is Hillsong really a cult?

[P0ntifex]

Well, put it this way... I don't like their selling God for dollars practice. It's almost like what my denomination used to do centuries ago. Every second time God is mentioned ask for money. Want your sins to be forgiven give us money. God will show you he loves you by making you rich. Then sell a whole bunch of merchandise as well that I sincerely doubt all goes to the poor. It's almost like the temple markets Jesus made a stand against.

I have to agree with you 100%

 

[darkaus32]

Acts 8
18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

It depends on who is being glorified more - the senior pastor running the church whose picture may be planted all around the place and people accept what he preaches and teaches over and above what the Bible says. We have to remember that there is only one Lord and Saviour and one mediator between man and God. Our Lord Jesus Christ. If Mr Houston is put up on a pedestal and treated as "the man of the moment" who is hearing the voice of God more clearly than anyone else, then the church is a cult, basing itself on hero worship and idolatory, giving more regard for the creature than the Creator.

Remember, the Mormon church has great services, wonderful music and dynamic preachers, and they call themselves the Church of Christ of the Latter Day Saints, but that does not prove that they have sound, Bible-based doctrine, any more than a Pentecostal/Charismatic church that has the picture of its senior pastor (and wife) plastered all over the bill boards advertising the church.

 

[TheDag]

and likewise just because they do appear on posters does not mean they are worshipped.

 

[Khasilooluv]

Maybe it's because I know the pastor of Hillsong through his sister, at least the pastor of the NYC worship. They are extremely genuine and kind people. I'm not sure if you are talking about Hillsong as a whole or just the original church in Auz, but just from my personal experience, I would say no.

 

[Ariel Gavriel]

I like some of the old Hillsong stuff feat: Darlene Zschech. Listened to one of Brian's sermons on JCTV the other night and was greatly surprised to hear him quote from the message bible. That was enough for me to turn it off.

 

[dude99]

Well, put it this way... I don't like their selling God for dollars practice. It's almost like what my denomination used to do centuries ago. Every second time God is mentioned ask for money. Want your sins to be forgiven give us money. God will show you he loves you by making you rich. Then sell a whole bunch of merchandise as well that I sincerely doubt all goes to the poor. It's almost like the temple markets Jesus made a stand against.

I go to HIllsong and no one is compelled to give them money. In addition there was one time I was very much struggling financially and trouble paying my bills, and I never asked anyone for money there yet I was given over $200 by my small church cell group. I even at first refused this request but the church cell group leader said take it as she said I was struggling financially.

In addition I was also given food through the church as well. Plus a free food voucher card as well at another time at the value of $50.00 so I can use it at a supermarket.

 

[QuietSoul]

I was at Hillsong for six years. When I was there, I was very defensive of Hillsong. They got a bad run in the media plus i was surrounded by non-Christians in my family and other circles who were generally anti-Christianity and embarrassed that i was a Hillsong Christian. So that made me even more defensive.

Since leaving, i feel i have an insight i didn't have before then. Part of the insight came from having ended up in a cult (not Hillsong) which i am now out of, and i must say that Hillsong definitely has some unhealthy dynamics that are found in cults. In saying that, i don't believe they are a cult, just as you can't diagnose a person with an illness based on one or two symptoms. But i think that the cultic dynamics that Hillsong does have needs serious examination and addressing rather than flippant dismissal by Hillsong staff and parishioners. IMO...

 

[dude99]

i was surrounded by non-Christians in my family and other circles who were generally anti-Christianity

There are many non Christians out there that are generally anti-Christianity, and some are very outspoken about it. In addition many people especially the young ones would think it is weird for a young person to go to any church service especially if it considered conservative. Yet it a different topic.


I also at times go to another church too and the services are different.

No church is perfect. Yet I have seen hundreds of people giving their life to Jesus there, just like other Churches where I have seen people giving their life to Jesus.

I used to attend a conservative protestant church and there were people there that believed Catholics are not real Christian. Yet for me I don't necessary shared that opinion. Like all Churches, not everyone that attends them are saved.

