platform, his platform at conferences and large organizations, because the temptations are greater. But when we look at it from some practical ways that God used people to undo this, explain what you see as being the key forces. Please contact us or click here to learn more about how to enable JavaScript on your browser. He even cites a conversation with Darrell Bock, a member who disagrees with the elders but who also says it is not an issue worth dividing over. At that age, I had never had someone in spiritual authority lie or manipulate me. I attended Willow for seven years. The Journal Sentinel reported: Elmbrook resignations are the latest to rock evangelical Christian churches. And so when you see behaviors that look like grooming, you know, John Calvin, Im not a Calvinist. Okay, how it didnt bring accountability. Hes one of the good guys. He is with us today to talk about growing communication skills to improve preaching as well as how we can find deeper fulfillment in our work and lives. Who hasnt given a friend a friendly kiss once in awhile? Mike is a dear friend and Im sad this day has come. A man who "dedicated his life to sharing Gods Word with the world" has died at the age of 91. They didnt have the ability to move quickly. I mean, it was a great time. And they were no friends of ours during the Harvest investigation either. Because they were required to move by unanimity. WebIt is with heavy hearts that the Elders of Bent Tree announce that Pete Briscoe has submitted his resignation as Senior Pastor. So its more than flirty words or suggestions. But I have to say that in the middle of dealing with a lot of tall weeds and bugs, God has also given me some flowers and fruit trees to enjoy. Also, make sure you subscribe to The Roys Report on Apple podcasts or Google podcasts. May you and your family be richly bleSSed!!! None at all. I dont know. You know, Willow creeks pastors family members benefit from the Penumbra of Willow Creek and its just sheer size within evangelicalism. Right. Briscoe stepped down as senior pastor at the end of 2000 but remained involved in the church and active in overseas missions. And yet here we see a church thats ostensibly about serving God, and its about proclaiming the gospel and yet this is happening within the church. He gave me a few new friends here and there, people to pray with, to share with, to be coworkers in some small ministry, etc. I am thrilled to be here. When you say the IT department, its my understanding you came into some information about emails getting destroyed. And to do that, we must avoid falling into the trap of our Christian beliefs being pitted against culture in the public sphere of debate. Just go to BuyACar123.com. Likewise. People can do the job of preaching and leading a church for, you know, 40 plus weeks in the pulpit at a church of this size. He, Becky and their kids have been part of the fabric of BT for so long, it is Would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to help our journalists continue to report the truth and restore the church? I think there were a few major events. Well, Mitch, this has been read. I mean, that is just huge. And heres what we have to do as people leading churches, okay, you have to understand what the signs of grooming are so one of the things that I did that really helps me, my good friend, Boz Tchividjian, put out a book through his organization G.R.A.C.E. Its scripturally rooted. Well, again, Joining me today is Mitch Little a partner with Scheef & Stone in Frisco, Texas. Her own book on Oprahs book club leads a multi-faceted media ministry called Telling the Truth and hold Christian and. Nate Murray the news of Petes resignation landed heavy on my heart abuse just my... Go, I had never had someone in spiritual authority lie or manipulate me and youd! Read about them at their website teaching the Truth and hold Christian leaders organizations! In spiritual authority lie or manipulate me the sufficiency of Christ leaves an indelible mark on so many our. Truth which he had done the things of which he shares with his parents Stuart and Jill.! 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