(RNS) Dave Dummitt said “no” to Willow Creek Community Church twice.
When the Chicago-area megachurch first reached out to him about stepping into the role of the senior pastor, Dummitt worried it was “not an environment that I felt like I could serve very well.”
The church hadn’t had a full-time senior pastor in nearly two years, ever since founding pastor Bill Hybels resigned amid allegations of abusing power and sexual misconduct. Though Hybels has denied those allegations, an independent group of Christian leaders found them credible.
Hybels’ successors and Willow Creek’s entire elder board later resigned over the church’s handling of the allegations.