When I Grow Up…

I’m not a groupie.  I’ve never been a groupie for anybody or anything.  When I was growing up all my friends had bands or stars that they would die for.  My tastes were too eclectic.  I just couldn’t go “all in” for any one group or celebrity.  I did briefly have a Jaclyn Smith poster on my wall but that’s another story. ;)

As I have gotten older, however, there have been some people in my life that have impacted me so significantly AND consistently over the years that they are in a special category.  I’ve grown to trust these folks and admire them.  I don’t know if that makes me a groupie or not but the truth is that as reluctant as I am to admit it, these folks are heroes to me.  There’s really no other word for it.

One such person is Bill Hybels.  I jokingly say that I want to be Bill Hybels when I grow up but that’s not too far from the truth.  Bill got a standing ovation at the NNCC.  He’s been received the same way at every function I can remember for many years and, frankly, he deserves it.  He’s an amazing leader and a man of great insight and integrity.

Long before I ever heard of Bill Hybels, I was struggling to pastor a fledgling church of twenty-somethings in Athens, Georgia.  I didn’t know much about pastoring but I knew that I loved the folks I pastored.  They were a group of largely unchurched (or dechurched) folks that were coming home to God after being so very far away from Him.

It was there that I discovered my unquenchable, god-given passion for those far from God.  I did my best to pastor this group and invite other unchurched folks to join with us.  It was a battle that’s hard to describe today.  I felt so very isolated in my task.  Most churches were established churches ministering to the established church-goers of the community.  What we were trying to do seemed so different from everything else around us.

THEN, I heard a little something about Bill Hybels and Willow Creek Community Church.  I heard they were having a conference for pastors and churches that were serious about reaching the unchurched.  I scrounged up the money to go and left for a life-changing adventure.

It’s hard to put into words what I felt that day when I walked into that huge church building and heard Bill talking so passionately about how the church is the “hope of the world” and how the church must do whatever it takes to reach our communities for Christ because “people matter to God.”

I found myself crying uncontrollably as Bill spoke.  I didn’t feel so alone anymore.  It was as if I had found “my tribe.”  I was “home.”  Finally, there was somebody telling me that what I was trying to do wasn’t crazy.  Bill Hybels and Willow Creek gave me permission to be what God had called me to be.

I am so very thankful for Bill Hybels and the courageous steps he took when nobody was doing church that way.  He was a trail-blazer and every church in America can be thankful for his pioneering work.  People do matter to God and countless folks have been brought closer to Him because of the efforts and impact of Bill and the amazing Willow Creek family.

Thanks, Bill, for venturing out into the deep waters with God.  Thanks for being such a man of integrity.  Thanks for blazing the trail.  Thanks for not quitting and for fighting the good fight!