Tag Archives: New Age

The world finally seeing Hillsong as a New Age movement

04 Tuesday Aug 2015

Posted by in Brian Houston's Beliefs, Hillsong Associations, Hillsong Fascism

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While Hillsong are protesting too much to the world that they are a “church” and a “global movement,” media organisations are starting to call Hillsong for what it is: a New Age cult.

The fact is this: Hillsong is a dangerous New Age cult. And although the world would have difficulty understanding the difference between a church and a cult, they are starting to see that Hillsong is New Age. By doing this, media are doing Christianity a favor by isolating a counterfeit christian movement that is badly infecting Christianity.

hillsong new age occult gnostic

It doesn’t take much to see other religions being integrated within the Hillsong movement. For instance.

  • their Word of Faith heresy is straight from the New Age and metaphysical cult movemetns (see Rondha Byrne author of The Secret);
  • their secret Prosperity heresy and rites stem not from Christianity but from the New Age movement, witchcraft and ancient pagan idolatry (around Abraham’s day);
  • their leadership and teaching model reflect gurus from Hindu sects and metaphysical cults (between the 19th and 20th century);
  • their god they preach is more related to the Hindu deity who is unlimited and cannot be limited; compared to the Christian God who is limited; (i.e. God cannot lie, God cannot murder, etc).
  • their utopian and totalitarian ideology of church growth and community reflects the philosophies of the volk and the fuhrerprinzip prior to Nazi Germany (visionary leadership);
  • their worship reflect the ideas of ancient Greece and their pagan festivals, believing the experiences they create are glimpses into the divine (a form of pagan mysticism/spiritism/gnosticism which Jesus clearly spoke against).
  • their teaching on the Holy Spirit (what they call the anointing) is more akin to the ‘Third Eye’ sense of the New Age movement, a teaching that bypasses the mind and calls thing that are not physical into being or seeing into the future.
  • their teaching on purpose and destiny reflects New Age and Buddhist thought on self-actualisation/enlightenment philosophies.
  • their general teachings reflecting not Christianity but the world’s latest ideas repackaged, twisting the Christian bible to sell the idea where Hillsong needs to go (see their Vision Sunday broadcasts).

While Christians worship Jesus, many people who claim to be Christian today worship what is coined as a ‘moralistic, therapeutic deity’. This ever-changing deity is whatever Hillsong wants this god to be at any given time. Slapping the word ‘Jesus’ on it and claiming to the world they are Christian does not make them Christian, nor a church. It is no wonder why people in their own movement cannot explain what Christianity is nor tell you what the gospel is.

It is not uncommon for people to encounter Hillsong members that cannot present their beliefs coherently. And as you will read below in one of these articles, they’re response to criticism is that you’re a hater, a poor attempt in contending for the Christian faith, “once and for all delivered to the saints.”

This article is a collection of media stories that label Hillsong as such:

The Daily Mail reports (images and captions removed),

Hillsong’s hottest couple: The tattooed pastor and his VERY glamorous wife who have become Justin Bieber’s spiritual guides – and the dark family secret plaguing the new-age Sydney church

  • Brazilian model Esther Lima is the wife of Hillsong church’s global director
  • Her husband Joel Houston is in charge of the Hillsong church’s expansion
  • Born in Australia, Joel is the son of the church’s founder Brian Houston
  • The guitar playing Aussie lives a glamorous life in New York with his wife
  • The couple have been seen with celebrity friends, including Justin Bieber
  • Hillsong church blends modern marketing with ancient religious customs

They are a glamour couple at the top of a global empire who rub shoulders with celebrities like Justin Bieber, enjoy the New York high life and have tens of thousands of followers on social media.

They are also the face of the Hillsong Church, a Christian movement that has grown in the space of fewer than 20 years from humble beginnings in the suburbs of Sydney to a multimillion dollar global phenomenon whose services attract rock concert-sized crowds every week.

Esther Lima Houston is an exotic Brazilian model who loves designer labels and sharing photos of herself wearing and holding them with her thousands of social media followers.

She’s married to Joel Houston, Hillsong Australia’s guitar-playing global creative director who is in charge of running the international expansion of the church, which was founded by his father Brian Houston and is now a global operation with millions of followers.

Hillsong is in the spotlight this week as it holds its annual conference in Sydney with celebrity guests like pop idol Justin Bieber, who is reportedly a friend of Joel and Esther Houston.

Ms Houston is a long-legged beauty who posts dozens of photographs on her social media pages of herself draped in Hermes, Chanel and her other favourite designer label clothes.

In other photos she carries the kind of coveted brand handbags that can only be bought by buying onto a waiting list, and sports what appears to be a yellow diamond the size of a quail’s egg on her ring finger

Hillsong is a charismatic Pentecost ‘megachurch’ founded in 1982 that now has eight Australian churches and has set up in London, New York, Los Angeles, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Argentina, Brazil. South Africa, Russia and France each have two Hillsong churches.

Hillsong has high profile supporters in Australia. They include several Parramatta Eels players, and former NRL turned American gridiron player Jarryd Hayne.

Esther Houston and baby Zion says on her blog that ‘giving is more satisfying than receiving’

Federal Social Services Minister Scott Morrison is a onetime parishioner, and former prime minister John Howard opened the church’s new centre in the Hills district in 2002.

