Mark Driscoll’s return to high-profile ministry continues with string of public appearances
Former Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll was interviewed by Hillsong senior pastor Brian Houston.
The return of controversial pastor Mark Driscoll to high-profile ministry is continuing with appearances at churches and conferences in the US and abroad.
Driscoll’s giant Mars Hill church in Seattle imploded last year after a string of revelations about his leadership style and questionable practices used to market his books. He has faced allegations of bullying and misogyny, and calls for him to withdraw from ministry for a period.
However, he has posted details on his website of appearances at churches in Texas and Alaska, and at the Men Coaching Men Discipleship Ministry Leadership Conference in Arizona.
Also on his website is a reference to his appearance, with his wife Grace, in a video interview at the Hillsong Europe conference in London, being held at the O2 Arena from July 22-24.
Hillsong had previously said that Driscoll would not appear at the conferences in Australia and England and campaigners have criticised Hillsong leader Brian Houston for the decision. A protest is taking place on Sunday at Hillsong in Melbourne. Organisers say: “Please bring protest signs. We will be protesting peacefully!
“Under enormous pressure from pro women groups and others, Hillsong senior pastor Brian Houston was very deceptive about cancelling an interview with misogynist and abuser Mark Driscoll at Hillsong Conference. We demand that Brian Houston publicly fully admit his intentional deceit and publicly apologise both for his deceit as well as for giving a gigantic platform to abusive power monger Mark Driscoll.”
Campaigner Natalie Collins, who has organised a petition against Driscoll’s appearance in London and will be leading protests at the event, said in an update on the petition page: “After Brian Houston’s statement that Mark Driscoll would not be ‘coming to Australia or the UK to attend Hillsong Conference’, it seems the truth was in the semantics.” She added: “It is sad to know that it is the letter and not the spirit of Brian Houston’s words that we should have trusted.”
Source: By Mark Woods, Mark Driscoll’s return to high-profile ministry continues with string of public appearances, Christian Today, http://www.christiantoday.com/article/mark.driscolls.return.to.high.profile.ministry.continues.with.string.of.public.appearances/58621.htm, Published 10/07/2015. (Accessed 10/07/2015.)
Phil Pringle must be feeling pretty insecure standing beside Kong Hee as things progress “from bad to worse”. If you were Pringle standing all alone beside your best mate Kong Hee, how would you go about furthering Kong Hee’s cause and your image before Christianity around the world? If there was a blog out there connecting you to your now convicted mentor Yonggi Cho, what would you do?
Your critics are growing daily within your church and outside your church. The Singaporean and Australian media want answers. You are feeling cornered. Wretched man that you are! Who will deliver you from your sinful ministry? Thanks be to God through Brian Houston your “friend”.
As Phil Pringle, you’ve already done a great job convincing people not to judge you and Brian (“Judge not lest ye be judged”). Now if only you can get Hillsong to stand with you – you should be fine. All this mess can be swept under the Hillsong & C3 rug and both Hillsong and your C3 movement can stand together against your critics, whether they be Christian or the secular media. Neither movement questioning the other. That sounds good – they are both standing together. Both movements are standing against their critics.
Best buddies – standing together. C3 and Hillsong – standing together.
Whatever Brian Houston does, both Hillsong members and your C3 members don’t have to question Brian – C3 and Hillsong are standing together. Whatever you do with Kong Hee and Yonggi Cho, both Hillsong members and your C3 members don’t have to question you – C3 and Hillsong are standing together. It sounds like you can smuggle in a lot of your agenda at this Presence Conference 2014 if you push this notion somewhere in the conference. Do you think Brian would mind? Probably not. Brian can’t judge you, his best friend publicly!
You can get away with using your “friend” Brian Houston to further Kong Hee’s cause at Presence Conference 2014. If you get in trouble, Brian Houston and his movement will stand with you. Just use the typical mantras, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and “He who hasn’t sinned cast the first stone” to shut up the dissenters on either side (it worked for Mike Gugglielmucci at Hillsong). Now… how can you smuggle this notion in?
Hillsong and C3 commanded to “stand with one another”
One of the largest criticisms made by Christians and the secular media are the the number of scandals that continually occur in the Hillsong and C3 movements. Not only that, the world also notices how Hillsong and C3 promote and peddle false doctrines and gospels contrary to Christianity. It is not uncommon to hear the general public drop one liners that these “cults” want your money. The world can see it and more and more Christians are starting to see this to be the case with Hillsong and C3.
Since we began monitoring Brian Houston and Phil Pringle, it is our opinion they have grown much closer together in recent months, since more Christians are scrutinizing their ministries and starting to classify them as unethical or immoral churches or Word of Faith cults. (Read: Same Tribe, Different Smell.) It is interesting to note that both Brian Houston and Phil Pringle have no problem accepting each other and their associates as legitimate ministers of the gospel. For example, here is Phil Pringle rubbing shoulders with Brian Houston’s friends:
In the above article, Casey Treat is with Brian Houston. This is the same Casey Treat that Phil Pringle worked with to make this video to support Kong Hee as he goes through his trial in Singapore.
