Hillsong Church: Do Not Colonize San Francisco
Ben Houston, pastor of the famed Hillsong Church, recently posted this video announcing the planting of Hillsong’s new San Francisco campus:
I’m sure there are tons of people who are excited for Hillsong to come to the Bay Area. Hillsong’s music, of course, has changed our lives, from Oceans to Mighty to Save to the OG Hillsong Darlene Zchshechsehcz songs of the early 2000s. (The Potter’s Hand, anyone?). Not to mention we all know that Kevin Durant goes to Hillsong NYC and if he joins the Warriors next year he’ll need a place to worship. Would Steph go to Hillsong SF too?
Unfortunately, as much as I’d love to sing Oceans next to the Curries, Hillsong SF is not something I am looking forward to. In fact, their video offends me. And it makes me extremely sad for this city and what it is becoming. And I am convinced, beyond any doubt, that Hillsong SF has absolutely nothing to do with God’s Kingdom here in San Francisco.
San Francisco is a city under siege. There is a war going on here that can’t be seen or understood through the eyes of a naïve, idealistic pastor. So when Ben Houston shows up in his overly-produced video saying, “San Francisco is a city where we see great potential,” it’s painfully clear that he has no idea of the context onto which his words fall. Guess who else saw “great potential” in this city? The real estate agents, developers, and city officials who have destroyed neighborhoods, broken up families, and displaced poor people of color for their own idealized, dystopian visions for San Francisco. What kind of “great potential” does Hillsong fulfill with its presence? And why would this random Australian dude ever think he’s qualified to evaluate this city’s potential? San Francisco is not a hopeful candidate auditioning for his religious services. We have bigger things to worry about.
I’m so tired of this. I’m tired of pastors coming to San Francisco, posting pictures of bridges and crooked streets and declaring how much they love this city without actually understanding any of it, without being hurt by it, without any scars to show or dirt on their shoes or callouses on their hands. I’m tired of people acting like this is an AMAZING city because we have a waterfront and burritos, but—be careful—it’s also a demonic city because oh, we have gay people. What a perfect mix of yuppie fun and evangelistic intrigue; of course this city needs saving, doesn’t it? And of course salvation doesn’t look like you praying from where you are, it doesn’t look like supporting our local pastors financially, it doesn’t look like investing in community based organizations who are actually on the ground—no, that’s no fun!—it always looks like coming here, planting a church in Mission or Potrero or SOMA, kicking out a few poor families while you take pictures with your cute little kids and declare that God is going to do amazing things here in San Francisco! Amazing for who?
Any kind of language that implies that God’s work or God’s plan starts when we arrive (e.g., “God has a great plan for this city!” “San Francisco is a city where we see great potential!” “In San Francisco, the best is yet to come!” – Ben Houston) is indicative not only of terrible theology, but of white Christian exceptionalism, the oppressive belief that the correct kind salvation and healing can only be facilitated through us, on our terms with our methods—and us always happens to be white missionaries, white pastors, and white churches. Especially when juxtaposed with the Chinese, Black, and Hispanic churches that have been here for decades, this is the purest kind of exceptionalism, the kind that completely ignores the fact that there was anyone here before them, the kind that “discovers” San Francisco, the kind that “brings the Gospel” to heathens, the kind that ignorantly destroys and undoes the faithful Gospel work that has been going on here since the freaking 1800s. God has a great plan for this city?? Wake up, Ben Houston—the plan started without you a long time ago, so guess what? You aren’t special. This city doesn’t need you. This city is fine without you. God has always been here and if you really listened, if you really understood where you were going, if you really did your research on the multitude of churches that have been here for over 100 years, you would know. You would know that God, the one we all profess to follow, the one who told you to come here and the one who told me to keep you out, yes that God, has always been here. This God understands this city, this God has been hurt by this city, this God has scars and dirt and callouses and this God, last I heard, is here for the long haul. Are you?
But perhaps I’m being too strong. After all, Ben Houston had a “stirring in his spirit and his heart for this.” God has spoken to the man. And what did God tell Ben Houston? Apparently these are the two scriptures that Ben Houston heard from God:
Isaiah 54:2-3
Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.1 Chronicles 4:9-10
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.
This literally makes me sick to my stomach.
Where do I even begin? Your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities? Enlarge my territory? Territory?? Keep me from harm so I’ll be free from pain??
Ben Houston, do you really think dispossess is a great word for a city whose main concern right now is outsiders coming into the city and LITERALLY DISPOSSESSING people of their homes? Do you think San Francisco is territory for you to claim? Do you really want people to take you seriously when you ask to be free from pain in an age where the rich hop on luxury buses while poor folks are stuck on public transit? Do you really think this process will be painless? Do you think love comes without a cost? Do you think Jesus is down with your painless march towards the dispossessing of communities? But all this is ok since God told you, right?
Does anyone think that this is anything new?
Ben Houston has pulled the age-old theological sleight of hand that has enabled all colonial destruction that has occurred in the name of Jesus: He has positioned himself in the place of Biblical Israel within the Biblical narrative, effectively positioning Hillsong Church as God’s chosen people to bring their exquisite salvation to the rest of the world, by any means necessary. It also means, to be clear, that the strategic cities of the world, of which San Francisco is one, are the Promised Land, filled with milk, honey, and slow drip coffee, destined to fall into the hands of God’s chosen people. And San Francisco’s residents, of course, are the Canaanites, to be driven out, destroyed, raped, murdered, and pillaged for our resources.
This deeply flawed theological vision is called supersessionism, and it is the reason Christianity itself lies at the very heart of world oppression. Like it or not, Christianity is the reason nations have been exploited, people have been enslaved, and communities have been robbed of their culture and personhood. It was in the name of Jesus that Europe colonized, fueled by evangelistic zeal, emboldened by the same scriptures quoted by Mr. Houston. In that sense, European Christians were utterly faithful: they certainly dispossessed nations, they certainly made cities desolate before resettling them, they certainly claimed territory, and they certainly believed, with all their hearts, that they were blessed by God to be a blessing to the nations.
My problem is not that these passages in the Bible exist. I believe that God’s Word is authoritative and true. I believe that God was certainly concerned with land and people and territory. My goal is not to simply close my eyes and pretend that these verses don’t exist. But when scripture is misused, especially when it is misappropriated towards oppressive ends, we end up with a group of people who believe that gutting communities of their identities is synonymous with evangelism. This is nothing new. This supersessionist theology drove European Christians in the 1400s to colonize, white American Christians in the 1800s to absolutely steamroll Native peoples on their way to Manifest Destiny, and it empowers missionaries today, including our beloved Hillsong Church, to “dispossess nations” in order to “resettle” them as colonies of God’s Kingdom. Hillsong has fallen victim to a supersessionist vision of the world, dismissing Biblical Israel and positioning themselves as God’s chosen people, ignoring the social conditions that make God’s promises to oppressed Israel vastly different than what Ben Houston expects God to do for filthy rich Hillsong in filthy rich San Francisco. What Ben Houston fails to recognize is that in this schema, Hillsong is more akin to Babylon than it is to Israel, and its occupation of the land is a violation of God’s plan, not a fulfillment of it.
If Hillsong thinks their movement to the West Coast is some kind of Manifest Destiny, they are greatly mistaken. This is not the Promised Land. But if Ben Houston is some kind of busted Australian Joshua who wants to spy out the land, then come on. We’re here. We’ve been here for decades. But you will not dispossess us. You will not be free from pain. You will not occupy this territory. Instead, you will honor it. You will come and sit at the feet of Black, Latino, and Asian American elders. You will not say a word. You will do this for years, until those elders say you’re ready. This is not your Promised Land. We are not your Canaanites. In fact, we are your brothers and sisters. So treat us like it. Don’t insult us with your cheaply made videos and empty, idealistic prayers. Don’t offend us by believing that you of all people will usher in anything new of God. God is doing more than you know and he doesn’t need a damn thing from you. If you really wish to come here, then you will do so in humility, you will do so like Jesus, stripping yourself of all power and becoming a servant. You will join us in genuine communion. You will repent. And when we are ready, we will walk with you.
The Jesus I know chose the foolish of this world to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong, the poor to shame the rich. Hillsong Church is on the wrong side of redemption. I’m not mad at them, because I am too. The Kingdom does not belong to us. When will we realize this? It is in the hands of those silenced, those poor, those hopeless folks who we are so quick to dispose of, the ones who might lose their homes or see their families disband when rich folks like us move into the neighborhood. We all need to repent. Hillsong Church in its current state takes us nowhere near this vision. Have mercy on us sinners, Lord, us colonizers, us greedy broken people, and may your Kingdom come, ushered in not by me, not by Hillsong or any other church, but by the poor Galilean who had no place to lay his head, who occupied no territory but a cross. Come Lord Jesus.
Edit: I realize the video uses a different translation of Isaiah 54, something I did not see until after publishing the post. Ben Houston’s version says “your descendants will occupy other nations and resettle the ruined cities.” This does not change my argument.
Thank you so much for this powerful post…. I’m gonna be tweeting it all day!
Thank you!
Hmmmm……My response to the article as well as all these posts is not in defense of Hillsong Church or to champion natejlee’s position! The point is Jesus and Him crucified! Just because Nate you are angry at what you see is totally the wrong approach, just because you see a lot of mega churches as power hungry, poor people stomping, who are intentionally coming into cities to force poor people out of their homes, doesn’t mean that is the truth! Honestly your article really comes across as “us vs. them”, with an attitude of aggorance and it reminds me of the kid during the neighborhood street game who gets mad and goes home because ALL other kids are wrong and he’s not playing until they do it “his way”. This is not to suggest that you do not have valid points in your argument, but it is to suggest the way in which you have written about it does not seem at all to be the way in which CHRISTIANS should handle these types of issues! So, unless “they” contact you first, unless “they” step down from “their” powerful positions, unless “they” see their need to learn from “you” the heck with “them”. And the gospel suffers because of it! God is so in control and people are not! To judge someone else’s motives by what you already perceive by watching a video and then ranting about it is not the way to show the world that we are one body with many different gifts, seeking to exalt the name of Jesus. Stop making it “us(always doing it right, poor, displaced, trodden upon), vs “them(always power wielding, not caring about poor, always doing it wrong,) argument. Whether it’s Hillsong or any other desired church plant, whether it’s San Francisco any other poor cities, Can the dialogue change to WE? Both reach out to the other with an attitude of humility, BOTH acknowledge that they can not totally know the mind of Christ concerning ministry and how to do it??? What’s important is that Christ is preached and that the lost come to know him as they see ALL Christians striving together in LOVE for the gospel!
thanks for putting into words what many of us on the ground don’t have time to do. Word up from the Town.
