hillsong ii

It’s been hot and stormy since this afternoon. I feel moist, sticky, and uncomfortable. As I drove to the evening service at Hillsong tonight, there were rumbles of thunder from a distance, and the clouds were rolling thick and low.

I got to the 7pm service nice and early this time, which was great. The car park “hosts” were out in force again, this time wearing plastic ponchos to protect themselves from the imminent rain … my guy gave me a nice big smile and an “air handshake” as I drove past him. I passed a bunch of people lining up for their coffee and eating ice creams as I walked into the foyer. The resource centre (shop) is always open before and after services, and they were doing a roaring trade.

The big screens in the auditorium made me feel great as they announced: “WELCOME HOME: Better one day spent in your house, than a thousand elsewhere (Psalm 84:10)”. The fairy lights must be a permanent fixture, I figure. It took me about ten minutes to find somewhere to sit because of all the Bibles, handbags, scarves, and jackets reserving the chairs on behalf of other people. It seems strange to hear, “sorry, you can’t sit here” in a church. I ended up being fairly close to the back again. I started to wonder whether there was something big going down that I didn’t know about, and that perhaps I was gate-crashing a special event I should have pre-booked a ticket for.

While everyone was sorting themselves out, they had some nice visuals up on the screens, accompanied by Bible verses. In one video clip, I noticed some people wearing shirts with “street teams” on them, working away at very hands-on looking activities. This sparked my interest; perhaps some practical work going on where I could be involved? Then the music began to crescendo, the Bible verses came thick and fast, intermingled with catchy phrases, and … WHAM! The service had begun.

Last week, when they said the evening meetings were more “relaxed”, what they should have said was, “informal”. There was nothing “relaxed” about the fast-paced music, nightclub-style light effects, swinging video cameras, and perfect “jumping in unison” I saw tonight.

I didn’t know any of the songs. Most everyone else did, though … especially the people down on the floor area, which was pulsing like a mosh-pit. Just as I was thinking, This is like a rock concert, the leader came up to the microphone and said, “We didn’t come here to have a concert…” Oops. I really got the guilts after that, and decided that I need to try and be a little more open-minded, and a little less cynical, if I’m gonna get anything meaningful out of the whole exercise.

Can’t say I lasted very long…

Half an hour after the service had started, the songs were over, and the leader came to the stage. He led an altar call, which was fascinating to watch. More of this: “All heads bowed, all eyes closed” (not many people did this … I know ’cause I was looking) … “raise your hands” and “come down the front” and so on. One guy a few rows away from me had raised his hand, but wasn’t making his way to the stage area, so he received a couple of enthusiastic nudges from his neighbour behind him, and ended up being guided down the front by a friendly host. I reckon about a hundred people walked down, and the people in the mosh-pit instinctively knew they had to move aside to make way for them all. Again, everyone got a free Bible.

He read out some prayer requests, and comments from people wanting to praise God … including this one: “I’ve been praying for my daughter since April 2003, but now I want to praise God because she has been cured of AIDS!” The screaming and cheering was incredible.

Then he announced, “Are you ready to give tonight?” We got to watch another very slick presentation (complete with slow motion, black and white film effects) of someone’s testimony. The hosts handed around the buckets, and after reading this Bible passage,

After this, Jesus travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

— Luke 8:1–3

they collected the offering.

Tonight’s guest speaker was Chris Hill from Dallas, Texas. He’s a bald, sweaty, energetic wordsmith who has a connection somehow with T. D. Jakes, a well-known American preacher. He bounced his way onto the stage — accompanied by a standing ovation from the crowd — and announced (in his voice which made him sound like a rusty earthquake) that he was “praying for a prophetic word that would feed the destiny of someone’s life”. Before he began to speak, he launched into a flowery prayer that was jam-packed full of churchy jargon … if you were a first-time visitor, you wouldn’t have had a clue what he was talking about…

This was his Bible reference:

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So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

— <!--[endif]-->Joshua 4:8–9

The title of his message was “The Middle Praise”. Here are most of his main points. If you think about them, you can kind of see the analogies to the passage from Joshua.

• This text represents a transition in the life of Israel.


• Have you experienced the frustration of being close enough to see something (the Promised Land, in this case), but too far away to have it?


• Joshua wanted the whole tribe to be useful … A miracle is not about one person, but about everyone working together.


