The church is known for its contemporary worship music, with groups such as Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United and Hillsong Young & Free with many musical credits and hits. Hillsong was a member of the Australian Christian Churches – the Australian branch of the US-based Assemblies of God – until 2018, when they separated to form a new denomination. The original church was established in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, as Hills Christian Life Centre by Brian Houston and his wife Bobbie in 1983. Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a charismatic Christian megachurch based in Australia. Hillsong Global Board, Hillsong Eldershipīaulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia (3) Singing songs from Hillsong is a deliberate willingness to compromise our theology. (2) Singing songs from Hillsong means we are willing to contribute to their financial progress to continue spreading more erroneous music. (1) Singing songs from Hillsong means that we endorse them and are willing to promote their music. In 2007, Ian Carmichael gave three clear and compelling reasons why we should not sing the songs Hillsong are writing, and I would apply these to Jesus Culture as well: Jesus didn’t model it and he didn’t teach it.” He says, “Paul refers to his thorn in the flesh, which has been interpreted by many as disease, allowed or brought on by God. Elsewhere Johnson also teaches the Prosperity Gospel, stating that he cannot accept a theology that allows for suffering. I think this is a dangerous way of thinking about the miracles of Jesus. If He performed miracles because He was God, then they would be unattainable for us.” (p. My concern is that if we embrace the songs these churches are writing, it would lend credence to their ministries en toto as representative of orthodox Christianity, and our brothers and sisters in Christ will indiscriminately add their podcasts to their iPhones and their eBooks to their Kindles.īill Johnson, the pastor of Bethel Church in Reading, CA teaches in his book When Heaven Invades Earth, “ performed miracles, wonders, and signs, as a man in right relationship with God. The difference for me between excluding a hymn written by someone who was allegedly accused of denying the divinity of Christ yet clearly stated the opposite before his death and excluding songs written by two specific contemporary bands whose churches’ theologies I view as in error at best, is that these two contemporary churches are highly influential. It would be ridiculous for me to not recognize their talent and capability as top notch rock musicians. In fact, many of their songs are lyrically sound. And the problem is not with the content of the song.Īlthough I do take issue with some lyrics from Jesus Culture and Hillsong, it’s typically not the content of their songs that gives me concern. But that is a purely hypothetical scenario since it seems he in fact recanted. So say perhaps he had denied the divinity of Christ and never recanted: I suppose perhaps that could change my decision whether or not I would sing the hymn. I don’t know everything there is to know about Robinson, but from what I have read, if he ever did “leave the God I love,” as his hymn said he felt his tendency to do, he apparently toward the end of his life unequivocally declared that Jesus is indeed God. Why do I specifically exclude these two churches and bands when there are countless theological differences with songwriters whose songs we do include in our liturgies?įor example, the hymn Come Thou Fount, written by Robert Robinson: apparently later in his life Robinson became a Unitarian and denied the divinity of Christ. Some think this is going too far but given the millions of songs available to choose from, excluding the songs written in churches such as these is a mere drop in the bucket. My guiding principle essentially says that if I wouldn’t quote their pastor or allow him to preach in our pulpit, then I won’t use the songs their bands write. With that in mind, I want to share why I have chosen to exclude the songs written by Jesus Culture and Hillsong from our repertoire. Selecting certain songs by its very nature means that there are other songs we don’t sing. As one of the chief musicians at New City Church, I’ve been given the privilege and responsibility of selecting biblically faithful songs for our gathered worship.
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