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Hillsong grooming its members to embrace Queerstianity? (Part 4)

14 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by in Associations

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Queerstianity: A group of people that supposedly push no political or religious agenda but “share” their philosophy of tolerance and love onto others.”

(Source: Urban Dictionary [slightly edited])

Brian Houston of Hillsong Church is slowly grooming his congregation to embrace the false “Gay Christianity” doctrine. To understand why this doctrine is such a blatant attack on the Christian faith please read our article below. We are aware how sensitive this Christian issue is and wish to deal with it respectfully. James White in the below article thoroughly refutes this false teaching.

Hillsong grooming its members to embrace Gay Christianity (Part 1)

We would advise you to read our previous articles on this issue in Hillsong.

Hillsong grooming its members to embrace Queerstianity (Part 2)

Hillsong grooming its members to embrace Queerstianity (Part 3)

Apprising reports,

HOMOSEXUALITY REMOVED FROM HILLSONG COLLEGE STUDENT HANDBOOK

a3aIn Apprising Ministries pieces like Tsunami of Pro-Homosexual Books from “Gay Christians” and Supporters and Dan Haseltine of CCM band Jars of Clay in support of Homosexual Marriage I’ve been warning youconcerning the powerful pro-homosexual lobby.Originally, as I pointed out a few years ago e.g. in Doug Pagitt and the Emerging Church Gay Agenda and Homopressive as Jay Bakker, it was given a boost beyond just the liberal mainline denominations right into mainstream evangelicalism through the Emerging Church.

This lobby’s relentless propaganda has resulted recently in World Vision to hire “Gay Christians in Same-Sex Marriages”; though the very next day they reversed that decision when they, like Haseltine, realized that the average evangelical’s not quite ready for this…yet.

For years I’ve been covering the issues surrounding those, like Jay Bakker, who’re working within evangelicalism to make the deviant and sinful lifestyle of having sexual relations with another of the same sex, i.e homosexuality, a viable one for the regenerated Christian.

Such as these have already succeeded in capturing much of its younger sectors to their perverted position. Now with the influx of feelings-oriented charismania and Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism spreading throughout the mainstream, “soon” much of the rest will also follow.

Evangelicalism is set to pay a huge price for turning away from the proper Christian spirituality of sola Scriptura and toward the subjective spirituality of personal mysticism. It’s only a matter of time before more and more people cave-in on homosexuality. Perhaps, we have one more example.

As you might imagine, Hillsong International Leadership College (HILC) is another one of the extensions of the highly influential Word Faith outfit known as Hillsong Church in Australia, where pastor Brian Houston and pastrix Bobbie Houston are the “Senior Pastors.”

You can see below that the Houstons are also co-Presidents of HILC:

a1
(source)

Under the subheading We believe in your God-given potential we’re told at the HILC website:

We invite you to prayerfully consider how investing one or more years here at Hillsong could prepare you for your God-given destiny. We passionately believe in the potential of all people, so we invite you to come to beautiful Australia to embark upon a life changing time of preparation.

We exist to champion the cause of the local church and see people reach their God-given potential, thus changing the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We look forward to having you join us for what will be an amazing journey. (source)

This professed Christian perspective is significant as I inform you that homosexuality has now been removed from the HILC Student Handbook (SH). It’s also important to note that the SH makes it clear that:

Any behaviour that contravenes the Student Code of’ Conduct will result in disciplinary action (Ref: Student Behaviour and Course Progress Policy). Any behavior that compromises the welfare of other students will result in immediate termination of enrolment [sic].

So obviously, SH lays out what the student of HILC must adhere to in order to remain a student at the college. As we come to the Student Code of Conduct, on pg.13 of this HILC SH, it used to read (click to enlarge):

a
(source, and hard copy on file)

Now, this prior HILC Student Code of Conduct also informs us that:

One of the College’s most important goals is to facilitate the growth and development of Christian character in line with biblical principles. It is expected that College students live in such a manner that brings glory to Christ in their behavior and attitudes both in and outside of College settings. Therefore each student is expected to…

Nothing out of the ordinary, so far, in that these are the kinds of things we’d expect at a college whose goal “is to facilitate the growth and development of Christian character in line with biblical principles.” This would all be consistent with bringing “glory to Christ.”