 

[Serendipity..]

Imagine if john Newton wrote Amazing grace with a mini$try of profit instead of the good of all believers to use it for free..

Hillsong charge other churches to sing their songs. I dunno about that. The concept of charging your fellow believer to praise God with your work seems a bit fishy to me.







Off their site:


The following is a listing of licence types offered by Hillsong Publishing and their sub-publishers world wide.
NB: If you are outside Australia and New Zealand, please refer to ourSub-Publishers page to see if the country you are in has a local sub-publisher. If there is a sub-publisher for your region, please contact them directly for assistance in obtaining a licence for your project. If there is not a sub-publisher for your region, please contact Hillsong Publishing by email at publishing@hillsong.com or call +61 2 8853 5284 for a quotation.
MECHANICAL LICENCE
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This licence has a standard term of 12 months and is charged at 6% of Recommended Retail Price (RRP) pro rata plus a standard $25.00 administration fee.
COMMERCIAL PRINT LICENCE
A Commercial Print licence is for music books and sheet music, including commercially distributed arrangements.
This licence has a standard term of 12 months and is charged at 12.5% of Recommended Retail Price (RRP) pro rata plus a standard $25.00 administration fee.
Please note that if you are seeking to reproduce lyrics or sheet music for your church service or worship team, your best option will be to take out a CCLI licence. Please refer to the CCLI Website for further information.
PRINT (SPECIAL) LICENCE
A Print (Special) licence is for any lyric or music print reproductions that are NOT music books or sheet music. i.e. greeting cards, wedding programs, gift items, novels, magazines etc. If the song is being quoted in a literary work, please send the page before, page of and page after the quotation for consideration.
The royalty rate for this licence will vary depending upon how the lyric or music is used within your project. Generally, we charge $0.10 to $0.15 per copy plus a standard $25.00 administration fee. Please contact Hillsong Publishing by email at publishing@hillsong.com or call +61 2 8853 5284 for a quotation.
SYNCHRONISATION LICENCE
A Synchronisation licence is required when music is being "synchronised" with other media, such as video, film and advertising. The particular sound recording information as well as the song information is required for this licence type. Please contact Hillsong Publishing by email at publishing@hillsong.com or call +61 2 8853 5284 for a quotation.
CHURCH REPRODUCTION LICENCE
A Church Reproduction licence covers churches for usage specific for worship in a church setting. This includes print reproduction, non-commercial mechanical reproductions and customised arrangements.
This licence has a standard term of 12 months and is charged at $10.00 per song plus a standard $25.00 administration fee.
MASTER USE LICENCE
This is a request for the use of the sound recording owned by Hillsong Music Australia. This includes the duplications of sound recording/s for church worship teams, compilations, and use of sound recordings in film and video. For master use requests, we will require a full description of the purpose for which the music will be used, and a listing of each song requested, including the duration for each song and which album each song is from.
The royalty rate for master use licences varies greatly depending upon how you are using the sound recording. If you are seeking to use a master sound recording synchronised with other media, please contact Hillsong Publishing by email at publishing@hillsong.com or call +61 2 8853 5284 for a quotation. If you are creating a compilation or duplication, the royalty rate is $0.60 per master/ per unit plus a standard $25.00 administration fee.

CHURCH REHEARSAL CD LICENCE
This is a request for the use of the sound recording/s owned by Hillsong Music Australia, for church worship teams to learn songs. For Church Rehearsal CD requests, we will require a listing of each song requested and which album each song is from.
This licence has a standard term of 90 days, and is charged at $0.40 per master/ per unit plus a standard $25.00 administration fee.
ADMINISTRATION FEE
Each licence will incur a standard $25.00 administration fee in addition to the royalties. However, if you apply for more than one licence at a time, only one administration fee will be added to your invoice.

 

[TheDag]

Imagine if john Newton wrote Amazing grace with a mini$try of profit instead of the good of all believers to use it for free..

