Be The Fruit

What is going on at Willow? Part 1

by Bill Blair on 23/02/08 at 9:32 am

I first heard about the REVEAL study last August while attending the Leadership Summit at my church which is a satellite location for the conference.  The news of the study, however, seems to keep being discussed as if it were brand new.  In fact, a couple weeks ago the topic came up in class, and some were presenting it as if Hybels had stated that he believed that everything Willow has been doing is wrong.

As I recalled, I did not think that Hybels thought that everything was wrong, but that there were just some growth areas that needed to be addressed.  I did not recall any notion that Willow thought their “seeker-friendly” movement was a failure whatsoever, but I have heard many present their position as such.

As I was beginning to write this post, I came across a post from back in October on the REVEAL blog site that better explains their position.  You can view it here.  Basically, it states the following: 1) Willow has not repented; 2) Willow is not only still seeker-focused, but seeker-obsessed.  This REVEAL blog post states what I thought was their position.

It seems as though many have pounced on the REVEAL data to proclaim the failure of Willow’s methods that they knew were wrong.  It is a clear, “I told you so” situation.  Chuck Lawless, the dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, and Church growth at Southern Seminary, wrote a very even-handed article on the subject that can be read here.  Lawless commends Willow for at least looking at spiritual growth and committing to change.

This whole Willow Creek/seeker-movement debate has been very interesting to me.  You see, in some ways I am a product of such movement because I first came to my church, which has followed a lot of Willow Creek methods, as a non-believer and now I am passionate disciple in seminary.  So, some of these discussions are really close to home.  I have literally seen such techniques and ideas from every vantage point (from the perspective of a non-believer to a leader and everything in between). 

In part 2, I will share my unique perspective on the REVEAL findings and the seeker-movement.