Thanks neighbor. Keep fighting!
Standing ovation. I was looking at a colonial map of Africa on google (run across by accident) and it really disturbed me.. I flipped to facebook and saw your post and you nailed the unsettled “yuck” feeling I had perfectly. (not trying to put words into your post, of course!)
“Yuck” is a great word for it!
San Franciscans already voted for this brand of christianity, if you look at the churches in which they caucus. Especially the natives who left churches that serve baos for those that serve espresso.
Yeah you’re right man… I know they miss the baos though.
Nate,
Your comments are much appreciated. Hopefully Hillsong will enter this City with humility and a heart for the disadvantaged. Although this video does seem ill-advised to many of us, the testimony of Hillsong is that God has moved through their ministries; let’s hope that they can reach our city too!
If there is one thing that we must agree on it’s that there are many in SF who still need to meet our Lord. There are many who don’t know God’s love, don’t know his invitation to join His family and our fellowship. Those who do not know includes those who are being displaced and those who are gentrifying. The Messiah is for not only the Israelites, but also the Gentiles; this means the Roman (oppressors) and the Israelites (the oppressed). In other words, the work in SF is far from completed, and I am ready to welcome my fellow co-laborers into this city. I will work side-by-side with them; hopefully from me they will learn that this is a broken City that needs humble leaders. I cannot wait to see how God uses them to speak to me.
I would caution you to not claim SF as your domain; it is unclear why Hillsong must come here and “sit at [our] feet” and wait for us to “say [they]’re ready.” This is not our land; this City needs Jesus–not us. We are not the sole messengers of God’s love; He can use a donkey to spread his Word if He chooses. If we are the Canaanites in the promised land, let’s welcome in Joshua! Why are we not ready to walk with Hillsong?
I for one am more than willing to be “insult[ed]” by Hillsong’s videos and prayers if it means that more will know Jesus. I hope that Hillsong reaches thousands in this City, even if those thousands of new converts are either “white” or gentrifiers.
Thanks again for your voice. Hillsong does have much to learn and I hope they seek communion with the many faithful ministries in this City. Maybe you and Ben Houston should get lunch?
Ishi, thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Co-laborers, partners, friends, absolutely. If Hillsong wants to genuinely be co-laborers and partners, I would love that. But partnership and Jesus-shaped unity have much to do with power. If Hillsong does not surrender power (financially, racially, leadership-wise, branding-wise, etc), then faithful small churches get stomped out. If city renewal is truly the goal, then this simply doesn’t make sense.
But you bring up a great point – gentrifiers, transients, they need Jesus too. Absolutely. But the San Francisco Church has to have a hard conversation about what discipleship means for transient folks. To me, a transient church is an oxymoron. Church in its nature must be rooted. We aren’t having these conversations. This post is a first step; we all need to start talking, listening, discussing, praying, lamenting, even folks who disagree, especially with folks who disagree. Be blessed friend.
“The Kingdom does not belong to us.” – Therefore as a part of the collective “us”, you don’t have any business judging the gospel efforts of another church! I assume you know all the entire history of this church to back up all the intolerant statements found within this piece? Is that Hillsong’s history – oppression?
I don’t disagree with your statements of a presence of churches for decades already in SF. But if they’ve been there so long, why is there still a need to help the people of the city? Should they have long ago accomplished all you claim the church should be about? No? Then why not welcome another part of the “The Kingdom [that] does not belong to us”?
My statements are general in nature, because, I don’t live there. But I find a lot of assumptions being made.
“I don’t live there.” I think you should have stared with that.
“I don’t live there” – said one Apostle Paul, and the church didn’t get planted in other nations.
“I don’t live there” – said Peter and the church would never have left Jerusalem and Judea.
“I don’t live there” – Said the Son of God, and we never would have hope.
so… Brian Houston is as qualified as Paul, Peter and Christ to make the call that the City needs him? Man, I dunno.. from what I understand their decision had a ton to do with data about online users and music purchasers. Paul, Peter and Jesus didn’t have a Google Analytics heat-map to pinpoint their influence.
I hope for the best with Hillsong in SF. I really do. But I’m not about to throw this writer’s frustrations and fears to the side in some blind hope that “things will work out” because “God is in charge.”
“Is that Hillsong’s history – oppression?”
Define ‘oppression’? Have you talked to Hillsong’s thousands of victims stung and destroyed by their Word of Faith and Health and Wealth heresies? What about their victims from their ‘Mercy Ministry’ abuse?
Have you talked to the victims who were sexually abused by Hillsong founder Frank Houston and then shunned by Brian Houston in his attempt to cover up his fathers paedophilia crimes?
[…] NateJLee […]
[…] Hillsong in SF […]
Brian Houston got those scriptures from Bruce Wilkinson and his book The Prayer of Jabez, which hit evangelical churches in the early 2000s. The theology of this book is straight out of name-it-and-claim-it prosperity doctrine. God wants to bless you, and praying like Jabez will make it happen. *gag*
These evangelical megachurches are built around American corporate practice. The pastors shell out thousands to attend “leadership” conferences with church-growth consultants who teach seminars on how to develop marriage counseling programs, plant multi-site campuses, and–most importantly–get everyone sacrificially giving so the empire can be supported. The bigger you can grow your church, the bigger your built-in audience for your latest book or the worship band’s newest CD, and the more conferences you are paid to speak at. Locations for a new site are strategically chosen based on demographics–where there are enough people, wealth, and lack of other large churches to support a 2,000+ member congregation. I’d bet $50 that Houston’s decision was hammered out behind closed doors with a well-paid consultant.
Have you ever noticed that nearly all of these megachurches have the same programs? Similar membership covenants? And that virtually none of those programs involve things like homeless outreach or drug rehab? Or how all these megachurch pastors seem to know each other?
Some might wonder why that is.
Yup. I don’t see a lack of homeless outreach or drug rehab programs but a refusal to recognize that mental illness is real and that white priveledge is real. You can’t make real change without the acceptance of those two.
I find it sad that so many stones are being cast at Hillsong based on assumption and without fact. I don’t attend Hillsong at present because I don’t live nearby but I know from personal experience that they make significant contribution to the community through many ground level programs and out reaches. Examples include, but are not limited to: food hampers for low income families; care packages for women and children in refuges; food and support for homeles; directly funding the rescue of young girls and women from sexual slavery; delivering programmes into school to build self esteem in young girls and boys etc.
There are some very valid points in this article but I’m sure there are many people who would sit on both sides of the fence. I do think however, that it is for God to judge the works of those who profess to work in His name… and I have no doubt He is the only judge who truly knows the motivation of ALL of our hearts.
Hi Rahvi. Thank you for sharing your knowledge on what kind of services Hillsong provides. It’s given me the idea that Hillsong could have a place to serve in San Francisco.
The established, small, ethnic, community oriented type of churches in the SF Bay Area has served the area for many years. However their long history of service might not have completely solved the issues that plagued the area for as long as they’ve known (i.e. homelessness, low income family needs, etc). Hillsong’s presence could fill gaps in community service where older, established churches are unable to fill. This is why I think there could be a place for Hillsong in SF. But they cannot replace the already established churches. I do agree with Nate that Hillsong needs to talk and walk with the established church elders in the SF area because I don’t think Hillsong can be successful unless they are strategic by working with who is already there.
Soo many sweeping assumptions. Hillsong don’t need consultants they are the global leaders at Church planting and growth. Are you aware that Hillsong have church plants in Kiev, France, Stockholm, Germany, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Germany? Some of the most un churched cities on earth.
YES.
Or maybe God will use them greatly to reach people who have yet to meet Jesus. I think maybe what we do need is more churches and less Christians criticising each other on the Internet. John 13:15
Totally agree with you Adam. As much as I would like to find things wrong with them, do I really think I’m any better? I think we need to be humble, examining our own hearts first, as Christians, and leave the rest to God. Our bickering and condemnation will only give more reason for those outside the faith to shut Jesus out. It is critical that we are unified, in spite of our differences, and that we welcome them as Jesus would have us do, since he loved us warts and all.
Oh disgusting. The last thing we need is another evangelical church.
Evangelism is incredibly hard in Sydney. You can’t mention your faith and say ‘Jesus’ without people getting agitated, accuse the church of stealing your money, accuse people of blindly submitting to the leader and ending the discussion that the church is a cult – before you can get a word in. Where do they say they get this idea from? Hillsong.
Was it the media that gave these people these ideas? No. They confess they were duped by the lies of Hillsong or otherwise are dealing with someone, a family member or friend who are “brainwashed” by Hillsong. Please – research these guys before more lives are destroyed. They try read how people perceive them and keep changing their skin. They are more liberal these days but will default back to Word of Faith and even Seeker Sensitive to suit people’s perceptions. They’ve got a good marketing arm to tell you that.
Brother Adam, it’s certainly possible! And I don’t doubt that God would in fact work through Hillsong if they come here. You probably know the inner workings of this better than I do, since you have a Hillsong email address. We both probably have our biases…
Which is why I don’t necessarily feel the need to prove anything to you. We’re coming from different places, which is totally fine. I don’t think “more churches” is the answer, because I don’t see a value for quantity-over-quality in God’s character. I also don’t mind criticizing Hillsong, as long as I’m willing to take it from folks like you. The church’s history of genocide, destruction, and cultural cleansing, in my mind, is worth criticizing. When I see it happening in the church today (and I do, every Sunday), I feel compelled to call it out.
Unity is costly, particularly for the ones who possess great power. The valleys shall be raised and the mountains shall be brought low so that we can all be on level ground when the Kingdom comes. Hillsong finds itself on a powerful mountain. Jesus-shaped unity demands the surrender of this power. This is the invitation to your church. Be blessed brother.
This is such a beautiful post. For what it’s worth, I attend Hillsong. The North American church has been colonizing Sydney for years. They love its koalas, its Harbour Bridge, and they even turn up at Hillsong’s campus in their thousands and under the guise of their role as college students they displace Australian congregation members, and I sit here in the gay heartland of Sydney working amongst Aboriginal Christians who feel displaced and lost, thinking “oh my gosh, how do I reconnect and reconcile with my neighbours who hate me”? The thing is, I do have hope because of posts like yours. Perhaps we can together join our hearts and voices, and dialogue to learn what is God’s and what is simply ours. Oh, I need a heart of flesh, not one of stone. Thank you so much for your reminder.