Ms Houston’s father-in-law, who also favours designer clothes, such as Valentino suits, and flies around the world first class, is credited with the brilliant commercialisation of born-again Christianity.

Esther Houston’s designer image is a classy asset to the church where her mother-in-law Bobbie Houston encourages young female followers to be glamorous and have perfect hair and teeth.

As the former worship manager and the musical genius behind Hillsong’s lucrative Christian song business, Geoff Bullock told The Australian, ‘I came to think that the patron saint of Hillsong was Gianni Versace’

Mr Bullock, who is now estranged from the church said ‘Hillsong’s … got this feeling that God smiles a bit more when we’re singing our songs, and we’ve got good hairdressers, dentists, cosmetic surgeons.’

But a child sexual assault scandal hangs over the church’s first family.

Joel Houston’s grandfather, Frank Houston, was an Assemblies of God pastor who co-founded Hillsong. He continued to preach and deliver televised sermons despite being suspended by his own church for molesting a seven-year-old boy.

A complaint about Frank Houston, who died while living in a church-owned home in 2004, was made in 1998, when Brian Houston was the national president of the Assemblies of God, now known as Australian Christian Churches.

Last October, Brian Houston was called before the Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse which heard further claims that Frank Houston molested six young boys in New Zealand in the 1960s.

While Brian Houston told of how he cried the day he found out his father was a paedophile, he said ‘at no stage did I attempt to hide or cover up the allegations against my father’.

In the same month, The Saturday Paper reported, Hillsong Australia’s latest concert DVD sold out Madison Square Garden in New York City and the church band of Hillsong United NYC, led by Joel Houston, won five Dove Awards, the American gospel music equivalent of a Grammy.

Warner Bros made a feature film about the band, which Joel Houston promotes on his website as having sold more than 16 million albums.

He says on the site that his mission is to ‘travel the globe with Hillsong United who desire to see a generation across the earth awakened to real love, rise up with hearts as one and find value in the broken, hurting and lost’.

He says the proceeds from the albums are used for ‘feeding and educating children in the slums of India, holistic community development in Africa, rescuing and rehabilitating victims of human trafficking and sponsoring children living in poverty around the world’.

Joel and his wife, Esther have a young son named Zion – a Biblical name meaning ‘promised land’ – and live in a Manhattan apartment.

Esther Lima has enjoyed a mid-range modelling career, although nowhere nearly as successful as her fellow Brazilian and namesake, the Victoria’s Secret model, Adriana Lima.

The couple married in 2012, when Joel was more of a bare-footed guitar playing surfie from Australia who had launched the youth worship brand at Hillsong and had been working as co-pastor at Hillsong NYC since 2010.

On her Facebook, Instagram and lifestyle blog ‘eswhooisstunning’, Esther Houston describes herself as ‘stunning’.

On her page Miss Whoo.com, which she says is ‘an unfiltered lifestyle platform for the modern woman’ is a statement about her business acumen.

‘Esther Houston is a classic woman with a modern approach,’ the blog says, ‘She is an entrepreneur and business owner with an incredible creative eye, business mind and impressive network.’

The young couple is friends with a list of celebrities and high profile evangelists. The list includes former Disney star turned stage performer, Vanessa Hudgens, ‘Pretty Little Liars’ actress, Ashley Benson and the preacher who married Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Pastor Rich Wilkinson Jnr.

TMZ reported that Justin Bieber was spotted this month with Joel Houston leaving the Hyde nightclub in Hollywood together.

Joel and co-pastor Carl Lentz, who baptised Bieber at Hillsong NYC last December, are reportedly spiritual advisers to a number of celebrities.

Joel and Esther and baby Zion jet around the world from New York to Los Angeles and Sydney. Ms Houston’s says on her blog that ‘giving is more satisfying than receiving’.

She says ‘I am no feminist, I don’t believe that men and women should be equal. Simply because we aren’t. Men and women are different, physically and mentally, so that we can fulfill different roles and carry different responsibilities in life’

Ms Houston also says ‘I’m not willing to forever sacrifice passions, work and career just to fit into the mold of what the “perfect woman” should be. I’m ambitious. I’m passionate. I want to grow in all areas of my life.

But she also talks on her Facebook page about people knocking her on Instagram or others who are ‘haters’.

In one Facebook post she says, ‘While people are busy judging on Instagram I’m busy living life and having a great time with friends. YOLO.’

In another she writes ‘Good day haters’ to which a friend responds, ‘When you’re in the spotlight unfortunately that’s what happens.You attract judgment. The saddest part of all is the haters are usually from people who believe they’re doing the hating for God.’

Ms Houston also posts messages which appear to be about religious faith, along with photographs of her with her parents-in-law Bobbie and Brian Houston.

It is unclear whether she is a Catholic who converted to the Hillsong born-again style of Christianity, but affectionate posts from friends about her son Zion ‘inheriting the Hillsong empire’ suggest there will be a fourth generation of Houston men as church pastors.

The empire Joel is due to inherit, is based on the millions of dollars gathered from the church’s system of ‘tithing’ its congregation, the ancient custom of taxing worshippers a fee of ten per cent of their income.

Under every seat in its churches it places an envelope and credit card form for believers to donate their pre-tax 10 per cent salary, which Hillsong then banks as tax free money under its charity status as a religion.

