How Did We Get Here? Part 4 Flawed Culture

Introduction

In my first post in this series (How Did We Get Here? Part 1 Discern the Paradigm), I defined the problem Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC) is experiencing and developed some root cause statements.

In this part of the series, we will look at “Why?” number two, living in a flawed culture. The culture of an organization, whether a company or church, is the shared values and ways of operating. During the crises at Willow, many people have pointed to a flawed culture. However, the culture was viewed primarily as a behavioral issue, i.e., power and sexual manipulation. Behavior is a part of the culture, but it is not the core of the problem. When looking at an organization’s culture, it is helpful to start with the mission; here is WCCC’s from the Beliefs and Values page of the website:

The mission of Willow Creek Community Church is to turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

Culture and Mission

For me, one of the most disappointing statements the Elders made in the aftermath of the crises was that they “unanimously affirm” the mission of the church (Elder Update: Servant Leadership, October 24, 2019. Also, see Elder Update: April 17, 2019, and Elder Update – October 8, 2019). My dissatisfaction may seem odd, but please bear with me as I explain.

As pointed out in one of my earlier blog posts, the Elders consistently stated they wanted to learn from the past. One of the few things from the past they talked about reviewing were the mission and values of the church. Sadly, when examining these statements, they didn’t see any need for improvement. This affirmation indicated to me that the Elders were stuck in the paradigm of distorted Christianity and that they were not fulfilling their mandate of “Ensuring the church’s teachings and practices reflect accurate biblical theology (Elders and Leadership, What do the Elders do?).”

The previous posts in this series showed how the Elder Statements do not always accurately reflect the Bible; the mission statement is similar. I realize some of the arguments I will make may seem like semantics, but words are important. Subtle shifts in concepts and perspectives can lead to large gaps in understanding, the way a small diversion from a path can take someone miles from the desired destination. Let’s look at the mission in two parts.

The first part states, “turn irreligious people into. . .” First, I don’t believe the word irreligious accurately explains who the church wants to reach. At best, this is a misleading term that the Elders could have easily changed. Does the church only care about irreligious people? What about religious people? The Bible often shows that religion is not the way to God. Also, Jesus used his harshest words when challenging the religious leaders and their traditions.

More importantly, this part of the statement says that the church is going to turn people into something. Once again, proper words are essential. The church does not turn people into something. We show people a different perspective, we turn people toward something or, more accurately, toward someone. The church is to turn people toward Jesus Christ, our head and the only person that can change them.

The second part of the mission says the church intends to turn people into, “fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.” While the church understands and preaches salvation through Christ alone; after people are saved, they are led into a life that focuses on their actions without a proper understanding of their new identity in Christ. Sadly, Willow Creek is fulfilling its mission by unwittingly trying to turn irreligious people into religious people. This mission reinforces the problems discussed in the previous “Whys.” Let’s recap the root cause problems presented in the most recent post in How Did We Get Here?

There are pervading misinterpretations and misuses of the Bible in the doctrine and teaching of WCCC. One of the outcomes of this error is the misrepresentation of Christian identity, the view that we still have a sinful nature. The belief that we still have a sinful nature leads to a distorted Christianity; where we must manage our sinfulness to be progressively sanctified, or made holy, through a daily cycle of repentance and confession. We then determine what we need to sacrifice to live and serve God and to call others to join this life of devotion. Following is a recent example of this focus on what Christians need to do.

This past weekend, Albert Tate gave a message from Mark’s gospel (Journey Through Mark: Not What You Think | Albert Tate). During the sermon, he quoted a verse that says, “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me (Mark 8:34, NASB®).” Pastor Tate shared some good things, but the message also distorted much of the truth that Jesus was presenting. There was a definite focus on what people must do; for example, Pastor Tate used these words to paraphrase what Jesus meant, “If you recognize that your life is not your own and surrender it over to the mission of the kingdom of God, then you’ll find me.” And, he attributed this meaning to Jesus’ words as well, “Don’t follow me trying to still preserve yourself, because there’s a cross that we all have to bear, and on that cross, we have to sacrifice ourselves.” Pastor Tate summed up the message saying, “it’s not about you,” but then went on to make it about you by asking, “Where do you need to sacrifice?”

This message from the Journey Through Mark is just the most recent example of how the culture of WCCC is a distortion of Christianity and promotes a culture of doing over knowing God and being known by Him. The entire Journey series is replete with examples of manipulating Scripture to emphasize things Christians must do, and how we must devote ourselves.

There is nothing wrong with being devoted to Jesus, but devotion comes out of our relationship with Him. Devotion is characterized by love and the only way we can love God is because He first loved us:

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 413-19, NRSV, bold added)

Likewise, our work for God is characterized first by belief in Jesus. After He miraculously fed more than five thousand people, Jesus had this interaction with the people who kept following Him:

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:25-29, NRSV, bold added)

When we believe in Jesus, we follow Him in His death and resurrection, and we receive new life. The Apostle Paul told us, “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4, NASB®).” The passage in Mark 8:34 is not about our sacrifice, it is about Christ’s sacrifice for us, so that we can be a new creation. This is the kingdom God wants us to enjoy, Emmanuel, Christ with us.

Why this Information is Important

Willow Creek’s culture focuses more on what Christians need to do for Jesus than on their identity in Jesus. Regrettably, the identity they do describe is a distorted portrayal of life in Christ. When we fail to comprehend our new identity in Christ and expect to live in a cycle of sin, repentance, and confession, we are putting the responsibility to be holy on ourselves, instead of what Jesus did for us and in us. If we expect to sin, we are bound to sin. Living this way should bring no surprise when “sin enters the picture.” If this is the Christian life we want to invite others into, there is an additional danger.

During Jesus’ ministry, great crowds were following Him. At one point, he went up on a mountain and taught His followers many things. Toward the end of this teaching, Jesus gave this warning:

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23, NASB®)

I fear that promoting a culture of doing, doesn’t give people a proper understanding of the Christian life. Is the church turning people into fully devoted followers who are doing “good things in Jesus’ name,” but who don’t know Him, or who aren’t known by Him?

Recommendations for Action

The Apostle Paul wrote letters to churches to show the beauty of the Christian life. Please read his letters to the Ephesians and Colossians to see that Christianity is about understanding who you are before knowing how to live (read each letter in one sitting if you can*).

The Christian life is one of action, but it is acting out of a new identity. We don’t join the mission of the kingdom of God to find Jesus; we come to Jesus, and He brings us into His kingdom. We are more than followers; we are reconciled to God and become one spirit with Him. Our devotion to Jesus is out of pure love; the love that we first received from Him. As we walk in His Spirit, we can live righteous and holy lives in everything we do, not just in some perceived mission.

Please continue to pray for the leaders of Willow Creek that they may keep their promise to learn from the past and see what must change in the culture to avoid letting sin enter the picture again. In addition to praying, please implore them to take a serious look at the culture and implement changes that reflect the true nature of Christianity.

My next post will continue to focus on why the “doing culture” of Willow Creek led to patterns of wrongful behavior in the church. Also, see my blog, Our Life in Christ, for a more in-depth discussion of the topics discussed here, such as Christian identity, confession, and mission.

* If you have a computer, go to BibleGateway to read these books. After you go to each book, I recommend you use the Page Options, the little gear icon, to turn off all the options so you can read the letter undistracted by chapter, verse, and other notations.