Great, loving response, Tanya. Bottom line is that God looks at the heart. When we judge others we open ourselves up to be judged, even if we are standing up for what we believe to be the truth. When we return to love, our eyes are opened to see what God sees, and it’s not always pleasant.
Notice: Tanya hasn’t given you the facts of Hillsong. She is being careful with her words. It is safe for her to say, “I don’t believe”. It means no one can accuse her being being dishonest when Hillsong starts undermining churches and their youth in local areas and causing division among churches and families. That’s what Hillsong did in Australia, what they did in Hillsong NYC and also what they are doing in their new South American church plants.
Interesting. Also a rumour that was spread in Los Angeles but this hasn’t proved to be the case. Church is messy, and I don’t doubt that some churches and youth groups can point to individuals that transferred to Hillsong. For that, I’m sorry, particularly for the pastors who felt their efforts have been ignored. But on the whole, the data shows us researchers that people are getting saved at Hillsong and transferring out to other churches at much higher rates than the other way. Cheers Jake.
You can’t talk jake. You operate a deceitful lying blog where none of you have the courage to use your real names! And you DARE call out Tanya? Good grief!
Jake you are wrong, wrong,wrong again, again and again. When Tanya says ” I don’t believe” the reason she chooses those word and believe me she chooses her words carefully, is because she is does not want to mislead anyone about what she is saying. She also does not want to assume her beliefs onto another party when strictly speaking they are hers.
“Jake you are wrong, wrong,wrong again, again and again.”
Do you know or have you researched Tanya? I have read MANY articles on her blog and have read her research on Hillsong. She is someone who falls into the category from what I’ve heard coined as a ‘Hillsong Apologist’. And that’s a shame, because Tanya is a very smart woman. Unfortunately, her research also contradicts what Hillsong claims to believe and do, although she too defends them. The point is, she will not say things matter-of-factly about Hillsong, even when people give her primary sources or empirical evidence. She knows the very thing she defends contradicts her findings. Sadly, Tanya will hide behind ‘I do/don’t believe’ to protect herself and her worldview, not because she cares about people. All of a sudden, the conversation is dictated around opinion rather than objective evidence, and the cleverest one at arguing wins. But I should leave Tanya alone because she comes across as ‘considerate’, ‘loving’, ‘authentic’, ‘genuine’ and ‘diplomatic’. Win the hearts – that’s how it works at Hillsong.
Tanya is friend of mine I know her personally. Now stop judging..it seems that is all you do to everything everyone…
Jake, I am not a “Hillsong apologist”. I am a scholar, and thus most of my work is peer-reviewed. I always state my location – currently an attendee at the church – thus disclaiming my interests and biases. I have completed my MPhil, and am now undertaking a PhD, both in Australian Pentecostalism. Thus, as I am a social scientist, I always have factual evidence for my research, and I make moderate claims, even critiquing the church at various points. I have in fact researched many primary sources. In addition, I constantly put forward my work to be countered by scholars who believe differently, within the bounds of the academy. However, your work at hillsongchurchwatch.com is actually what you accuse me of here. It is emotive, and claims insider information but is often wrong on multiple counts. It sits under a banner of Reformed theology but tolerates other views where necessary to further its aim of discrediting Hillsong members. It also incorporates the strangest apocalyptic nonsense. Sigh. It’s horrible that you are trolling me with personal, non-reasoned responses to my posts. Please stop.
Jake tell me….How does it feel getting your ass handed to you by a linguistic black belt with the truth on her side?
Tanya, thank you so much. I’m humbled by your words and I think your voice, so much more conciliatory than mine, is the kind that will ultimately sustain any bridges built between communities (rich/poor, hillsong/native, etc). If you read this comment, can you share a bit about how you understand your position between both worlds? Do you feel the need to convince aboriginal folks that you’re not as bad as they think? Do you feel the need to speak up in the hillsong space?
Hi Nate, honoured to respond… I’ve struggled at times over the years, that’s for sure. I’m not on staff, but have attended for over twenty-five years, and volunteered full time for 6. Also we pastored for 4 years in a smaller 65% Asian area church in Sydney, and my husband pastored in a local LA church for 2 years while I was studying my PhD. We now attend the inner city Sydney campus. With insider/outsider experience, my hope is that we could be honest about how certain models of church hurt, but also help communicate the gospel. There is no perfect church. But transformation is a core value at Hillsong, and that goes for the structures and missiologies as well as God’s interest in our “soulish” life; our heart and responses.
My fieldwork has been with Aboriginal pastors, and they are alternately angry and hopeful about their and the community’s relationship with the church. I’ve had various triumphs and devastating defeat in communicating back to Hillsong leaders the need to honour our first peoples. But it’s not just me, there are many passionate Hillsongers who the Spirit is calling to work on this, and I think the fight of pulling the ‘edges’ together is hard, but worth it.
If you’re into reading, Paulo Freire articulates benefits of transformative Pentecostal worship for the poor… and I don’t think any estimation of Hillsong as the rich is completely right; in our context the Anglican state church is the rich/locus of power, so this represents the middle class. House prices and cost of living in Sydney are insane, and yet the congregation continues to fund churches in the US… there are of course terrible ways this correlates with colonial endeavors, but it also relates to a “reverse mission” immigrant experience in this context. Perhaps it’s simultaneously both.
I know that Ben of all Hillsong’s leaders (despite comments on this thread) is capable of great kindness and has a large voice into the pastoral aspects of the US churches. I would be surprised if he refused opportunity sit with you (and pastors/leaders of colour in your city) to talk out your concerns. I’m also able to continue dialogue with you if helps (feel free to use tanyariches[at]gmail); I’m not promising things will change, but offering solidarity because you are our brother in Christ and you deserve honour for the work you have done in SF. My prayers are with you, and for the Spirit to do something miraculous in your city through this.
Tanya, amazing. And leaving me with a lot to think about. Thank you so much for this. Praying for/with you as well!
I’m completely repulsed by colonialist approaches to church planting. However, you chose a different translation of Isaiah 54 than the one Ben Houston used in the video to emphasize your point (changing “occupy” to “dispossess”). IMO, that’s not cool at all. It shifts your article toward mudslinging, not correction.
Erik, valid point. I watched the video, wrote down the verses, and just used biblegateway. I didn’t realize it until after I posted. Not an excuse, but the video made me so uncomfortable that I didn’t want to watch it again to double check. For me, it changes nothing about my argument. Nonetheless, I’ll add an “edit” portion to my post. Thanks.
Terrible article…great clip.
You don’t like the comment – We see great potential….Oh My Godzilla…does not our loving Father see great potential in us all – regardless of where we are at. He saw so much potential, he had so much love that he died for us…while we were sinners.
What potential for this city – a city that can reclaim its true identity, its original design – as sons and daughters of Papa – Daddy – Father God. Heis and co-heirs with Him. A city that can start to walk in the fullness that God has for them.
And like God spoke light in Genesis when He was in the middle of an earth that was formless, empty and dark – our God spoke what he could see…not what He was in.
Hillsong is being what we are all called to be – like our Father in heaven…speaking out what they see…not what they find themselves in.
Seriously….good on you Hillsong for getting in, getting your hands dirty and having a go. Continue to speak life, love and hope – the way Father sees it – not the way man does!!
Andrew, thanks for the comment. I hope Godzilla is not coming to SF, because that would be an even greater problem. But it’s actually not a bad metaphor for what’s happening.
Hillsong’s hands are as clean as a freshly showered baby’s bottom. God created this city and each of its inhabitants. We’re all made in the image of power-surrendering, self-giving, triune God; I don’t need Hillsong to show me this.
Take care, friend.
You seem to have more faith in Hillsong Andrew to bring salvation to San Francisco than having faith in God to do the saving. Why is that?
Jake…certainly not.
But I guarantee that the smallest percentage of people go to church in SF. Therefore there us ALWAYS room for another church plant.
The truth is that the strength of the Christian Church is it’s diversity. Where one church may attract some, another church will attract those that the first church does not…and so on and so forth.
Together, as a United family, we are the church. It’s never about right or wrong, but rather the word different.
And in that difference we win the world…one soul at a time.
“Together, as a United family, we are the church.”
The church should be united. But it also should be united against cults that are trying to undermine Christ’s mission and message.
Hillsong has been very successful in doing this. They preach a false gospel, present a false faith and religiously twist the scripture. It’s not that hard to spot. Just review a sermon of Brian Houston. He is very brazen with his deception.
“It’s never about right or wrong, but rather the word different.”
It is about right and wrong – knowing right from wrong and knowing right from almost right is called discernment. But we can embrace differences – as long as they remain within orthodoxy. Hillsong do not even com close to orthodoxy. Just look at what comes out of the mouth of Brian and Bobbie Houston. Test what they say against the bible.
Hillsong is just one more in a long line of church planting efforts in SF and Silicon Valley seeking to harness the “world changers” and change the world through them. They come with conference-fueled bags of tricks and seemingly good intentions to plant their flag and say they did it for God. What most discover is that people here are common, broken like everywhere else. Pastoral work is farming, painstaking work, not systems-think and “3 How-To’s to Do It Like I Did It”, so most fail or fall away. The same is true for the occasional “Take the Bay Back for God” programs that pester pastors and waste time and resources. I think it’s best for everyone to work their corner of the vineyard, pastor the people God brings and daily thank Him for the opportunity to love others in His name.
Dean, thanks for your comment. I think you’re totally right. I don’t mind churches crossing lines in the vineyard to join in genuine communion with one another – in fact, this is my greatest hope. But when someone crosses from their corner of the vineyard to mine, they better not stomp on my grapes!
Wow that sounds angry! Heaps of pastors church plant in cities. 99% of them have no profile such as Hillsong but never the less your comments could be aimed at some of them as well. Instead of anger phone him up and welcome him to the city and ask if there is anything you can do for him. Then take him to coffee and love on him. There could come a day when you will need each other. Love and blessings. Ian
Ian, thanks for the comment. If you got Ben Houston on speed dial, let me know! You’re right though – I’m mad. But I’m ok with it. I don’t mind being mad because I know what’s at stake. I might need Ben Houston down the road, absolutely, but he also needs the direction, guidance, and support of the pastors here who have a hundred times more wisdom than he does.