Esther Lima Houston is an exotic Brazilian model who loves designer labels and sharing photos of herself wearing and holding them with her thousands of social media followers.

She’s married to Joel Houston, Hillsong Australia’s guitar-playing global creative director who is in charge of running the international expansion of the church, which was founded by his father Brian Houston and is now a global operation with millions of followers.

Hillsong is in the spotlight this week as it holds its annual conference in Sydney with celebrity guests like pop idol Justin Bieber, who is reportedly a friend of Joel and Esther Houston.

Ms Houston also says ‘I’m not willing to forever sacrifice passions, work and career just to fit into the mold of what the “perfect woman” should be. I’m ambitious. I’m passionate. I want to grow in all areas of my life.

But she also talks on her Facebook page about people knocking her on Instagram or others who are ‘haters’.

In one Facebook post she says, ‘While people are busy judging on Instagram I’m busy living life and having a great time with friends. YOLO.’

In another she writes ‘Good day haters’ to which a friend responds, ‘When you’re in the spotlight unfortunately that’s what happens.You attract judgment. The saddest part of all is the haters are usually from people who believe they’re doing the hating for God.’

Ms Houston also posts messages which appear to be about religious faith, along with photographs of her with her parents-in-law Bobbie and Brian Houston.

It is unclear whether she is a Catholic who converted to the Hillsong born-again style of Christianity, but affectionate posts from friends about her son Zion ‘inheriting the Hillsong empire’ suggest there will be a fourth generation of Houston men as church pastors.

The empire Joel is due to inherit, is based on the millions of dollars gathered from the church’s system of ‘tithing’ its congregation, the ancient custom of taxing worshippers a fee of ten per cent of their income.

Under every seat in its churches it places an envelope and credit card form for believers to donate their pre-tax 10 per cent salary, which Hillsong then banks as tax free money under its charity status as a religion. 

Source: By Candice Sutton & Penelope Kilby, Hillsong’s hottest couple: The tattooed pastor and his VERY glamorous wife who have become Justin Bieber’s spiritual guides – and the dark family secret plaguing the new-age Sydney church, Daily Mail / Australia, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3143901/Hillsong-s-hottest-couple-tattooed-Australian-pastor-glamorous-wife-Justin-Bieber-s-spiritual-guides-dark-family-secret-plaguing-new-age-church.html, Published 01/07/2015, Updated 02/07/2015. (Accessed 15/07/2015.)

TMZ reports,

Justin Bieber
I Play Second Banana to My Pastor!!!

Justin Bieber awesomely took second seat to the pastor of his new-age church … and it’s so fun.

The Biebs and Pastor Joel Houston were leaving Hyde nightclub in Hollywood Friday night when our photog tried jawboning with Justin.  But when J.B. wanted the pastor of Hillsong Church to get some face time, our photog obliged and the convo turned to surfing.

Houston — who also fronts the band Hillsong United — along with his co-pastor, Carl Lentz, are the spiritual advisers to lots of celebs. Lentz Baptized Biebs back in December.

Source: By TMZ Staff, Justin Bieber I Play Second Banana to My Pastor!!!, TMZ, http://www.tmz.com/2015/06/27/justin-bieber-pastor-joel-houston-hillsong-church-carl-lentz-video?adid=TMZ_Search_Results, Published 27/06/2015. (Accessed 15/07/2015.)

ShowBiz411 reports,

Justin Bieber Says He’s Even Deeper in with Cult-Like Australian Church

Justin Bieber just spent 5 days in Australia with Hillsong church. He took Stephen Baldwin’s daughter Hailey with him, and sang the church’s praises. Bieber is short several cards of a full deck and not exactly a member of Mensa. Maybe he’ll join this cult in the making and be their Tom Cruise or John Travolta. It just goes on and on.

I wrote about all this last fall. Scooter Braun should pay attention. These people want Bieb’s money.

From November 11, 2014
You cannot make this up. Justin Bieber, not exactly the brightest bulb in any lamp, is a follower of a sketchy Virginia man who calls himself a pastor and runs a church every Sunday at the Manhattan Center on West 34th St. Carl Lentz portrays himself as the Punk Pastor, and says he’s Pentacostal. His latest iteration is called Hillsong NYC church. But what his American, Canadian followers– and Bieber– may not know is Hillsong NYC is a branch of Hillsong Australia. That organization is considered by many in that country to be a cult.

Hillsong’s founder, Frank Houston, had to resign in 2000 after confessing to having molesting a 7 year old boy in 1969. He was never prosecuted, and the case haunts Hillsong and the Houstons, and now Lentz to this day. Even though Frank Houston is now dead. the story isn’t over. A recent hearing in Australia revealed that Frank’s son Brian, who now runs Hillsong. trivialized the incident and let his father continue to preach as part of their church, albeit surreptitiously. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11339319 He is also accused of trying to bribe the victim.

Bieber’s pastor, Carl Lentz, only became involved with Hillsong four years ago. In the video above, he explains how he hooked up with the Houstons– that’s Frank Houston’s grandson Joel with Lentz in the video, looking like Jay from “Silent Bob and Jay.” These two are supposed to be religious leaders; they are Justin Bieber’s spiritual guides. Joel has been running Hillsong NYC with Lentz since 2010.

