Ben: For the people who criticize it, Hillsong’s power as an organization is tied up with celebrities, and with using that star power to help it pull in money. Thanks for doing it. Argentina 362 likes. Contact, Events Amory: Where do you think Hillsong is going? Amory: Invest in the Hillsong conference, and your return on investment, will be supernatural. Those are my favorite parts. Kiki: It's basically a rock concert on Sunday and you can see Justin Bieber in the audience. Because We Can Racism must stop, and my prayer is that this moment in history will be a moment of lasting equality, transformation and change. Like what are we looking at? Ben: Can you tell us about Hillsong’s emphasis on prosperity and making money? And I go in, it's a fun experience, there's great music, I’m getting a positive message in neon lights from a cool guy that likes me and that's what you take away. Ben: What Kiki found was a church that in recent years seems to have been riding a tsunami of success and influence, with no small amount of help from celebrities and pop stars. That's what sounds great. Again, these are my people. We regret the error. Brandy: You know, when Hillsong was first started it wasn't known as Hillsong. Amory: Okay, we’re looking at a bunch of dudes on a couch together. In fact, there was a kind of reality TV singing contest scandal, with Hillsong being accused of flooding the voting system and unfairly skewing it in Sebastian’s favor. And I think that appeals to all people not just celebrities. The week’s worth of events was centered on the annual National Prayer Breakfast, which traditionally takes place the Thursday after Presidents Day at West Point. Brandy: Hillsong’s position on LGBTQ [people] has slightly changed but only in its messaging. And in my religion and in Southern Baptist we believed that pop music and all of that stuff was sort of the devil, that everything should be all about Jesus all the time. The needless and tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the much deeper systemic issues towards African American people that his death has highlighted, must lead to radical and permanent change. By the late 90s those allegations had come to Brian himself. And that can never change. But I want to start by asking you to watch this video. Brandy: Oh sure! Now when this happened allegedly, there was one boy, his name was AHA, and he testified that, you know, when he, starting out at 7 years old, Frank would stay with his family and molest him after church meetings, come into his room at night. So I wanted to write a bigger definitive piece on the history of Hillsong and their true core beliefs and how very uncool and ultraconservative their underlying beliefs are. Portugal That’s a big promise. Someone whose reddit handle is Go West Young Kanye. Save Amory: But, along with its history of financial growth, along with its cachet of coolness and celebrity participation, along with its promises to followers that it will help them reach prosperity and positivity, Hillsong has a darker history. NEW ALBUM "BECAUSE HE LIVES" IS NOW AVAILABLE ON Apple Music, SPOTIFY, AND MORE! The surroundings are super modern, the lighting is super night-club-ish. Ben: Gotta spend money to make money, right? It was really fun and people were really nice. Sebastian wasn’t a Hillsong parishioner, he was a member of another Pentecostal church that would eventually be subsumed by Hillsong as a quote, “Hillsong Family Church.”. The venue has a capacity of 3,300. And we’ll get to that. Mexico Brian & Bobbie Italy They’re kind of bro-ing around, dressed very casually. In addition to asserting that Hillsong is not “anti” any group, yesterday’s post states that Brian Houston has never at any point promoted gay conversion therapy. Ben: And partly because of the church’s crazy-popular music, which has reached far beyond the usual Christian music charts and moved into the regular pop music mainstream. The international Women's Hillsong meet went ahead at the Hillsong Convention Centre in Baulkham Hills, in Sydney's north-west, on Saturday. There is something so attractive about a black and white view of the world." Ben: The show featuring stories found in the vast ecosystem of online communities called Reddit. Hillsong is an Australian megachurch famous for its hipster vibe, multi-platinum house band, and connections to celebrities like Justin Bieber, Chris Pratt, and Kevin Durant. We’ve never done that, Justin’s never stepped foot on stage. Ben: One that involves pedophilia, and a history of homophobia and religious conservatism that might surprise the people getting drawn to Hillsong. Here's a few samples: Frank Houston: What a fantastic young fella he is. In the middle of November 2019, as Australia burns with biblical infernos, a couple of thousand Pentecostal men are assembling in the southern suburbs of Brisbane to reach for salvation from loneliness and sin. Ben: We reached out to