Thank you so much for this powerful post…. I’m gonna be tweeting it all day!

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.

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

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.

“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?

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.

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.

Hahaha rant…so many self contradictions… Don’t play the devil’s advocate, he already has plenty of them

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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…

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.

Interesting blog. Thank you for sharing your heart. I will only say a couple things.

I actually attend and actively serve at Hillsong LA so I do have some bias but my comment are mine alone.

1. Feel free to be part of the conversation. I think step 1 is actually blogging about it and sharing your heart and your reservations. You could end it here but if you really care as much as you say that you do (which I think you do), then be apart of step 2 and get in contact with Ben and the rest of the team from Hillsong LA. Find out when they are going to be in SF and get coffee with them. Talk to them about your city. Be apart of the other steps in the process not just the criticism. Criticism is important but so is a helping hand and being a part of the conversation AND being part of a healthy solution or resolution.

2. Since I do go to Hillsong LA, I went to our Heart and Soul Night where Ben actually talked us through the logistics for Hillsong SF and you know what he said? There is no timeline and nothing set in stone, no location, no staff. Literally right now it’s just a dream that he believes God has put in his heart. This isn’t something that is going to happen right away it’ll happen gradually. Also if you were at the heart and soul night (which you weren’t), you would know that sitting down with local pastors and leaders is something that Ben has said he wants to do. Its’ going to happen.

3. We all have a part to play so do your part. God uses the local church and He uses the mega church. He uses individuals and corporations. God will use anything He sees fit to allow people to see His love for them. We aren’t competing at all. Yeah Hillsong has a lot of resources and a large influential reach. But guess what, your local church has an impact in the Asian community. You can reach people Hillsong can’t and Hillsong can reach people that you can’t. People have been hurt in Hillsong but I guarantee that people have been hurt in your church too. That is called church. Do your part in your local church to make it a place where people want to be.

4. Ive been part of churches my whole life. i’ve been a part of small church plants, big mega churches, i’ve helped plant a campus for a megachurch in the poorer area of a city, I’ve started a living room church and I now I go to Hillsong LA. There are different ideologies and ideas on what’s the best way but what I have found out is that it doesn’t really matter why people are attracted to church, it’s the message of the Bible AND the people that they encounter that will keep them there.

So I would encourage you to do your part. Be part of the dialogue and part of the solution. Try and get in contact with Ben when he is in SF. Talk to other churches about this. Talk about the pros and the cons (because there are both). Pray about it. God is using you and will use you just as much as He is going to use Hillsong LA. If all you do is blog about it, you could miss God wanting to use you to be part of the bigger story.

Nate, having said all I’ve already said, and having spent an hour reviewing your post, I just want to say that your entire post betrays a HUGE ignorance of the fact that Ben’s desire to plant a campus here is not about Hillsong, or about Ben Houston’s objectives, or the music, or the corporation, or ANYONE OR ANYTHING ON EARTH.

Stop being stupid. If you can’t trust a fellow Christian, then the problem is that you can’t trust yourself. So get over yourself, and admit it – this is about God, and his love for his people. I don’t think you can justify your rant by implying that a few passionate humans are going to shove God out of his throne.

Friendly shove,
Joel

Hi Nate! I don’t think we’ve met in person, although we have many mutual friends. I have enjoyed reading your blog posts. I have a couple comments that I would like to share.

1) First off, thank you for your post, in all your genuine anger and frustration. I’m reminded of the Psalms, which are often filled with exclamations of great anger. Consider Psalm 137:8-9.

“Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.”

The Psalms are filled with expressions of anger. The psalmists recognized that they must acknowledge their anger before they can use it in a useful way. As Tim Keller put it, “Anger is love in motion toward a threat which it loves.”

You don’t seem to have ill intent toward Hillsong. I don’t think you want bad things to happen to Ben Houston, or a Hillsong campus in San Francisco. But you seem to want Hillsong to listen to the churches in San Francisco and become a true partner. You seem to be angry not because you hate Hillsong, but because you want to protect your community.

