The pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, where Starbucks’ CEO recently canceled an appearance after the church was accused of homophobia, says Willow Creek is not antigay — it just expects gay members to be celibate.
Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz had been invited to speak at Willow Creek’s annual Global Leadership Summit earlier this month but canceled after a Change.org petition noted that the suburban Chicago megachurch had a long association with Exodus International, which believes that gay people can — and should — be converted to straight. Willow Creek ended its association with Exodus two years ago, but the petition sponsors said the church has its own outreach program that sends an anti-LGBT message.
In a video posted on YouTube, Willow Creek pastor Bill Hybels addresses his congregation about the matter. He says the church is not antigay or anti-anyone, but he makes it clear there are different standards of behavior for gay and straight people. “We challenge homosexuals and heterosexuals to live out the sexual ethics taught in the scriptures, which encourages full sexual expression between a man and a woman in the context of marriage and prescribes sexual abstinence and purity for everybody else.”
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