That to me, is a corruption of the role. He makes sure the good things stay in the church and the bad things go out. 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. Stuart Briscoe died on August 3 "of natural causes unexpectedly" according to a tweet from his son, Pete Briscoe. 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. Im doing well but probably not as well as you because youre on vacation in Florida. WebPete Briscoe, Stuart and Jills youngest son, was a key contributor to the ministrys teaching team from 2003 to 2021. Hes also the chairman of the elder board at a multisite megachurch in Dallas, Texas. And he offers keen insights that are desperately needed as many churches today struggle to be healthy and to avoid the mistakes other megachurches have made. After a failed attempt to travel alone in his truck out west, he came to church with us that very day. But its an analog. Is that correct? And thats what, thats what you end up protecting right? At the same time. Well, Mitch, this has been read. In fact, I know some of them. And yet, when these issues started being raised about Bill Hybels, the larger church, other than you know, a few people you mentioned the Ortbergs, for example, they came forward and spoke. Serving in the role of elder is a huge responsibility. Fellowship, Church family, Community. And I saw this at Harvest Bible chapel when I was doing reporting there. WebIt is with heavy hearts that the Elders of Bent Tree announce that Pete Briscoe has submitted his resignation as Senior Pastor. I am thrilled to be here. And basically, my understanding is his cavalier attitude was, Well, Ill just pick up and Ill open a new church down the street [if] you dont you dont like me the way I am.. To me, this was one of the beautiful God moves about the entire situation. Pete was preaching from Hebrews, and he was making the New Covenant come alive before all of us. The woman had come forwarded, but then later recanted her story. Hmm. Everyone I knew from childhoodparents, grandparents, pastors, Sunday School teacherswas upright and honest. I was kind of thrust into the middle of it out of love for wanting to help my friends and man, that thing escalated pretty quickly. He, Becky and their kids have been part of the fabric of BT for so long, it is I dont think that he caused the elder board to resign. Likewise. The ministry began in 1971 while Stuart served as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, which grew into the largest evangelical church in the state. I hope someday I can overcome this cynicism because I need Church as it should be. Gifted with wisdom, discernment, and a bit of English humor, the Briscoe's bring God's Word to life. But the thing that was so shocking to me, is that Bill Hy Hybels was the first pastor I had ever seen be so vulnerable from the pulpit. Yeah, I think youre gonna be waiting a while. 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. It is simply to feed ourselves. How are you? We see this is the third article this month youve found worth reading. "For many of you, he was preacher, pastor, mentor or friend. Stuart Briscoe died on August 3 "of natural causes unexpectedly" according to a tweet from his son, Pete Briscoe. Pete grew up in a home with intelligent and committed parents: both Thankyou in advance. And I was sitting in my office one day and Vonda picked up the phone and gave me a call and kind of told me what was coming down the pike in terms of the Chicago Tribune article that basically lit the fuse on that entire situation at Willow. I think thats dangerous. And its not something you can control like traditional mainstream media. Well, and I hope there are Christian leaders listening to this who take note because is the time of just being silent and thinking that because youre silent, nothing will come back on you, thats past. And these men are good actors. What eventually broke the culture of secrecy and protection? 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. Oh Well, and I appreciate your service to the church. In the late 1990s, Telling the Truth was blessed with opportunities to expand the broadcasts overseas with a newly formed Christian radio station in London, Premier Christian Radio, which today remains the only Christian station across the entire United Kingdom, with 1.2 million weekly listeners. I think youre absolutely right about that. And I think there is a healthy fear. WebPete Briscoe answers that question by pointing us to Paul as the perfect example of one who speaks with tender boldness. Nobody who is an elder at a church should have any aspect of their identity wrapped up in either the role of being an elder or in the success or failure of the organization. Well, lets talk a little bit about the leadership that protected him because I think that is the question that I keep hearing over and over from folks is, How do we prevent this from happening? So Im very much looking forward to our time together today. Amen. We have an open listing for a lead teaching pastor in a what I believe is a healthy church environment. Please know you are not alone. I was a member of WCCC for many years. One of those is that you had your senior pastor resign kind of suddenly. Its scripturally rooted. WebPete Briscoe is a podcaster and evangelical pastor. Posted by Jonathan Deatherage on Apr 02, 2019. I will always have my faith in Jesus but church especially WCCC has been a huge disappointment. I heard an elder once describe his role as a glorified sanitation engineer. Powerful ministry at some points. If they have the character to lead the accountability will help keep them you know, keep them honest, so to speak, you know, its kind of like when you put a bike lock on your bike that. Thats what he was. Lets say you have you have six or eight members who are saying, Guys, we need to fire this person. Great question. And theres a lot of people asking, Is that just too great a burden to ever put on one person? How do you respond to that? So, thanks for taking the time and you know, anybody whos willing to take a few minutes out of their vacation for a podcast, I just really appreciate it. WebLearn More About Pete Today - Pete Briscoe God loves you to distraction, There is nothing you can do to make Him love them more or less, And, that Life with this Lover God is rich beyond description, regardless of your performance. And its like, now someone inside the tribe has said, Something is wrong here and it must be dealt with. And it took someone of Scot McKnights gravitas to be able to shift the discussion at Willow. Then, I did what all good Christian college students did at that time I acquired a boot-leg copy of the drama and listened to it several times on my own. 