Well, as of this writing, a check on pg. 13 of the HILC student handbook reveals that the word homosexuality has since been removed  (click to enlarge):

a0
(source)

Curiously, in addition, the beginning section of the Student Code of Conduct has also now been expanded to include the following paragraph:

Since students are also being trained for Christian ministry, and are engaged in ministry as part of their course, it is expected that they will conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the moral, ethical and behavioural standards expected of Christian leaders and ministers, and the churches in which they are ministering and being trained. With these issues in mind, the College has developed a Student’ Code of Conduct, which reflects the leadership required by the Australian Christian Churches (Assemblies of God in Australia) and other similar denominations. (source)

With the omission of the word homosexuality from the Code itself, the closing section re. “behaviour that contravenes the Student Code of’ Conduct,” also contains this additional section:

Since it reflects the standards expected by churches of those in ministry, behaving and ministering consistently with the Student Code of Conduct is also a requirement for several assessments across the College’s courses, especially Practicum Passports.Breaching this Code will result in a student being assessed as Not Yet Competent for the relevant subjects / units. A student will subsequently need to provide verifiable evidence of meeting the requirements of the Code of Conduct for a reasonable period in order to achieve competence. (source)

Again, we would certainly expect this from a Christian college; only now, it would seem the practice of homosexuality isn’t included as something which would “result in a student being assessed as Not Yet Competent,” etc. The question becomes why HILC made this change.

You wouldn’t think that homosexual relations would be consistent with the admonition that HILC students “will conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the moral, ethical and behavioural standards expected of Christian leaders and ministers, and the churches” they are involved with.

In closing this, for now, it could be we find the reason for the change that’s been made is found in the article Hillsong: Pastor Brian Houston talks about the pink elephant in the room from just about a year ago by “a proud gay man,”1 and aggressive LGBT activist, Anthony Venn-Brown.

Lord willing, another time I’ll have more on Australian activist Venn-Brown, author of A Life of Unlearning, but for now I’ll just tell you his bio informs us that he’s a:

Former leader in the Assemblies of God and regular preacher in Australia’s mega churches. Anthony now lives as a proud gay man, committed to educating others about the issues of faith and sexuality. (source)

In 2011 the apostate Anthony Venn-Brown,2 who also goes by the moniker Gay Ambassador, would launch something called Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International (ABBl). Returning now to Venn-Brown’s aforementioned article, he tells us:

Contrary to popular opinion, homosexuality is not a topic often mentioned from Hillsong pulpits; for or against. On Sunday 18 August 2013, Hillsong’s Senior Pastor, Brian Houston, preached a message that  was broadcast to all Hillsong congregations around the world in over 100 services. What was significant about this sermon was that during the message he publicly began a conversation about the Hillsong churches need to come to grips with the ‘gay issue’. (source, bold his)

He then goes on to tell us more about his personal agenda, which is the very same one that more and more LGBT activists here in the United States also have in store for weak evangelical churches:

When working with churches, leaders and denominations I let them know about the 10 separate issues they will face in order to become not just a welcoming but also accepting and affirming church. This is not a once off meeting or workshop it is a journey that will take several years to complete. (source)

Sadly, because people won’t believe what Scripture says, this is all part of the coming same-sex storm within mainstream evangelicalism. And I find myself beginning to wonder if Brian Houston and Hillsong coming “to grips with” homosexuality means moving closer toward its acceptance…

Further reading

Endnotes

  1. http://on.fb.me/RNQvEo, accessed 5/13/14. ↩
  2. By his own admission Venn-Brown has turned away from the historic orthodox Christian faith telling us that he once “was a leader in the Assemblies of God denomination (now Australian Christian Churches) and a high profile preacher in the largest Pentecostal churches of Australia and overseas,,, [H]e became a Christian at 18 believing that God would provide the answers he was looking for. In the church”…
    Venn-Brown offers more proof of his apostasy listing that he was formerly an:

