ONTD Original: Great Scandals of the Evangelical Church
In light of the upcoming Hillsong documentary and my own experiences with living in a Fundamental Christian/Born-Again household until I was in my 30s (when I escaped--I’m not even lying about that), I thought you fine people of ONTD might enjoy reading through some of the fuckery from so called preachers of the Word of God that have hit the mainstream in the last 30 plus years. I pulled many of these off the top of my head and then filled in memory with research that sent me down a path of recollections I would much rather forget, BELIEVE ME.
Warning: THERE IS READING INVOLVED.
Welcome to the
Hop in a pew, sistren. There's fuckery to uncover.
Chapter 1: Hillsong
Cause Jesus loves a rock concert
Denomination: Australian Christian Churches (formerly Assemblies of God Australia)
The Background: New Zealand native Frank Houston founded the Sydney Christian Life Centre (CLC) in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Waterloo, described by scholar Sam Hey as "a neo-Pentecostal megachurch" in 1977. Frank was considered one of the leaders of the Pentecostal movement in New South Wales and by 1980, the Sydney CLC joined Assemblies of God Australia. It wasn't the very first CLC in Australia; the first was founded in Brisbane, Queensland. It didn't take long for Frank to become a high muckety in the AoGA.
Bobbi (l.) and Brian (r.) Houston.
In 1983, Frank's son, Brian, and his wife Bobbi founded the Hills Christian Life Centre in Baulkham Hills. Like Frank's Sydney CLC, the Hills CLC was initially part of Assemblies of God Australia, and followed many of the main tenets of the worldwide Pentacostal and Evangelical movements.
The Scandals: WHICH ONE WOULD YOU LIKE? There are volumes that are being written currently about the bullshitery going on behind the scenes at Hillsong.
Tax-exempt organizations doing sketchy shit with grant money earmarked for work with aboriginal peoples, including using that money to pay their staffers? ☑️ CHECK.
Reprehensible stance on LGBTQI+ community, including being flip-floppy on said stance, especially if you're not engaged in a "homosexual lifestyle"? ✅ CHECK
Putting a song written by another pastor at a Brisbane church about his "successful" battle with cancer (titled 'Healer') on their album This is Our God; and then having to remove it because said pastor LIED ABOUT HAVING CANCER?? ✅✅CHECK CHECK!
The London branch of Hillsong stating that they didn't have to talk about the international protests that happened due to the murder of George Floyd because 'it didn't happen in our country'? Oh BIG CHECK ✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅
Not allowing women in their leadership? Oh where would a church be without some misogyny ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️CHECK!
But the ones that have really come into the recent mainstream have to do with Carl Lentz, the lead pastor of Hillsong NY, and Hillsong OG founder Brian Houston.
Carl Lentz - a real douchebag
Carl Lentz was the leader of the first Hillsong branch in the US, located in New York City. In the 2010s is when most of the mainstream started hearing about Hillsong, due to Justin Beiber joining the NY congregation. Celebrities flocked to Hillsong NY, and not only did Lentz oversee Beiber's baptism, but current Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant's. Other celebs attached to Hillsong at one time include: singer Selena Gomez, actor Crisp Ratt Chris Pratt and his wife Kathleen Schwarzenegger, former NY Knicks center Tyson Chandler (in who's bathtub Lentz baptized KD), model Hailey (Baldwin) Bieber, sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian, known COVID vaccine dodger Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, Hawkeye star Hailee Steinfeld, singer Nick Jonas and U2 frontman and Ukrainian poet Bono.
In the spring of 2020, a former nanny of the Lenzts wrote a piece posted on Medium accusing Lentz of repeated sexual harassment and abuse during her time as an employee of the Lentz family. As all men do, Lentz vigorously denied these claims and started dragging this poor person through the mud, as did his wife. The main Hillsong organization was brought in, investigating all four US ‘East Coast’ Hillsong churches (NYC, Boston MA, Norwalk CT and Montclair NJ). After Hillsong Global's investigation of both the sexual harassment and other employee mistreatment accusations, Lentz was fired as Lead Pastor of Hillsong NY. His wife and mother of four, Laura Brett Lentz, originally planned on repairing the marriage but upon further discoveries of infidelity, she separated from Carl in November of 2021. Laura was also fired from Hillsong NY.
Brian Houston (l.) and his father, Frank (r.). Creepers.
