A non-argumentative hillsong question

this was taken from www.hillsong.com/media - if u want to know the truth this is a good place to look.

GratefulHeart - can I ask, what is your relationship to Hillsong to be able to speak on their behalf? Are you a minister there? Thanks!

zug said:

GratefulHeart - can I ask, what is your relationship to Hillsong to be able to speak on their behalf? Are you a minister there? Thanks!

Click to expand...

Well without going into any specifics i know all the Pastors quite well and pretty much speak to some of them on a day to day basis, in regards to Emerge i am very good friends with most there as well

grateful heart said:

Well without going into any specifics i know all the Pastors quite well and pretty much speak to some of them on a day to day basis, in regards to Emerge i am very good friends with most there as well

Click to expand...

Ok ... so you're not actually on their ministerial team or board then? Fair enough ...

15 February 2006

Dear Friend,

Hillsong Emerge has recently received media attention regarding an offer of funding for a Crime Prevention Program for youth in the Blacktown area.

The funding offer of $414,479 was made to Hillsong Emerge and six other community partners. Following the submission of the application, one of those partners, the Riverstone Aboriginal Community Association (RACA), withdrew its support of this partnership. RACA made a number of demands on the community partners and the government department responsible for the grant in order to remain committed to the partnership.

Many attempts were made to meet these demands, however all efforts to include RACA were unsuccessful. On 1 February 2006, we were advised by the Federal Government that the offer of funding had to be withdrawn due to the change in the original partnership structure. The government indicated that Hillsong Emerge and the remaining partners are welcome to reapply in future funding rounds.

The Australian newspaper's claim that Hillsong Emerge was "stripped of a $414,479 federal grant following allegations it obtained funds by exploiting and deceiving the Aboriginal Community", is totally untrue and without foundation.

Since Hillsong Conference 2005, The Australian newspaper has run articles attempting to attack and discredit Hillsong Church and its community initiatives through Hillsong Emerge. We believe these articles to be agenda driven and politically based.

Hillsong Church and Hillsong Emerge subscribe to a high level of accountability and ethical standards. While there may continue to be attacks on our credibility and name, we as a leadership, want to assure you that we remain committed to practices that are both legally and biblically above reproach.

There is a media section on our website www.hillsong.com/media where you can find our responses to these types of news stories. We encourage you to take advantage of this not only for your reference but to set the story straight with work colleagues, friends, and family members who may be unfamiliar with our church.

Thank you for your continued love and support.

Yours faithfully,

George Aghajanian
General Manager



---------------

It's an email i got ages ago

Ok ... so you're not actually on their ministerial team or board then? Fair enough

Click to expand...

nah no im not

gh - they're just baiting you. If they really wanted to know, they would have PM'd you. People will believe what they want to believe. And some people love to bash christians (even some who claim to actually be christians themselves)

sherri said:

gh - they're just baiting you. If they really wanted to know, they would have PM'd you. People will believe what they want to believe. And some people love to bash christians (even some who claim to actually be christians themselves)

Click to expand...

Anyone intelligent would know how to deal with traps. If it's the truth that traps a person, then it's for their own good.

If GH claims to be superior in wisdom, then let him deal with the traps. Avoiding them only leads to another trap.

PM are mainly for prayers, not to recieve superior knowledge. I've known several people whom have PMed GH about the topic and have not recieved any reply.

Either they're Christian and GH is lazy, or that they're non-Christian and a bunch of Liars.

You choose.

gh - they're just baiting you. If they really wanted to know, they would have PM'd you. People will believe what they want to believe. And some people love to bash christians (even some who claim to actually be christians themselves

Click to expand...

Thank You Sherri

Anyone intelligent would know how to deal with traps. If it's the truth that traps a person, then it's for their own good.

If GH claims to be superior in wisdom, then let him deal with the traps. Avoiding them only leads to another trap.

PM are mainly for prayers, not to recieve superior knowledge. I've known several people whom have PMed GH about the topic and have not recieved any reply.

Either they're Christian and GH is lazy, or that they're non-Christian and a bunch of Liars.

You choose.

Click to expand...

back again huh jim? lol i would like to know these Pm people because i have answered everyone that has, and where in the rules does it say pm's are mainly for prayers?

sherri said:

gh - they're just baiting you. If they really wanted to know, they would have PM'd you. People will believe what they want to believe. And some people love to bash christians (even some who claim to actually be christians themselves)

Click to expand...