    • Ordained Assemblies of God minister; pioneered several churches
    • Founded Youth Alive NSW and the Australian Evangelists Association
    • Organised and led study tours to cutting edge churches in the USA
    • Crossed denominational barriers and was the first Pentecostal appointed to the Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization Australian Board
    • Founder and Director of Every Believer Evangelism involved in equipping individuals and churches in the areas of evangelism through training and crusades
    • Evangelist, conference speaker and popular preacher in the mega churches of Australia as well as overseas
    • Influenced paradigm shifts within the Assemblies of God that contributed to denominational growth: http://bit.ly/1srBbbw, accessed 5/13/14. ↩

Source: By Ken Silva, HOMOSEXUALITY REMOVED FROM HILLSONG COLLEGE STUDENT HANDBOOK, Apprising, http://apprising.org/2014/05/13/homosexuality-removed-from-hillsong-college-student-handbook/, Published May 13/05/2014. (Accessed 14/05/2014.)

HT – NewTaste: The Hillsong College application form for 2014/15 still has the homosexual clause. https://hillsong.com/media/717691/Hillsong-College-Application-Form-2014.pdf

Hillsong grooming its members to embrace Queerstianity? (Part 2)

04 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Associations, Brian Houston's Beliefs

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Queerstianity: A group of people that supposedly push no political or religious agenda but “share” their philosophy of tolerance and love onto others.”
(Source: Urban Dictionary [slightly edited])

Once again – we have to ask the question: What god does Brian Houston and Hillsong worship?

First Brian Houston said to Christians, “[…] the Muslim and you, we actually serve the same God. Allah to a Muslim, to us Abba Father God”.

Brian Houston: “the Muslim and you, we actually serve the same God”

While Brian Houston offered a clarification, he was deliberately misleading. Our above article stressed A particular issue Brian refused to address which is why we do not believe his clarification or accept his apology. We stressed this statement that he made in regards to Christians and Muslim’s serving the same God:

“But lets make sure that we view God through the eyes of Jesus, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the beauty of a Saviour, the loving open inclusive arms of a loving God.”

This is ecumenical talk and is a very deceitful ploy to use on Christians to suggest that Jesus Christ is inclusive. This is why we provided the sermon at the end of the above article.

This type of inclusivity does not preserve the Christian faith, it destroys it.

Below you are about to understand why “inclusive” talk is incredibly dangerous as it appears Brian Houston’s Hillsong god is also a gay-affirming god. That is, you can be an unrepentant homosexual and be a Christian at Hillsong church. To understand why this is such a blatant attack on the Christian faith please read our article below. We are aware how sensitive this Christian issue is and wish to deal with it mindfully.

Hillsong grooming its members to embrace Gay Christianity (Part 1)

In articles to come, we will be observing how Houston has already started the process of grooming Hillsong to embrace Queerstianity. To do this, we will be examining what homosexual media is saying about Hillsong.

Ben Gresham wrote,

Breakfast with Brian: Hillsong, Homosexuality and the Future

A blog entry on my breakfast with the Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church, Brian Houston. This entry shares Brian’s thoughts on homosexuality, gays in church, the future of the church and dealing with the whole ‘gay issue’.

Hillsong Church claims that over 20,000 people attend their Sydney services every weekend. Conservative figures state that the population who are gay or lesbian is somewhere between 6 to 10% (Gallup, 2012). If this is true then there are anywhere from 1,200 to 2000 gay and lesbian members of Hillsong Church in Sydney alone. These figures really prompt me to be open and honest, in the hope that many others will follow. The figures also raise concern as LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Intersex) people are the highest suicide risk group in Australia (Suicide Prevention Australia, 2009) and yet the church thinks its ok just to ignore them.

My involvement in freedom2b and the upcoming trip to Brisbane for the Asia-Pacific Suicide Prevention Conference in 2010 prompted me to do something about the alarming rates of suicide amongst LGBTI people and so one day I decided to send a tweet (twitter) to the Senior Pastor of my church, Brian Houston (Brian) not thinking much more of it. Surprisingly he chose to respond, asking me if I would like to do coffee. It seems simple but in reality this was a breakthrough and after so much written communication between Brian and me, here I was finally getting a chance to meet face-to-face.

