After a 5:30AM flight out of Lexington, we're here at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL – a suburb of Chicago. Driving up to this place is a bit like driving up to a suburban sports arena. The parking lot actually has the same kind of letter/section numbering that you find at the airport or other major venue and there is a "Fast Track" parking lot, too–with a shuttle. It kind of gives you a Disney-like feel when when you finally get here. This picture was taken inside the main "auditorium" (not sanctuary), which seats 7,000 and has three "decks." We were in the upper deck for each session.
Willow Creek is one of the largest churches in the country and is well-known in church circles for its innovation. It started in the 70s as a youth group movement and now has grown to have 20,000 in attendance each weekend. Bill Hybels, the founding pastor, really focused on building a model that would reach out to spiritual "seekers" and it has worked in spades, at least as far as the numbers go. It's an impressive, if not over the top, facility with ministries for just about anything you can imagine.
Willow Creek is large enough to have a full-service bookstore that rivals a Barnes and Noble, a food court, complete with several concession stands, several coffee bars, and an escalator to take you up to the mezzanine. The worship band is amazing and they play complete with light show, stage smoke, dancers, etc. You wouldn't know the difference in quality between this church and a concert from a well-known artist. Touch screen information kiosks greet you at each entrance to show you where you need to go. It's the epitome of the kind of church that has done everything with excellence in terms of adapting to the culture and making people feel comfortable.
Still, I'm always ambivalent when I come to places like this. On the one hand, it's very impressive but on the other, well, let's just say that it seems to be a little too enculturated for me. The symbols and rituals that have been part of Christianity for nearly 2000 years aren't visible here, which makes me nervous. The senior pastor's face is everywhere and his books and tapes are always on sale. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I worry about the cult of charisma that surrounds many of these "star" pastors. I think at some point every clergy person attending this conference has wondered what it would be like to be in Hybels' shoes–this one included. But being here now, after 14 years of ordained ministry, I realize that this isn't necessarily the "major leagues." Being a church leader, a spiritual leader, is really more about your personality, your giftedness, and your call than it is about place. Whether attendance is 200 or 20,000, the Word still must be preached with integrity, the sacraments served with sacred attention, and the due order and administration of the church must be led wisely. Kudos to Bill Hybels for reaching so many people, but kudos also to the rest of us out there who serve Christ in many different places. We may not have escalators and food courts, but the same Spirit seeks to work through us all.
The conference itself has been fairly interesting, mostly focused on leadership principles. I'll pull together a summary of quotes after tomorrow's sessions.
Here's a photo of the stage. Note the large screens on either side, the band up on the high platform, etc.
Touch screen information kiosks are available at each of the entrances. The map for the building looks like an airport map!
This one gives you an idea of the crowd and how the auditorium is set up. Main floor with a mezzanine and a third deck. The windows on the side have automatic blinds that go up and down and, outside each window are man-made waterfalls. Seating is actually marked off by sections, just like an arena. We were seated in section 305.