Now we can’t tell what Brian Houston and Phil Pringle talk about when they get together. But we find it hard to believe that Pringle would have kept Brian Houston in the dark over his involvement in Kong Hee’s scandal and what is happening with his mentor David Yonggi Cho.
Phil Pringle’s mentor David Yonggi Cho has also been recently charged by South Korean courts as a convicted felon for mishandling church funds of up to US$12 million. Furthermore, Phil Pringle’s protege Kong Hee, currently is in court over mishandling church funds of up to U$42 million.
In spite of this, Brian Houston has refused to break ties or friendship with Phil Pringle and they remain close friends.
This may now be hurting Hillsong’s image considering how Pringle decided to use Brian Houston’s authority at his Presence Conference 2014. That is, Pringle used Houston’s authority and friendship in such a way that he encouraged both his C3 movement and Brian’s Hillsong movement to stand against their critics. Below Phil Pringle deliberately associates himself as a close and solid friend of Brian Houston and hopes out loud that all people from Hillsong, C3 and other churches, “have got the fight […] to follow and just stand with one another” and to “not to engage in the criticism or to listen to the fault-finding gossips or anything else”.
TRANSCRIPT
“That song, as many of you would know, comes from the mighty Hillsong Church. I said the mighty Hillsong Church. [Crowd applause]
Not just one church but many churches all over the world. Large, growing, influential and have changed, changed the course of Christian music and Christian worship throughout the entire world, in an amazing move of God. And ah- Pastor Brian Houston would be one of the most world changing leaders on the planet today. He has done so much to change culture on so many levels in language, in how congregations are to behave and the way that leadership should should conduct itself. And it’s influenced not just the world of Pentecost but also traditional church world and has entered into all kinds of ah- debate and challenges, I guess, to actually do the following that he’s been called to do.
And he’s certainly had to fight to follow. I admire Brian – ah – with great admiration as one of the greatest heroes of the Christian world today. Not only for having influenced culture here – [crowd applauses] and ah – the fact is, we were born about sixty miles from each other in New Zealand [crowd applauses]. And ah- so we have not only been fellow ministers in this city and managed to- get along, we’ve been good friends.
I remember many years ago when we had what- I started a thing called “the Jesus march”. And we marched all the way down Pittwater Rd. And, I lived at that time in Manly, I think. Or somewhere near there. Brookvale or Manly and ah- came out and joined us and we got photos of him with- ah- the then famous mullet and moustache combination.
Happily Simon McIntyre was able to compliment that as well with his mullet and moustache. But we’ve been in this same city for many, many years and believing in this city will be won for Christ together and seeing a massive move of God that has not only affected this city but the world.
There’s one thing to stand for Jesus- I think it’s kind of easy actually to say it, “I’m for Jesus”. Cos not a lot of persecution comes because of that. You don’t really. I mean you get a little rub from a few people. But standing with his followers when they’re under pressure – now that’s a different matter.
And Paul found that there was no one in Rome who sought him out to visit him and look after him. People had to come all the way down from Philippi and Macedonia. And he said, “The- You’re the only guys who’ve done this”.
And even when Jesus lost the favour of public opinion, (I mean he lost a lot of his closest friends at that moment and then it past), I would like to think that we have got the fight in us to follow in just stand with one another. Not to engage in the criticism or to listen to the fault-finding gossips or anything else because it does have a price to accomplish something for God. And Hillsong is often been the subject of media attention that isn’t that positive. Happily recently, there’s been a few more that are positive. And I’ve experienced that myself. Ah- both sides of that. And it’s a very unpleasant feeling.
But I salute Brian Houston today because he has stood the course and stayed the line and said we will build the church. I would like you to stand up and support Brian Houston this afternoon. Thank you very much.”
What was Brian Houston’s reaction? Did Brian Houston mind Phil Pringle using his authority to stand together as one apostate movement?
Now that Phil Pringle publicly established a unified brotherhood between C3 and Hillsong, he has opened up a way to financially con the Australian public to finance Kong Hee’s defense lawyers. What makes this so immoral is that Pringle and Houston disguise this under the banner of “Christian unity”.
Real Christian teachers and pastors are stunned at the magnitude of stupidity rife within Christian churches in light of the fictional book ‘Heaven is For Real’. Here is a real CHRISTIAN pastor warning his church about the dangers of the work ‘Heaven is for Real’.
As a young website, we are only beginning to demonstrate the magnitude of the foolishness that flows from the Hillsong pulpit and its fearsome leaders, Brian (the bible butcher) and Bobbie Houston (the fake pastrix). Recently, we have seen Brian Houston and his wife Bobbie show serious pastoral incompetence in their guidance to their congregation (and worldwide Twitter followers) on important Christian issues.