It was a beautiful friday morning on the 12th November 2010 in Glenhaven in Sydney’s North West. I drove there from my parent’s house in Cherrybrook and arrived at the cafe early to pray and to make sure I was prepared for what was to be a very important meeting. I remember sitting there, knowing that this meeting was important not only for me, but also very important for the many gay and lesbian people at the Hillsong churches around the world.

As Brian Houston walked into the café, it seemed like he was more nervous of this conversation happening than I was. He shook my hand, mentioned my name, smiled and we said good morning to each other.

A discussion then progressed that went for over an hour and Brian was more than happy to answer most of my questions and concerns and possibly even learned something himself. Here’s a bit of a breakdown of what happened in three categories:

Ex-Gay?
• Brian stated clearly that Hillsong church (and himself) no longer support ex-gay ministries
• Brian acknowledged the involvement of Hillsong church in ex-gay ministries in the past such as Exit Ministries, Living Waters and Exodus. Brian mentioned that he was never truly convinced of the idea of ex-gay ministries, although his father Frank Houston supported them.
• Brian does not want an ex-gay message preached from the pulpit of Hillsong.
• When questioned about Sy Rogers, Brian responded by saying “I think Sy regrets his previous involvement in Exodus”.

Brian’s Commitments
• More training and education on sexual orientation and sexuality (particularly amongst youth leaders)
• Commitment to read and explore theology and resources on homosexuality.
• Discussions with other pastors (such as Rob Buckingham of Bayside Church, Melbourne)
• Position statement on homosexuality which can be easily accessed on the Hillsong website

Brian’s Concerns
• Vulnerable people
• Predatory behaviour
• Balancing theology with compassion
• Suicide amongst LGBT young people (particularly within the church)

Brian’s main concerns about welcoming LGBT people in to the church mainly focused around vulnerable people and protecting their safety. This included a fear of predatory behaviour and ‘hook-ups’ happening within the church. I explained to him “That is understandable; however that kind of behaviour can happen with straight people as well as gay people in the church”. I explained the safe space we have at Freedom2b and the cruise-free zone policy. He seemed interested in how we create a safe space and what Hillsong could do to maintain that the church is a safe place, free of agendas.

So, the three most important questions for LGBT people…
Q – Question A – Answer LA – Long Answer

1. Are gays welcome in Hillsong?
A: The short answer is yes!
LA: However in reality, many of us have not had such welcoming experiences. Almost every week I get another email, facebook message or someone else from church speaks to me, telling me they are being bullied at church or that they are depressed and just can’t break free from self hatred. Sadly, the most common story I hear is of a closeted gay or lesbian person at Hillsong who tells me that they are too scared to come out because they feel like if they did, people in church wouldn’t treat them the same. Saying this, I can think of a certain young man that I know in Senior leadership at Hillsong. He’s closeted and although he knows he is gay, if he came out he would be thrown out of leadership, loose friends and loose his reputation.

Unfortunately, Brian doesn’t see what I see. What’s being said in higher leadership is not travelling down to the youth pastors, connect leaders and mentors. It’s not enough to have a personal belief that ‘gay people are welcome’, this belief and the reasons why must be shared with the leadership teams and then the whole congregation. The church must be educated but this is not happening. This is the problem! Even Brian admitted “I agree that we need to educate the leaders and others in our church! We need to start talking about it“.

2. Does Hillsong support ex-gay ministries?
A: The simple answer is No… well not anymore.
LA: For a long time Hillsong did run an ‘ex-gay’ program called Exit Ministries which was started by Brian’s father Frank. This lasted for many years until they decided to close Exit Ministries and start referring people to Exodus and Living Waters. Hillsong was referring people to Living Waters up until the mid 2000s. Following this, same-sex attracted people have been referred to other ex-gay ministries around Sydney, online ex-gay ministries such as Setting Captives Free and reparative therapy (done under the guise of Christian counselling). Ex-gay preaching has taken full form at Hillsong with Sy Rogers visiting almost every year (most recently in 2010) and still selling his resources from the 1990s when he was heavily involved with Exodus International. Although I know of some that are still being referred to ‘ex-gay’ ministries, there are a few people that are being referred to psychologists and groups such as Freedom2b. The best news was that in 2011, Brian issued a statement saying that Hillsong church does not support ex-gay ministries and will not be referring anybody to them. Slowly people are getting real answers to difficult questions.

