By Jonathan Howe
“On the Horizon” is a quick glance at important news items for your week.
New Allegations, Resignations at Willow Creek
New accusations surfaced yesterday related to former Willow Creek Community Church pastor Bill Hybels and his history of sexual assault and harassment. The new allegations came from Hybels’ former executive assistant and were published by the New York Times.
This story comes just days before the annual Global Leadership Summit hosted by Willow Creek and led Hybels’ successor to announce his resignation from the church over the way the elders have mismanaged the situation.
Abuse Investigation at Ohio State
Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer was placed on administrative leave last week while the university “investigates whether he was previously aware of domestic violence allegations against former assistant coach Zach Smith.”
With the season starting in just a few weeks, a conclusion to the investigation has been promised within two weeks. Now we wait.
Loss of a Legend
Longtime pastor of Houston’s First Baptist Church, John Bisagno, entered his eternal home early Sunday morning. Bisagno led the church to enormous growth over his 30-year tenure as pastor and led nearly 40 international evangelistic crusades.
Gun Violence Rocks Chicago
Over the weekend in Chicago, 40 people were shot—including 15 teenagers. Gun violence and regulations continue to dominate political discussions as we approach the mid-term elections. More weekends like this—or more in other cities—might shift the discussion and escalate this issue in political discussions.
Welcome Lifeway Pastors
You may have noticed this last week here at Facts & Trends, but Lifeway Pastors is now part of the F&T family. More exciting changes are coming in the next few months here at the site, so be sure to sign up for our daily newsletter to keep up on all the additions to the site.
Be sure to check FactsAndTrends.net throughout the week for continued coverage of these stories and much more.
JONATHAN HOWE (@Jonathan_Howe) is Director of Strategic Initiatives at Lifeway Christian Resources.
