Evangelical Church Leader Bill Hybels Steps Down


Evangelical senior pastor Bill Hybels has fallen to earth. Tuesday night, he formally resigned from his post, making the announcement to his dedicated followers at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington.

Hybels, who founded one of the most influential evangelical churches in America, has been the subject of multiple sexual misconduct allegations. In an investigation into the claims, the Chicago Tribune combed through hundreds of emails and internal records. Tribune reporters also interviewed past and current church members, elders and employees.

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Some have accused the women who stepped forward of riding on the coattails of the #MeToo movement, though the allegations go back decades. Manya Brachear Pashman, the Tribune reporter who covered Hybels’ resignation, spoke with many of the women who made these claims.

“The women who came forward did so reluctantly. They weren’t, you know, beating down my door to tell their stories,” she said.

Pashman joins us in discussion.


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