3. Does Hillsong have a heart to welcome gay people, just as they are?
A: Yes they do.
LA: The leaders and members of Hillsong church generally have a heart for people and a desire to love others. Unfortunately those 6 ‘clobber passages’ in the Bible take their effect, mixed with years of discrimination in Australia and a literalistic religious upbringing of many teaching them that gay and lesbian people are sinful and unnatural.

As a gay Christian I have had to study the bible and have realised that the bible does not condemn homosexual sexual-orientation, nor does it condemn loving monogamous same-sex relationships. The so called ‘clobber passages’ often used to condemn LGBT people can be understood through context, culture and language. For more info read Stuart Edser’s book ‘Being Gay Being Christian’ or the wonderful document ‘What the Bible really says about homosexuality’.

So, in essence Brian Houston and the majority of people at Hillsong are well-meaning Christians with a heart to help people, including LGBT people…they are just going about it the wrong way!

Why should Hillsong welcome gays?

Simply put, because the at least 1200 gay and lesbian church members need more than just occaisional preaching from Sy Rogers or J John. They need more than just a sexual purity LIFE course and they need more than a message of change or celibacy. LGBT people deserve a place in the church. They deserve messages relating to them, they deserve a sustainable option for the future and the support of a group like Freedom2b. LGBT Christians have been blessed with wonderful gifts which can be used to grow the church and serve the kingdom. Most importantly, LGBT people deserve a church pastor who is honest and open with them. They deserve a pastor and church that loves them and understands them and sees them not as a problem but as a valued member of the church family.

So… after all that do I have answers from Brian on issues such as gay relationships, marriage or whether gays should serve in church? No. But the simple, honest answers he gave must be commended. He placed himself in a vulnerable position to meet with me. He didn’t really have to, nor did he have to say anything.

If I can take away one thing from my breakfast with Brian, it would be the realisation that Brian (and many other leaders at Hillsong) really does aim to love God and love people. They acknowledge that they have not always gotten it right, and they do not pretend to be perfect, but like all of us they are on a journey and are trying to do the best they can.

Some of the answers to the questions I asked are a step forward but in reality, there is still much more work to be done to make Hillsong church a welcoming place for LGBT people.

Concluding Statement:

As a gay man and a member of Hillsong Church, I was happy to hear all that Brian had to say, however I was left wanting more… perhaps an apology for everything I went through and for many people in the church treating me so badly when I came out. I also wish Brian’s commitments had been more concrete. It’s been more than a year since our breakfast meeting and very little has changed. I am encouraged when I hear about recent stories of gay and lesbian people coming out and being welcomed at church just as they are. Yet I know of other stories where a gay man at Hillsong was not allowed to serve at Hillsong Conference because he was in a relationship with another man.

I don’t think we will see an article in the News saying ‘Hillsong Welcomes Gays’ anytime soon. But I do know that we are moving forward in trying to make the church a safer place. And that many of us are making a positive difference for future generations. As Anthony Venn-Brown often says “the enemy is not political parties, church denominations or individual people. The enemy is ignorance”. I hope that my meeting with Brian chipped away at that ignorance that exists within the Christian church about LGBT people. Ultimately, if the church is going to become a safer and more welcoming place then it will take both gay Christians and the church to work together.

Brian – If you are reading this I want to say thank you again for meeting with me. We may not agree with everything but I appreciate your honesty and your willingness to meet with me and hear my story. I am very grateful. I’m happy to work together to create a safer, more welcoming space for gay and lesbian people and would love to chat again soon.

Ben Gresham, 2012

Source: Posted By Ben Gresham, Breakfast with Brian: Hillsong, Homosexuality and the Future, Just As I Am,  http://bennygresham.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/breakfast-with-brian-hillsong.html, Thursday, May 24, 2012. (Accessed 31/03/2014.)

proof_JustAsIAm-BennyAndBrian_31-03-2014