• God is waiting for you to “step in and believe” … (This is where Hill interrupted himself to say, “I was at the airport — Hallelujah! … and I had a revelation…” Just like the automatic doors at the airport, God’s doors won’t open until you get close enough … get it?).


• Watch who you walk with … Some people need to “wait on the shore ’cause their faith is not ready”.


• The breakthrough you need is waiting for you to step in.


• It’s not just about you; it’s about creating a breakthrough for other people.


• Don’t wait ’til you get there … Start building your monument now (that is, “in the middle” … get it?). “If you can dream your testimony now,” he screamed, “you’ll be able to speak it later on!”

He told a very long story about when he was preaching in Russia. This is what he said: “I got to the altar call, threw the net … tikka-tikka-tikka-sah! Everybody got saved.”

Apparently the same thing happened two nights in a row, in exactly the same way. On the third night everyone was so excited they started running around the church, and a girl in a wheelchair was wheeling herself around at breakneck speed (not waiting ’til she “got to the other side,” she was praising God “in the middle” of her circumstances … get it?). When she fell out (he said) she just got up and started running with everyone else. Then another night a woman told him how she could feel the “cancerous tumour inside” her just dissolving away as he spoke about Jesus. The frenzied stamping and clapping from the crowd was amazing.

It took him about an hour to get to that point. He was jumping around the stage, screaming and laughing and sweating, talking the whole time, but not really saying very much. I was already cranky and frustrated by this time. So, then, when he was just about to start his final prayer, I walked out.

Getting soaked as I slowly headed back to the car, I started thinking about everything that’d just happened. Why was I so annoyed? Why did his jokes irritate me so much? I’d promised myself at the beginning of the service that I was going to try and be open-minded … what happened? Why does hearing stories about people being cured of AIDS and cancer turn on the cynic inside me? Don’t I believe in miracles? Don’t I believe God can do such amazing things in people’s lives?

Thinking about it now, I think the hype and the showmanship really turn me off. It doesn’t seem genuine. I appreciate that it can work for a lot of people (it certainly seemed to be doing something) … but maybe it’s just not my style…

So, the question now is, do I go back again (seeing as I promised myself I’d commit to a month), or head off down a different path?... What do you reckon?

Cheers,
Andy

P.S. Coincidentally, this article came up on the Macquarie University News website today. Check it out. It’s pretty interesting.

hillsong i

As I was getting ready to go to church this morning, a flood of anxious thoughts went through my brain … “What will it be like? Who will I meet? Will I be intimidated or welcomed?” For someone who’s been attending church regularly for many years, it’s amazing how apprehensive and unsure I felt. Imagine what you’d be feeling if you’d never ever been to any church before!

Hillsong is about ten minutes’ drive away. That’s reasonably close, and it’s pretty well known, so I thought this could be my first port of call. Also, I confess I have badmouthed the church quite a bit in the past. So, in fairness to them, I figure I should actually go to some of their services so I know what I’m talking about … Who knows? I might even change my mind …

At this early stage, I’m going to try and just give a description of my first impressions and what happened, rather than get too judgemental; it’s a little soon for that!

I took a wrong turn on my way, so I arrived about five minutes late (it started at 10:45am). The first thing that struck me was the number of parking attendants wearing glowing orange vests, telling people where to drive in the massive, sprawling car park. After I parked, and not knowing exactly where the service was being held, I followed the crowd of people heading for the biggest building on the complex. There was just about as much diversity as you could get … all ages from little babies in their parents’ arms to elderly folk shuffling along with their walking frames. As soon as you walk into the foyer, the first thing you see is the “resource centre” (read “shop”) … an entire wall covered with books, CDs, and DVDs for sale. They have heaps of “hosts” (volunteers in black shirts) directing you this way and that, so you end up going through the right door, and hopefully getting a seat.

The services were referred to variously as “church”, “meetings”, and “services”. The main auditorium is enormous. I’m not very good at estimating numbers, but I’m sure there would have been at least in the order of 1000–2000 people there, and constantly coming and going. I’d been hoping to see some Auslan interpreting — apparently they have a deaf ministry goin’ on — but there was no signing to be seen. There were strings of fairy lights hanging from the ceiling (left over from Christmas?) and data projection screens had been lowered around the room at strategic points, so everyone could see what was happening on the platform. Three huge screens wrapped around the back of the stage, and there were amplifiers, speakers and coloured spotlights everywhere. They had eight leading singers, a choir of about twenty guys and girls, and other instrumentalists (guitars, drums, percussion, keyboard, and the like). There were camera operators running everywhere, and the guys at the sound desk kept everything running, fading, sliding, and transitioning very professionally.