Hillsong, to ask about the issues reported on by Brandy and researched by Kiki. With him on my side, I'm fearless, all caps, afraid of no one and nothing. Or maybe it was just a snack, I don't know. Amory: So we’ve heard the ways in which Hillsong is reimagining what church can look and sound like. And then Frank seemed no longer interested. through our local churches. Amory: Youth-focused Christian megachurches that try to show how cool they are, are not new. Because it’s a church, Hillsong as an organization doesn’t have to abide by the same rules of taxation and financial disclosure as other businesses. Brigade Tactical Department. This really brings up questions on how resource is being used in the church – a good question for the church at this point … “We know that Hillsong East Coast has failed to be the kind of church it should be,” Houston, 67, wrote in an internal email addressed “Dear Church,” which The Post obtained. I passed the church where Hillsong has their [service.] Ben: After initially being excited by the support, Sebastian said that he couldn’t get behind the way the church treated people who were gay. Most notable was the session from “The Catholic guy” Bruce Downs, who has used Hillsong’s resource to revitalize the Catholic church in Perth, on Australia’s West Coast. That’s like if every single member gave the church a thousand dollars in one year. It was Sunday so a lot of people seemed, like, mildly hungover. And they believe, and they preach openly and actively that being gay is a sin. And I was like, "What is this? Kiki: You'll notice if you read Selena Gomez profiles about faith, she doesn't really mention Hillsong. Ben: Can you describe the scene a bit here? And that's how you get the kids. Good looking How old are you son? They are fun, dynamic and passionate about Jesus and community. Academic Leadership. Stories, thoughts and articles about what We are back now with one of the biggest Christian bands in the world, Hillsong United. Ben: That is Scott Morrison, the new Prime Minister of Australia, speaking to 21,000 Hillsong believers in Sydney at the opening of this year’s conference. Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Ben: And what is weird to me, or a little weird, is that both of these guys being interviewed, when I first saw them, I thought they were just part of Bieber’s entourage, these guys on either side of him. And they, in the 80s, went off and started their own church and they called it Hills Christian Life Center. Amory: Kiki put her palms together, raised those prayer-like hands above her head and dove in to Hillsong’s history, which actually goes back decades. But that’s what you take away, and so of course their numbers are increasing. I think it's totally possible that they are pure hearted and believe this. Hillsong’s services don’t feel all that, well, “churchy.”. Ben: I mean it's interesting here in Boston the place where they have these Hillsong services is like literally, I think essentially a nightclub. They’re one of my favorite groups... Ben: The Hillsong church has been described as a money making machine, pulling in millions upon millions of dollars from around the world. Amory: You just have to project that these celebrities are having a good time with that product or idea, so you might too. Amory: How did you first get interested in Hillsong? So they have always said that if you are gay, you are welcome in Hillsong Church. He knew Tyson lived in a fancy Upper West Side building with a pool. Those stringy metal necklaces. He is excited to use his gifts at Grace Point West to walk out one of his biggest passions: to invest in and minister to the younger generation. Brian Houston: The short answer is, I think all of us need to be changing. During these years, he recognized the calling God had for him in ministry, which led him to pursue Pastoral and Theological studies in Sydney, Australia, and Phoenix, AZ with Hillsong. Kiki: When I was in London, I was staying at an AirBnb. But suffice it to say, some of Hillsong’s money-making prowess comes from its connection to celebrities. Are you a “Belieber?”. Norway I don't think that they’re, and this is just my personal opinion, so I think that these are, they seem like nice folks and they are running a family business. But this church was started in Australia by this guy named Frank Houston in the 1970s and he had a son named Brian Houston who married a woman named Bobbie Houston. Some of that audio, given the larger context, is chilling. Amory: That’s no longer true. Department of Military Instruction. Hillsong founder Brian Houston announces investigation after NYC pastor Carl Lentz’s firing ‘We are launching an independent investigation into the inner workings of Hillsong NYC/ East Coast. Germany There is power in intentional and collective action when people are united in love for a just cause. Ben: Do you think that the goldfish thing was a play on Jesus Fish?