I take offence at your statement.

I have worked for years in the areas of media and police and have been taught to question and weigh-up the evidence. I do not accept things blindly.

I also believe I have the privilege to do this as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I have not contacted GH because (and with no offence to him) I do not consider GH impartial... nor do I see that he would provide any more information than would be the official Hillsong line.

I'm aware that some Christian denominations work on the maxim that you don't question your leadership or the way your church is run... often at the threat of ostracism or exclusion.

I do not belong to such a denomination... infact I'm non-denominational... so I will question what I like.

Media conspiracy, or not, the media coverage of Hillsong recently has brought wider-Christianity into disrepute and I believe all Christians have a right to investigate the situation... without being coerced through manipulative tactics (like you are employing) to accept that Hillsong is incapable of doing anything wrong... on blind faith.

*edit*

I will also add that everything I have posted is in correspondence with forum rule 1.3. My right to question is protected by this forum... and it is also a poster's right to continue questioning when another poster defers all questions to the private mail. In other words... just because a poster decides to answer only by pm... their opponents are not obliged under the rules to comply with that poster's wishes.

Thats true bad, and i have a right not to answer in public

grateful heart said:

Thats true bad, and i have a right not to answer in public

Click to expand...

Yes, and we have a right to talk about this in public.

Yes, and we have a right to talk about this in public.

Click to expand...

ummm read above, the bad already went through this lol

of course to question things one must have some decent proof and knowledge of the subject IMO reading a newspaper article or disgruntled people off the web or doing a google search doesnt really warrant this now does it, and please for all the journos he still think they will only print fact, you are living in a peter pan world

The Bad Templar said:

I take offence at your statement.

I have worked for years in the areas of media and police and have been taught to question and weigh-up the evidence. I do not accept things blindly.

I also believe I have the privilege to do this as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I have not contacted GH because (and with no offence to him) I do not consider GH impartial... nor do I see that he would provide any more information than would be the official Hillsong line.

I'm aware that some Christian denominations work on the maxim that you don't question your leadership or the way your church is run... often at the threat of ostracism or exclusion.

I do not belong to such a denomination... infact I'm non-denominational... so I will question what I like.

Media conspiracy, or not, the media coverage of Hillsong recently has brought wider-Christianity into disrepute and I believe all Christians have a right to investigate the situation... without being coerced through manipulative tactics (like you are employing) to accept that Hillsong is incapable of doing anything wrong... on blind faith.

*edit*

I will also add that everything I have posted is in correspondence with forum rule 1.3. My right to question is protected by this forum... and it is also a poster's right to continue questioning when another poster defers all questions to the private mail. In other words... just because a poster decides to answer only by pm... their opponents are not obliged under the rules to comply with that poster's wishes.

Click to expand...

of course we will provide what the official hillsong line is thats what we beleive and see at church if we didnt we wouldnt be part of the church.

I don't see any evidence that Grateful Heart has any insights to offer. He is not a leader and has no inside knowledge to the events.

By this I mean no disrespect to Grateful Heart but, really, he has no additional information to give.

zug said:

I don't see any evidence that Grateful Heart has any insights to offer. He is not a leader and has no inside knowledge to the events.

By this I mean no disrespect to Grateful Heart but, really, he has no additional information to give.

Click to expand...

ummm actually do and have pmed it to a few people, the reason i havent posted it publically is becaused i was asked not to as the media have already taken enough things out of context and i dont want them to take more out of context as i dont really trust some people here with the info i have given out

Zug,

I totally disagree with you, about Greatful Heart.

G-H mentioned "a political Witch-Hunt".

If thats not inside information, I don't know What is!

grateful heart said:

have pmed it to a few people, the reason i havent posted it publically is becaused i was asked not to as the media have already taken enough things out of context and i dont want them to take more out of context as i dont really trust some people here with the info i have given out

Click to expand...

Truth has nothing to be afraid of.

Izero said:

G-H mentioned "a political Witch-Hunt".

If thats not inside information, I don't know What is!

Click to expand...

Then the conclusion is, you do not know what is.

After all, "a political witch-hunt" is a point of view, a polemic, and a label. It is not an explanation of the events.