As I said, I missed the very start of the service, so I’m not sure how they kicked things off, but I came in while they were in the middle of singing a hymn. They did a nice little arrangement of “Amazing Grace” with a couple of added verses. Apparently it’s a version from the recent film Amazing Grace. It meant that I could at least participate a little; I’d been worried I wouldn’t know any of the songs they were going to sing. One of the leaders spoke a little about grace … I was encouraged; a lot of what he was saying made sense to me. He followed this with a prayer for anyone who was sick, and prepared to collect the tithes and offerings. Using these verses:

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

— Proverbs 4:23

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

— Matthew 6:21

he told everyone that the easiest way to protect our hearts from being trapped by love of money is to honour God by giving our tithes and offerings.

We watched someone’s testimony on video. Then the hosts passed around the offering buckets. While all that was happening, they played a series of announcements on the big screens, and the musicians had a bit of a jazzy jam session.

We had communion, which was nice. Apparently they make a point of doing that on the first Sunday of every New Year. Again, the hosts were very helpful, handing everything out and collecting it all up again … like a well-oiled machine.

The preaching was done by a guest speaker named Danny Guglielmucci. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but he said he wanted to “speak from the heart” about people’s dreams and visions for the future … since we’re at the start of a new year, I guess. Then he said he was going to “speak prophetically”. He told a short story about a Hillsong church in Sicily who had a dream to break down barriers across generations of churchgoers.

His main Bible passage was this one:

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

— Mark 10:46–52

He made three points:

• Bartimaeus had to cry out to Jesus. Similarly, Guglielmucci hears a cry in the church for a fresh vision.


• Bartimaeus threw off his cloak. He said the people of the time could identify Bartimaeus by his clothing. Likewise, congregations should throw off “restrictions, ritual, and religious regalia”, so people don’t perceive a “blind church”.


• Bartimaeus then connected with Jesus.

He then turned to this passage:

Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will be subject to you.”
But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel.”
The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you.”

— I Samuel 11:1–3

Confessing he was “no theologian,” he said this passage showed the Israelites were complacent, and too willing to give up their vision (literally and figuratively). “I prophesy multiplication in the impact this church has on the community!” he, um … prophesied.

Then, Guglielmucci said he would make four points about vision:

• Power. A vision starts with one person, and great things can come of it (Genesis 12). God doesn’t want you to rely on your own abilities. He showed this video of what people can achieve with a vision.


• Price. Having a vision comes with a price. He spoke about some criticisms he’s had, from within the church and without. He talked about sixteen churches who completely renovated the Adelaide Children’s Hospital in a weekend, and I found a news article about that here. Then he used this video as an example of someone paying the price for their vision.


• Pattern. Hmm … as I go through my notes, I realise that in the end he didn’t get to talk about this one.


• Prize. When people partner together, multiplication happens. He talked about fifteen British schools who had received £35 million to be handed over to Christian organisations. Apparently, some people are going to travel with our PM to see how it all works. I couldn’t find any news articles on-line about this one. If you come across anything, let me know, and I’ll post the link.

He concluded his message by praying for vision for 2008, for everyone in the auditorium.

The service ended with one of those prayers … not an “altar call”, but you know, one of those ones where everyone has to close their eyes, and the leader says, “yes, yes, thank you, yes, I see that hand, yes, up the back, thank you, yes” … one of those ones. Everyone who put their hand up got a free Bible. Then it was all over, and we went home.

It went for about 1½ hours all up. As a first time visitor, I could’ve taken up the invitation for free tea and coffee in the “meeting lounge”, but decided not to. So much for my fears about “will people try and harass me after the service?” … I didn’t talk to anybody! In fact, if you liked your anonymity, I reckon you could quite easily slip in and out on a regular basis for years without anyone even knowing whether you were new or part of the furniture.

Next week, I’ll try and get to the evening service as well … they say it’s more low-key and relaxed: “You can wear your jeans and t-shirts” … oops, I was already wearing a pair of jeans. At least I know how to find the place now, so I’ll be on time!

Again, let me ask for your input and comments on this posting — they’re much appreciated. I tried to make my summary of the message as complete but concise as possible; I think it’s important to include, hopefully giving you an idea of the kind of theology they’ve got going on.

Cheers,

Andy