Have the Elders kept their Promises? Part 1 IAG and Governance

One Year Later

It has been just over a year since the current Elders took up the mantle of leadership at Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC). It is important to assess how the Elders have led the church. Following is what the Elders said they will do; discussion on the outcome of their promises; and recommendations to address their actions, or lack thereof. This post specifically focuses on the promises made regarding the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) and the Governance Review Team. Following is a quote that highlights the purpose of this post:

“The Elder Board needs to do what it says it will do.”
(Willow Creek Governance Review, James C. Galvin, Ed.D., April 14, 2019)

The Promises and Results

The previous Elders of WCCC commissioned two groups to investigate and assess the church. One group was the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) and the other was Jim Galvin (Galvin and Associates, Inc.), supported by a group of Elders, staff and congregants, to review the church’s governance.

Reiterating everything in those reports would overwhelm this post, so I suggest you read the reports to understand the purpose and scope of each investigation. Here are links to the IAG Report and Governance Review. All the current Elder’s updates can be found on the WCCC Elder Blog Page.

To assess whether the Elders have kept their promise I have reviewed all the Elder Updates to date. Also, I have tried to be attentive for verbal messages at church services and I have asked other WCCC attendees whether they have heard any information I may have missed.

The IAG Report

Following are promises the current Elders made regarding the IAG Report and discussion on the result of these promises. NOTE: The information below has been shared with the Elders and they have not responded:

1.     “We commit to honor and respect the work of the IAG and the entirety of their report.” (Elder Update: February 28, 2019)

2.     “We commit to provide ongoing communication regarding our deliberations on this report’s findings and recommendations.” (Elder Update: February 28, 2019)

3.     “We know many of you will want to hear more about what we intend to do in light of this report’s recommendations – and you will.” (Elder Update: March 2 & 3, 2019)

4.     “We are grateful for the IAG’s work. We accept their conclusions. We are committed to follow through on their recommendations.” (Shoji Boldt, Worship and Reflection Service, July 23, 2019, Video)

As of the date of this post, more than 12 months since making the first promises, the Elders have addressed and/or communicated only 5 of 13 recommendations in the IAG Report. Two of the items they addressed were only partially implemented, and the adequacy of the implementations is questionable due to lack of explanation and follow-up.

To be accurate, I cannot say for certain whether the Elders have addressed more of the recommendations, that is why I include the word “communicated” above. Regardless of whether they have completed more of them or not, they have not kept their promise to keep the church informed. Also, upon review of the IAG Report, most, if not all, of their recommendations could have been implemented in the time since the Elders took office.

The Governance Review

Following are the promises the Elders made regarding the Governance Review and discussion on the result of these promises. NOTE: Once again, the information below has been shared with the Elders and they have not responded:

1.     “We are working through all 14 recommendations.  We are also prayerfully considering the governance and structural changes required for the future of Willow Creek. We will continue to provide updates on our current activities, including the senior pastor search and completion of the annual financial audit.” (Elder Update: Governance Review, May 02, 2019)

2.     “As Elders, we are committed to serving the church in the spirit of 1 Peter. We value the work of the Governance Review Core Team in examining past events. We are listing out the recommendations verbatim, followed by actions taken to date. Our work also requires looking forward and discerning how to implement governance improvements for the next season of ministry at Willow Creek. We ask for your continued prayers as we seek God’s direction.” (Elder Update: Governance Review, May 02, 2019)

As of the date of this post, 9 months since the publication of the Governance Review, only 6 of the 14 issues have been addressed and/or communicated and these were addressed in the the same May 02 statement in which they first released the report.  At least two of those 6 addressed issues have not been fully completed or communicated. While the Elders included the senior pastor search and completion of the annual financial audit in their promise on May 02, 2019, these were not part of the Governance Review recommendations.

Once again, the Elders failed to keep their promises. They have not completed, nor communicated their progress on the completion of the recommendations of the Governance Review.

Why this Information is Important

First, when the Elders made promises and failed to keep them, they lied. This is stating the obvious, but it seems many people are reluctant to recognize the facts, or perhaps are unaware of them. The Elders have lied to the church. Most importantly, the Elders have failed to meet the expectations of their Biblical mandate; i.e. an elder must be blameless (Titus 1:6-9); an overseer is to be above reproach (1 Timothy 3:2). We all make mistakes, but the Elders have had many opportunities to correct their mistakes and they have yet to do so.

Second, the recommendations from these two investigations were meant to help the church. Instead, the Elder’s failure to implement them is hurting the church. If you have read the two reports, you can see that many of the recommendations are intended to help the church avoid serious problems in the future. Also, some of the recommendations were made to assure we appropriately respond to people who were hurt by Bill Hybels and other church leaders, including the Elders.

Recommendations for Action

This post has shown how the Elders have lied to the church. Even if they are still working on the IAG and Governance recommendations, or even if they have completed more of them, they have failed in their promise to keep the church informed. It is important to reiterate that they have been presented with this information within the past year and they have failed to respond. This too is a failure to do what they said they will do.

The Elders must keep their promise to complete the recommendations of the two investigations and keep the congregation informed of their progress. When my wife and I met with two of the Elders for the last time in November 2019, we presented them with a simple chart idea to delineate each recommendation and indicate progress or completion. At the time we were concerned we may be insulting them because this idea was so simple and obvious, but their failure to implement such a common-sense solution, or something like it, continues to baffle us.

While the IAG Report and Governance Review provide good recommendations to consider and implement, they do not address the spiritual issues underlying the problems the church faced and are continuing to face. In my previous post I indicated that Willow Crystal Lake had made recommendations that the Elders ignored. The most important of those was the discernment of the spiritual root causes of the church’s problems. It is not too late. I implore the Elders and other leaders to look at the spiritual nature of these crises, not just the particular instances of sin, and not just policies and procedures. This is something I am attempting to do in my blog Our Life in Christ. The posts will focus on subjects like our identity in Christ; how we engage the Bible; the true mission of the church; etc. with the intent to help the church grow and address issues that may be the root of problems we are facing.

Finally, it is imperative that the members and congregation of WCCC keep the Elders accountable. I am not sure of the best way to do this because many people have attempted to help them, but their efforts have fallen on deaf ears. Most notably, are the recommendations and offers of help from Lead Pastor, Marcus Bieschke and other leaders from Willow Crystal Lake. Nevertheless, the church must continue to try and look for ways to help the Elders do what is right. Would the Elders respond to a congregational petition for a public meeting to answer questions? I’m not sure, but something must be done to get their attention. The time has not passed, nor is it yet time, to “move on” from these crises. If the Elders refuse to listen and repent it may be time to consider discipline as outlined in 1 Timothy 5.

In my coming posts I will continue to look at the Elder’s promises, statements and actions. I hope this information shows what is happening at WCCC, but more importantly, I hope it leads to repentance and action in the church.