AT THE SAME TIME (2020-2021), the head pastor and founder of OG Hillsong Brian Houston, who was a known friend to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, was being investigated for covering up his father Frank’s sexual abuse of 9 boys in the 1970s. In one case, Frank was alleged to have sexually assaulted a seven year old boy, then tried to bribe his victim with $10000 AUD, promised on a contract scribbled on a McDonald’s napkin. Son Brian was alleged to have been the one to mail the bribe payment out after Frank reneged on the “promise”.
Unlike in the US, Australia (like the UK) has no statue of limitations on what they term 'historic sexual abuse', and Brian was finding this out in a big way. Even though throughout 2020 and 2021, Brian and wife Bobbi denied these claims, the Australian police charged Brian Houston in August 2021 with one count of concealing a serious indictable offense by his father, including firing Frank from his own ministry in 1999 and then taking over the Sydney CLC and rolling it into Hillsong to hide what Frank had done.
Houston dug in his heels and pleaded not guilty to the charge. But throughout 2021, both the church and Hillsong’s external legal council could not shake the charge from the Royal Commission on Institutional Leaders’ Handling of Sexual Abuse. Houston was forced to resign from position after position he held at Hillsong, until in January 2022, Houston announced that he was stepping down from all leadership positions at Hillsong, while his wife Bobbi would remain "fully engaged in church life", as explained by the couple’s daughter, Laura.
This was only his second; resignation. The third just occurred March 23rd, as Houston was found by the Hillsong board to have sexually harassed two women and completely removed himself from Hillsong Global. It is uncertain if wife Bobbi will remain "fully engaged in church life"--or stay with Brian--after this most recent scandal.
Current Ministry: It's uncertain what the current ministry of Hillsong is going to become in light of its very recent turmoil. It certainly has lost its cache in the public eye as it is now rolled in with many other megachurches who have fallen away from what their primary missions should have been. Just hours after Huston's third resignation broke, the pastor of the six-month old Hillsong Atlanta sanctuary announced his resignation, citing the continued scandals in New York and at Hillsong Global as the impetus.
On March 24th, Discovery Plus is releasing a documentary series called 'Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed'.
sources : 1, 2, 3; 4 (there are many, many others, and some of them can be found within these articles)
disclaimer: I do believe in a higher power out there in the cosmos (I choose to call it ‘God’, you good sistren can call it whatever it is you want to). Be a good person. Treat others how you want to be treated. DO NOT LET SOME FLASHY ASS GUY ON TV TELL YOU WHAT TO BELIEVE. Or one who stands in front of you in a pulpit on Sundays either. The best lesson I got out of my years of Christian captivity (oop, education) was the one that my mother really didn't want me to have: QUESTION EVERYTHING. The Bible is a book, claiming to be the Word of God but written by FALLIBLE, HUMAN MEN. It has been messed with multiple times and fashioned to fit what a small group of people (white men) WANTED it to say. You're allowed to challenge it. As a matter of fact, it's your duty to.
tl;dr: Matthew 7: 3-5
Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye...
EDIT: Thank you to everyone who pointed me in the right direction for coding and editing this monster. Future chapters will not be nearly as messy.
Warning: THERE IS READING INVOLVED.
Welcome to the
Hop in a pew, sistren. There's fuckery to uncover.
Chapter 1: Hillsong
Cause Jesus loves a rock concert
Denomination: Australian Christian Churches (formerly Assemblies of God Australia)
The Background: New Zealand native Frank Houston founded the Sydney Christian Life Centre (CLC) in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Waterloo, described by scholar Sam Hey as "a neo-Pentecostal megachurch" in 1977. Frank was considered one of the leaders of the Pentecostal movement in New South Wales and by 1980, the Sydney CLC joined Assemblies of God Australia. It wasn't the very first CLC in Australia; the first was founded in Brisbane, Queensland. It didn't take long for Frank to become a high muckety in the AoGA.
Bobbi (l.) and Brian (r.) Houston.
In 1983, Frank's son, Brian, and his wife Bobbi founded the Hills Christian Life Centre in Baulkham Hills. Like Frank's Sydney CLC, the Hills CLC was initially part of Assemblies of God Australia, and followed many of the main tenets of the worldwide Pentacostal and Evangelical movements.
The Scandals: WHICH ONE WOULD YOU LIKE? There are volumes that are being written currently about the bullshitery going on behind the scenes at Hillsong.
But the ones that have really come into the recent mainstream have to do with Carl Lentz, the lead pastor of Hillsong NY, and Hillsong OG founder Brian Houston.
