WIllow Creek - the reverberations continue

The New York Times has published new and more serious allegations of sexual misconduct against retired pastor Bill Hybels, which has spurred his co-successor to resign.

We've had previous occasion (here, here and here) to visit the story of Willow Creek Community Church and its renowned now-former pastor, Bill Hybels.  The main points of the story so far:

• Hybels is the charismatic pastor who grew Willow Creek into one of the country's most prominent Evangelical mega-churches
• He chose early retirement earlier this year after the Chicago Tribune and Christianity Today published claims from various women, most of whom had previously worked for Hybels, which accused him of inappropriate interactions with them
• Hybels has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing
• The church's governing Board of Elders, after initially standing by Hybels and failing, after two separate rounds of investigation, to be able to substantiate any of the accusations, came around to saying that they believed the women

New story lines are now developing.  On Sunday, Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times published an in-depth report on Pat Baranowski, Hybels' executive secretary during the 1980s.  Baranowski previously had not been named as one of Hybels' accusers.  Now she is stepping forward to accuse Hybels of having fondled her multiple times.  She also claims there was an occasion of oral sex.

The story is important because, until now, nearly all of the accusations against Hybels had been sort of PG-13-rated (yet still not appropriate for someone in pastoral ministry): they involved inappropriate hugs, offers of back rubs, private invitations to hotel rooms and boat outings, and personal remarks about how attractive the women appeared.  (The exception to this from the original media reports is one woman who claimed to have had a long-running affair with Hybels, but she later recanted that allegation).   

All of these elements are in Baranowski's allegations - Goodstein's article includes a photo of a handwritten note from the boss to his assistant, including, at the bottom, "ps - you are a knockout!" - but the fondling and oral sex claim seem to break new, more serious ground in the parade of accusations against Hybels.   

She also claims that Hybels had her procure some pornographic films on his behalf, ostensibly so he could research pornography, because opposing pornography is an important Evangelical social issue.  She told Goodstein that Hybels had her watch them with him while he was wearing a bath robe.

All in all, Baranowski's allegations, if true, paint Hybels not just as someone with 'boundary issues' but also a groper and a creep.  

The effects of all this on Baranowski will sound familiar to anyone who has read about the effects on children and teens who were abused by priests:

She saw a counselor, who said in an interview that she remembered only that Ms. Baranowski was “humiliated, guilty and ashamed” because of her relationship with Mr. Hybels. The counselor, who spoke with Ms. Baranowski’s permission, requested anonymity because she did not want to be part of the controversy. 

She recalled of Ms. Baranowski, “She felt she had lost her connection to God.” 

Since leaving the church, Ms. Baranowski said she has struggled to keep a job, lost her condominium, moved from state to state, and had migraines and panic attacks.

There is a good deal more in Goodstein's article - please do read it if you're interested.

In the wake of the NY Times article, another has shoe has now dropped at the church: Rev. Steve Carter, the Lead Teaching Pastor at Willow Creek and one of two pastors chosen to succeed Hybels, has resigned, effective immediately.  The Daily Herald has the story:

These most recent revelations [in the New York Times story] have also compelled me to make public my decision to leave, as much as it grieves me to go ... Since the first women came forward with their stories, I have been gravely concerned about our church’s official response, and it’s ongoing approach to these painful issues. After many frank conversations with our elders, it became clear that there is a fundamental difference in judgment between what I believe is necessary for Willow Creek to move in a positive direction, and what they think is best. 

Carter, in his blog post announcing his departure, doesn't elaborate, but it seems he isn't impressed with the way the Board of Elders has handled the Hybels inquiries. It seems reasonable to infer that he's declining to be associated any further with an organization that is still struggling to get on the right side of a #MeToo situation.