I agree with you totally though – this isn’t really about Hillsong. It’s about all of us and the posture we take when entering into new spaces and community.
Take care brother.
The Apostles tell Christians are not called to fellowship with darkness. The Apsotles instruct us to siltent those who hurt entire families and cause strife and division. We are to expel the wicked from among us for the sake of honouring Christ’s name. We are told to watch out for wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Why on earth would a Christ follower welcome a wolf among the sheep? That will only end in disaster.
“Help the poor, seeking the hopeless folks, caring for the least”
Are you doing this in the city of San Francisco? If you are its a good shot but if your not it would be shame to criticize in such offensive judgement thrown words without realizing that one’s daily life is to do such comfort-zero life and to live as follower of Christ
Lets not question Hillsong but look to ourselves. Are we actually helping, caring, loving to the extent of giving one’s life for the ‘one’ person?
Sam Lee! Your comment pokes at my insecurities – why you gotta do that? If you must know, I work at an agency in San Francisco called Chinatown Community Development Center. As an organization, we are doing a lot of policy-level work to fight off gentrification in San Francisco. I, however, provide direct services as a social worker for public housing residents in Chinatown. Before that, I worked as a mental health/substance abuse counselor in Golden Gate Park… Did I pass your test?
At the end of the day though, it doesn’t matter what I do, and it doesn’t matter whether or not I can *prove* to you whether I’m legit or not. My search of consistency and congruency is a lifelong battle – of course I want to practice what I preach, but is all well as long as I’m doing social work? Of course not. Social work doesn’t make me more loving or centered or compassionate. Just know that this post came out of my story. Peace.
Thats awesome to know. I applaud your genuine heart to really speak truth. Jesus really had time when he rebuked, he was thr best person to do it with both truth and grace, one thing though really striking for Jesus is he never condemned anyone. What im worrried is the language being used in these blog spaces, messages should be delivered not only by words alone but spoken words are actually better in carrying the spirit, heart and emotions of the speaker.
Your words in the blog dont really translate well the worry and message from the heart. It rather conveys like an angry person , getting mad unto other christians.I feel sorry that I know that you are speaking from the love of Christ as it is our responsibility to discern, test and approve, im worried these words you say will create division and unbelief to the people who have experienced and followed Jesus through Hillsong Church.
I wanted to encourage you to have a patient heart and see what God has for this church and the city.
Our God is greater , I believe he will push forth his glory in SF through you and all the churches.
Lets wait, test and approve the perfect will of God. Lets be slow to anger, slow to judge.
Thanks I hope these words gets through to all who are worrying.
Please notice the common thread for those defending Hillsong: “Just shut up”.
“LETS NOT QUESTION HILLSONG but look to ourselves.” This is why they are a cult. You cannot question them. Think badly of them. It’s the worst sin you can commit.
I’m not from San Francisco, but in New York City we also face issues of churches/organizations coming into communities, contributing to greater issues of gentrification and income inequality, in favor of the indoctrination of entire communities. Amazing critique, which offers a very important prompt: the difference between planting a church, and colonizing a community.
It’s a thin line!! Keep fighting in NYC, friend.
Too late. We’ve already had someone come in to “save” SF. The most recent was Fr. Joseph Illo. As SFGate quoted, “in preparing to come to San Francisco he wrote in a February 2014 blog post that he was about to enter the ” beautiful but savagely distorted cultural maelstrom that is the ‘Baghdad by the Bay.’”” We don’t need more colonizers coming in to “save the savages.” If you want to visit, pull a shift volunteering at St. Anthony’s or the Gubbio Project, fine. But then kindly go back wherever you’re from. We’re already drowning in people who think that our perfect life is just an app away. We don’t need Hillsong too.
Reminds me how much I dislike rootless and clueless evangelical salesmanship churches who are holding the first annual anything.
Yeah, you are probably overreacting. this is obviously happening and now you have quite publically prevented yourself from being able to shape a healthier culture of a new church when it does.
Or… instead of a lengthy blog post criticizing their plans, y’all COULD pray for them, and ask God to lead and guide them, and bless their efforts. Starting a new church planting effort is not anything new and everybody knows it’s not easy. There’s no guarantee of success. Perhaps they start the project with pie-in-the-sky, starry-eyed ideas, but then there’s ALWAYS the reality of the rubber hitting the road. That hard reality brings us to our knees, which is a good place to be. It’s the right place to be.
God bless them!! Who are we to say whether God really spoke to them or not? It’s not our place, and it’s not our business.
THANK YOU !!! Seriously this was so rude ! Instead of being thankful that churches are being opened and are trying to make a difference you talk so bad about Ben Houston as if you knew him .
This isn’t a church being opened. This is a cult being opened. They lure Christians into their movement through their popular music. They often take church’s youth. Hillsong will present themselves as avante garde and cutting edge and make churches around them feel inadequate unless they got on board with what Hillsong is doing in the community. This is division. This is rude. This is unloving. The most loving thing to do is to be outspoken against cults that divide the church, destroy communities and hurt families and individuals.
Annie, thank you for your comment. My criticism of Hillsong and my prayers for them are not mutually exclusive. I’m prayin! But I have no problem forcing the issue, and forcing it angrily – I want the rubber to hit the road before they get here because there are hard conversations that need to be had prior to the first brick being laid. But you’re right – this isn’t just about Hillsong, it’s about the posture of all church plants, about how we enter new spaces so that everyone is honored in their God-ordained personhood and priesthood. If Hillsong will honor the personhood and priesthood of San Francisco Jesus folks, then I’m happy to work beside them, but not beneath them. Be blessed, Annie.
“Who are we to say whether God really spoke to them or not?”
We are Christian. That’s how we can know if God spoke to them or not. If you knew your faith/bible, you’d have some ounce of discernment to actually test if God speaks to them or not. It is our place – we are in Christ. If Christ has WARNED us about false prophets, then we are being disobedient to Him if we ignore him. Testing Brian and Ben is our business.
Thankfully, there are good sites out their that have helped may Christians help grow in discernment and see that these men are not of God. You can pray for these false teachers salvation – first and foremost. And if you ever see them, they must be reached with the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.
Hahaha rant…so many self contradictions… Don’t play the devil’s advocate, he already has plenty of them
This seriously pisses me off. Christians bringing down other Christians. We are suppose to be supporting each other and be thankful that churches are being opened. People act like they know Ben Houston but they don’t. I don’t myself but I take part of Hillsong LA and have seen all the good it has been doing for homeless people and families.
People are so blind . Be thankful a church is being opened up not ANOTHER JAIL or strip club. I grew up in church and one thing I learned is that some Christians are WORSE then people who don’t go to church!
You go Ben Houston open up all the churches you want change this world! Let’s make it a better place !
Hi Mel! Thanks for the comment. I agree, Christians shouldn’t bring down other Christians, and this is exactly what I’m protesting. Hillsong’s arrival brings down, dismisses, and tears apart the faithful work of churches that have been here for centuries. I want to work with Hillsong, I want to partner with them, but they have to want to work with us, they have to listen to us, to hear us out, to submit to the folks who have a lot more wisdom than they do. If that happens, then we all thrive, then the Holy Spirit is the tide that lifts all boats.
I DEFINITELY don’t want a jail or strip club, so you’re spot on with that one. And if I had to choose between Hillsong and a jail, well, Hillsong it is. But that’s not the choice I’m faced with right now. The choice is: Hillsong coming to SF in humility or Hillsong coming to SF to crush local ministries. My choice is made.
“People act like they know Ben Houston but they don’t.”
Jesus claims eternal life is when “man may know His God”. We don’t need to know Ben Houston personally. However, we can objectively test if he is saved based solely on if he knows God. I am not prepared to say if he does or does not know Jesus personally – but that’ll be evident to those who know God’s Word and seeing if Ben even comes close to knowing God’s Word.
This is an amazing article. I suspect that the problem most of the commenters are having is that “colonizing” is so much a part of the evangelical mindset still that it’s difficult to separate it from spreading the gospel. Everything goes as long as people are “getting saved”… right? I’ve seen it time and time again, people, places, other churches, families, all play second fiddle to the overarching goal of “reaching” people and can cheerfully be steamrolled. Until evangelicals can move beyond seeing people and cities as a notch in a spiritual conquest belt, nothing will change.
Absolutely agree, John. It’s so ingrained that we’re blind to it.
Maybe instead of analyzing the shit out of his vernacular and sifting through the messiness of this article we can have humility to hear our brother and assume it’s a valid perspective FIRST. Your church is probably preaching right now on the “unattainable image of perfection” releasing you to let god accept you “as you are”. Let’s do the same with Nate. Also, what’s the problem with questioning or even criticizing Hillsong? I think the point is people see the great videos, hear the music, see the glitzy glow and they just accept it – never taking the time like Nate did to seriously question it. Its not based in fear. Its a grounded educated perspective that we should shut up and listen to. We all bought all of Hillsong’s records and books and videos without a blink. We are effectively putting our money where our mouth is and where our hearts are. We’re funding this without knowing if it’s agreeable.
“I think the point is people see the great videos, hear the music, see the glitzy glow and they just accept it – never taking the time like Nate did to seriously question it. Its not based in fear.”
This is very true. I recently heard a video from a Hillsong leader claiming “I am afraid to miss out on what God is now doing right now. I do my best to keep up.” That’s a good way to describe how Hillsong blindly and emotionally control people to stay on board. Keep them busy, tired and fearful. I am not a liberal but think what Nate has to say is incredibly valid.
[…] brings us to Hillsong. In an article entitled Hillsong Church: Do Not Colonize San Francisco, Nate Lee responds to a video posted by Ben […]
Nate, You are a great writer — but you have terrible perspective. Jesus came to seek and save the lost — at no point in the journey of any Hillsong church has there ever been a plan to “dispossess” anyone. Our job as Christians is to love on humanity in the way that He would (this blog does none of that). To simply put it dont sit at your computer and criticize someone that you don’t know anything about. I’m not sure what your intention of this blog was — not sure if it was to turn people away from going to Hillsong Church or to not like Ben Houston – but whatever your intent was I pray that God gives you a revelation of who He (Jesus) really is. Regardless of what you think, God has a plan for San Francisco – I was born in the Bay Area and I still have family there. I pray that Hillsong Church brings the LOVE and CHARACTER that Jesus showed throughout the gospel. Praying for you man – I think God has huge plans for you and to use your writing skill in an incredible way.. But this blog was a waste of that talent!