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. Youre absolutely right. Briscoe says that he wants Bent Tree to be a place where people can agree to disagree over this issue. This is the kind of thing that you would expect from someone whos cruel and not in relationship with Jesus. For the next 90 minutes, Pete Briscoe enraptured us with his presentation of The Bema.. Pete has offered to But this is the beauty of I think whats arisen is an independent media. He currently leads a multi-faceted media ministry called Telling the Truth which he shares with his parents Stuart and Jill Briscoe. But this certainly raises red flags. So when you have a culture thats willing to, you know, exfoliate spoiliate, destroy documents in order to preserve a narrative, theres really very little that the culture will not accomplish at the cost of innocent people. Lawyers are, by definition, advocates, right? Theyve got a little bit of the guide part. that keeps the honest person honest. Yeah, totally agree. So its more than flirty words or suggestions. Just go to BuyACar123.com. Yes, I totally agree. The fact that, I dont know. Pete reminds us that our goal is not to win arguments, but to win people. You know, I think, Julie, the other thing that was really whacked out about Willows elder board, and I didnt find this out until very late in the representation was they operated by design out of unanimity. Im so glad that theyre godly men like you serving. But you had said you had gotten this manual and it was about, you know, basically how to be an elder and how to lead. This is just the way things are in Corinth. The church said in essence, Tsk, tsk. Pete Briscoes father, Stuart Briscoe, who I loved dearly, hes not in good health, I wish he was, I wish he could hear this and Id wish him well. But it was after a period of I dont know the details, and I dont know how much youre at liberty to say them, but its my understanding he went away for a period of time to kind of reflect and assess how he was doing and how he was handling things. I think its Pat Baranowskis story that ran in the New York Times that actually caused that. I attended Willow for seven years. Yeah, were all saints who sometimes sin. And another womans situation, theyre in an elder board meeting, and Bill Hybels, you know, has his hand on a womans leg, and no one else can see. I was the senior pastor of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship for nearly 30 years. 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. 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. 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. Let the Briscoes help you experience Life in all its fullness! May God lead your next steps and may you find ways to use your gifts from a place of health. Hes also a strong believer and advocate for abuse victims. You have to have a strong culture of accountability. WebIt is with heavy hearts that the Elders of Bent Tree announce that Pete Briscoe has submitted his resignation as Senior Pastor. And I think there was, but I think that theres a spiritual stronghold around celebrity culture within evangelicalism writ large. 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. I know that the original elders of Harvest thought they could keep James accountable despite the knowledge that he had glaring character flaws from the beginning. These are people that may be in the cubicle next to you at work, who have an acuity for blending in to normal life. Nobody has said they had intercourse with Bill. In our church, we have a no tolerance policy. Yeah, my understanding of that of the history has come from interviewing witnesses, talking to people who have served in those roles and hearing their stories at Willow. And yet youre still in a megachurch, multi-site church. Maybe some of your listeners are familiar with that you can go on YouTube and and see what thats all about. 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. A man who "dedicated his life to sharing Gods Word with the world" has died at the age of 91. Welcome to the Roys report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. Multiple services, being able to do it on cue, proves Hybels theatrical abilitiesI look back and feel sick, given all the details we now know from behind the scenes. There are therapy notes to support her story. Thank you for joining us in seeing to it that no one misses the grace of God. It grows on the vanilla orchid, and it only grows in really exotic places like Tahiti, and there are some places in Mexico it grows too, but what is unique about the vanilla orchid is when it blooms, its got to be pollinated within one day. But lets talk about since were talking about the media, Willow Creek had unbelievable resources at its disposal, right. WebBriscoe says that he wants Bent Tree to be a place where people can agree to disagree over this issue. Do we have a theology of goodness at our church? Later Telling the Truth began airing in several countries in southeast Asia and across 10 countries in southern Africa. Its a serious analog for what happened at Willow. But theres something wrong in the whole business of Church. I Hes one of the good guys. As a lawyer whos represented some of Bill Hybels victims Mitch Little has seen a side of Willow Creek that few others have. And some of it also involved a culture that was willing to cover for wrongdoing. He said, Pete, you should have one lawyer on your board but not more than one. And I believe that there is some really sound wisdom in that. Id like to share a few things as we navigate this loss together. So disappointed in ECFA. If you go back and you look at Bill Hybels books in retrospect, Im amazed at some of the things that are contained in his books that people became okay with. 