Brian Houston and Hillsong: Another Jesus, Another Spirit, Another Gospel Part 2
READING TIME: 21 MINUTES
The following are the notes to the discussion found at this link (https://www.facebook.com/tammy.cheetham.77/videos/381748792324835/) for anyone who would like to study the subject more in depth.
As we stated at the end of part one of these discussions, we will begin Part two by discussing their music. Here is what their website has to say:
Hillsong Worship: Since 1992, Hillsong Worship has created 46 albums with more than 300 songs. Each week, Hillsong Worship songs are sung by an estimated 50 million people in 60 languages. Hillsong Worship has toured in countries all over the world. Hillsong Worship releases an annual album. Their latest album, “There is More,” released April 2018. I will have more to say about the album cover later.
Hillsong United: Formed in 1998, Hillsong United is led by Brian and Bobbie’s son, Joel Houston. Hillsong United has created 17 albums. Their song “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” from their album “Zion” reached platinum status in the U.S. The group has toured for many years, packing out large venues like the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. In 2016, Hillsong United was named Top Christian Artist at the Billboard Music Awards. Their latest album, “Wonder,” released June 2017.
Before giving some examples of their music I want to mention that since Hillsong teaches the WOF/prosperity gospel the music cannot possibly have the Holy Spirit as its source. The Holy Spirit points people to Jesus and He will not point people to “another Jesus.” Here are two scriptures to support this concept. James 3:11 says, “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?” and Matt. 7:18 says, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” Many think since the songs are so beautiful, as I mentioned earlier, they can listen to them as long as they stay away from the false WOF doctrines. But, as we have already seen, their doctrines can be inserted in their songs, but even more so, there is a spirit behind all music. As I just noted it isn’t the Holy Spirit so it must be another spirit. In addition, John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” If a church is not preaching the truth it won’t just appear in the music. There will not be falsehoods in the preaching and truth in the music. God does not operate like that.
Now, on to some examples – “The Power of Your Love” was the first album in the live praise and worship series of contemporary worship music released by Hillsong Church. It was recorded live by Geoff Bullock, Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong team (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Your_Love). One of the songs on the album is called “Latter Rain” and here are the lyrics:
This is the hour, the time has come
His Spirit calls, He calls us on
To make this land, holy for the Lord
This is the time to seize the day
We rise in faith, the promise comes
To make this land, holy to the Lord
These are the days of the latter rain
Days of power, days of grace
This is the time the fire will fall
To make this land holy
To make this land holy to the Lord
This is the time, our finest hour
Of battles fought and victories won
To make this land holy to the Lord
And from this time our future calls
The promise sure, the rain will fall
We see this land holy to the Lord
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJG4SjV0A8E) (Well, this is pure unadulterated Latter Rain or dominionist heresy being preached in this song. And, just to say, they don’t write songs like this anymore, but they are full on in dominionism, the NAR, and the 7 Mtn. mandate as we will show later on).
Many have noticed some of their songs cross the line concerning addressing God or Jesus in a romantic manner. Here are a few of the lines to their song entitled, “Love Song.”
Closer than my thoughts
Closer than a kiss
How can it be more
Intimate than this?
More honest words than these I’ll never find
With all my heart, my strength, my soul, my mind
I love You, I love You, I’m Yours and You are mine
I love You, I love You, I love You Jesus Christ (I don’t think I have to say much more than this is just absolutely inappropriate).
And, then, on their latest album they have a song entitled, “Valentine.”
To woo us back from death and woe
A valentine to a faithless world
Every wayward heart You pursue us all
And in kindness call us home (Now, this song does mention Jesus’ sacrifice and says that He bled and died, but this verse is quite off in that it uses the phrases, “woo us back,” “valentine,” and “You pursue us.” These phrases could describe two people in love, where a woman for example has ended a relationship and the man is trying to win her back. The use of the word valentine is most concerning because the roots of Valentine’s Day are completely pagan. According to an article from bible study. org, when Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD, pagans who adopted Christianity as their religion did not entirely abandon the traditions and practices they held before their "conversion." One of these traditions brought into the church was the fertility celebration known as the Lupercalia, which eventually became the Valentine's holiday (http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/what-is-true-origin-of-valentines-day.html).
From an article at Charisma News, we learn that Hillsong Church London holds four services, attended by 8,000 people, every Sunday at the Dominion Theatre. One young attendee who was interviewed at an evening service said, “It feels like God's nightclub, with love songs to Jesus." (But, obviously any “church” setting that can be compared to a nightclub has serious problems. And, we don’t sing “love” songs to Jesus. We praise and worship Him. There is a huge difference).
I wanted to mention a performance at the O2 arena in London. The video of this was published in March of 2014 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmzXJF84tdo&sns=fb). At the beginning of the video Brian Houston asks someone on stage with him, “Ready for the word?” So, one would think either he or someone else is about to preach. But, the man with Brian Houston repeats the question to the audience. Then, a couple of men in band uniforms come out of the audience and have an exchange. Then, they and several others come onstage and begin a performance in which the phrase, “I like to move it, move it” is repeated over and over. And, with this phrase comes the following rap:
Dancing 'til my feet get sore
Party hard just like it's Mardi Gras
Cause that's what life is for
We don't party hardly
We just party hard
And not because we're bored
We do it cause we're born again
We gonna raise our hands
Praise our Lord in the air
And wave them side to side
Like we just don't care. (You know, sister Tammy, we often quote the phrase “you can’t win the world with the ways of the world.” But, what we truly have with Hillsong is a counterfeit church winning the world to its counterfeit Christian ways, sad to say).