MW, thanks for the compliment – I’ll take it! I agree with you a billion percent: our job is to love humanity as we have seen it displayed in the person of Jesus. To me, this means always, definitively placing ourselves on the margins of society and standing with the oppressed. This post comes out of that experience, those prayers, and those discussions I’ve had as I have placed myself there. I’m happy to waste my talents on these people and this blog!
Be blessed friend
“God has a plan for San Francisco”
Yes – God is testing who are His and who aren’t by sending false prophets. If Hillsong is rejected by the church’s of San Francisco, then the church’s of San Francisco are faithful to God’s Word. Everyone, please research how Hillsong started. This is not a church – it is a full-blown cult that demands it’s followers bend the knee to their pastors/prophets vision. If you question them or raise genuine concerns, you get the types of comments, attacks or sledges that can absolutely destroy your credibility.
Hi Nate,
Before I say anything, I just want to say thank you for a thoughtful response and that I really do echo your sentiments and concerns with Hillsong SF coming. I personally was not that excited mainly because of the watered-down Gospel that they preach in the name of “relevance” that basically has no transformative power in peoples’ lives, but that’s another matter…
I have to say though, that despite some legitimate concerns, this response is pretty unbiblical in attitude and character for a couple reasons:
You cannot DEMAND humility. Isn’t it ironic (and prideful) to call out someone’s lack of humility by pridefully demanding it?? I think it’s perfectly okay to notice a character flaw and call them to repentance, but you have no biblical right to DEMAND that someone sit at your feet and basically “sit down and know your place.” That is SO unbiblical and ironic. Yes, Houston’s comments were ignorant and lacked much tact, but that doesn’t give you justification to basically tell someone that they can’t come here. Is there a certain type of “qualified” missionary that you allow here? Which brings me to my next point..
Do you own San Francisco, or does God? How are we okay with letting in Syrian refugees who might have intentions to blow up the city, but we’re not okay with letting in another church, a member of the Body of Christ, because they have iffy intentions? And trust me, I think you’re right about the blind ignorance and optimism, but you don’t have a biblical right to shut them out in protest and rise up in anger against them.
May I suggest a similar attitude to Paul said in Phillippians 1 as an example?
“Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill; the former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely…” (Let’s say this is them, in our eyes)… “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.”
Jesus also said in Luke 9:50 of someone trying to do the work of the Kingdom, Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.”
Maybe Hillsong can reach some people in SF that you can’t, Nate. And the right response of the Christian is to say, yes, they’re being a little foolish, but if they’re here to preach Christ, we rejoice and we welcome the missionary that comes in the name of the Lord. If they’re here to genuinely preach the true Gospel, then we should be rejoicing at the furtherance of the Gospel.
These are just a couple of the main points of concern I have with this response. Not to mention the implications of this attitude to foreign missions – what if the church in India or the Phillippines said “No, no one will ever come here until they understand the plight of the people, and if they do come, they will sit in total silence because they have nothing to offer.” What kind of attitude is that to a well-meaning brother or sister in Christ? How many of us have gone on missions thinking that we were bringing them something, only to realize that they taught us so much in return? That’s what I think is going to happen to Hillsong SF. I think they will come here and possibly “learn the hard way” about ministry here and I personally just wish them good luck, you know?
Again I’ll say this: you totally have the right to question Hillsong SF and you do have a right to raise concerns about the way they’re coming about the whole situation. But the way you do it should be of loving concern and NEVER with anger, offense, and bitterness. I would humbly submit this to you for your consideration because it brought me a great deal of sadness when I read this post. It’s got some good points, but to me, it’s done in the wrong spirit.
Thanks for hearing me out 🙂 Hope you’ve been well & I would love to catch up with you sometime 🙂 –Emily
Well said Emily. I totally agree with you. I love your humble and loving approach to all this.
Emily, gurl. I hope you know that I love you. But we both know that our paths have diverged miles apart when it comes to stuff like this. I’ll respond more as a way of processing my own thoughts through yours (and not to convince you of anything, because… yeah, not gonna happen haha). I appreciate your feedback, always. I will never set foot on your facebook because it would drive me crazy, but know that I will defend your right to speak on it.
You’re completely right though – San Francisco does not in any way belong to me. I don’t want it to; that’s way to great a burden to bear. Hillsong would reach tonsssss more people than I ever could, because, well, my church is kinda wack and doesn’t do a good job marketing itself. I don’t speak as someone who owns the city (I certainly realize that it can came across that way, oh well) – I speak as someone who has had enough conversations and prayers with the underserved to realize that if someone doesn’t speak up, then the poor get trampled. It’s already happened. This, ultimately, is everything. My “prideful demand” for Hillsong to humble themselves is – you nailed it – angry. I’m pissed. I’m pissed because poor folks, churches for folks of color, mentally ill folks, etc keep getting shafted by powerful people who have neglected to understand this city. This is an issue of power. I am leveraging whatever feeble power I have (this blog, my writing, my privilege, my education, etc) to angrily call into question the way churches use their power. My criticism of Hillsong is definitely a demand, but it’s also an invitation. Come, sit with those on the margins. In fact, submit to them, listen to them, learn from them, seek their approval, and see God in them. This is in line with everything I understand Jesus to be.
I actually, genuinely wish that before OG Christian missionaries went to the Philippines, they would have devoted themselves to deep study from local Pilipinos. Oh Lord, how I wish that would have happened first!! Because the Philippines have been RAVAGED by harmful missionaries. Look at the literature on it – Pilipino-Americans have articulated better than anyone else the mental, emotional, economic, and spiritual consequences of colonization. I wished more missionaries would stop before they went. I don’t think it’s worth it to “convert” people while you destroy everything else about what makes them loved by God. I don’t believe this is a loving kind of conversion.
Anyways, our friendship is worth much more to me than any of this. So yeah, if you wanna respond to this one, then feel free; I won’t respond. But I know and you know that we’re coming from verrrrry different sides of this. Take care dude. Talk to you soon.
We all live among different cries of God’s heart. Some universal, some particular to a time and place and people. Nate writes and speaks out prophetically from some universal and some particular cries of God’s heart, cries that have heard the passion and pain of people in a time, place, and moment, cries that are spiritual and political, cries that are gospel and kingdom. I don’t think he says them because he claims to be wise or to have superior knowledge, but because he spends time listening to those cries and prayers. They’re in the red words (and black ones) of the Scriptures; they’re in the humble witness of folks who have lived, served, and suffered in a city for generations; and they come from loving and travailing for Jesus’ church.
I cherish those cries that Nate is speaking from, and they sing from a part of God’s heart that the church desperately needs to attend to. They don’t contradict God’s heart to save, heal, and free… in fact, they’re inseparable from them.
Mr. Houston bears witness in his video to listening to God’s voice, humbly acknowledges not knowing how things will unfold (and maybe not knowing the city itself?), and expresses a desire for God’s unfolding plan in SF. If I had the privilege of sitting next to Mr. Houston, I would suggest that someone speaking loving truth from a place of hearing those universal and particular cries might be part of how God teaches you, a person of influence and responsibility in his church, to bear Christ’s name, to attend to our language and the story we tell as we try to follow his call. And as much as I’d have benefitted from learning from Mr. Houston’s teaching and ministry, I’d offer (if asked) that this is an instance when Paul’s attitude in 1 Cor 9 matters. Whether he agrees with some people’s cries or sentiments or not, if he cares about San Francisco, there’s a history where a certain narrative hurts, for good reason, and a conscientious ambassador of Christ would do well to listen.
Nate, you’re not just a good writer. You’re quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, in my experience. After all, you only post on your blog once every three months or something 😉 But when you write, it wells up from prayers, time spent, sometimes tears, often study, and human relationships and conversations. This piece bears all the marks of that, so thank you for the risk it takes to speak from that.
And I’m also chastened, after reading your post, to work on my own listening. Grateful for you.
Yes!
Love you brother!
To me, it sounds like you have been hurt by the city, and feel like because you have whethered the storm you deserve to pastor in that city more than those who have not. To me, it sounds like hillsong is excited to be apart of Gods plan for the city, and you want to keep them out so you can personally play a bigger part in that plan. Your words are clearly not anointed from God, but hateful rooted in jealousy.
Kevin, thanks for the comment. This isn’t about “deserving,” it’s about understanding. It’s about how we define what it means to love a city. Deep understanding and real love come with time, listening, and dialogue. Hillsong hasn’t done this.
The only thing I might be jealous of is Hillsong’s musical talent and their finances. Since I will never be able to touch the levels Hillsong has reached in those areas, I’ve already accepted my fate. Take care brother.
I have been attending Hillsong NYC for the past few years now, and the church that I have come to know and love doesn’t operate under white christian exceptionalism in any way shape or form, and by no means does Hillsong believe that they are the only ones capable of facilitating the gospel message. I would agree with your statements 100% if I wasn’t immersed in the culture of Hillsong Church, and if I didn’t know the hearts of the pastors and have knowledge about how the church operates. While the phrases seem imperialistic the language used to describe the San Fransisco church plant is the same language that the main pastor Brian Houston uses at his home church in Australia, and at all of the campuses across the globe. Every Sunday I hear both “The best is yet to come” and that “God has great plans for this city,” because he does. Hillsong is not saying that they are going to make San Fransisco great it’s already fabulous. No disrespect Bay Area you are much loved.
Good point Katrina. I’ve been to various Hillsong campuses around the world and their conferences as well and they truly preach the gospel. To me the main purpose is to bring people to Jesus first and the rest will follow: fighting for social justice issues, helping the underprivileged and under represented, etc. Jesus will transform souls to make the world a better place. And if Hillsong even helps one soul come to Jesus it will all be worth it.
“I’ve been to various Hillsong campuses around the world and their conferences as well and they truly preach the gospel”
Then tell me – what is the gospel? I have not once heard the gospel preached in Hillsong. Have people talked to the victims of this cult? Have people researched all the fantastic research and media articles out their exposing the scandals, theology and history of this cult? Have people read about how Brian Houston, founder of the movement, has been asked by a Royal Commission to be investigated by police because of covering up his fathers paedophilia? Guys. Having a sinister cult like this in any city is disastrous. Any mayor or government should seriously consider if they want the social issues and mess Hillsong often brings with it.
