Bill Hybels, Megachurch Pastor, Retires Early After Misconduct Claims

Willow Creek megachurch pastor Bill Hybels announced Tuesday he is stepping down from his position now instead of retiring in October as he had previously planned. Hybels was recently cleared after several women accused him of inappropriate advances and unwanted contact over a 20-year period. 

Hybels, 66, said he would be a distraction from the ministry if he remained, even though he denied the allegations and was cleared after an investigation by the church leadership, The Washington Post reported.

While most Willow Creek members have accepted the church investigation’s findings, Hybels said “some of the Christian community continue to be confused and conflicted,” the Post reported. 

He also said he regretted his initial angry response to the allegations, which included unwanted touching, a kiss, lewd comments, and invitations to his hotel room, as well as accusations of a previous consensual affair, which the woman involved later withdrew.

When news of the allegations reached the public, Hybels called them “flat-out lies.”

Hybels did say he was “naïve” and “placed [himself] in situations that would have been far wiser to avoid,” USA Today reported.

Three former teaching pastors including John Ortberg and other high-profile evangelical leaders suggested to the Chicago Tribune that the church’s investigation had not been conducted properly and was inadequate, however.

The megachurch pastor said he would also step away from the Willow Creek Association, a nonprofit focused on leadership development that was to have been the focus of his post-retirement work.

“Given my love for both this church and the leadership summit, you can imagine how grieved I have been by the way the controversy surrounding me has impacted both these ministries,” Hybels said in a statement, USA Today reported. “But it has been increasingly clear to us that they can’t flourish when the valuable time and energy of their leaders are divided.”

Hybels plans to seek counsel for a time and then return to Willow Creek as his home church, The Washington Post reported.  

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