I am sure many of the listeners have seen the sleazy “Silent Night” performance by Hillsong London in December of 2014. But, to support the concept that this is a counterfeit church using the ways of the world, this production included Roaring 20’s flappers, a veritable rock band, a laser light show and an overabundance of scantily–dressed dancers with their accompanying inappropriate dance moves, all in a nightclub setting. Apparently the story of Jesus’ birth was just a little too boring and needed this despicable display to bring it to life. Again, I am being facetious (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3lvb8a).
The next thing I want to mention is that Hillsong Worship is currently on tour in the United States and will perform in 14 cities in the month of April (http://www.gospelmusic.org/2018-grammy-award-winning-christian-music-powerhouse-hillsong-worship-sets-release-date-for-new-album-there-is-more-and-concurrent-14-city-u-s-tour/) and they have recently announced the tour will continue on the West Coast in October of this year (https://twitter.com/hillsongworship/status/988887269841891328). The tour is entitled “There is More,” as is their latest album, and Brian Houston’s latest book which I discussed in part one. One of the songs on the album is called “New Wine,” and it was written by Brooke Ligertwood, head of Hillsong Worship. Speaking of this song she said, “It came from a place of really honest brokenness in my own life.” Sister Tammy, you and I, and probably some of the listeners, saw a clip of their performance in Baton Rouge, LA, and what I am about to share is quite concerning:
On the clip we hear Brooke Ligertwood say, “As we were praying for people at the end of Pastor Brian’s message I just really felt over in this section behind me here that there’s somebody, maybe actually three people, the pain that you have been walking through is horrific and what you’ve been dealing with feels almost inhumane, and then I know this is really random, but I saw God coming to you with a bouquet of flowers and giving it to you as a gesture of gentlemanly love and him saying to you, and I heard the words of Jesus in John 15 where he said you are clean because of the word I have spoken to you. It’s a gesture of purity; it’s a gesture of value because of the word I have spoken to you here. Take this bouquet of flowers; take this gesture of my love, take this gesture of pure love and receive it because I have said that you are worthy, I have said that I want to give my love to you. And, maybe you’ve been frustrated because you feel like you’ve been stuck in the pain and not making progress. But, the Lord would say tonight my presence is the progress. Get in my presence. Get in my presence. Get in my presence. Saturate that pain with his presence and the progress will come. In Jesus’ Name” (https://www.facebook.com/pastorbrianhouston/videos/1857439234314417/ about 2:43 left on the clip). (But, this panders to people’s emotions. Brooke Ligertwood is skirting around the cross and not mentioning the price Jesus paid for our sins. Jesus does love us and will heal our broken hearts, but this touchy-feely description is off. It focuses on people, saying we’re worthy, rather than focusing on Jesus alone as being worthy because of all He accomplished on the cross for us. It brings God down to man’s level by saying God is giving someone a bouquet of flowers and that this is a “gesture of gentlemanly love.” This emotionalism appeals to the heart of man and us wanting the focus to be on ourselves. Sadly, most people there, I am sure, thought this was just lovely. But, this is actually quite scary because she says God and Jesus, but bypasses the cross, so again we have “another Jesus” being presented).
And, then, we have the fact that Hillsong United was one of the musical groups that performed at Together 2016. This was an ecumenical gathering at the National Mall in Washington, DC. Joel Houston had this to say about the event: "I love the name Together. There's a power in unity and a blessing that comes when people put aside their differences and gather together for one purpose. Our prayer is for this to be a reset for us as a generation of the church-in America and beyond" (http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs175/1109615552491/archive/1122757300155.html).
The last thing I want to mention in this section about the music is from a blog on the Hillsong site written by a man named JD in January of 2015. JD refers to himself as one of Hillsong’s worship pastors. The blog is entitled “5 Things That Should Matter to a Worship Pastor.” The second of the five points says this: We are about fulfilling our Senior Pastor’s vision (not our own). It is so important that as amazing as our creative ideas might be, if they don’t ultimately line up with what our Senior Pastor and leaders want, then we happily put them aside. The church doesn’t exist to build our worship teams… our worship teams exist to build the Church!! (https://hillsong.com/collected/blog/2015/01/5-things-that-should-matter-to-a-worship-pastor/#.Ws-pLH8h2M-). (Well, we know that the idea of individual churches having their own visions is not Biblical. And, for them to have “amazing creative ideas” can only feed into the entertainment focus so many churches have. But, the concept of worship teams existing to build a church is just ridiculous! We know the music from Hillsong can be so mesmerizing with its repetitive lyrics and hypnotizing tunes. I would imagine that many people stay in Hillsong churches just because of the music, sad to say).
Conferences:
Moving on to the next section, now I would like to discuss their conferences. The media link at their website says this: Since 1986, Hillsong in Australia has hosted its annual conferences where thousands of people gather to hear about church leadership, worship, and community engagement from Hillsong’s key team members and other renowned Christian leaders. Then at their faqs link we read one of the world’s largest annual Christian gatherings – is attended by people from every denomination including Salvation Army, Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, and Pentecostal” (https://hillsong.com/id/faqs/). (Well, it is quite telling that they say “from every denomination” and then include Catholics in that list. Catholicism is a religion based on the traditions of men, not just a denomination within Christianity. And, then we must think about the fact that the worship services are an integral part of these conferences, so with attendees from other religious systems these conferences are ecumenical events. True believers will stay well away).
