Pulpit and Politics: Clergy in American Politics at the Advent of the Millennium

22. Willow Creek Association

285 The growth of nondenominational Protestantism is one of the most significant developments in American religion in the past fifty years. While the independent Bible church movement originated in the late nineteenth century, most of America’s large nondenominational churches came into existence only in the past generation. This growth not only reflects the enduring power of religious movements, especially those centered within evangelical Protestantism, but it also demonstrates a successful adaptation to contemporary society. As one scholar has put it: The last thirty years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of churches that meet in converted warehouses [or movie theaters], are led by ministers who never attended seminary [or are not seminary graduates], sing to melodies one might hear in a bar or nightclub, and refuse in their worship to separate mind, body, and soul. . . . These “new paradigm churches” . . . are reinventing the way Christianity is experienced and attracting large numbers of people who have felt alienated from institutional religion (Miller 1997: dust jacket). The membership in these new-paradigm churches is significant. The 2000 census of Religious Congregations and Membership found that they accounted for about 1.5 percent of religious adherents (Jones et al. Chapter 22 Willow Creek Association Lyman A. Kellstedt and John C. Green 2001). Other survey data from 2000 revealed a larger number, some 6 percent of the adult population.50 Part of this development has been the appearance of new postmodern organizations (Clegg 1990) among nondenominational churches. Some of these organizations have taken on the doctrinal and organizational trappings of denominations. Two examples of this phenomenon are Calvary Chapel, founded by Chuck Smith in California in the late 1960s, now with more than 600 congregations worldwide, and the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, a 1980s offshoot of Calvary Chapel stressing charismatic gifts (Miller 1997). Other such associations are more task-oriented and looser in structure, resembling the cross-denominational parachurch organizations long common among evangelical Protestants, though adapted for the twenty-first century (Carpenter 1997). A contemporary example of this second phenomenon is the evangelical renewal movement that is evident within many Protestant denominations (McKinney and Finke 2002). A second such example is the Willow Creek Association (WCA), founded by one of the nation’s prototypical new-paradigm congregations, the Willow Creek Community Church of South Barrington, Illinois. This chapter analyzes clergy whose churches belong to the WCA. These data give us a look inside a prominent postmodern church association , and its various religious elements. But it also allows for a review of the impact of the new-paradigm nondenominational Protestant churches as well as the potential for cross-denominational cooperation among clergy with common religious interests. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC) was founded in 1975 under the leadership of Bill Hybels, who remains the senior pastor in 2004. It is best known as the preeminent seeker-oriented congregation, which is one version of the new-paradigm, nondenominational churches (Sargeant 2000). Its core ministry is the seeker-directed weekend worship services (see the church Web site at http://www.willowcreek.org). Designed specifically to appeal to people turned off by organized religion , the WCCC services make use of contemporary Christian music, drama, and a colloquial style in presenting Scripture and preaching. Visitors are considered guests and are asked not to make a financial contribution during the service. An introduction to the Christian faith as 286 Willow Creek Association Lyman A. Kellstedt and John C. Green 287 understood by evangelical Protestantism is at the heart of the sermons or “messages” (“Jesus—Up Close and Personal,” “The Grace of God”), which regularly include the application of biblical principles to matters of everyday concern (marriage, money management, forgiveness, practicing compassion). Highly orthodox Protestant beliefs about the need for salvation and the requirements of the gospel are placed in a contemporary context. By any measure, WCCC has been an enormous success. In its initial years, services were held in a movie theater in the northwest Chicago suburb of Palatine. Due to rapid growth, the church moved to its current campus in South Barrington in 1981. At the present time, WCCC holds four seeker services each weekend with a typical attendance of around 18,000, and two midweek services directed at its approximately 7,500 members.51 In addition, the church puts great stress on involvement in small groups and also staffs over one hundred ministries serving a wide range of needs, mostly with volunteers...