I wrote a big chunk on these folks long before I thought of making this an actual series. A lot of this is from that, but there’s an exciting update at the end. It’s nice when these things don’t have to be negative all the time.
Here’s the movie that explains everything.
I grew up listening to Hillsong United and thought the jams were really good for the most part, when I was just learning guitar as a teenager. The CD/DVD combo disks they put out were really fun to listen to and to watch to get the chords just right. It’s no wonder they became popular all over the world. I never clued in that they were using Prosperity Gospel to fund all of this. All the fancy seating and lights must have just come out of nowhere, right? Of course stumbling across a book titled “You Need More Money” by none other than Brian Houston, the leader of the entire thing definitely clued me in. I was only into the music. Never thought about what the pastors of Hillsong churches around the world The music leads to the concerts, which lead to conferences, which lead to the leadership college. Expansion due to the popularity of these things, perpetuating growth and exponentially more income and fame for the pastors. Wait a second here. Isn’t Jesus supposed to be the famous one here? He wouldn’t have worn a $15,000 hoodie that doesn’t even look all that comfortable from the outside.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6:10
Having some money is not a bad thing. The Lord provides for the things He wants each of us to do. When it becomes the only goal of a church, this is a huge problem. “We don’t want to tell people about what Jesus actually wants to talk about. We just want to say the things that will make us more money for our massively upscale lifestyles.”
If I had a million dollars, I’d just pay more taxes. How is that useful?
Leading people on that Jesus is going to make you a millionaire if you truly follow Him is not right either. I’m not a millionaire. Lots of Christians aren’t millionaires. Does that mean that Jesus loves me less when he died and was resurrected to pay the penalty for all our sins? No.
Then Prosperity Gospel comes back with “But Jesus had some rich followers.” Yes He did. They had responsibilities to be good stewards with everything He gave them. Responsibilities beyond fancy sneakers. We all have this responsibility with whatever God gives us to use for His Glory.
Hillsong was being described as a business enterprise the entire time. They need more and more money to fund their lifestyles. As a Limited Liability Company. Leading the avaerage person to believe they are a for profit business empire. Any normal Church is a non profit and just wants to love Jesus no matter how many people they have.
When you follow Jesus, you do become rich, but you become rich in ways that are so much more important than piling up money. Unfortunately, with money comes fame. Fame is even more addictive. People forget that The Lord builds His Church. Not one specific pastor.
Fame and success can cloud a lot of good judgment given from The Lord that was supposed to be used for the actual betterment of themselves and the congregations they serve. I found it super weird how Carl Lentz shows up in a limo to the Irving Plaza and then immediately has to be whisked away right after the service. He has no time to talk to people at the door on the way out. Then the parts where he chats on his wife were not great either. Hard stuff to watch. It reminded me of the entire chapter of Titus 1 and how this part of the movie was the opposite of what is supposed to happen there.
5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint[a] elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe[b] and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. 10 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. 11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”[c] 13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Titus 1
Just because you’re famous and well dressed doesn’t mean you can get away with sin more than anyone else. Church is supposed to be a place where people can deal with their sin, turn away from it, and receive forgiveness and Godly council so everyone can keep following Jesus together. Then the last third of the movie discussed how all sorts of weird things kept being covered up to try to avoid problems. According to the movie everything just got worse. Instead of receiving pastoral care and compassion, people were ignored and left out in the cold. Things that should never ever happen anywhere, let alone in Church were being swept under the rug. Accountability needs to happen everywhere.
No wonder guys like Marty Sampson were struggling with their faith so publicly.
Hillsong is the most famous iteration of the Church. When people see that a Church can act like that, they assume that all Churches act like that. Who would want to be involved in something like that? No wonder people fear the Church.
It makes me feel bad for the people who were at Hillsong to actually worship Jesus, rather than the pastors. The Church is for Jesus, not any particular pastor. No matter how many or few people you have in your congregation.
It makes things look bad for other Pentecostals, Baptists, and all the other denominations. People assume that everyone acts this way, when that’s not the case. A lot of us love Jesus more than money or any business endeavors.
You wouldn’t need to look far in Scripture to find out how much God hates abuse and being ignored.
Turns out they are under new leadership now as I am a few years late watching this. Hopefully these new pastors love the Lord more than themselves or the “brand” people are trying so hard to protect. I thought the “brand” was supposed to be The Lord, with Him being the famous one.
I hope they can turn themselves around. The jams are still good. They just need to do better at taking their own advice in their songs and actually do what scripture says. Just like I need to in my own life.
Here’s the exciting update.
Phil Dooley, the new global senior pastor of Hillsong Church, has promised he will clean house.
“I can’t change the past, but I can play a significant role in changing the future,” he said during a Sunday service in Sydney, shortly after the board chair announced a forensic audit of church spending under Dooley’s predecessors, founders Brian and Bobbie Houston. “Our structure and culture is changing and needs to change more to ensure we are held to a higher level of accountability, and I welcome that.”
If they are truly repentant then this is a good direction. We’re accountable to the Lord whether we realize it or not.
Nothing is impossible for the Lord. God builds the Church for His Glory. Hopefully they can return to Him as a group. If they don’t, it makes the rest of us look bad because people really look up to them as a Church. “Oh if they aren’t loving Jesus and showing that love to others, then the other Churches are probably doing the same stuff they are.” This is not the best way to be perceived. Not that any of us is good. We all need Jesus so much. He is the world changer. Not regular humans who don’t have it together.