“There is More” is the theme of this year’s conferences which will be held in Sydney, Australia, London, and New York City. Speakers for the conferences include Steven Furtick, Carl Lentz, and John Gray, who has been the associate pastor at Joel Osteen’s church and recently became pastor of Redemption Church in Greenville, South Carolina. Hillsong United, Hillsong Worship, and Chris Tomlin will be leading worship. The cost to attend the conference is $339.
The following invitation from Brian and Bobbie Houston appears on their website: “HAVE YOU EVER FELT LIKE YOU WERE LIVING WITH A “QUESTION MARK” OVER YOUR LIFE? HAVE YOU EVER PONDERED THE POTENTIAL WITHIN OR THE PROMISES OF GOD WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF CALLING AND PURPOSE? HAVE YOU EVER ASKED “IS THERE MORE” – AND COULD THAT MORE EVER BECOME YOUR OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE?
Society and the generations that surround us need to see God’s pure and grace-laden fullness outworked and at play within our lives. They need to witness the possibilities of an “exceeding, abundant and above” God within our everyday experience and within a global Church united and cohesive in what is important.
These are remarkable and stunning days. Days of His Spirit outpoured, and days that have been marked for greatness. We love and believe in you, and pray that this conference will water what is upon you. May the abundant blessing, grace and goodness of God overshadow you, your family and planting. The best is always before us – and the best is yet to come” (https://hillsong.com/conference/sydney/). (Well, with phrases like “the potential within” and “your own personal experience,” we recognize this conference will be focused on man and on the here and now. And, when we hear a “global Church united and cohesive,” knowing they consider Catholics just another denomination, this means there will be a spirit of ecumenism at work. Additionally, when we hear “days of His Spirit outpoured and days that have been marked for greatness” we recognize there is a dominionist spirit inherent in their teachings).
Besides the main speaking and worship sessions, there are a couple of break-out sessions. One of these is called SPHERES which the conference site describes as a collection of creative presentations that will inspire you to lead and impact in your sphere of life. (Now, I want to veer off from the conference information just long enough to discuss Hillsong’s use of the word “sphere” because this is one of their main ministry themes. Brian Houston and Hillsong promote the "Seven Mountain Mandate" ideology which promotes winning the culture war by taking control of the power centers of the culture. They use the word “sphere” instead of “mountain” in this teaching. The "seven mountains" or “spheres” of influence to be taken by Christians are religion, family, business, arts and entertainment, government, education, and media. Proponents believe they can legislate “kingdom values” through these seven power centers. I will include a link in our FB note to part of a message he gave encouraging people to take action in their spheres of life and to become influencers and world changers). (http://spheres.life/2017/05/16/brian-houston-l-kings-queens-of-all-spheres/).
And, just to support the fact that the concept of influencing one’s sphere is a major theme of their ministry here is their mission statement from their website: “To reach and influence the world by building a large Christ-centered, Bible-based church, changing mindsets and empowering people to lead and impact in every sphere of life. (https://hillsong.com/vision/) (And, just to mention with all the research I did concerning Hillsong, I did not see any emphasis given to Jesus Christ’s return. I did see a sentence about it on their statement of beliefs page, but otherwise everything I have seen shows an absolute focus on the here and now).
In addition, they have a program on the Hillsong TV network, which I will mention more about later, entitled “Spheres.” The description says: “Equipping you to impact in every sphere of life. Join Joel A'Bell on a panel discussing the intersection of faith and culture with guests from the arts, media, business & more” (https://hillsongchannel.vhx.tv/spheres). (So, we can definitely see the emphasis on influencing the culture which believers are never told to do in God’s Word).
Now, I want to mention some more about their conferences. Hillsong also hosts the Colour Conference which their website says was started by Bobbie Houston many years ago out of a deep desire to place value on women and encourage them to be all that God’s called them to be. Hillsong hosts this annual conference across five countries internationally each year. (Well, we can see the influence of psychology with the phrase “to place value on women” and then the focus on here and now with wanting to “encourage them to be all that God’s called them to be”).
Here is the promotional information for this year’s Colour conference at their website: “Gorgeous Sydney, Beautiful Cape Town, Charming London, Historic Kiev, and the lush USA (NYC, Phoenix & LA). Colour is a global movement of everyday women, with hope in their heart and “change” in their step. A twenty-two year journey has seen this diverse and fabulous host of women help multitudes of others. If making the world a better place resonates with you, you belong within this miracle story” (https://hillsong.com/colour/). (And, as I just mentioned, we see yet more preoccupation with the here and now: a ministry saying the name of Jesus, but rather than focusing on what He came to do and on eternity with Him, the focus is on improving this life. We have said it many times and I will say it again. We will help others when we see a need, but nowhere in God’s Word are we instructed to make this world a better place. This is such man-centered rubbish. The sinful heart of man is the problem and to think the problem can provide the solution is ridiculous. Jesus is the One who will return to set things right, not man).