Hillsong charge other churches to sing their songs. I dunno about that. The concept of charging your fellow believer to praise God with your work seems a bit fishy to me.

it is the choice of other churches to use them so no biggie in my opinion. that means the only factor is what do they do with the money?

 

[QuietSoul]

There are many non Christians out there that are generally anti-Christianity, and some are very outspoken about it. In addition many people especially the young ones would think it is weird for a young person to go to any church service especially if it considered conservative. Yet it a different topic.


I also at times go to another church too and the services are different.

No church is perfect. Yet I have seen hundreds of people giving their life to Jesus there, just like other Churches where I have seen people giving their life to Jesus.

I used to attend a conservative protestant church and there were people there that believed Catholics are not real Christian. Yet for me I don't necessary shared that opinion. Like all Churches, not everyone that attends them are saved.

Fair point. Yep, many churches have faults or weaknesses. Sorry, make that ALL churches.

And it is indeed true that "no church is perfect", but I have also heard this line used to cover a multitude of sins. It's like saying "no parent is perfect", which is true, but that statement should not be used to neutralize issues that need serious attention.

Not saying you are doing this, but I will freely admit that i certainly did when I was at Hillsong.

If a practice is unethical, abusive or un-Christian, then it is just that, whether it's ong or some other church, or even.a secular organisation.

One can also say "no church is perfect " to avoid examining issues more critically or addressing them. A healthy person or organization acknowledges and addresses issues and CHANGES. So the issue is resolved

 

[dude99]

Fair point. Yep, many churches have faults or weaknesses. Sorry, make that ALL churches.

And it is indeed true that "no church is perfect", but I have also heard this line used to cover a multitude of sins. It's like saying "no parent is perfect", which is true, but that statement should not be used to neutralize issues that need serious attention.

Not saying you are doing this, but I will freely admit that i certainly did when I was at Hillsong.

If a practice is unethical, abusive or un-Christian, then it is just that, whether it's ong or some other church, or even.a secular organisation.

One can also say "no church is perfect " to avoid examining issues more critically or addressing them. A healthy person or organization acknowledges and addresses issues and CHANGES. So the issue is resolved

There's not a single one of us that is immune to Church hurts, because various areas of sin and brokenness still exist in our lives...because we are imperfect people that are in the lifelong process of being changed from glory to glory, to slowly become more and more like Jesus.

People claim that they are after your money yet you are not forced to donate money to the church. According to Brian Houston who stated on that subject:
Nobody is expected to give; giving at Hillsong Church is entirely free will and is treated as a private and personal matter. You could attend Hillsong Church for ten years, give nothing, and be treated the same as everybody else.

 

[Serendipity..]

it is the choice of other churches to use them so no biggie in my opinion. that means the only factor is what do they do with the money?

you can be sure they don't NEED it. As. If us Ausdies aren't well off enough anyway.

 

[HasAnswers]

People get some good stuff from Hillsong, so I don't like to say that you shouldn't go there. I have met some people involved in stuff there (don't want to give away too many details) and they seemed pretty worldly to me (not that I like to criticize).

But yeah... it's not a CULT.

But like any church there's dubious things about it.

 

[Serendipity..]

Westbro baptist is a cult and Hill$ong is a successful brand/franchise with some tax free status in Australia.

 

[JacobLaw]

I heard so many bad things about them, but I love their worship.

I also think they may be King James Only.

 

[TheDag]

I also think they may be King James Only.

I very much doubt it from my experience and friends who have gone there. They wouldn't go for that king james only garbage. Could be wrong. perhaps it has changed recently

 

[JacobLaw]

I very much doubt it from my experience and friends who have gone there. They wouldn't go for that king james only garbage. Could be wrong. perhaps it has changed recently

More like the other way around; they are more likely move from it and not to it, but of course that was nearly 20 years ago..

 

[teamjesus]

Hillsong = too much money, got greedy, yea their songs are nice, and yea they hold nice conferences and also do shows ( for a price ) but for me, Jesus died for free, i don't have to pay to go See HIM, i mean yea God may be using hillsong, or he may be not, but eh whatever i'm over it...