It’s now been about a month since I joined the staff at Willow, albeit in a socially-distanced type of way. This past weekend I drove a truck to Chicago to settle into an apartment in the village of West Dundee. It will be my home-base when I’m in town, and where Faith will join me once our Texas house sells. 

I’ve received some tremendous notes of encouragement from around the world. It’s been great to see so many people cheering for Willow Creek Community Church in this next season. Between texts, calls, social media, blog comments, instant messages and more—I’ve probably heard from 1500 people. And wow, they are pulling for Willow. So many positive comments. 

But also some interesting comments. One of the most memorable phrases I’ve heard from a few different people goes something like this…

“Man, what a privilege that you get to help rebuild Willow to what it once was.”

Really?

Because guess what? That’s not a goal. In fact, there is so much I do not like about that statement.

Willow doesn’t need to be rebuilt into what it once was. In fact, no church does. Willow has a future that is different than her past. The strength of Willow Creek in the future lies in the hearts and souls of men and women, some who have been attending for decades, and others who are just now exploring faith at one of the campuses. It depends on discovering a new vision—the right vision for the next season. It isn’t reliant on reviving what once was.

To “help rebuild Willow” infers the church is broken and limping. I don’t want to minimize the wounds of the past, but in my short time I’ve seen some bright spots of life and community and impact happening right now through the congregations spread across Chicagoland. I’ve been hearing stories of people taking steps in their faith, of congregation members meeting the needs of the hungry or unemployed or emotionally distraught, and of new believers being baptized (107 just at one campus in early March!).

I haven’t heard people around Willow talking about rebuilding the church “into what it once was.” How about we take much of what has been good in the DNA, and together build Willow into a local church that pleases the heart of God?

Dave Dummitt is jumping into the role of Senior Pastor this week, and together with the pastors and leaders at Willow, we’ll be focused on building a thriving local church where people can take their next step toward Jesus; where those far from God can begin to find their way back; where everyone can engage the Bible with curiosity and thirst and can ask their questions in the context of community; and where the love of Jesus becomes real for people as their human needs are being met. 

So if anyone is producing “Make Willow Great Again” hats, you can stop. It just isn’t the goal.