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. For that we are forever grateful. Fortunately, we have not had so much as one complaint about any one of our pastors or staff members. So whos supposed to hold whos supposed to hold the leaders accountable in that structure? and so I almost feel like the elder boards are there to keep the honest person honest. If you want to know what grooming looks like in the context of church, every elder at a church of any size should read this book. And what lessons can we learn from Willow Creeks mistakes? At that age, I had never had someone in spiritual authority lie or manipulate me. This was an excellent interview and elders need to read this interview. Julie, you may want to review this pointwasnt a problem? So you can go to Amazon and enter in Boz Tchividjian and his book will pop up but you need to know what youre looking for because people who are sexual predators, they have an acuity for blending into society in ways that they dont stand out like this is not like, you know, the sexual predator in your church is not some, you know, grease ball sitting outside your kids ministry just kind of looking for a way to get at, like, thats our common image of what a sexual predator is. Just what I call a deformed leadership culture at the church where certain things became acceptable that shouldnt. And a lot of us who sat in the congregation and received from them were, you know, duped and we bought it. 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? And the Nancy Ortberg situation, a hug that lasted too long. I learned that from Bill. I wasnt throughout the representation. I understand that the desire to have elders dealing with what Ill call Echelon or tier level, theological topics: What does the church think about, you know, for example, racial reconciliation? He, Becky and their kids have been part of the fabric of BT for so long, it is To us, he was Stu, Dad and Poppa and we already miss him achingly." Churches sometimes need advocates outside their system. Amen. Think about the people whove done it historically, you know, the Chuck Swindolls that I mean, we can we can run off a list of names, we can also run off a list of failures. Im so grateful now for that heritage. Not sad or contemplative, but agitated and very irritated. Very few. I was the senior pastor of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship for nearly 30 years. That way, youll never miss an episode. And that that was something that taught you an awful lot about how elder board should deal with sexual impropriety or sexual abuse within their own walls. Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox! Pete has offered to 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. 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? They had these Global Leadership Summits. As I look back on my own four years on staff, Im thankful for the teaching and leadership that Pete Briscoe has brought to Bent Tree, and I know that so many of us have been impacted by his attention to the Lord and quick obedience to however God leads him. I Below is a link to a PDF of the article World Magazine did on a sex abuse scandal involving VOM. Happened so often, I quit altogether. And this is one of the I think exciting things. In another area, it might be used to groom someone and use vulnerability as a mechanism to draw people into something that is corrupt. Theyre not holding anybody accountable then. 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.. Can you imagine how many books that sold her? https://www.billionbibles.com/voice-of-the-martyrs.html. 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. So since youve seen a lot of this kind of up close and personal through talking to witnesses and elders and staff people, how bad was the abuse at Willow Creek? I dont know. Id like to share a few things as we navigate this loss together. This is a calling. 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. WebPete Briscoe, Stuart and Jills youngest son, was a key contributor to the ministrys teaching team from 2003 to 2021. Bent Tree is a multi site mega church in the Dallas Fort Worth area thats had its own share of crises over the past several years. Heres to better days and better church health. This is simply a place where I share the message of Gods unadulterated grace through my preaching sermons and bible teaching. So, while I have strong feelings about this, as you can imagine being a lawyer, but at all points, legal advice has to be subservient to Scripture. How did that all happen? He now coaches Pete Briscoe | Brookfield WI. And Harvest was the same thing. 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. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Literally thousands of people have come to know Jesus under Bill Hybels teaching and yet, he was morally bankrupt at the same time. 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. Yes, I have be disillusioned many times by churches and some leaders. Pete has offered to And that needs to be an elder in the church really any size, you need to say, Look, I see what youre doing this is wrong. And when the person makes excuses or says, You know, this is a misunderstanding, I didnt mean to, you know, message that kid inappropriately online, or I didnt mean to Invite them to go do something by ourselves out of, you know, trying to do something bad. Thank God I have Jesus. And if you dont have a character to lead, no manual is going to help you. For the next 90 minutes, Pete Briscoe enraptured us with his presentation of The Bema. I was blown away. Its one of the beauties and the deformities of social media is social media is agile. Yet Mitch isnt just the lawyer whos seen megachurches as an outsider bringing accountability. Continue Reading The Upper Room: John 15 Posted by Nate Murray And you you actually refer to it as multi-level marketing. And thankyou for all you do in the NAME of JESUS! My husband and I actually bought our last car from our court and we had a great experience. In context, I think my meaning becomes clear as I