The J's did a story on the Hillsong Conference last week. Have a listen and see what you think... I'm not gonna give my opinion just yet.
*my opinion* No offence kiddies who have been to Hillsong, but that's just not my cup of tea. I believe that Steve Kinnane did a balanced report on that.
What was Bobbi Houston thinking? Saying those kinds of things from the altar?! Is she trying to get women on a fast-track to anorexia and self-esteem issues? As a woman and a Christian I find it incredibly demeaning for someone to tell me in order to be attractive to my partner, I must lose weight or whatever. I don't care whether it's coming from the mouth of a Christian or not, no one has the right to speak to kind of negative scripts into mine or anyone else's life. In fact, it's downright judgemental - everything that Christians shouldn't be.
It all sounds a little suss to me. It doesn't quite sound authentic, a place where people can be real or be themselves. It sounds like its hard to determine between hype and an authentic encounter with God. I may have just put a few noses severely out of joint here, but I think it's really important not to take everything Hillsong says or does as gospel and they're not perfect or flawless. It's incredibly important to discuss and analyse the effect that Hillsong has on people and whether it's the hype or God or last night's Mexican that's speaking into people's lives. I wonder whether people who go there wake up on a Monday morning craving God or the church itself.
Disclaimer - I am tired and my views may not have necessarily come out as coherently as I intend them to.
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Ok. Well I believe that Kinnane's story was balanced because he got Ronan Sharkey to go out to the church itself and find out what it was all about. He also had some very pro-Hillsong talkback happening. This is incredibly balanced. Incidently, the reason why I stumbled upon this story was because I was listening to the J's yesterday evening and Steve Kinnane did a quick follow up and said, "We tried to get Brian Houston in for an interview last week, but he was obviously very busy. We tried again this week and he still refused.' So really the only thing that was preventing a balanced story was the church itself.
With Bobbi Houston's comments? I think it's blatant! She pretty much said, if you want to have good sex and you want your husband to think you're attractive, lose weight! That is neither biblical nor is it sensitive! Has she lost the plot? Has she not figured out that attractiveness is not merely on a physical level? You can be attractive on a spiritual or intellectual level as well.
As for money - I think you missed the point. Yes, a lot of them are songwriters and authors and yes, they are entitled to the profits of that (so long as they tithe, I guess). But the lack of accountability as to where the church funds such as offering goes is a very scary thing indeed, especially when we're talking about $40 million.
I think that woman being excommunicated should never have happened. You have to really question why they did that - they knew her for 20 years! If everything was in the clear with Hillsong, they should have done the interview with her to show that they have nothing to hide and that everything was above board. In my eyes, excommunication does not help them any. If they were truly loving their neighbour as themselves they would have dealt with her in a totally different manner. As I understand it, the leadership did not follow Matt 8:15. She asked for an interview, they told her to never come back again. A little harsh, don't you think?
prechristians will never know how to react to counterculture attitudes we as christians have
I resent that comment. It sounds like we're holier than them and often we don't need to shove that in their faces. Comments like that do not achieve anything.
In regards to Adam's comments below
having more money does not make you enjoy more
Whether or not there is corruption is another issue but if there was no one would ever know.
No, having more money actually gives you more responsibility and it would in God's eyes, put you under more pressure as to what you are doing with it. But God chooses whom He wishes to "bless" with money as He is confident in their ability to use it well for His purpose.
Corruption happens as we are tempted and we have the choice which is God's way or to sin. No one would know if we chose to on the human (worldly) level but God knows. (Although occasionally, consequences do expose us) There is so much more to lose by Him knowing than anyone else knowing.
Also, Hillsong may present a "shallow" version of Christianity and I'm not saying its right, but that's why we have bible studies and other times we are fed on meatier stuff. But that usually happens as we GROW. It would be pretty hard to put someone who's just looking at Christianity straight into a study on Romans. They would freak! Thus, as Hills is a church which is monitored worldwide, it has to tackle more "commercial, relevant" issues to people who aren't Christians yet.
I'm never as eloquent as all of youse but you know I love youse and its not an attack. Just me trying to sort things out ;) in my fuddy brain love Joos
Kids, can I just ask that before you comment on this very touchy subject, can you please actually listen to the story that I posted about? That way we're all on the same page and we're not swinging random accusations around. Plus, it makes the argume- I mean debate all the more fun!
Sorry to be anal but Kinnane is a presenter, not a journalist. And his producer would have been responsible for the way the story would have been presented and they would have definitely been the one screening the calls for talkback and you have to concede that the talkback was incredibly balanced. The fact that Kinnane even did talkback is proof that he wanted a balanced story. Just like Adam, it really annoys me when people say that the media are nasty people who try and beat up a story for all it's worth and throw ethics out the window. That's a grand sweeping stereotype - we aren't like that at all.
With most news stories - print and broadcast - there simply isn't enough time to create a bias even if we wanted to. So in short, lay off the media, we're not the big, malicious evil that everyone makes us out to be.
Put simply, the J's could have totally ripped into Hillsong. But they didn't. And even if you think they have portrayed Hillsong in a negative light (which is your own personal opinion based on your context) it comes back to the old adage - bad publicity is still good publicity. The J's report would probably have put a few more bums in pews anyway.
My fear is that Hillsong attracts and probably converts large amounts of people but the turnover of the people is probably just as large. My understanding is that at first the environment is warm and welcoming and then as time passes, that slowly wanes. I don't know about you but I'd hate to be just another face in the crowd. My fear is that people get converted and get really enthusiastic but then there is nothing substantial, no-one to walk alongside them and build them up. And you do have to wonder why they are becoming a Christian, is it the promise of better finances, the lure of lots of friends or a real yearning to get to know God?
I'm not accusing, I'm just wondering and airing fears that I've had for at least four years.
I'm going to pick on one thing (ok two things) you said Gary only because it hit a nerve and hey, this is my blog, I'll say what I like.
a person who focus on abundance is more able to focus on others. if you are not lacking yourself, you are less worried about suvival and more able to consider others around you.
I'm gonna lay it out here. I am lacking, in fact very lacking financially. But I would not say that that effects my capacity to consider others around me. In fact, I would say it gives me the opportunity to be more empathetic and a heck of a lot more humble than if I had a lot more money.
And as for bias, there's always going to be contextual bias. But this is an unconscious thing, like we've said before, we as journalists simply do not have the time to be consciously creating bias just in order to make someone look bad. The majority of the time in news, the aim is just to present the facts and the facts alone. The audience makes its own conclusions from what is presented.
The only form of journalism which would go out intentionally to cause a stir is the dying art of Investigative Journalism, which is an incredibly time and money consuming field. And one only has to see the results of investigative journalists such as Estelle Blackburn (author of Broken Lives - a book about John Button, a man who was wrongly accused of one of the murders committed by Eric Edgar Cooke in the 1960's) who are the catalyst for positive outcomes such as innocent people having false murder convictions quashed.
And yes, there are some journalists who go out intentionally wanting to blacken someone's name, but they make up a minute minority. To tar all other journalists with the same brush is verging on crazycakes.
yes mum...
Aaaaugh!!!
Prechristians unite!
Sorry, i have an attack of the screaming heebie-jeebies around christian jargon. An anglican upbringing will do that to you.
I'm not a prechristian, i'm a postchristian. :P
I want a sand box too.
(i just thought i'd inject a bit of craziness into an otherwise far too serious blog-post-comments-thingy)
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