And, just to illustrate the sinful heart of man point, I wanted to mention the Colour Conference held in NYC in 2016, which featured the church’s youth pastor posing as NYC’s infamous “Naked Cowboy.” For those who have never heard of this character he is basically a tourist attraction. He is dressed only in underwear, plays a guitar and sings songs, and takes pictures with those visiting Times Square. Why any church would have someone depicting this fellow, much less a women’s conference, is beyond me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFiQm8BV9tc). But, let’s listen to Brian Houston’s explanation: "So how did someone come on stage resembling a cowboy, (during a fun moment involving lots of other people), at the Color Conference in NYC? It's a good question, I've been trying to work that out myself. I do know that Bobbie -- my wife -- who was convener of the conference was clearly unaware that this was going to happen and was taken back by it. She was at the dress rehearsal and there was no sign of a cowboy there. Carl and Laura Lentz were also not part of the decision. I can only guess at this point, that someone thought it would be funny and sent him out there without thinking about the ramifications” (https://hillsong.com/collected/blog/2016/06/have-you-heard-the-one-about-the-cowboy/#.Wt78H38h2M8). (However, in watching the clip one will clearly see Bobbie Houston on stage, but she makes no move to escort the Naked Cowboy off. If she was unaware this was going to happen, and was truly shocked, she would have done so).
And, next I want to share some of the presenters’ statements at the Colour Conference held in London this year on April 19-21: Bobbie Houston: “God is saying to every single one of you in this room, you have the capacity to be like a beautiful merchant ship of ancient days, bringing divine supplies to the world.” Bob Goff: “Jesus jumped out of heaven to be with you.” And, then, “The only thing that matters is your faith expressed in love.” Priscilla Shirer: “What if an army of women went out and did what God called us to do?” Jeremy Courtney: “Imagine a future in which there is more than that person you once were; dare we be a people of pre-emptive love.” Brian Houston: “God has got more for you. He can do anything; far more than you could imagine in your wildest dreams” (https://www.facebook.com/HillsongGuildford/videos/2053960921285785/?fref=mentions). (Now, obviously these are only soundbites on this clip, but it is just as obvious by these statements that the purpose of this conference was not to preach the gospel).
College:
Now, moving on to the College section, here is the basic information on their website. We read, “Located in Sydney, Hillsong International Leadership College offers leadership and ministry courses to help shape future leaders around the world. Since its creation in 1995, over 10,000 students, representing more than 65 countries have graduated from the college.” When one clicks on the Hillsong college link the first thing one sees in large letters is: “Hillsong College - Lead in Every Sphere of Life” (https://hillsong.com/college/). (So, in the last 23 years 10,000 students have attended their college and most of them presumably have returned to those 65 countries and shared at least some of the aberrant theology they learned so just think of the negative effect in the “church” world from this. Also, yet another example of promoting the 7 Mtn. mandate ideology with the phrase “lead in every sphere of life”).
Another section at the media link is labeled “Ministry Initiatives”:
Hillsong embraces opportunities to practically shape the lives of people in communities around the world. In addition to its own community care initiatives, it partners with other ministries to bring hope to many. (There are several projects listed here and I won’t take the time to read them, but suffice it to say they all fall under the label of the social justice gospel. There is one project not listed here called “Shine Women.” One can purchase a “Shine Women Starter Pack” for $200. This pack contains one Facilitator Handbook and five Student Journals. Here is a description of the course:
Shine Women is a solutions- focused personal development program that empowers women regardless of their cultural, educational or socio-economic background. The goal is to help individuals on their journey of discovering their personal value, resilience and potential.
Since its conception in 1997, Shine has been used globally by thousands of organizations in various settings including schools, ethnic & indigenous communities, religious groups, rural communities, correctional centres and girls homes.
This 9 week course is divided into 3 week segments:
Worth: Discussion and activities centre on the intrinsic value of a human being
Strength: Building resilience through problem solving skills, making healthy choices and managing emotions
Purpose: Encouraging women to discover their potential and pursue their hopes and dreams.
Journals offer participants a tool that they can use to capture and reflect on lessons learned along their journey (https://hillsongstore.com/shinewomen-starter-pack/).
They provided a link to a sample lesson (https://www.dropbox.com/s/27nzpaqe52l1ji6/shinewomen_week1_sample.pdf?dl=0) and it’s too long to share all of it, but I will put the link in the FB note. I do want to mention just a part under the heading of “Power Focus: I am Valuable.”
“Every one of us has this need for acceptance. It’s a universal need. You matter! What you have to say matters. You are worth being cared about, listened to and validated. You are recognized. You are important.” (Well, again so much psychology and so self-focused. Obviously, there are a lot of hurting people out there. Many women have been horribly abused and mistreated. But, the solution is not to tell them they are important. The solution is Jesus. He is the only One Who can heal our broken hearts. He is the only One Who can give the peace that passes all understanding and can give the assurance of eternal life. In this same section we also read: “There are no mistakes! Life is created with a purpose and a reason for existence. We have been born for a reason, a purpose. No one has been created by mistake.” Sadly, though, with this perfect opportunity to mention God, I mean, you are using the word “created.” But, not one word about God, or Jesus either, throughout the entire lesson or description of the program! How very sad).
I want to mention Hillsong TV next. Their schedule is similar to that of TBN. Almost all of the WOF preachers found on TBN also appear on Hillsong’s line-up. Here are some of the main ones: Joyce Meyer, James Robison, Joel Osteen, Joseph Prince, John Gray, Jentzen Franklin, TD Jakes, Steven Furtick, Andrew Wommack, Robert Morris and Christine Caine. Brian Houston has a 30-minute program designed to “help you live out your God-given potential.” It is viewed by 10 million people each week (https://channelschedule.hillsong.com/). (Well, we know TBN, Daystar, and God TV have all been deceiving people for years and it’s sad to know there is yet another network doing the same).
Well, sister Tammy, I think this is a good spot to stop with part 2 and when we begin part 3 we will be discussing Hillsong and ecumenism.