Before he hooked up with the Houstons, Lentz operated Cal Lentz Ministries out of Washington state. The IRS recently revoked the 501 c 3 status of that outfit after Carl Lentz Ministries failed to file tax returns for three years. Lentz runs Hillsong in New York as a straight ahead business with no tax free standing. He’s registered Hillsong out of his father’s law office in Virginia, but hasn’t filed any paperwork. There is no transparency at all.

The connection between Lentz and the Houstons, and the history of Houston’s father, finally came to a boiling point in October in New York at a Madison Square Garden conference of Hillsong followers. Not only was Frank Houston’s molestation case examined, but also multiple scandals about finances at Hillsong and the cult’s attitude toward homosexuality. Brian Houston’s sidestepping has caused a lot of controversy among the followers.

I spoke to Carl Lentz’s father, Stephen Lentz, an attorney in Virginia Beach. He couldn’t have been nicer. Mr. Lentz explained that churches don’t have to file Form 990s, so nothing is amiss. He said he knew nothing about Hillsong Australia, and very graciously invited me to the Manhattan Center. Entrance to the services, which run all day long every Sunday, he says, is free. You donate what you want. But the Manhattan Center isn’t free. They charge $17,000 a day for the Grand Ballroom where the Hillsong services take place. Someone is paying for that, most likely Hillsong Australia.

Watch this video about Hillsong Australia:

Source: By Roger Friedman, Justin Bieber Says He’s Even Deeper in with Cult-Like Australian Church, ShowBiz 411, http://www.showbiz411.com/2015/06/30/justin-bieber-says-hes-even-deeper-in-with-cult-like-australian-church, Published 30/06/2015. (Accessed 20/09/2015.)

The butcher, the faker and the dodgy film maker

15 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Brian Houston's Beliefs

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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

Source: rlhouston, http://instagram.com/p/mnAAdDIY3Q/, 10/04/2014. (Accessed 10/04/2014.)

proof_InstagramBobbieHeavenIFR_11-04-2014

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.

proof_AkianeWaterAngel_11-04-2014

proof_AkianeElightenment_11-04-2014

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.

Heaven is for Real…Well Duh.

Film Adaptation of ‘Heaven Is for Real’ Being Planned; T.D. Jakes to Produce

The Burpo-Malarkey Doctrine

Heaven is for Real But the Movie is Not

Heaven is For Real – This Story is Not

Book Review: Heaven is for real

Demonic Deceptions in the Heaven stories. (Mostly about the Colton Burpo story Heaven Is For Real)

NOTE: All screen grabs were taken on the 11/04/2014.

Why Can’t Hillsong Admit They Are A Word Of Faith Cult?

08 Saturday Mar 2014

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Whenever Hillsong try to distance themselves from the destructive Word of Faith movement they are being dishonest with the general public.

Hillsong IS a Word of Faith cult and should never be understood to represent the historical Christian faith. Believe it or not, the Word of Faith teachings at Hillsong are more akin to that of the occult and new age spirituality.

Recently at Apprising Ministries, they exposed the following dubious conference Brian Houston of Hillsong Church spoke at:

T.D. JAKES PRESENTS WORD FAITH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

A2

Apprising Ministries continues covering a growing syncretism within apostatizing evangelicalism as it wanders further away from belief in the all-sufficiency of God’s Word and succumbs to silly superstitions derived from tis embrace of charismania and Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism.
While I told you that James MacDonald Was A Bit Late In Mainstreaming T.D. Jakes, even so, co-hosts James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll of their ecumenical Elephant Room 2 (ER2) would chose to use ER2 as a vehicle to place their blessing upon Word Faith mogul T.D. Jakes.

At ER2 MacDonald and Driscoll allowed Jakes to affirm both trinitarianism and modalism simultaneously and never did address Jakes’ Word Faith heresies. One of the basic principles of both ER1 and 2 was supposedly the adherents would demonstrate to us how to properly dialogue about differences.

However, the fruit of these conferences has been an emerging self-appointed Evangelical Ecumenical Magisterium (EEM) comprised of most of the multi-site megachurch pastors who participated in ER. EEM’s  James MacDonald would later imply that he’s continued private dialogues with T.D. Jakes.

MacDonald gave the impression that Jakes was now supposedly moving away from the Word Faith prosperity gospel at the core of his corrupt ministry. I recently discussed this further in T.D. Jakes Repents Of Word Faith Heresy And Mythology? You’re about to see further evidence that he has not.

The following is a clip from “Throw It Back,” which was Jakes’  New Year’s Eve 2013 message to hisPotter’s House. Same ‘ol T.D. Jakes heading into 2014:

Then, as you can see from the graphic above, Jakes’ Branching Out  (BO) conference, which begins tomorrow, proudly features Word Faith preacher Brian Houston of Hillsong Church, BO will also be giving us the notorious WF “Apostle” Frederick K.C. Price; and they don’t come anymore committed to WF heresies than Price.

Yet in spite of this T.D. Jakes’ Conference Will Feature A Saddleback Church Leader, which you are likely aware is the church headed by EEM member Rick Warren. In closing this, for now, let me remind you that Price:

received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1970 and soon began to develop a “faith” ministry. In 1973 Price founded an independent church in Los Angeles called Crenshaw Christian Center. Price was ordained by Kenneth Hagin Ministries in 1975.