You don’t seem to ascribe ill intent to Hillsong. You aren’t saying that Hillsong intentionally is coming to displace people. Rather, you seem to be calling out their ignorance and lack of understanding.

As I understand it, this post isn’t really about Hillsong. I imagine that you would have a similar response if Willow Creek, or Saddleback, or any other large megachurch were to come to San Francisco. But any church planter to any city, from a congregation big or small, would do well to seek out what God is already doing in the city and partner with local communities.

2) I’m a law student in Chicago. Two years ago, I was in a Christian Legal Society meeting at my school. We were praying for one of the graduating students, and one person said “Now we pray for Anthony, who is going to San Francisco, the city that God forgot.”

The comment was made in jest, but I think it reflects some of your frustrations. The question is: “Who is San Francisco?” Is San Francisco just Salesforce, Facebook, and Google? What story is being told about the communities in the city? If “God is not in San Francisco” but there are communities in the city with robust churches, the message is that those communities are not part of San Francisco.

3) Your post had me thinking: What does it mean to love a city?

If I say that I love Berkeley, what does that mean? Does it mean that I love the food, the weather, the natural beauty, the opportunities, and the many, many good things about Berkeley? Because if that’s what it means, then my love is centered on how the city meets my needs, provides me with services, makes me feel.

What if I loved a person this way? What if I said that I love my friend because of all the ways that he can serve my needs and make me feel good?

But that love is a love of consumption, a self-centered love that orients around my desires.

To love a city is to seek out the welfare of the city. To intercede for it in prayer. To serve in its institutions. To minister to the vulnerable and oppressed.

As someone who was a transplant to the Bay Area (and now is a transplant in Chicago), I need to do my own soul-searching of how I love this city in which I live.

Found your blog through Challies. What saddens me the most Nate is that the commenters are more upset with you (what they say is your inappropriate “tone”) voicing your concerns but not upset at all with the misuse, and dissimulating of scripture by someone who calls himself an undershephard. Also, most of the commenters that are getting on you for your “rudeness and blunt tone” seem to be oblivious that they are doing much of the same or worse as they sit behind thier computer screens. Remember, people are free to be mean and rude if it suits them and their personal beliefs and they are of course able to jude you for judging. Im I the only one to notice this?!?!?! I wish they had the same passion for defending Hillsong for the word of God. Imagine how great that would be! Hillsong is a pragmatic “church” God can and does save people at Hillsong but its by his grace and not because of their teaching. Don’t be so sad and angry Nate, remember the Lord told them to come here! Im disappointed the Lord used his own word out of context but who am I to judge! Well, I must go, the Lord wants me to expand my land and thats not gonna happen on its own.

As a pastor who has seen (insert church brand x) come into town, and without any concern take people away from their local churches, then fall apart and start little splinter churches. The only thing I have to say is this was an AWESOME post.
I don’t know anything about your blog but this should be read to students in Bible College before they ever think about planting a church somewhere.
BTW – anyone who thinks this isn’t loving and is judgmental has never read the Bible because the most loving thing you can do is to speak the truth in love.Even I who agreed with the writer found my flesh offended and was thankful for it because it caused me to repent of some idolatries I did not even consider.

after reading about halfway through this page i feel sick..my soul feels sick..not a lot of love in the hearts of so many who posted here..i’m not going to point fingers or name names..but this is a great commentary on the state of planet earth in the end times..including its “Christian ” members of the human family..not a lot of unity in the body of Christ here..my experience with hillsong has been both positive and negative..such is life..i brought my daughter to a 8pm service in LA and she raised her hand and accepted Jesus Christ because Gods presence and Holy Spirit was so thick and tangible there that Jesus touched the heart of a 12 year old child..my baby..for that i will be forever grateful..yes it could have happened somewhere else..but it didn’t..i know for a fact that the Houston family has a heart for Jesus first and foremost..their doctrine and teachings are sound and Bible based..anyone who says otherwise should check the condition of their heart..i have witnessed firsthand the love of Ben and Lucille for LA for their family..for Hillsong LA..for the downtrodden outside on the mean streets of downtown LA..