READING TIME: 21 MINUTES
The following are the notes to the discussion found at this link (https://www.facebook.com/tammy.cheetham.77/videos/381748792324835/) for anyone who would like to study the subject more in depth.
As we stated at the end of part one of these discussions, we will begin Part two by discussing their music. Here is what their website has to say:
Hillsong Worship: Since 1992, Hillsong Worship has created 46 albums with more than 300 songs. Each week, Hillsong Worship songs are sung by an estimated 50 million people in 60 languages. Hillsong Worship has toured in countries all over the world. Hillsong Worship releases an annual album. Their latest album, “There is More,” released April 2018. I will have more to say about the album cover later.
Hillsong United: Formed in 1998, Hillsong United is led by Brian and Bobbie’s son, Joel Houston. Hillsong United has created 17 albums. Their song “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” from their album “Zion” reached platinum status in the U.S. The group has toured for many years, packing out large venues like the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. In 2016, Hillsong United was named Top Christian Artist at the Billboard Music Awards. Their latest album, “Wonder,” released June 2017.
Before giving some examples of their music I want to mention that since Hillsong teaches the WOF/prosperity gospel the music cannot possibly have the Holy Spirit as its source. The Holy Spirit points people to Jesus and He will not point people to “another Jesus.” Here are two scriptures to support this concept. James 3:11 says, “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?” and Matt. 7:18 says, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” Many think since the songs are so beautiful, as I mentioned earlier, they can listen to them as long as they stay away from the false WOF doctrines. But, as we have already seen, their doctrines can be inserted in their songs, but even more so, there is a spirit behind all music. As I just noted it isn’t the Holy Spirit so it must be another spirit. In addition, John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” If a church is not preaching the truth it won’t just appear in the music. There will not be falsehoods in the preaching and truth in the music. God does not operate like that.
Now, on to some examples – “The Power of Your Love” was the first album in the live praise and worship series of contemporary worship music released by Hillsong Church. It was recorded live by Geoff Bullock, Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong team (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Your_Love). One of the songs on the album is called “Latter Rain” and here are the lyrics:
This is the hour, the time has come
His Spirit calls, He calls us on
To make this land, holy for the Lord
This is the time to seize the day
We rise in faith, the promise comes
To make this land, holy to the Lord
These are the days of the latter rain
Days of power, days of grace
This is the time the fire will fall
To make this land holy
To make this land holy to the Lord
This is the time, our finest hour
Of battles fought and victories won
To make this land holy to the Lord
And from this time our future calls
The promise sure, the rain will fall
We see this land holy to the Lord
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJG4SjV0A8E) (Well, this is pure unadulterated Latter Rain or dominionist heresy being preached in this song. And, just to say, they don’t write songs like this anymore, but they are full on in dominionism, the NAR, and the 7 Mtn. mandate as we will show later on).
Many have noticed some of their songs cross the line concerning addressing God or Jesus in a romantic manner. Here are a few of the lines to their song entitled, “Love Song.”
Closer than my thoughts
Closer than a kiss
How can it be more
Intimate than this?
More honest words than these I’ll never find
With all my heart, my strength, my soul, my mind
I love You, I love You, I’m Yours and You are mine
I love You, I love You, I love You Jesus Christ (I don’t think I have to say much more than this is just absolutely inappropriate).
And, then, on their latest album they have a song entitled, “Valentine.”
To woo us back from death and woe
A valentine to a faithless world
Every wayward heart You pursue us all
And in kindness call us home (Now, this song does mention Jesus’ sacrifice and says that He bled and died, but this verse is quite off in that it uses the phrases, “woo us back,” “valentine,” and “You pursue us.” These phrases could describe two people in love, where a woman for example has ended a relationship and the man is trying to win her back. The use of the word valentine is most concerning because the roots of Valentine’s Day are completely pagan. According to an article from bible study. org, when Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD, pagans who adopted Christianity as their religion did not entirely abandon the traditions and practices they held before their "conversion." One of these traditions brought into the church was the fertility celebration known as the Lupercalia, which eventually became the Valentine's holiday (http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/what-is-true-origin-of-valentines-day.html).
From an article at Charisma News, we learn that Hillsong Church London holds four services, attended by 8,000 people, every Sunday at the Dominion Theatre. One young attendee who was interviewed at an evening service said, “It feels like God's nightclub, with love songs to Jesus." (But, obviously any “church” setting that can be compared to a nightclub has serious problems. And, we don’t sing “love” songs to Jesus. We praise and worship Him. There is a huge difference).
I wanted to mention a performance at the O2 arena in London. The video of this was published in March of 2014 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmzXJF84tdo&sns=fb). At the beginning of the video Brian Houston asks someone on stage with him, “Ready for the word?” So, one would think either he or someone else is about to preach. But, the man with Brian Houston repeats the question to the audience. Then, a couple of men in band uniforms come out of the audience and have an exchange. Then, they and several others come onstage and begin a performance in which the phrase, “I like to move it, move it” is repeated over and over. And, with this phrase comes the following rap:
Dancing 'til my feet get sore
Party hard just like it's Mardi Gras
Cause that's what life is for
We don't party hardly
We just party hard
And not because we're bored
We do it cause we're born again
We gonna raise our hands
Praise our Lord in the air
And wave them side to side
Like we just don't care. (You know, sister Tammy, we often quote the phrase “you can’t win the world with the ways of the world.” But, what we truly have with Hillsong is a counterfeit church winning the world to its counterfeit Christian ways, sad to say).
