What do you make of Hillsong Church?

santana75

Over the weekend I was shocked to read about the firing of Hillsong New York Pastor Carl lentz. He was doing the Mucky on Mrs. Lentz for a fair while apparently but finally got busted. I say shocked but when I think about it, Im not really, I know its easy to say these things in hindsight, but I always felt like there was something off with him. It wasnt his Rock star image or the connections with celebrity culture, it was something else. And when I visited Hillsong London I could see it wasnt just Carl lentz that made me feel uneasy, it was Hillsong in general. It seemed more like a strip club than a church, the stage show was ultra flashy and they pushed very hard on tithing and giving. It lacked a sense of sincerity tbh.
Anyway Im not kicking Carl lentz when he's down, in fact I really hope he and his family recover from this and it makes him grow in faith in a more real and sincere way. But Im reminded about what Jesus said about false teachers claiming to come in his name and that many people would fall away from the faith. It seems like this is happening more and more, high profile pastors falling away, usually due to some form of sexual sin.
What are your thoughts on Hillsong church, do you think they're the real deal or are these the very false teachers Jesus warned about?


http://https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2020/11/njs-carl-lentz-justin-bieber-pastor-fired-from-hillsong-megachurch-admits-to-cheating-on-wife.html

martinedwards

every church has folk that fall short of what society or the church expect.

I've been to Hillsong in London too and the service was ..... very slick.

the fact that it was in a west end theatre added to the pizzazz

looking around, there were a LOT of (mainly) young folk being very sincere in their worship.

Anyone from a traditional background would be faced with culture shock in there..... but there have always been churches at the cutting edge. the Methodists were treated with concern.... those Wesley boys.....

as to teaching about the biblical principle of tithing? Hardly end times stuff. It wasn't mentioned the week we were there.

False teachers? As a denomination? no.

All the denominations have dirty laundry that should them hold their heads in shame, and here in Ireland we're far from innocent on that......

antiskeptic

santana75 wrote: »

Over the weekend I was shocked to read about the firing of Hillsong New York Pastor Carl lentz. He was doing the Mucky on Mrs. Lentz for a fair while apparently but finally got busted. I say shocked but when I think about it, Im not really, I know its easy to say these things in hindsight, but I always felt like there was something off with him. It wasnt his Rock star image or the connections with celebrity culture, it was something else. And when I visited Hillsong London I could see it wasnt just Carl lentz that made me feel uneasy, it was Hillsong in general. It seemed more like a strip club than a church, the stage show was ultra flashy and they pushed very hard on tithing and giving. It lacked a sense of sincerity tbh.
Anyway Im not kicking Carl lentz when he's down, in fact I really hope he and his family recover from this and it makes him grow in faith in a more real and sincere way. But Im reminded about what Jesus said about false teachers claiming to come in his name and that many people would fall away from the faith. It seems like this is happening more and more, high profile pastors falling away, usually due to some form of sexual sin.
What are your thoughts on Hillsong church, do you think they're the real deal or are these the very false teachers Jesus warned about?


http://https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2020/11/njs-carl-lentz-justin-bieber-pastor-fired-from-hillsong-megachurch-admits-to-cheating-on-wife.html

My guess is that folk start out for the right reasons but the trappings of the world overtake them. Success is a dangerous thing..

santana75

antiskeptic wrote: »

My guess is that folk start out for the right reasons but the trappings of the world overtake them. Success is a dangerous thing..

Theres a Proverb about this: "As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise" (Proverbs 27:21). For whatever reason, sexual immorality seems to be the issue behind every fall from Grace of pastors, celebrities, political leaders.

antiskeptic

santana75 wrote: »

Theres a Proverb about this: "As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise" (Proverbs 27:21). For whatever reason, sexual immorality seems to be the issue behind every fall from Grace of pastors, celebrities, political leaders.

There are many ways to fall but sex seems to be the big 'un.

Despite Satan's attempt the chip away at its position

- do what you want when you want with whomever you want - you're not hurting anybody

- be what you want sexually

- sex sells

- sexualisation of children

- porn


...sex is still consider holy by people. Something sacrosanct as no other. Thus the big 'un still against which to collide. And naturally the biggest lure in Satan's armory.

When you consider what sex was intended for: the creation of humans and the closest of bonding between humans, its not surprising that it's top of the heap. No matter how much money you have, by way of comparison, you can't buy that. So, whilst pursuit of wealth can lead to a fall, the fall can't be as far. A million Mercs will never be as valiable as the ability to have the closest human contact and the ability to create new life.

The USA is littered with these charismatic Christian churches/megachurches. Never been to one but I've watched some of their services online. They are slick operations. We, my husband and I, are from a non-traditional Christian background and we are struggling to find a new spiritual home here in Ireland, North Kildare and Dublin. Are there any of these churches in Dublin?

martinedwards

St Catherines is very modern in attitude.....

I've been there a few times and definitely preferred it to Hillsong London

http://www.saintcatherines.ie/

martinedwards

martinedwards wrote: »

St Catherines is very modern in attitude.....

I've been there a few times and definitely preferred it to Hillsong London

http://www.saintcatherines.ie/

Thank you. Wasn't aware of St Catherines. We have found a few churches, Open Arms and All Nations to name two others, but it is very hard to get to know them when you can't attend services in person. We are just going to have to continue with the online services until the restrictions are lifted. Are you familiar with either of these churches?