Gilbert Bilezikian
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Gilbert Bilezikian (born June 26, 1927, in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
) is an American
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
Christian writer, professor, and lecturer. Along with Bill Hybels, Bilezikian is a co-founder of
Willow Creek Community Church Willow Creek Community Church is an Evangelical nondenominational multisite megachurch based in the northwestern Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois. It was founded on October 12, 1975 by Dave Holmbo and Bill Hybels, who was its longtim ...
in South Barrington, Illinois. In 2020, Willow Creek announced that allegations of sexual abuse had been made against Bilezikian.


Early life and education

Bilezikian was born in Paris, France, to parents who were
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
refugees. He was drafted in the French army where he served as a medic in North Africa during the Algerian liberation conflict. He first came to the United States in 1947. Bilezikian earned his BA from the
University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
, his M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and his Th.D. from
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
. He also pursued a seven-year post-doctoral program at the Sorbonne in Paris under Professor Oscar Cullmann.


Career

Beginning in 1961, Bilezikian served for five years as pastor of Loudonville Community Church outside of Albany, N.Y.. He returned to Paris for seven years, during which time he taught at the European Bible Institute and served as Minister of Christian Education at the American Church in Paris. For 20 years, Bilezikian was a professor at Wheaton College. He interrupted his tenure at Wheaton to assume for three years the presidency of Haigazian University in Beirut, Lebanon, and to teach two years at Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois. In 1992, he became Professor of Biblical Studies Emeritus at Wheaton College. Bilezikian co-founded
Willow Creek Community Church Willow Creek Community Church is an Evangelical nondenominational multisite megachurch based in the northwestern Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois. It was founded on October 12, 1975 by Dave Holmbo and Bill Hybels, who was its longtim ...
with Bill Hybels in 1975 and was Hybels' mentor. In 2000, Hybels said, "There would be no Willow Creek without Gilbert Bilezikian." Bilezikian has been "credited with Willow Creek’s inclusion of women in its highest levels of leadership". He also helped to found Christians for Biblical Equality in 1988.


Sexual abuse allegations

In January 2020, Willow Creek Community Church announced that Bilezikian had "engaged in inappropriate behavior" after a longtime church member alleged he had sexually assaulted her a number of times between 1984 and 1988. Bilezikian denied the accusations and contended that the church had "violated the Bible's teaching on dealing with accusations against fellow Christians". Hybels had previously resigned from Willow Creek in April 2018 following allegations of misconduct. The Elder Board of Willow Creek stated that it had restricted Bilezikian from serving within the church when allegations were brought against him in 2010; in 2015, however, he was honored as a "living legend" of the church. In January 2020, the Elder Response Team asserted that Bilezikian had been restricted from serving in the church, but added that he had continued to teach and serve in various capacities because "the restriction was not adequately communicated". In February 2020, his title as Wheaton College Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies was revoked by the college. In May 2020, Bilezikian filed a defamation lawsuit against the church.


Publications

In addition to numerous articles, Bilezikian is the author of several books, including the following: *''Beyond Sex Roles: What the Bible Says about a Woman's Place in Church and Family'' (1985 1st Edition & 2nd Editions; 2006 3rd Edition; Baker Academic) *''Christianity 101: Your Guide to Eight Basic Christian Beliefs'' (1993 Zondervan) *''Community 101'' (1993 Zondervan) *''Community 101: Reclaiming the Local Church as Community of Oneness'' * ''Comunidad Elemental: Reivindicando la iglesia locol como una comunidad unida'' (Spanish ed.) *''From Despair to Hope'' (2012) *''How I Changed My Mind about Women in Leadership'' (2010 Zondervan) *''The Liberated Gospel: A Comparison of the Gospel of Mark and Greek Tragedy'' (1977 Baker; reprinted 2010 Wipf and Stock)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilezikian, Gilbert 1927 births Living people 20th-century American male writers category:20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century evangelicals Academic staff of Haigazian University American Evangelical writers American male non-fiction writers American people of Armenian descent American religious writers Boston University School of Theology alumni French emigrants to the United States French evangelicals French people of Armenian descent Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary alumni Sexual abuse scandals in Nondenominational Evangelical Christianity Trinity International University faculty University of Paris alumni Wheaton College (Illinois) faculty