I am sure many of the listeners have seen the sleazy “Silent Night” performance by Hillsong London in December of 2014. But, to support the concept that this is a counterfeit church using the ways of the world, this production included Roaring 20’s flappers, a veritable rock band, a laser light show and an overabundance of scantily–dressed dancers with their accompanying inappropriate dance moves, all in a nightclub setting. Apparently the story of Jesus’ birth was just a little too boring and needed this despicable display to bring it to life. Again, I am being facetious (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3lvb8a).
The next thing I want to mention is that Hillsong Worship is currently on tour in the United States and will perform in 14 cities in the month of April (http://www.gospelmusic.org/2018-grammy-award-winning-christian-music-powerhouse-hillsong-worship-sets-release-date-for-new-album-there-is-more-and-concurrent-14-city-u-s-tour/) and they have recently announced the tour will continue on the West Coast in October of this year (https://twitter.com/hillsongworship/status/988887269841891328). The tour is entitled “There is More,” as is their latest album, and Brian Houston’s latest book which I discussed in part one. One of the songs on the album is called “New Wine,” and it was written by Brooke Ligertwood, head of Hillsong Worship. Speaking of this song she said, “It came from a place of really honest brokenness in my own life.” Sister Tammy, you and I, and probably some of the listeners, saw a clip of their performance in Baton Rouge, LA, and what I am about to share is quite concerning:
On the clip we hear Brooke Ligertwood say, “As we were praying for people at the end of Pastor Brian’s message I just really felt over in this section behind me here that there’s somebody, maybe actually three people, the pain that you have been walking through is horrific and what you’ve been dealing with feels almost inhumane, and then I know this is really random, but I saw God coming to you with a bouquet of flowers and giving it to you as a gesture of gentlemanly love and him saying to you, and I heard the words of Jesus in John 15 where he said you are clean because of the word I have spoken to you. It’s a gesture of purity; it’s a gesture of value because of the word I have spoken to you here. Take this bouquet of flowers; take this gesture of my love, take this gesture of pure love and receive it because I have said that you are worthy, I have said that I want to give my love to you. And, maybe you’ve been frustrated because you feel like you’ve been stuck in the pain and not making progress. But, the Lord would say tonight my presence is the progress. Get in my presence. Get in my presence. Get in my presence. Saturate that pain with his presence and the progress will come. In Jesus’ Name” (https://www.facebook.com/pastorbrianhouston/videos/1857439234314417/ about 2:43 left on the clip). (But, this panders to people’s emotions. Brooke Ligertwood is skirting around the cross and not mentioning the price Jesus paid for our sins. Jesus does love us and will heal our broken hearts, but this touchy-feely description is off. It focuses on people, saying we’re worthy, rather than focusing on Jesus alone as being worthy because of all He accomplished on the cross for us. It brings God down to man’s level by saying God is giving someone a bouquet of flowers and that this is a “gesture of gentlemanly love.” This emotionalism appeals to the heart of man and us wanting the focus to be on ourselves. Sadly, most people there, I am sure, thought this was just lovely. But, this is actually quite scary because she says God and Jesus, but bypasses the cross, so again we have “another Jesus” being presented).
And, then, we have the fact that Hillsong United was one of the musical groups that performed at Together 2016. This was an ecumenical gathering at the National Mall in Washington, DC. Joel Houston had this to say about the event: "I love the name Together. There's a power in unity and a blessing that comes when people put aside their differences and gather together for one purpose. Our prayer is for this to be a reset for us as a generation of the church-in America and beyond" (http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs175/1109615552491/archive/1122757300155.html).
The last thing I want to mention in this section about the music is from a blog on the Hillsong site written by a man named JD in January of 2015. JD refers to himself as one of Hillsong’s worship pastors. The blog is entitled “5 Things That Should Matter to a Worship Pastor.” The second of the five points says this: We are about fulfilling our Senior Pastor’s vision (not our own). It is so important that as amazing as our creative ideas might be, if they don’t ultimately line up with what our Senior Pastor and leaders want, then we happily put them aside. The church doesn’t exist to build our worship teams… our worship teams exist to build the Church!! (https://hillsong.com/collected/blog/2015/01/5-things-that-should-matter-to-a-worship-pastor/#.Ws-pLH8h2M-). (Well, we know that the idea of individual churches having their own visions is not Biblical. And, for them to have “amazing creative ideas” can only feed into the entertainment focus so many churches have. But, the concept of worship teams existing to build a church is just ridiculous! We know the music from Hillsong can be so mesmerizing with its repetitive lyrics and hypnotizing tunes. I would imagine that many people stay in Hillsong churches just because of the music, sad to say).
Conferences:
Moving on to the next section, now I would like to discuss their conferences. The media link at their website says this: Since 1986, Hillsong in Australia has hosted its annual conferences where thousands of people gather to hear about church leadership, worship, and community engagement from Hillsong’s key team members and other renowned Christian leaders. Then at their faqs link we read one of the world’s largest annual Christian gatherings – is attended by people from every denomination including Salvation Army, Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, and Pentecostal” (https://hillsong.com/id/faqs/). (Well, it is quite telling that they say “from every denomination” and then include Catholics in that list. Catholicism is a religion based on the traditions of men, not just a denomination within Christianity. And, then we must think about the fact that the worship services are an integral part of these conferences, so with attendees from other religious systems these conferences are ecumenical events. True believers will stay well away).