Carl Lentz - a real douchebag
Carl Lentz was the leader of the first Hillsong branch in the US, located in New York City. In the 2010s is when most of the mainstream started hearing about Hillsong, due to Justin Beiber joining the NY congregation. Celebrities flocked to Hillsong NY, and not only did Lentz oversee Beiber's baptism, but current Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant's. Other celebs attached to Hillsong at one time include: singer Selena Gomez, actor Crisp Ratt Chris Pratt and his wife Kathleen Schwarzenegger, former NY Knicks center Tyson Chandler (in who's bathtub Lentz baptized KD), model Hailey (Baldwin) Bieber, sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian, known COVID vaccine dodger Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, Hawkeye star Hailee Steinfeld, singer Nick Jonas and U2 frontman and Ukrainian poet Bono.
In the spring of 2020, a former nanny of the Lenzts wrote a piece posted on Medium accusing Lentz of repeated sexual harassment and abuse during her time as an employee of the Lentz family. As all men do, Lentz vigorously denied these claims and started dragging this poor person through the mud, as did his wife. The main Hillsong organization was brought in, investigating all four US ‘East Coast’ Hillsong churches (NYC, Boston MA, Norwalk CT and Montclair NJ). After Hillsong Global's investigation of both the sexual harassment and other employee mistreatment accusations, Lentz was fired as Lead Pastor of Hillsong NY. His wife and mother of four, Laura Brett Lentz, originally planned on repairing the marriage but upon further discoveries of infidelity, she separated from Carl in November of 2021. Laura was also fired from Hillsong NY.
Brian Houston (l.) and his father, Frank (r.). Creepers.
AT THE SAME TIME (2020-2021), the head pastor and founder of OG Hillsong Brian Houston, who was a known friend to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, was being investigated for covering up his father Frank’s sexual abuse of 9 boys in the 1970s. In one case, Frank was alleged to have sexually assaulted a seven year old boy, then tried to bribe his victim with $10000 AUD, promised on a contract scribbled on a McDonald’s napkin. Son Brian was alleged to have been the one to mail the bribe payment out after Frank reneged on the “promise”.
Unlike in the US, Australia (like the UK) has no statue of limitations on what they term 'historic sexual abuse', and Brian was finding this out in a big way. Even though throughout 2020 and 2021, Brian and wife Bobbi denied these claims, the Australian police charged Brian Houston in August 2021 with one count of concealing a serious indictable offense by his father, including firing Frank from his own ministry in 1999 and then taking over the Sydney CLC and rolling it into Hillsong to hide what Frank had done.
Houston dug in his heels and pleaded not guilty to the charge. But throughout 2021, both the church and Hillsong’s external legal council could not shake the charge from the Royal Commission on Institutional Leaders’ Handling of Sexual Abuse. Houston was forced to resign from position after position he held at Hillsong, until in January 2022, Houston announced that he was stepping down from all leadership positions at Hillsong, while his wife Bobbi would remain "fully engaged in church life", as explained by the couple’s daughter, Laura.
This was only his second; resignation. The third just occurred March 23rd, as Houston was found by the Hillsong board to have sexually harassed two women and completely removed himself from Hillsong Global. It is uncertain if wife Bobbi will remain "fully engaged in church life"--or stay with Brian--after this most recent scandal.
Current Ministry: It's uncertain what the current ministry of Hillsong is going to become in light of its very recent turmoil. It certainly has lost its cache in the public eye as it is now rolled in with many other megachurches who have fallen away from what their primary missions should have been. Just hours after Huston's third resignation broke, the pastor of the six-month old Hillsong Atlanta sanctuary announced his resignation, citing the continued scandals in New York and at Hillsong Global as the impetus.
On March 24th, Discovery Plus is releasing a documentary series called 'Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed'.
sources : 1, 2, 3; 4 (there are many, many others, and some of them can be found within these articles)
disclaimer: I do believe in a higher power out there in the cosmos (I choose to call it ‘God’, you good sistren can call it whatever it is you want to). Be a good person. Treat others how you want to be treated. DO NOT LET SOME FLASHY ASS GUY ON TV TELL YOU WHAT TO BELIEVE. Or one who stands in front of you in a pulpit on Sundays either. The best lesson I got out of my years of Christian captivity (oop, education) was the one that my mother really didn't want me to have: QUESTION EVERYTHING. The Bible is a book, claiming to be the Word of God but written by FALLIBLE, HUMAN MEN. It has been messed with multiple times and fashioned to fit what a small group of people (white men) WANTED it to say. You're allowed to challenge it. As a matter of fact, it's your duty to.
tl;dr: Matthew 7: 3-5
Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye...
EDIT: Thank you to everyone who pointed me in the right direction for coding and editing this monster. Future chapters will not be nearly as messy.