I watched the FX documentary, The Secrets of Hillsong last week, and it struck me that the allure of Hillsong was also the cause of its downfall. If you aren’t familiar with the story, Hillsong NYC’s pastor, Carl Lentz, grew the church to seven services with thousands of congregants. He also had multiple affairs, and various other moral failings which led to the church’s eventual closing.
I had a chance to write about the problem of Hillsong alongside the power of ordinary churches for Religion News Service:
“The problem of Hillsong goes deeper than the scandals surrounding a celebrity pastor. The problem of Hillsong arises with the desire to be an extraordinary church led by an extraordinary communicator and extraordinary musicians creating an extraordinary experience. When it comes to church, we don’t need to be entertained. We don’t need to be wowed. We need ordinary churches with ordinary people doing ordinary work in communion with an extraordinarily loving God.”
To read more about the problem of Hillsong and the power of ordinary churches, go here.
More with Amy Julia:
- Religion News Service: Hillsong was extraordinary. That’s the problem.
- The Blessings of a Small Church
- I’m a Denominational Mutt
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