“There is More” is the theme of this year’s conferences which will be held in Sydney, Australia, London, and New York City. Speakers for the conferences include Steven Furtick, Carl Lentz, and John Gray, who has been the associate pastor at Joel Osteen’s church and recently became pastor of Redemption Church in Greenville, South Carolina. Hillsong United, Hillsong Worship, and Chris Tomlin will be leading worship. The cost to attend the conference is $339.
The following invitation from Brian and Bobbie Houston appears on their website: “HAVE YOU EVER FELT LIKE YOU WERE LIVING WITH A “QUESTION MARK” OVER YOUR LIFE? HAVE YOU EVER PONDERED THE POTENTIAL WITHIN OR THE PROMISES OF GOD WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF CALLING AND PURPOSE? HAVE YOU EVER ASKED “IS THERE MORE” – AND COULD THAT MORE EVER BECOME YOUR OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE?
Society and the generations that surround us need to see God’s pure and grace-laden fullness outworked and at play within our lives. They need to witness the possibilities of an “exceeding, abundant and above” God within our everyday experience and within a global Church united and cohesive in what is important.
These are remarkable and stunning days. Days of His Spirit outpoured, and days that have been marked for greatness. We love and believe in you, and pray that this conference will water what is upon you. May the abundant blessing, grace and goodness of God overshadow you, your family and planting. The best is always before us – and the best is yet to come” (https://hillsong.com/conference/sydney/). (Well, with phrases like “the potential within” and “your own personal experience,” we recognize this conference will be focused on man and on the here and now. And, when we hear a “global Church united and cohesive,” knowing they consider Catholics just another denomination, this means there will be a spirit of ecumenism at work. Additionally, when we hear “days of His Spirit outpoured and days that have been marked for greatness” we recognize there is a dominionist spirit inherent in their teachings).
Besides the main speaking and worship sessions, there are a couple of break-out sessions. One of these is called SPHERES which the conference site describes as a collection of creative presentations that will inspire you to lead and impact in your sphere of life. (Now, I want to veer off from the conference information just long enough to discuss Hillsong’s use of the word “sphere” because this is one of their main ministry themes. Brian Houston and Hillsong promote the "Seven Mountain Mandate" ideology which promotes winning the culture war by taking control of the power centers of the culture. They use the word “sphere” instead of “mountain” in this teaching. The "seven mountains" or “spheres” of influence to be taken by Christians are religion, family, business, arts and entertainment, government, education, and media. Proponents believe they can legislate “kingdom values” through these seven power centers. I will include a link in our FB note to part of a message he gave encouraging people to take action in their spheres of life and to become influencers and world changers). (http://spheres.life/2017/05/16/brian-houston-l-kings-queens-of-all-spheres/).
And, just to support the fact that the concept of influencing one’s sphere is a major theme of their ministry here is their mission statement from their website: “To reach and influence the world by building a large Christ-centered, Bible-based church, changing mindsets and empowering people to lead and impact in every sphere of life. (https://hillsong.com/vision/) (And, just to mention with all the research I did concerning Hillsong, I did not see any emphasis given to Jesus Christ’s return. I did see a sentence about it on their statement of beliefs page, but otherwise everything I have seen shows an absolute focus on the here and now).
In addition, they have a program on the Hillsong TV network, which I will mention more about later, entitled “Spheres.” The description says: “Equipping you to impact in every sphere of life. Join Joel A'Bell on a panel discussing the intersection of faith and culture with guests from the arts, media, business & more” (https://hillsongchannel.vhx.tv/spheres). (So, we can definitely see the emphasis on influencing the culture which believers are never told to do in God’s Word).
Now, I want to mention some more about their conferences. Hillsong also hosts the Colour Conference which their website says was started by Bobbie Houston many years ago out of a deep desire to place value on women and encourage them to be all that God’s called them to be. Hillsong hosts this annual conference across five countries internationally each year. (Well, we can see the influence of psychology with the phrase “to place value on women” and then the focus on here and now with wanting to “encourage them to be all that God’s called them to be”).
Here is the promotional information for this year’s Colour conference at their website: “Gorgeous Sydney, Beautiful Cape Town, Charming London, Historic Kiev, and the lush USA (NYC, Phoenix & LA). Colour is a global movement of everyday women, with hope in their heart and “change” in their step. A twenty-two year journey has seen this diverse and fabulous host of women help multitudes of others. If making the world a better place resonates with you, you belong within this miracle story” (https://hillsong.com/colour/). (And, as I just mentioned, we see yet more preoccupation with the here and now: a ministry saying the name of Jesus, but rather than focusing on what He came to do and on eternity with Him, the focus is on improving this life. We have said it many times and I will say it again. We will help others when we see a need, but nowhere in God’s Word are we instructed to make this world a better place. This is such man-centered rubbish. The sinful heart of man is the problem and to think the problem can provide the solution is ridiculous. Jesus is the One who will return to set things right, not man).