Hi Jake, they preach the gospel at every service which is that Christ gave his life for everyone and that he rose again. And that whosever believes in Him will be saved! Hillsong has an alter call at every service and has discipleship programs, Next Steps, to teach new believers about their new relationship with Jesus.
As far as scandals and the pedophilia case against Frank Houston (Brian Houstons father), the church has never been quiet about it and never tried to hide it. Brian Houston spoke about it at one of their conferences in NYC and he also talks about how he handled it personally and publicly in his book Live Love Lead and encourages other church leaders to live transparently.
I see that you’re accusing Hillsong of being a cult and I would tread carefully doing that whether you are wrong or right. I personally know of many people positively impacted by Hillsong church who are now leaders doing great things in life that help make this place a better world. Jesus said that his followers would be persecuted for his names sake. Don’t be a persecutor but rather someone who blesses.
Lee you Ignore Jake he is a bitter and twisted wanna be church-watcher! He operates a website called Hill$ong church watch where he posts lies and false testimony about Hillsong. I’m no fan of Hillsong, but Jake Elliot is just a hate filled blogger.
Oh thanks for the heads up Greg! I appreciate it!
“Hi Jake, they preach the gospel at every service which is that Christ gave his life for everyone and that he rose again.”
Then why is it when I talk to members who have been their for decades cannot tell me the gospel?
“I see that you’re accusing Hillsong of being a cult”
Well if the shoe fits… Have you seen what happens behind closed doors? The cover-up? Of course people aren’t happy when things precious to them are exposed. However, I keep reading story after story, tragedy after tragedy of people who get damaged by these places. Just read the story of Geoff Bullock who gave Hillsong it’s name and gave it it’s musical identity.
Once again you are listening to the critics and you are dead wrong. Hillsong will always have critics because they are so successful.
“Hillsong will always have critics because they are so successful.”
That’s a lie. Hillsong will always have critics because those critics are either:
1. Christians who believe the bible.
2. People who hold to morals.
3. People who operate from reason and reasonable conscience.
I’m not a hater – I am a Christian and I have had to help people abused by this cult. You will never see the truth behind the scenes of Hillsong leadership and how they deal with Christians who cling to the bible and not them.
The way that Hillsong market themselves is unethical and their sermons are used to manipulate and deceive people to get them to do what they want to do. Even the interviews I’ve seen on TV, Hillsong just blatantly lie – and the hosts seem to see through that.
It is very sad to see people defend Hillsong, shun criticism and not do their homework on such a dangerous international cult. We are called as Christians to be diligent with the truth and should be careful when we do cast judgment. Therefore, I applaud the above article because it does address the elitest and dominionist nature of the Hillsong empire.
“and by no means does Hillsong believe that they are the only ones capable of facilitating the gospel message”
What do you mean Katrina? I have been involved in churches that Hillsong openly and publicly condemns! I’m “traditional”, “religious”, “old” and “dead” according to Brian Houston. Hillsong are full of religious snobs that thumb their nose at Christian churches in Australia and – get this – absorb churches or steal the youth of other churches. They are driven by Dominionist and NAR ideologies, which explains why, from the outside, Hillsong leave a bad taste on local churches and non-Christian groups.
You have been reading too much from the “Hillsong Church Watch” website. The notion that Hillsong was founded on NAR idealogies is absurd. Hillsong does not condemn any churches never has never will.
“Hillsong does not condemn any churches never has never will.”
Then you haven’t been listening to Brian Houston’s sermons. He can’t stand traditional churches. However, when it comes to marketing themselves, they like using traditional buildings or earthy, nostalgic environments to give the impression they are timeless and embrace all churches equally. Fusing two conflicting ideas like that together is called branwashing. Not good.
“You have been reading too much from the “Hillsong Church Watch” website.”
No. I was taught both their NAR dominionist ideas AND (which I don’t get) their liberal agendas through their lecturers. I didn’t know that’s what it was at the time. Really creepy stuff. And Bobbie Houston has promoted the seven mountain mandate at their Hillsong conferences. She also released an add where she was talking about how “this” generation was going to usher in Christ’s return. It’s all there David. You don’t have to scratch that much to see it.
Nate, I love this post. It’s everything great about you – from Darlene Zchsehlkjsshchhch to calling out Hillsong’s colonialism to defining supersessionism. Wow dude.
Having said that, I disagree with your main point. I think you’re WAY over-reacting and the colonialism imagery is over the top. There’s definitely an egomania to church planting that’s evident in Houston’s language and Hillsong is no exception but selfish ambition and kingdom ambition are not easily separable. Houston sees what I hope every church planter sees – a need that he want to address.
I’m also not convinced the video is truly evidence of a supersessionist perspective. His interpretation of Isaiah and 1 Chronicles is pretty self-centered but that’s not surprising given what he wants to do. I appreciate a guy who dreams big dreams for God.
I also have no problems with more churches being started in a secular city. They will probably draw the same target group Reality SF does – people who have moved to the city in the past five years. Are newcomers – the Twitter, Square, Uber, high-tech crowd – is this the San Francisco you’re talking about? Because that’s who Hillsong will likely reach. Your 135-year old church will reach a different group, most likely not the same people, which is fine. We need different churches for different groups of people.
So to say: “You will come and sit at the feet of Black, Latino, and Asian American elders. You will not say a word. You will do this for years, until those elders say you’re ready. ” That’s too much. Did your church do that when it first started? Does any church?
Lastly, you’re giving Hillsong too much credit. They’re going to do their thing and build their brand and have people come and all that – they will lead people who have never heard about Jesus to know Him and that’s awesome. They’re a group of Christians living out their faith in the best way possible. They may do it differently from how you you would approach it, they may misinterpret scripture but to respond in anger and disgust at what they’re doing – it’s as if they’re the WalMart of Christianity and I don’t find that an adequate metaphor.
Fred, get off my page! Always disagreeing with me and stuff… haha
Well, I didn’t say it earlier, but yeah I do think the Walmart comparison is appropriate. Yeah. But you’re right, my church didn’t start off in that kind of humble way, at least I don’t think it did, but I wish it did. Maybe then I wouldn’t have a Eurocentric Christianity that taught me how to hate good parts of my culture.
I’m still wrestling with the tech/transient/gentrifiers church thing. I realize they need Jesus, but I’m nto convinced that churches that attract transients know how to challenge their congregants to bring hope to the city in any kind of meaningful way. Not to mention, I think a “transient church” is an oxymoron.
But yes, I’m angry. And I’m ok with that. The colonial connections are stark for me, too stark to stay quiet and too stark to speak softly. But of course I’m sure we’ll have time to discuss this stuff further. Love your perspective and love discussing with you.
Read the article. I don’t think Christians should speak against other Christians. Every church has its unique reach for people. Your church will reach people Hillsong can’t and vice versa. We should all be on the same side and unite rather than cause division. The author has some good points but I don’t hear unity or blessing in it. Jesus rebuked his disciples when they told a group of people to stop using Jesus’s name to cast a demon out (Mark 9:38-41). I believe we should hear that and apply it to every church coming to SF and every church already here. They each serve a unique kingdom purpose. We will never understand how God called Ben Houston here and why. Gods calling rarely makes sense to us but once you hear it you gotta obey it. I gladly welcome Hillsong to SF because I know they are instrumental to a global revival. There’s no doubt in my mind that God is with them. I won’t be going there because God called me to a smaller church, House SF, but we’re fully supporting any church coming to SF in the name of Jesus!
This article sounds like an angry rant. I’m glad Hillsing is coming and I’m glad to see SF change
I love the passion you display for the disenfranchised and dispossessed in the Bay Area.
I also find it curious why Hillsong has decided to parachute into SF to save the day? I wonder how much it has to do with the financial gentrification of the area and the fact that the area is on the leading edge of making money, making tech, making culture and doing business.
If its greatest concern was reaching people in need of the life changing gospel, why not Hillsong Karachi? Hillsong Changsha? Hillsong Aceh? Hillsong Mogadishu? etc…America is overchurched already compared to 99% of the world. Why won’t Hillsong go lengthen their cords in the parts of the world that aren’t rich, aren’t white, but ARE mostly untouched by the Gospel?
Sadly, Hillsong SOMA seems to fit the branding so much better.
Hillsong have planted churches in Paris, Kiev, Stockholm, Germany, Amsterdam and Copenhagen to name a few. Don’t be so quick to judge there motives when you have not done your research. These are some of the most unchurched places on earth.
David, you tell me not to be quick to judge when I have not done my research. This is in itself presumptive, no? As for “judging”, I am in no position to condemn, only in a position to state facts and discern their meaning.
There is no black and white, Hillsong is not all good nor all bad. It is made up of and led by imperfect humans who, I presume, are my brothers and sisters in Christ as you are.
But exactly NONE of the places you mentioned – nor the places Hillsong exists – are even remotely close to the most unchurched places on earth. You might just get away with Tokyo as one instance where they are working in an unchurched place, and yet Tokyo and Japan in general 1) are wide open for missionaries 2) have freedom of religion 3) have a large and well resourced presence of both expat and national missions, ministries and church plants.
It would utterly ludicrous to insist that any of the places you state are some of the most unchurched places on earth. This is statistically verifiable. Hillsong do not go into unchurched places. They do the exact opposite of what Paul the apostle did when he insisted on pressing into places where there was no church so that he did not build on another’s foundation. Hillsong wedges its way into places where there are plenty of extant churches, and the majority of people attending Hillsong have migrated from other congregations (this is of course not unique to Hillsong and it is not like they should turn people away if those people choose to changes churches).
In fact, Hillsong is still, I believe, a part of the Assemblies of God. And the AoG is a global denomination of millions of people which also already has churches in all of the places you mention above, and probably in virtually every city that Hillsong has set up. Unless it was by the explicit invitation of the AoG, it is likely that Hillsong is cannibalising its own denomination of young people all over the world.
The fact that Hillsong does not move into truly unchurched and unreached areas, but focuses on cities like SF, London, even Tokyo, where there are hundreds of healthy churches, and the fact that they even move into cities where their own parent denomination is working is demonstrable evidence that they are not at all into reaching the unreached. The fact that they do not move into places that would normally be their textbook targets (e.g. Singapore, Redding) indicate the deals they have brokered with their favoured partners to not tread on those territories.
No, they are into brand expansion. Unquestionably and irrefutably.
I am certain they can couch this in breezy, positive language about what poorly interpreted passages God revealed to justify such strategy. And make lovely videos.