In 1981 the congregation moved to 32 acres that formerly housed Pepperdine University. In 1989 he completed a new worship center called the Faithdome at a cost of over $10 million. The multiracial congregation now exceeds 15,000…

Price began a nationally broadcast television ministry in 1978 called Ever Increasing Faith, which is featured on more than 125 million stations in the U.S. and abroad. In 1982 he began teaching his faith message in crusades and conferences all across the U.S.

Price is the author of more than 30 books relating to the Holy Spirit and faith,…1

Christian apologist Mike Oppenheimer now shares a few of the Word Faith heresies propounded by Frederick K.C. Price. He begins with the critical information that Price is a disciple of Kenneth “Dad” Hagin, widely considered in WF circles as the very father of their movement:

Price claims that it was Hagin who had the greatest influence on his life. Frederick K.C. Price says: “Kenneth Hagin has had the greatest influence upon my life of any living man … his books … revolutionized and changed my life.”( Taped interviews on file at the Holy Spirit Research Center, Oral Roberts University cited in D. R. McConnell, The Kenyon Connection: A Theological and Historical Analysis of the Cultic Origins of the Faith Movement, a thesis submitted to the Theological Faculty, Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, OK, May 1982, p. 11).

This developed him into being the chief exponent of naming it and claiming it. Say it and frame it, speak it and keep it. Price who has become famous for his anti biblical stance of If you have to say, “if it be thy will or thy will be done- if you have to say that, then your calling God a fool.” He explains “What they told me to do was that whenever I prayed I should always say, ‘The will of the Lord be done.,’ Now, doesn’t that sound humble? It does. Sounds like humility, it’s really stupidity. I mean, you know, really, we insult God. I mean, we really do insult our Heavenly Father. We do; we really insult Him without even realizing it. If you have to say, ‘If it be thy will or’ Thy will be done’-if you have to say that, then you’re calling God a fool because he’s the One that told us to ask…. (“Ever Increasing Faith” program on TBN Nov.16,1990).

Despite all his rhetoric it’s not God who is the fool but those who say there is no prayer to say God’s will be done. If it isn’t his will its yours, and you might as well say God move over I’m your replacement. Hardly a comforting thought (see Jms.4:15, Mt.6:19, 1Jn. 514)

“If them animals belonged to, if those animals belonged ‘ to God, how come God didn’t give them their names?

Why did he leave it up to a puny man to give them the names to the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom, and the vegetable kingdom? Because they belonged under the control of Adam and not of God Why? He had dominion. Not God, Adam.” (Ever Increasing Faith program may 3, 1992) if this were true then how did God curse creation after the fall? How did man fall if we were in control of these kingdoms?

“Adam, as I said, gave it [the earth] away to the serpent, to the Devil. As a result of it he got his behind kicked out of the garden. He went out of Eden, out of the garden. He began to wander around, and he has troubles from day one. Now God was out of the business. God was out of the earth realm. God had no more stock in this earth realm. No more. None at all. Nothing He could do. Not a thing in the world He could do. The only way God could get back into this earth realm, He had to have an invitation. Ha-hah! He had to have an invitation.” (“Ever Increasing Faith” program on TBN [1 May 1992], audiotape #PR11.)

I think the words Price uses are dead giveaways to his understanding “God was out of the business” he had to be invited. But there is a heresy that is deeper than the obvious slip ups. The bible says nothing is impossible with God, but Price says it was not possible for God to control what he once did without man. Price has it  backwards. Do we see this happening in the Scripture, absolutely not.

“God the father cannot do anything in this earth realm without permission. Now again I realize that that statement is very as I say from an evangelical point of view (meaning the evangelical doctrines)… that this statement that I’m making that God can’t do is like going out and committing adultery to them, it sin, simple to say that.” Price thinks God needs mans permission to do things on earth.

“Now this is a shocker! But God has to be given permission to work in this earth realm on behalf of man….Yes! You are in control! So if man has control, who no longer has it? God…..When God gave Adam dominion, that meant God no longer had dominion. So God cannot do anything in this earth unless we let Him. And the way we let Him or give Him permission is through prayer.” (Frederick Price Quoted from – “Christianity in Crisis” by H. Hanegraaff, 1993)

Price does know his explanation is more than unusual yet he is satisfied with his own exposition for this.What kind of Bible teaching is this, God is not in control, man is. Who then is God to Fred Price?

“Yes! You are in control! So, if man has control, who no longer has it? God” (Fred Price, “Prayer: Do You Know What Prayer Is…and How to Pray?” (The Word Study Bible, 1990 p. 1178).

We are in control and God is not! So why pray to him, we might as well pray to ourselves. That’s exactly how it is put when he states don’t pray for God’s will. He explains “The way God has designed the system, we control. It’s up to us. “You see, I gave it to you before..”Matthew 18:18, “Whatever you bind on earth…bound in heaven; whatever you loose…it loosed in heaven.”

For every scripture Price seems to find to support his by faith its mine doctrine there are numerous more that clearly bring light to his erroneous conclusion. Isa.29:l6: “Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, ‘He did not make me’? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding?”

