In reply to 'Judy'

I received the following comment, and thought I'd reply.

Just wondering what qualifies you to make judgements about the motives and workings of Hillsong?

Well Judy, I'm glad you asked.

I Corinthians 6:1-4 mentions that believers should judge other believers (even men of 'little account') As does Matthew 18:15-17; "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. (please note some manuscripts include "against you" after the 3rd word)

1 CORINTHIANS 4:11-13; But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

In the above verse, I would classify Hillsong as a swindler.

So you see, believers are called to aid their brothers and sisters in the never-ending plight of being Christ-like. How can we help each other if we do not let our fellow Christians know when what they are doing is wrong? Therefore we must do what we can to highlight the errors in the ways of our churches, and in the case of an organisation as large as Hillsong; maybe more than just private words are needed.

If that comes across as me assuming I am perfection personified...it wasn't my intention, for I do not feel that way at all.

What I think it means is; as Christians, we are told to constantly strive to be Christ-like in every way. That's fine, but we're still faulty beings at heart...so of course we're going to stumble, of course we're going to give in to temptation sometimes...

So, it would be kind of useful for us to have some level of accountability. What's worse, having your fellow Parishioners whispering about your failings behind your back, or openly offering a shoulder to lean on and an ear to talk to? I know which one I'd choose.

Have you ever met a Christian who appears perfect to those around them, but is really struggling? I'll bet you have, you probably just don't know it.

No one can be expected to shoulder all the hurt and problems in their lives alone. We all need someone. Sometimes, that someone may have to take responsibility for the unpleasant task of helping to set us right on the path. The best part about that is, those who are best at helping us with such things usually got that way by having similar struggles themselves. So we know that we're not alone in our struggles. Others have been there.

Hillsong...phase #2

Hillsong. Church. Christian music. Multiple charities and good causes including international aid.

Sounds wonderful doesn't it? I suppose some of it is. There is usually some good in almost everything.

That said, there is a lot of bad. To start with; their theology, the same theology used by most Pentecostal churches (of which Hillsong is one) Whoever declared prosperity gospel to be Christian is either very stupid, or very smart. Either way I assume he is very rich. That's because prosperity gospel basically preaches, prosperity! Wealth, riches, money, the best cars nicest houses, and so on. What have those things got to do with the man who walked miles in sandals and owned little more than the clothes on his back? A lot, according to those who subscribe to prosperity gospel. God wants you to succeed, they will tell you. God wants you to be prosperous and successful (meaning of course in monetary terms)

It's pretty obvious that the Houston clan (the family behind Hillsong) are well into the theology of prosperity. Brian Houston even wrote a book titled; 'You Need More Money!' Err...for what Brian?

Most people are aware of how Hillsong makes their mega bucks. Music. Wow...Christian worship, Noughties style! Praise & Worship for the born-again generation of Christians....So simple! Yet so undeveloped in Australia. So Hillsong capitalize on this. Good for them, you think. How can Praise & Worship music possibly be bad for the youth of today? It isn't. Musically, Hillsong do it well. Actually, they do everything well, just not necessarily Christ-like in nature...You see, every cent they make is tax-free. Every building, every CD, every flash car driven by a pastor or other church worker. Unless you are a volunteer of course. They have heaps of those, most of them are kind of forced to be there as part of their course as the Hillsong Bible College.

Charisma! Electrifying! Crowd-pleaser! All terms used to describe Brian Houston. He is the guy who keeps the crowd interested in between the music and the Tithes & Offerings (well, he does the spiel to encourage people to give) Hillsong is all about getting people in the door. Bringing people to God. Empowering them with the knowledge that yes, God does exist and yes, He loves YOU! Hillsong is GREAT at that. The thing they aren't so great at, is keeping people.

The National Church Life Survey (an Australian survey) suggests that Pentecostal churches have the highest attendance rates, but also the highest turnover of members. Basically I think they burn out. I hope some of them come to their senses, but I assume they just plain need a break! From all the clapping, jumping, singing, speaking in tongues, it must get tiring.

Coming to their senses, you'd think it would happen pretty often, like every time a person opened their Bible and actually read it, not just the highlighted verses in Malachi. You see, the Bible doesn't say to get involved in politics, or to dominate the music charts, or even to driver a Beemer and play golf with minor celebrities on the weekend. No, the Bible actually says to be IN this world, not OF it. Hillsong is definitely OF it, or trying to be. They have achieved one of the most difficult tasks for any Christian organization; they have made Christianity politically correct! Acceptable! Nice and easy! What could possibly be wrong with that? Well I personally feel that once you start to water down Christianity, take Bible verses out of context, force people into various trance-like states with your loud music (not that there is anything wrong with loud music!) you take God from the centre, and put the dollar sign there. Stuff like 'Jesus loves you' and 'faith can move mountains' become little more than cute catch-phrases that look nice on the t-shirts sold in the shop in the Hillsong church building. While you are waiting for church service to begin, why not buy a hot cappuccino from Gloria Jeans on the other side of the church?

Hillsong attendees would never throw the shop tables out of the church, as Jesus did. Why would they? After all, the CDs and t-shirts are 'Christian resources'. I don't have a problem with that as such, only when it encroaches on a person's experience in a church to the extent it does in many church these days.

Don't kid yourself, you can't dilute Christianity. Well you can, it just isn't really Christian any longer. It's Diet Christian. Christianity, in the year 2007, for the more politically-correct generation.

No talking (unless it's in tongues) no dancing (unless the music is on) and definitely no original thoughts.

More to come