I am also certain that thousands of lives will be touched by the good ministry they certainly do.
I am certain that significant numbers of people will find the Lord as a result of their being in such places – even lots of people who would never otherwise go to church.
I am certainly that people will be blessed and God will be pleased by seeing transformed lives.
But like I said, there is no black and white and there is always a human element. And it is silly to insist that Hillsong are not about brand management. It is silly to insist that their focus is reaching the least churched places in the world. It is silly to insist that they are not predominantly moving into white, affluent, stable, tech-savvy, culture-leading cities. And there is no need to be silly.
Hillsong’s first International offshoot was London (not exactly the global bible belt), their 2nd international offshoot was Kiev in Russia(mmm interesting), 3rd was Paris. As you can see the early International church plants were clearly not based on ease of entry.
Jason, your comment is word for word almost exactly what some friends and I commented years ago on a story about Hillsongs take over of two churches, one in Brisbane and one in Melbourne Australia. Rather than the places you mentioned we asked why not Hill$ong ‘Hicksville’ or Hill$ong ‘Backwoodstown’ somewhere in the back of NSW or Victoria? Here at home Hillsong has a lot of questions going unanswered. The thing that gives me joy however is that I know several people who attend Hillsong…the winds are changing.
Wow, Nate. I agree that the cheesy video makes me sad, but don’t worry so much. In the thirty years I’ve lived here, we’ve seen a lot of “church planters” come and inflict their model on us and then leave. Many great people were involved and some stayed and loved the City even as the megachurch organizations pulled out. A couple of the churches that came planted deep roots and now they feel the joys and pains of this land. We become brothers even though we were born brothers.
At one point in the late eighties, a local pastor who had been here for a generation, made a comment to me about how tired it made him to have yet another young church/ministry planter show up with a plan to save the City that didn’t respect (or even acknowledge) the many years of ministry that have happened here. I hear you saying the same thing a generation later. Guess some things don’t change.
John, I don’t doubt that you’re right. This has been going on for a long time: San Francisco’s redevelopment plans are nothing new, and the church has often mirrored it rather than challenged it. I don’t plan on being on the wrong side of that, whatever ends up happening.
[…] been a lot of discussion about my friend Nate’s blog rant against the coming of Hillsong SF. A lot of people say, “Why not? Why are you so angry? […]
Hello Nate,
What a timely article for me personally. My soon-to-be wife and I are planning on planting a church campus in San Francisco this upcoming Fall, so it was interesting to hear the perspective of a local.
I was personally challenged by your article and by the dozens of comments I read to approach the city in humility. Although I pretty much grew up in SF, I have yet to sow tears into the city through prayer. I have yet to thoroughly walk through the broken streets of each district and interact with the people who inhabit this beautiful city. I have yet to have my heart completely broken for San Francisco. I look forward to doing these things in the coming months before we officially launch our campus.
I look forward to connecting with different pastors and different ministries to learn from their wisdom and experience; to adopt God’s heart for San Francisco through their stories. I look forward to honoring the work God is already doing in the city through them. I understand that we’re not going to be the saviors of the city. Only God can save San Francisco.
With that said, I feel like your criticism of Hillsong is unfair. A lot of what you argued against them is speculatively drawn from their short promo video or your own biased understanding of their ministry. You make assumptions about their motives and their vision without so much as having had a single conversation or dialogue with them. I understand that there have been many pastors and many ministries who have done it wrong, but is it fair to judge Hillsong before they have even set foot in the city?
Your assumptions may be correct and your criticism may be justified, but couldn’t grace be extended to them before pointing the finger? Couldn’t we see this as an opportunity instead of a travesty? Couldn’t we help them do it right? Wouldn’t it be the heart of God to at least try instead of closing our hearts off to them? Isn’t that that the beauty of the Gospel? That grace is extended where grace is not deserved?
As a pastor getting ready to make the move to San Francisco, that’s the grace I would love if it were extended to us. I know we haven’t earned it. I know we haven’t spent years praying for the city or getting to know the people. I know we haven’t poured as many tears or hours into the city as you have. I know there is still so much to learn. But our hearts burn for the same thing: to see San Francisco saved.
I can’t speak for Hillsong but I can speak for myself when I say I humble myself before you and all those who have poured their lives into the city. I look forward to learning and growing to a place where I have fully embraced God’s heart for San Francisco and can adequately become His hands and feet in the city.
Thanks again for the thought-provoking post and look forward to seeing what other conversations are sparked from this!
Mickey, thanks for your thoughtful comment. Thanks also for your music and what you continue to do for the kingdom. If coming to SF is part of that, then I’m hopeful. But yeah, consider this post a voice in the conversation for anyone wanting to plant in the Bay Area; there are hard discussions we have to engage in because the times call for it.
My post is partly preemptive: it’s about Hillsong as something that may happen in the future. But it’s also about church planters that have come in already, pastors who have not engaged seriously with those who have been here longest, with those who have the most wisdom about where this city’s at and where it’s been. I have to speak on it before Hillsong comes or else it happens just like every other church that has come in here without the agonizing conversations that need to happen first. And the onus has to be on the church coming in; the local churches are too busy dealing with the issues of their own communities to have time to reach out to the next big church coming in. My energy has to be directed at Hillsong, and directed forcefully. A quiet protest is nothing but a blip on a radar; even a loud protest like my post might not register for a powerhouse like Hillsong.
The grace is the conversation. The conversation won’t happen unless the church planter is compelled. This is my best shot – I realize the language I use might not be the most uplifting, but, admittedly, it wouldn’t have been real coming out any other way.
Nonetheless, I appreciate you engaging with my thoughts and not just ignoring it or being defensive about it. Even if you were, I wouldn’t blame you. But I hope you/we keep having hard conversations about it, because at the end of the day, that’s how all of us will grow to truly understand what it means to love the city. Peace, brother.
Thanks for your thoughtful response. I imagine you have had to respond to so many comments and it must get exhausting. Your response definitely helped me better understand the intent behind writing this article. It definitely did spark a conversation and for that I’m truly happy.
Would love to connect with you sometime in the near future, maybe over coffee or something 🙂
Hey Mickey and Nate, if this does happen, Id like to be there. Mickey you will love the conversation. Nate has quite the mind. Nate we also have some catching up to do. MC Mick love to hear about your new church plans
I remember when far-right intolerance and racism was being passed off as Christianity in the 80’s. It failed, badly. Here, far-left intolerance and racism is being passed of as Christian humility. Fail!
Jesus always (always) responded to the faith and humility of the individual (or the lack, thereof). He did NOT respect the arbitrary group identity assigned to that individual. He was hated for that. How dare Jesus not bow down the to manufactured social imperatives meant to control Him! Didn’t Jesus know he might hurt someone’s feelings or piss of the ‘elders’?
No, Jesus knew their hearts. Instead, He healed, forgave and even performed miracles for both the oppressed AND the oppressor. Jesus didn’t play identity politics, nor respect pigment-based, status-based, residency-based or culture-based bias and racism. This post, quite beautifully, cosigns a divisive deception of our time – this neoliberal intolerance and racism, married with the delusion of entitled tribalism. And, how many admonitions are in the Word to NOT mistreat (AKA pre-judge, marginalize, ridicule, accuse) newcomers, visitors, transplants, and migrants entering your city?
Look, the challenge to check your motives and sit in judgement of yourself first is a true one. We can all use more of that. But, this post betrays the core example Christ gave to us to live by. It sounds like a Pharisee wrote it – sitting in his high-chair of entitlement.
In a world where black slavery is again rampant (black slaves captured and owned by other black Africans), where Christian genocide is currently being perpetrated throughout the middle east, this blog article illuminates not the Hope of the Gospel, but the twisted, myopic, anti-Christian ideology of entitled intolerance and outright racism. An ideology mired in manufactured victimhood and a perpetual self-disenfranchisement. There is no healing, no peace, no hope, no light in your words, Nate. Praying for you!
Bart, I welcome your prayers! Lord knows I need them. Jesus’ salvation is for oppressed and oppressor alike, but the invitation is not the same. Jesus stood on the margins and invited those in power to join him, not the other way around. My invitation to Hillsong is: empty yourself of your power and hear the voices of those silenced in San Francisco. It is there that all of our liberation lies.
This is not a request for “collective punishment” of Hillsong. But sometimes when you ask those who dwell on mountains to be brought low while you fight for those in valleys to be lifted up, you might be labeled as a “reverse racist” or punishing the powerful. Oh well. I hope Hillsong is brought low, low enough to hear the voices of folks who have been on the ground for decades, folks who are being displaced, oppressed, and harmed by those in power.
Take care!
Nate, I am an African-American baptist minister residing in Oakland, California. Last year, I was awarded a proclamation by the Oakland City Council for my work in bringing healing to the troubled, violent streets. I teach Bible Study at the world renowned Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. I am also the author of five books. I read your article a few days ago. I was glad that I was sitting down. If not, it might have knocked me off my feet! Let me explain. Last April, there was a knock at my door. It was my landlord. He pointed at a man standing next to him and informed me that this gentleman had just purchased the building where I’d lived for eight years. At that point, gentrification became more than a word in the dictionary for me. It was real. Displacement didn’t hit me as hard as it hit some of my neighbors, some of whom now live in cardboard boxes and tent cities. I heard the story of one poor woman who now has to perform sexual favors for the new landlord in order to maintain housing for she and her children in a quickly gentrifying section of the city. I could go on. Hillsong Church, your Christian brothers and sisters of color are under siege and sinking fast. We’ve got enough praise singing going on in Bayview-Hunters Point, the Tenderloin, Oakland, Richmond and
East Palo. What we need is some good old fashion Christian social justice. People are being evicted illegally every day in the hood. If you say that God sent you to help us, the good news would be that you are setting up a clinic in your church so that we can learn what our rights are in regard to rent increases and evictions. The good news would be that you are coming to bring help to fight the foreclosure debacle that is putting our children out on the streets. The good news would be that you are going to help inner city school children master STEM education so that they too will be able to work for the tech companies that have ripped the fragile social fabric of the Bay Area’s inner cities in half. So you say that you only want to talk about soul salvation? Do any of the above and I can almost guarantee that anything you say will get a sincere hearing because your Christian deeds, would have matched your Christian creeds. In April, my newest book : “Street Cred: A Hood Minister’s Guide To Urban Ministry” will be released complete with cover endorsements from Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Ray Bakke and Shane Claiborne. Please check it out because I deal bluntly with subjects like the one raised in your blog. You can find out more by accessing: http://www.revharrywilliams.us.