Fred Price affirms, “Jesus said, All authority… All of it.” How much is left out of the term all? Nothing. It’s an inclusive term. It leaves nothing out. He said, All authority in the heaven and in the earth is in My hands. It has been given to Me and what do you think the purpose of Almighty God giving Him the authority in the earth was for and He’s not here to use it? It’s because He gave that authority to the Church. In essence, He was saying, I’m going back to Heaven. I’ll take care of the authority in the heavenly realm but I’m leaving you here My body …and I’m giving you, by delegation, My authority in the earth realm. Go forth and conquer. The way God has designed the system, we control. It’s up to us.” (Fred Price, Ever Increasing Faith Lesea [on audio]).

Where does the Bible say Jesus gave us the control that he has? Scripture proof- none.

The only thing Price controls is his congregation with his twisted teaching of the word. It is bondage to believe these untruths.

Price believes the control is found in all that we say, “If you keep talking death, that is what you are going to have. If you keep talking sickness and disease, that is what you are going to have, because you are going to create the reality of them with your own mouth. That is a divine law.” (Fred Price, Realm, 29)

God and Man

Price does seem to uphold the trinity however he does have an aberrant view on our birth “All he did when he came here was get a body through Mary. And that’s all you did when you got here  you were already alive before you came into your mommas womb, you  were a livin spirit, you just came into your mommas womb so that  you can get a physical body so that you can live here” (Dec., 2003 Lesea Broadcasting)

Price says we all existed before birth. Where? Where did Adams spirit exist before birth? This is nonsense and not a Christian teaching. Jesus did indeed exist before birth as spirit  because he was God. We as humans did not exist in heaven nor a spiritual realm before our conception. (source)

Finally, here is WF prosperity preacher Frederick K.C. Price below from his Ever Increasing Faithpodcast teaching the classic WF fable that Jesus was wealthy financially:

This is the kind of “leader” the EEM-approved T.D. Jakes is attempting to drag into mainstream evangelicalism.

Further reading

Endnotes

  1. Stanley M. Burgess, Eduard M. van der Maas, Editors, Ed van der Maas, Author, The New International Dictionary Of Pentecostal And Charismatic Movements [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002],, 998. ↩

Source: By Ken Silva, T.D. JAKES PRESENTS WORD FAITH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE, Apprising Ministries, http://apprising.org/2014/03/05/t-d-jakes-presents-word-faith-leadership-conference/,  Published 05/03/2014. (Accessed 09/03/2014.)

An Accurate Account Of The Hillsong Phenomena & An Insider Look At Their Take-Over Of GCCC

20 Saturday Apr 2013

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Christian Witness Ministries publishes,

Why I Left Hill$ong Campus

Written by Lance Goodall

by Lance Goodall

Franchised:

I was an active member of Garden City Christian Church (GCCC) for 9 years from March 2001 to October 2009, under the leadership of Bruce Hills, pastor.

It was a great surprise to me, and to many others, that there was about to be a take- over by Hillsong.

After his return from 3 months leave, Bruce Hills was told by the board of GCCC in November 2008, that they wanted a pastor who was more of a CEO to run the church.1

By his own confession Bruce was told to resign.2

This begs the questions, “How long had the board been thinking of changing the leadership?” And who contacted whom? Did Brian Houston contact GCCC, or did the current assistant pastor Steve Dixon (SD) pick up the phone and raise the matter with Hillsong?

Brian Houston became Brisbane’s senior pastor under the guidance, leadership and affirmation of assistant pastor SD and the board of GCCC. So called “campus pastor” Steve Dixon according to a report in the Courier Mail was at the time unsure how long he would remain part of the pastoral team.3

Another question that begs an answer is, “Why did the elders and board members of GCCC unanimously endorse the “takeover” by Hillsong and Brian Houston as senior pastor without investigating Hillsong for themselves?” On the day of the members’ vote, a number of the elders stood on stage and testified that they had never ventured south to attend even one Hillsong conference in Sydney, yet they were backing this change all the way!

Members and adherents of GCCC weren’t given any opportunity to make any suggestions, nor was there any open discussion of leadership alternatives. The decision had been made. GCCC members were simply presented with one leadership appointment, and asked to vote.

There had been only one side of the story told. The information was always presented in a positive light, with little opportunity to question, or linger on doubts. Any questions raised were screened and well managed. I have since learned this is a technique used by the business world to manage change. There had been more spin over the pulpit in God’s name, during these months, than found in your average Colgate commercial.

Once the decision was made, GCCC became an instant “franchise” of Hillsong. The Church is now market driven under the guise of being – “purpose driven”.

Identity Crisis:

GCCC has totally lost its identity!

Without a moment to breathe, the leadership from Sydney suddenly arrived putting their stamp on this new way to “do church”. We were presented with a spokesman for this, and a spokesman for that. We even had a special “Money Preacher” to encourage and remind us of the need to tithe and give generously. Such coercion from a “church” viz Hillsong, which is a juggernaut financially, with a turnover of of $50 million plus a year4 is neither godly nor, in my opinion, acceptable.

We were no longer just affiliated with strong ties to Hillsong, we became Hillsong!

From day one everything had to change, and it did. For example – there was a fairly new coat of paint on the “church” walls from previous renovations, painted to a modern grey. Yet within days of the signs, and the optic fibre going in the carpark, the auditorium was repainted to the colour of the other Hillsong churches. Why spend the money?

