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Hillsong NYC: Dishonorable Mentions

I only mention the early early days to point out that the toxic leadership culture of Hillsong NYC was not a creation of Carl Lentz. It’s a preset of the structure. And he, unfortunately, ran with it. We all did. Through actions and through acquiescence. Because to speak up or to question was to dishonor.

No Ordination Love

If I could tell Sam Collier anything, it would be to run – to therapy, to an accredited seminary, to decolonization work, to transparency and accountability, to healthy leadership – to anything to get to the truth about the ounces of him that have made him susceptible to this kind of harm and primed to perpetuate it.

I Get It

Your faith is dangerous. And not in the cool storming-the-gates-of-hell kinda way you might be imagining. The devil isn’t scared of you, but I am. Of you, for you. Because COVID is cold and impersonal, it is the genetically engineered shark in Deep Blue Sea and you are Samuel L. Jackson standing on the edge.

Hillsong Atlanta

I’m going to encourage the people of Atlanta to remember and take to the heart some of the final words of that launch team video: Without you, Hillsong Atlanta doesn’t exist. It’s just a dream. A nightmare that does not have to come true. Atlanta does not need Hillsong.

Burn It Down

Hillsong is what it is, and what it is, in the kindest, least-controversial description I can muster, is unhealthy. I don’t think many would dispute that. Even among people who still attend Hillsong, a general theme seems to be “being the change” – people are hanging on and hanging in there, in hopes of making Hillsong into what we keep being told it is: a good church. But it’s not.

Called Qualified

It was easier for JT to become an “Executive Pastor” than it is for most people to become an Executive Assistant in New York. Hillsong pronounces people “pastors” like I pronounce people “cool”, it is completely arbitrary and based on nothing more than a feeling.