Brother Harry, thanks so much for your comment and your experience. You have articulated so much of what we all have been feeling about what’s going on in the bay area. Thank you for your service on the ground and in the trenches on behalf of those who have been run out by this system. Thank you for fighting for justice, real Jesus-shaped justice. Be blessed, friend.
Thank you for saying it! For too long we’ve wanted to be seen to be “doing great things for God”, yet very few have wanted to come and simply serve and support someone else’s work.
I believe it’s time to stop bringing in ‘our’ brand, ‘our’ platform, ‘our’ god to the table. Instead, how about we get down from the table altogether and start washing the feet of those who were already there…
Amen!
All Christian leaders should a vision from John 17 about Jesus words on unity, encourage not pull down> im an AOG Chaplain and dont personally agree with every thing that goes on in the local church, but I pray encouragement and the will of God for the leaders, build up not pull down, blessings on HillsongSF..
COL
As someone who is ex-Hillsong Sydney, I agree with this article wholeheartedly. I ‘knew’ Ben when he was a teen and in the youth group under me, I know the Houston empire, etc. The church is heartbreak, pure and simple, because they don’t take the time to observe for the reasons mentioned in the article above. I still know many people who have been scarred greatly by this church and it’s ‘fit with us or you are not serving God with your whole heart’ philosophy. Ben is ok as a person, but his father and the church is evil to its core.
Evil? That’s a big call.
My old church had a very negative interaction with Hillsongs when they were looking to plant a church in another big city (I will withhold the city to protect anybody that was involved). Anyways, my old church used to meet at a club/bar that we would transform into a church on Sundays. A team from Hillsongs came to check out the location and befriended the pastor/staff at my church. We offered to let them borrow our seats if they chose to also rent out the space (we only had one morning service so the venue was unused after our service was over). They agreed and held their preview services in the venue.
Anyways, to make a long story short, the time came for us to renew our lease with the building owners. We didn’t think much of it until the owner told us that they would not be renewing our lease and that the upcoming Sunday would be our last Sunday meeting there. We pretty quickly found out that Hillsongs had signed a lease to use the venue the entire day essentially displacing my church. My pastor went to their pastor and asked if we could meet 2 more times so we could find another place to meet and to tell the congregation members about the change. The Hillsongs pastor/leadership team would not allow this and pretty much told my church to take a hike. The rest is history…
Wow. Thank you for sharing your story. This is extremely sad… I’m going to assume that this was an anomaly, but it hurts. And this is the very thing that I hope doesn’t happen here. If there is no conversation, no dialogue, no true partnership, then folks get stomped on. Did your church find another place to meet?
Nate, regardless of your assumptions and sweeping generalizations Hillsong will plant a church in San Francisco, they won’t bow at your feet for approval prior to establishment as you desire.
In a few years time there will be a huge thriving Hillsong Church in San fransico with 10,000+attendees and thousands saved.
Hillsong San francisco will be assisting the poor and will be running multiple community programs to assist those in need. The Church will made up of people from different ethnic backgrounds, age groups and social backgrounds. I suspect they will be looking for larger buildings to contain the growth and will have multiple campuses across San francisco.
The critics will continue to throw rocks and Hillsong will continue to win people for Christ. I suspect this will all happen because it has already happened in 20 cities in which Hillsong has planted.
It doesn’t matter how hard you spit your dummy and protest Hillsong will be a success.
“In a few years time there will be a huge thriving Hillsong Church in San fransico with 10,000+attendees and thousands saved.”
You can go to Brian Houston’s Hillsong church in and ask a member what the gospel is, and you will be quick to learn they don’t know what the gospel is. If they don’t know the gospel, they are not saved. It’s a common theme in Hillsong churches. You assume that people in Hillsong are saved. Sadly, they seem to think that going to church is what saves them because they are now “apart of something bigger than themselves”.
Don’t buy the lie that they save people. They don’t. They result in gimmicks to get people “saved”. And these people are often responding to altar calls to get marriage, family or financial breakthrough’s. Hillsong considers these responses as salvations. And that is misleading. They even consider a rededicated member as a salvation in their own church. They use this to give the impression that they are still saving people. They then use this falsehood to thump their self-appointed glory to thump local churches to be apart of what Hillsong is doing or to become like Hillsong. And then they start up a “bible” or art “college” to suck in other church members from other local or international churches. They now start attending Hillsong church as well. Creepily enough, they consider them “salvations” too.
I have seen them do this technique numerous times. This is how they get “10,000+attendees”. And to grow up witnessing this type of behavior in the name of “Jesus” is off. Honesty and transparency should be what governs a church. Hillsong capitalise on our Christian ethics to build their success dishonestly. It needs to stop and people need to wake up and realise they are being had.
“The critics will continue to throw rocks and Hillsong will continue to win people for Christ.”
David – Hillsong’s critics are Christ Himself and His Apostles. Hillsong church and it’s leadership are accountable to NO ONE. Just look at the findings of the Royal Commission. Brian Houston and Frank Houston were accountable to no one and were protected by everyone. The bible publicly condemns these men for their crimes as does the laws of the land. Christians need to stop defending lawless men because it is these lawless men that oppose God himself and his church. Jesus calls them false teachers and has declared that he will be the one responsible for sending them to hell in spite of their false ‘good works’. That should wake us up a bit. That is what Jesus said he will do. So it would be wise not to stand with those he will condemn. The best criticism a Christian can keep dishing out at Hillsong is for Brian Houston and his mob to repent of their lawlessness and blasphemies. If I am labeled a “critic” or “hater” because I put the bible above Houston, so be it. That says a lot about the spiritual condition of those who love Hillsong.
Jake, I appreciate your thoughts, but you are misusing this comment section. Even if there are things on which we may agree, I simply can’t support the ways in which you’ve responded to people en masse. If you continue in this manner, I will block you.
Okay.
I appreciate this particular comment of yours because it’s humanizing. To be vocal about all this is one thing, and you can certainly do that on your own blog, but I don’t appreciate you taking over this comment space, that’s all.
David, I appreciate your comment. At then end of the day, it doesn’t matter what Hillsong does, how many programs it starts, what kinds of ministries it engages in: if it does it without deep partnership and intentional communication with local churches, all will be done for the sake of Hillsong, not for San Francisco and certainly not for God’s kingdom.
You and I probably measure “success” very differently. Success in my book has nothing to do with numbers or programs. It has to do with the depth of understanding and love. Depth comes with time, with hard conversations, with forgiveness and restoration. If Hillsong is willing pursue depth in this sense, then I welcome it with open arms.
But you know what, you might just be right. Hillsong will come and do its thing and no one will ever remember that this post even existed. I’m totally fine with that. But I couldn’t let myself stay silent when harm has already been done and more is on its way. I spoke my piece. You have the right to speak yours. Be blessed brother.
Nate
” if it does it without deep partnership and intentional communication with local churches, all will be done for the sake of Hillsong, not for San Francisco and certainly not for God’s kingdom”
You are starting from the position that Hillsong does not partner with local churches which I disagree with. The whole vision behind Hillsong conference is to support the local church, this is a huge focus of the entire movement. Why is your default position negative?
David, thanks again for engaging. I am more than happy to be proven wrong. If Hillsong wants to come in and have conversations with local churches, let’s make it happen. But a Hillsong Conference is not real, grassroots, sustainable partnership. A conference can’t do that. If Hillsong leadership wants to sit down with longtime local pastors and develop real, honest, longterm relationships, then that’s a great starting place. Unfortunately, there has been too much of this from other church plants for me to give Hillsong the benefit of the doubt; it might not be fair, but it’s real. If Hillsong can give any indication that they want to listen to the voices of those who have been here longest, I’m very open to changing my position. Thanks again David.
Nate – i’m a san franciscan too who also grew up in a Chinese Church (although mine is was in Cleveland). I stumbled across your blog and I’m so grateful to have, because sometimes in the city I feel like there are no other people who are genuinely seeking Jesus in all that they do. I’ve read a bunch of your blog posts over the last hour or so, and I’ve been inspired and heartened. I’m so thankful that you write this blog.
All that said, I respectfully disagree with you on your post here, and I strongly disagree with your statement that “if it does it without deep partnership and intentional communication
with local churches, all will be done for the sake of Hillsong, not for
San Francisco and certainly not for God’s kingdom.”
When I first read your post, I couldn’t help but think of Ezra 4 and the return of the exiles to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. When the exiles returned, the locals who were the ones that were left behind and not carried into exile, tried to offer their help to build the temple, but the exiles (who were outsiders and were largely comprised of people who were born in Babylon) refused their help. And the exiles rebuilt the temple, without the participation of the folks of the natives of the land.
Now i don’t know what God has planned and who He will choose to use to bless San Francisco. I personally hope and pray that I will be used by Him to bless this city that’s been my home for years, but I acknowledge that it might be a complete outsider who leads a revival in my city.
[…] facebook in 2016, Vines promoted a post from the personal blog natejlee.com. The post was addressed to Pastor Houston of Hillsong, and […]
I am in Australia and I am standing and applauding. I’m reading a book called Slow Church: cultivating community in the patient way of Jesus…everything hillsongs plan is not! May SF be spared our exported colonial mentality…we think because the British did it and started Australia in 1770 (?) that this should be the model of our churches as well…nope, God is already at work in SF and Ben Houston needs to not get in God’s road.
Greg, thank you for your comment. I’ll look into reading that book!
Hey Nate,
I recently came across an American term called ‘Manifest Destiny’. Never heard of this philosophy until I looked into it more. I think this a reasonable summary of it:
“Manifest Destiny is a term for the attitude prevalent during the 19th century period of American expansion that the United States not only could, but was destined to, stretch from coast to coast. This attitude helped fuel western settlement, Native American removal and war with Mexico.”
I think the church has unfortunately embraced a form of spiritual ‘manifest destiny’. I think this quite accurately summarises the paradigm of young Houston in that video, those verses he picked in particular. Food for thought.
It seems that is all you do is judge everything and everyone all of the time….Weather it’s on ChurchWatch or blogs like this you seem to spend all your time criticizing, belittling, judging, misrepresenting and hating. This is all dressed up in false declaration that you somehow you have the truth and everyone else is wrong. I have news for you Jake, you are not the ultimate authority on truth and neither am I. The difference between us is that I look for the best in people and you look for the worst.
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