As part of the takeover we had the celebrity gala feast; this one, and that one, from Hillsong Sydney visiting to give their counsel, and ideas. All the rich and famous were given a slot, and place of honour. For those who couldn’t get enough of their Hillsong idols they could now have them visit here in Queensland. With every guest appearance, Brian Houston became more like an Amway Diamond, than a pastor.

Hillsong is run as a Corporation not a church in its operation.

There is no New Testament precedent for this model and certainly not for its duplication.

The Church has taken its cue from Wall Street. It has been offered the kingdoms of this world, and yet instead of denying the flesh, it has embraced the path of least resistance, and in so doing, has denied the cross, and the One who bought us.

J. Edwin Orr pointed out that “seldom does God call one who ministers the Word to the ministry of money making. They are two separate callings.”5

By love for the world, we make ourselves an enemy of the cross:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him – 1 John 2:15.

Ambition and Success are the new golden calf.

Warren W. Wiersbe comments;

Few things taint our goodness like covetousness; a desire to be popular, and the ecstatic feeling that comes when we exercise power over the people who give us their idolatrous adoration. When our motives are wrong; our ministry is wrong; and the consequences are tragic for us, for those who follow us and for the whole church.6

This is now playing itself out at Hillsong Brisbane.

Seeking to be Sensitive:

The Hillsong way actually follows to the letter what is known as the Seeker Sensitive or Church Growth Movement model. This model is to help bring “unchurched” sinners into the meetings, and to make them as comfortable as possible with the experience.

  • Dress down in clothing and style. Jeans are the new formal wear;
  • Low mood lighting similar to a bar or nightclub. In Brisbane campus, it is so dimly lit it appears like night time, yet it’s 10:30 am in the morning. Quite a contrast especially in Queensland when the sun is up at 5:30 am;
  • Secular music is played as background music prior to the start of the service. eg The Verve – Bitter Sweet Symphony;
  • Worship – now accommodates the excitability of the young and the unchurched;
  • Music is now more about entertainment than the sole purpose of lifting up our God above all other gods;
  • The lyrics (words) of the songs have progressively become “I, me, my” focused instead of Christ Jesus focused – e.g. In Your Freedom I will live;
  • Worship is now limited to 20 minutes;
  • Big screens are not there for the glory of God. It’s not pictures of creation, but the names and faces of those on stage that are lifted up;
  • Hillsong relies on the quality of programmes not the power of the Holy Spirit for transformed lives;
  • Preaching is now a standard 20 minute sermonette;
  • Preaching on the whole is “relevant” and topical. It is now a people based message to “help” the hearer with their felt-needs e.g. happiness, family , finances, relationships, job, career etc;

This type of pop spirituality effectively teaches:

  • Every human being is divine or basically good;
  • God’s Word is not really the final authority, but is still useful as a moral guide;
  • The goal of my life is centred on me;
  • What I desire determines what happens in my life.

What this type of church model does, is nothing more than increase the numbers of adherents, and leaves the sinner in his sins. The church now has a flock of deceived sheep, or are they in reality misguided goats?

Massaging the Message:

  • Messages lack any mention of sin, repentance, prayer, obedience, death to self, holiness, sacrifice, suffering, hell, even God himself.
  • Preaching lacks sound doctrine. Closer analysis reveals it is more based around pop psychology, than biblical truth.
  • The message has little challenge or need for personal self assessment.

Yet the scripture exhorts us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith – 2 Corinthians 13:5

The preaching frequently includes different Bible versions. This includes The Message, which is a perversion and not a true translation.

  • Often this is quoted in church to expound or reveal a greater truth. It is normally thrown up on the big screen for everyone to read. The Message was produced by Eugene Peterson, as a simple paraphase, not as a translation from the original texts. Yet without fail, not a Sunday will go by without this Bible version being quoted.
  • To show the  degree we have strayed, the KJV has over 700 references to “Lord” in the New Testament alone. The Message has just 23 verses which mention “Lord”. But the real concern is that “Lord” is never once associated or found linked to “Jesus” in any way in The Message.

Brian Houston frequently preaches a message that is a watered down gospel. He teaches from Bible verses that were never meant to say what he teaches. This is known as Eisegesis.

Eisegesis (from the Greek root εις, meaning into, in, among) is the process of misinterpreting a text in such a way that it introduces one’s own ideas, reading into the text. This is best understood when contrasted with Exegesis. While exegesis draws out the meaning from the text, eisegesis occurs when a reader reads his/her interpretation into the text. As a result, exegesis tends to be objective when employed effectively while eisegesis is regarded as highly subjective.

Verses are used just because they have a certain word or contain a truth that fits with his message.

Houston Heterodoxy:

Brian Houston lacks or is happy to ignore all forms of discernment;

Brian Houston’s preaching could be termed “Heterodox Humanism”

He happily accepts and promotes the following teachers most of whom have personally been at Hillsong Conferences.