say soon after, agreeing with Mitchs assessment that unanimity is bad: Absolutely horrible. Subscribe Sign up for my daily email devotionals and to stay in touch! They show up, they sell books. Thats a bad default state. which Hybels assented to including you know, repenting for his behavior and not talking about politics and some other things as well. You feel that they have to have more of a governance more of a hands on role than a lot of them do. etc. You can read about them at their website Teaching the Truth. Theyre not holding anybody accountable then. So I was quite taken aback when this scandal came out. How do spot a safe pastorand can. But youre right. There were some areas or some some critical times when things could have gone differently, but the elders caved in essence to Bill Hybels. Pete grew up in a home with intelligent and committed parents: both WebHi friend, I'm Pete Briscoe. And someone Im extremely glad is serving in church leadership. Im against too many lawyers, and I think Im in a position to critique this. WebLearn More About Pete Today - Pete Briscoe God loves you to distraction, There is nothing you can do to make Him love them more or less, And, that Life with this Lover God is rich beyond description, regardless of your performance. Jesus said, I call you My friend. I think one of the ways that Willow tried to reckon with the situation was to permit Bill Hybels to retire from his role at the church. They know there would be swift and sure discipline, if not firing, even with one mistakedepending on the severity of the misbehavior. 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. Jill and Stuart came to the States from England. Honestly, without being a part of the Willow family at any time, I saw Bill as the best Christian leader I had encountered, by far. Now, God is leading our friend and leader Pete away from these walls, and we look on with sadness the sadness that comes when a season you love is passing. and Im going to butcher the title. He now coaches Pete Briscoe | Brookfield WI. Mitch is an attorney, a church elder and an advocate for abuse victims. And if youd like to find me online, just go to JulieRoys.com. Its something like Child Protection Policies. Yet, Scripture and to how to teach it became new and deep and exciting every week as I listened to Pete in the short three years I have been at Bent Tree. They didnt have the ability to move quickly. WebPete Briscoe, Stuart and Jills youngest son, was a key contributor to the ministrys teaching team from 2003 to 2021. The Roys Report seeks to foster thoughtful and respectful dialogue. So he said something about so and sos clothing. And that set the course for some of these more severe things to continue happening, and then to even get more and more severe. Now, I coach pastors and business leaders in communications and self-care. And we need to apologize. With distinctly different teaching styles, you'll be moved by the emotional appeal of Jill and the compelling logic of Stuart, as they boldly proclaim God's sovereignty, grace, and love. Its really pride. They have a responsibility to the larger church to speak. Interestingly enough, during the interview, he seemed extremely angry and resentful. Thats not to say there arent authentic people there. And where does whats legally expedient for our organization? They were almost sacred and benevolent and unable to do wrong. But we dont have time on this podcast. Pete served as the senior pastor at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas for nearly 30 years, and he now ministers to pastors and organizational executives through personalized, professional coaching. Mike is a dear friend and Im sad this day has come. Briscoe About Stuart and Jill Briscoe We needed to go to the hills and fight as guerillas, you know, what is guerrilla warfare? (etc. and I found these people in those imperfect churches! Briscoe says that he wants Bent Tree to be a place where people can agree to disagree over this issue. But if you have a pastor with a glaring character flaw youre fooling yourself if you think youre gonna keep that character flaw in line with a pastor who doesnt put Jesus Christ first in his life, am I right? I would love to see Chicago experience revival. And yet, they lost the PR battle, which is unbelievable. I know the owners Dan and Kurt Marquart personally, and I can say without reservation that they truly run their business with honesty, integrity and transparency. That night we had a guest speaker come in for a special presentation. I had no idea what to expect as this lone man stood on the stage. They didnt have the ability to respond to new issues as they arose. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted. I just, Im amazed that they were in such geographic proximity to one another dealing with almost the exact same problem. Pete is the son of Jill and Stuart Briscoe. 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. Its M-I-L-G-R-A-M the Milgram experiment, but basically American researchers were trying to figure out after World War II, why so many in German society were willing to go along with the Nazis or go along with their leadership, do incalculably horrible things to people. And gratitude is where we must go in this time, as Kurt Baxter reminded us on Sunday. It is also the church in which Pete Briscoe, my former wonderful pastor, grew up in. You can read about them at their website Teaching the Truth. 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. Hi. And I have other thoughts about that and how that all worked out. Thank you so much. They have to be theyre incredibly convincing. And he realized that he had missed an opportunity to share Christs love with this person, and he didnt even feel worthy to give this message tonight, you know, and he got teared up and, and Im watching this, you know, as a 20, early 20 something right? I know for a fact that his article was circulated among the staff at Willow, and they crossed the Rubicon of credulity. It is also the church in which Pete Briscoe, my former wonderful pastor, grew up in. 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.

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