This celebrity-pastor, movie-endorsing duo seem to love the limelight and are increasingly promoting films that transform the Word of God and the Christian life into myth and fable. The latest blasphemous film they are endorsing is quite disturbing for a number of reasons and poses a danger to the Body of Christ as it promotes a false Jesus and a false spirit.
BRIAN’S ENDORSEMENT
Brian Houston can’t see the dangers of the film. Here is Brian Houston endorsing the film Heaven is for Real:
“Some faith based films that have come out recently especially those that are really much closer to the “text” are a real blessing because it does give you opportunity to bring friends, bring family and even for churches. Churches go as a community, go to see movies together. And I think that’s wonderful.
I remember when initially the ‘Passion of the Christ’ came out, churches like ours, we just hired numbers and numbers and numbers of theaters and just packed them out. So it really does also give you a chance to rally the community around something that’s evangelistic, entertaining but can generally make a big difference in people’s souls where it matters.”
Rally the community around something that’s “evangelistic”? Scriptures teach us that Satan parades as an angel of light. Why rally the community around something that is opposed to God’s Word? Entertainment in this case is simply the carrot to entice gullible Christians to embrace a blasphemous film. What matters is God’s Word. If his Word is replaced with anti-Christian films like this – then Hillsong’s evangelistic attempts are worse than useless. It’s deadly to people’s souls.
Later Brian Houston addresses the issue of bullying in the film.
“The people who are most empowered to handle bullying are the people who see it happening and determine, “I am not going to stay back, I’m going to do something about this”. And confront it and create environments where it’s simply unacceptable. I guess you know if you are the one who is being bullied you can feel very helpless because you would presume the person is either more powerful than you or they’re bigger than you or they’ve got a nastier tongue than you. And often sensitive people being bullied, they don’t feel like they have a come-back. The very best thing is when people gather around them, put their arms around them and say, “You know, you don’t have to go through this by yourself”.
It’s odd hearing Brian Houston speak against bullying in this movie advert considering he has no problem slagging of Christians who hold him accountable to what he says or bullies Christians in and outside off his church into submission. Maybe Houston needs to look at himself in the mirror and consider how he uses mob-like tactics, legal intimidation and deceit to shut Christians up. Why not admonish the members at Hillsong Conference that attacked Christians at your event, Brian?
BOBBIE’S ENDORSEMENT
Recently Bobbie Houston enthusiastically recommended Christians see the blatantly New Age movie ‘Heaven is for Real’:
Very grateful to watch a pre-screening of HEAVEN IS FOR REAL film. Oh my. Beautiful. Inspiring. Delightful. Moving. Cried. Smiled. Thoroughly recommend. AND AMAZING HOW GOD IS TRULY speaking to hearts from all angles. #forsuchatimeasthis#releasedEaster
If you click the thumbnail, you will see a picture in the movie of a girl painting Jesus. Why are we mentioning this artist? Because when Colton Burpo saw Akaine’s painting of Jesus, he identified it as the Jesus he saw in heaven.
NEW AGE ARTIST – AKIANE KRAMARICK
The girl in the film is Akiane painting her famous ‘Prince of Peace’ portrait of Jesus. This should alert Christians everywhere to the New Age agenda being pushed behind the movie (whether genuine agenda or not). Arkiane was heavily promoted as a child prodigy by the notorious, New Age Elijah-List collective for her spiritual paintings. Sadly, her work has been regarded as “Christian” in spite of her overall New Age tones and philosophies. You can check out some of her works here.
Even in the preview, you can see that the theology is completely wrong. Trivialising ‘heaven’ into a reich-like community is not even remotely Christian. Allowing the naive, unbiblical teachings of a four year old’s experience to now dictate and trump the truth of scripture reveals just how undescerning people like Brian and Bobbie Houston really are. So why are they pushing this film so strongly?
Is it because Hillsong’s beloved Darlene Zschech was involved behind the scenes for the musical production of the film and want to flog no other name but Jesus their brand name? (Edit 16/04/2014: While we know Zschech no longer attends Hillsong Church a commentor said something similar and stated “her latest album was produced by Louie Giglio, it’s not financially connected with Hillsong”. If this is true then we will acknowledge this. However, that does not mean that Darlene won’t help Hillsong further their brand name, as she identifies herself as a close friend. The song below ends with the lyrics, “Heaven, heaven is so real”. This may be a coincidence although Brian, Bobbie and Darlene are known around the world for representing the Hillsong brand.)
There are a significant number of articles that examine the dodgy theology behind the book which should give people the idea just how bad the film (and the book) is. We have sampled a few excellent ones here, and hope that our readers will enjoy the different observations these writers have made. Overwhelmingly, these Christian commentators were highly critical of the book and have biblical grounds for refuting the claims made by Burpo and others making similar claims. Most of the authors of these articles also identified the New Age undertones of the book’s content and expressed their concern over how human experience is trumping the truth of Scripture.
Hillsong Church Watch 