You will also find these people’s books as the only books available in the Hillsong Resource Centres (bookshop), along with Brian and Bobby’s material of course!7

  • Joyce Meyer – Prosperity Teacher/ Preacher. cf. Paul’s instruction about women teachers – 1 Timothy 2:12.
  • Joel Osteen – Prosperity Preacher and denier of the true Gospel
  • Jerry Saville – Prosperity Preacher
  • T D Jakes – Prosperity Preacher and denier of the trinity (advertised as guest speaker at the 2010 Hillsong Conference).
  • Rick Warren – member of the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) trained under Robert H. Schuller (a la – The Hour of Power)
  • Bill Hybels – Pastor of Willow Creek Church – who has admitted getting it wrong with the Seeker Sensitive model. Hybels trained under Robert H. Schuller and is good friends with Rick Warren. According to Schuller — Self Esteem is the new reformation!! He defines sin as a lack of “self-esteem”.
  • Pearsons – Jeremy Pearsons (wife Sarah) son-in-law of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland—visited Hillsong Powerhouse in Sydney in October 2009 for Encounter ’098
  • Hillsong United band played for the Pope  during his visit to Sydney in 2008.
  • Sisterhood (a term widely used by Hillsong) is a concept borrowed from the Women’s liberation movement, and the new age.

Darwin’s Day:

Finally one of the worst instances of spiritual bankruptcy I’ve experienced was the live performance of the “Hillsong Creation story”, featured at Hillsong Brisbane on 11-Oct-2009.

Aspects can only be touched on here. The play was done in humour, and obviously aimed at a child audience. However the fun and humour ends very quickly, where the creation narrative turns into a sham and a circus. Plants and animals were various members of the congregation, dressed in costumes. More and more characters appeared on stage, and we had six or more of the cast from the pastoral team. Somehow we were meant to make the mental leap, as a congregation, from the bouncing chicken and the freckle faced rat to God’s act of creating our world and the Universe out of nothing!?!

The seven days of creation were played out by various actors and God even created for us – “Superheros”, like Batman and the Incredible Hulk, both making a guest appearance. God is so “great”, that He invented superheros, can openers, and cars!

The Holy Spirit at one stage was taking too long to come –“hovering over the waters”. Towards the end Adam and Eve appeared clothed (minus the fall, sin and satan, and God’s provision). The story ends ….

Steve Dixon then expounded for about twenty minutes the creation story as found in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.

He touched on a few points expressing the view that we are not able to know the exact time frame of God’s creation, whether it was a literal seven days, or a certain period of time which God took to make earth.9

Darwin would have been proud on this 150th Anniversary of his Origin of Species, and Richard Dawkins would be more than bemused.

The Church in the West for too long has sailed along in fair seas. The Zephyr has fluttered at our sails in the height of summer, and has blown comfort upon the people. Our ship has sailed below sapphire skies, the crew sleeps, while the current of the world, and tides of apostasy have taken us off course, and we barely know it.

The worst of it is, darkening clouds beckon on the horizon, bringing a storm of ecumenism and coming persecution with barely anyone to trim the sail of this wayward vessel.

Conclusion:

Since the introduction of Hillsong to Brisbane, this once truly relevant and purposeful church has been sideswiped. A church birthed in humility and zeal by its founders, who gave all to the cause of Christ, have now become a people who have lost their way, and now dance to the flute of the musician, whose song is not the song of the Lord.

The love of fame and fortune have been Christianized, and an unsuspecting flock now give their allegiance to a captain who cares “little, if anything, for their salvation”.

It must be said that they who began well have turned aside to follow a shepherd who is no shepherd. The hireling has crept in unawares.
Paul complained in his day:

For I have no man like-minded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s – Philippians 2: 20, 21.

The way once narrow, now abandoned, has become a broadened highway, opening up to the verdant plains leading on to the gates of a city that arises in the distance. It is that great city, clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! It is a city proud, that city upon seven hills – BABYLON.

about the author

Lance Goodall and his wife Norilyn have both served the Lord in the AOG movement for many years. They have since come out of the Church Growth Movement. They both have a concern for the knowledge of God and His glory. They carry in their heart, a love for Gods’ honour, for His Word, and for the salvation of the lost….

Footnotes

1 Part of the transcript from a sermon preached by Bruce Hills at Legana Church in Tasmania – Easter – April 2009 – DVD can be obtained by ordering from Legana Church.

2) CWM has a copy of a transcript from a tape recording of Bruce preaching in which he make this confession.

3) The meeting was held on Sunday 26th April 2009 to determine the vote from the congregation. 80% of those present agreed to have Brian & Bobbie Houston as senior pastors

4) http://tinyurl.com/242myr7

5) J. Edwin Orr, Revival is like judgement Day (Atlanta: Home Mission Board, SBC 1987) p. 14

6) Warren W. Wiersbe – The integrity Crisis (Nashville; Oliver Nelson Publishers, 1988) p. 56.

7) I personally visited the store, and viewed the books all over the shelves in the resource centre (bookshop) at Brisbane Campus. I suggest you check out any Hillsong bookshop

8)http://tinyurl.com/289qwxk

9) This “play” was performed at the Garden City, Brisbane congregation in the 10:30 am service on the 11th October 2009.”

Source: Lance Goodall, Why I Left Hill$ong Brisbane Campus, Franchised, Christian Witness Ministries, http://www.cwm.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=148:why-i-left-hillong-brisbane-campus&catid=45:cetf52&Itemid=41,