And, just to illustrate the sinful heart of man point, I wanted to mention the Colour Conference held in NYC in 2016, which featured the church’s youth pastor posing as NYC’s infamous “Naked Cowboy.” For those who have never heard of this character he is basically a tourist attraction. He is dressed only in underwear, plays a guitar and sings songs, and takes pictures with those visiting Times Square. Why any church would have someone depicting this fellow, much less a women’s conference, is beyond me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFiQm8BV9tc). But, let’s listen to Brian Houston’s explanation: "So how did someone come on stage resembling a cowboy, (during a fun moment involving lots of other people), at the Color Conference in NYC? It's a good question, I've been trying to work that out myself. I do know that Bobbie -- my wife -- who was convener of the conference was clearly unaware that this was going to happen and was taken back by it. She was at the dress rehearsal and there was no sign of a cowboy there. Carl and Laura Lentz were also not part of the decision. I can only guess at this point, that someone thought it would be funny and sent him out there without thinking about the ramifications” (https://hillsong.com/collected/blog/2016/06/have-you-heard-the-one-about-the-cowboy/#.Wt78H38h2M8). (However, in watching the clip one will clearly see Bobbie Houston on stage, but she makes no move to escort the Naked Cowboy off. If she was unaware this was going to happen, and was truly shocked, she would have done so).
And, next I want to share some of the presenters’ statements at the Colour Conference held in London this year on April 19-21: Bobbie Houston: “God is saying to every single one of you in this room, you have the capacity to be like a beautiful merchant ship of ancient days, bringing divine supplies to the world.” Bob Goff: “Jesus jumped out of heaven to be with you.” And, then, “The only thing that matters is your faith expressed in love.” Priscilla Shirer: “What if an army of women went out and did what God called us to do?” Jeremy Courtney: “Imagine a future in which there is more than that person you once were; dare we be a people of pre-emptive love.” Brian Houston: “God has got more for you. He can do anything; far more than you could imagine in your wildest dreams” (https://www.facebook.com/HillsongGuildford/videos/2053960921285785/?fref=mentions). (Now, obviously these are only soundbites on this clip, but it is just as obvious by these statements that the purpose of this conference was not to preach the gospel).
College:
Now, moving on to the College section, here is the basic information on their website. We read, “Located in Sydney, Hillsong International Leadership College offers leadership and ministry courses to help shape future leaders around the world. Since its creation in 1995, over 10,000 students, representing more than 65 countries have graduated from the college.” When one clicks on the Hillsong college link the first thing one sees in large letters is: “Hillsong College - Lead in Every Sphere of Life” (https://hillsong.com/college/). (So, in the last 23 years 10,000 students have attended their college and most of them presumably have returned to those 65 countries and shared at least some of the aberrant theology they learned so just think of the negative effect in the “church” world from this. Also, yet another example of promoting the 7 Mtn. mandate ideology with the phrase “lead in every sphere of life”).
Another section at the media link is labeled “Ministry Initiatives”:
Hillsong embraces opportunities to practically shape the lives of people in communities around the world. In addition to its own community care initiatives, it partners with other ministries to bring hope to many. (There are several projects listed here and I won’t take the time to read them, but suffice it to say they all fall under the label of the social justice gospel. There is one project not listed here called “Shine Women.” One can purchase a “Shine Women Starter Pack” for $200. This pack contains one Facilitator Handbook and five Student Journals. Here is a description of the course:
Shine Women is a solutions- focused personal development program that empowers women regardless of their cultural, educational or socio-economic background. The goal is to help individuals on their journey of discovering their personal value, resilience and potential.
Since its conception in 1997, Shine has been used globally by thousands of organizations in various settings including schools, ethnic & indigenous communities, religious groups, rural communities, correctional centres and girls homes.
This 9 week course is divided into 3 week segments:
Worth: Discussion and activities centre on the intrinsic value of a human being
Strength: Building resilience through problem solving skills, making healthy choices and managing emotions
Purpose: Encouraging women to discover their potential and pursue their hopes and dreams.
Journals offer participants a tool that they can use to capture and reflect on lessons learned along their journey (https://hillsongstore.com/shinewomen-starter-pack/).
They provided a link to a sample lesson (https://www.dropbox.com/s/27nzpaqe52l1ji6/shinewomen_week1_sample.pdf?dl=0) and it’s too long to share all of it, but I will put the link in the FB note. I do want to mention just a part under the heading of “Power Focus: I am Valuable.”
“Every one of us has this need for acceptance. It’s a universal need. You matter! What you have to say matters. You are worth being cared about, listened to and validated. You are recognized. You are important.” (Well, again so much psychology and so self-focused. Obviously, there are a lot of hurting people out there. Many women have been horribly abused and mistreated. But, the solution is not to tell them they are important. The solution is Jesus. He is the only One Who can heal our broken hearts. He is the only One Who can give the peace that passes all understanding and can give the assurance of eternal life. In this same section we also read: “There are no mistakes! Life is created with a purpose and a reason for existence. We have been born for a reason, a purpose. No one has been created by mistake.” Sadly, though, with this perfect opportunity to mention God, I mean, you are using the word “created.” But, not one word about God, or Jesus either, throughout the entire lesson or description of the program! How very sad).
I want to mention Hillsong TV next. Their schedule is similar to that of TBN. Almost all of the WOF preachers found on TBN also appear on Hillsong’s line-up. Here are some of the main ones: Joyce Meyer, James Robison, Joel Osteen, Joseph Prince, John Gray, Jentzen Franklin, TD Jakes, Steven Furtick, Andrew Wommack, Robert Morris and Christine Caine. Brian Houston has a 30-minute program designed to “help you live out your God-given potential.” It is viewed by 10 million people each week (https://channelschedule.hillsong.com/). (Well, we know TBN, Daystar, and God TV have all been deceiving people for years and it’s sad to know there is yet another network doing the same).
Well, sister Tammy, I think this is a good spot to stop with part 2 and when we begin part 3 we will be discussing Hillsong and ecumenism.