Protecting the Sheep
Why churches should not sing Hillsong, Bethel, or Elevation music in worship services
Introduction
Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) is catchy, often sounds quite beautiful, and appeals to a broad section of the visible church. But is it worthy of use in worshiping our Lord? Whether we personally like or do not like CCM is more or less irrelevant. When we gather to worship God and partake of the ordinary means of grace, do songs that arise from churches like Hillsong, Bethel, or Elevation truly worship God rightly? What does the Bible say about false teachers and false teaching?
Scripture warns against false teachers
In all but one book of the New Testament, we are warned against false teachers/false teaching. The Bible, in its entirety, warns us strongly against the lies, the false doctrines, and the false teachers who will exploit others for wicked gain.
The following warnings were compiled by Mr. Michael Pugh and succinctly walk believers through a few of the warnings about false teachers and how we as believers should respond to false teachers/teaching.
Scripture is our best resource for being taught, reproved, or corrected. It is
through this lens that all of the following Scripture is included. And it is only
through Scripture that we can understand God’s standard for teaching and
worship.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16False teachers are around us. They teach heresy, and many follow. They exploit people because of greed.
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. – 2 Peter 2:1-3
False teachers will try to blend in. We are to recognize them by their fruits.
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are
ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. – Matthew 7:15-18False teachers may creep into our lives unnoticed, as they did in Jude.
For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. – Jude 1:4
People will seek false teachers that suit their own passions. These teachers do
not speak against sin, they teach myths.For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. – 2 Timothy 4:3
Some are led away from the faith by deceitful spirits and even demons.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons – 1 Timothy 4:1
We are to test everything and abstain from every form of evil.
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. – 1 Thessalonians 5:19
We are to take no part in what is unfruitful, but call it out.
Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of
darkness, but instead expose them. – Ephesians 5:10-11We are to worship God in spirit and truth. This comes from true knowledge of Him through the scriptures.
You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. – John 4:22-24
We are to teach only what accords with sound doctrine.
They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. – Titus 1:16 – 2:1
False teachers will attempt to distort the gospel. If anyone preaches a different gospel than what is in the Bible, let them be accursed! We should be seeking to please God, not man.
There are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if weor an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one wepreached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: Ifanyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him beaccursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying toplease man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. –Galatians 1:7-10
CCM’s links to false teachers/teachings
Nearly all top CCM songs are affiliated with one of three false churches led by false teachers: Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation Church. In fact, of the songwriters of the current top ten CCM songs, 11 are leaders/members of either Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation Church. Of the remaining top ten CCM songwriters who are not members of one of those three churches, nearly all either write or record music for, tour with or in general promote or are affiliated with one of those three churches. Additionally, while not affiliated with one of the three churches mentioned above, one songwriter, Osinachi Kalu Okoro Egbu (also known as Sinach), attends LoveWorld, which was founded by the self-proclaimed prophet and faith healer Chris Oyakhilome in 1987. So while she does not appear to have links to Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation, her church is similar and should therefore be avoided.
As of May 16, 2022, the top ten songs on the CCLI[1] include:
What do Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation Church teach?
Before delving into the specifics of the aberrant theology Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation Church teach, it is worth mentioning that neither Bill Johnson (Bethel), Brian Houston (formerly of Hillsong), nor Steven Furtick (Elevation Church) meets the biblical qualifications to serve as elders.
1 Timothy 3:1–7 (ESV) lists the qualifications for overseers. 3 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,2 sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
Similarly, Titus 1:5–9 (ESV) lists the qualifications for elders. 5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
These men have repeatedly proven themselves to be lovers of money, greedy for gain, and teachers of false doctrines. They do not hold firm to the trustworthy word of the Lord and are not above reproach. A simple google search can explain these claims, so this essay will restrict itself to discussing the false doctrines taught by these men and their churches. Their teachings are so egregious and unbiblical that no solid pastor would give one of these men access to his pulpit nor recommend their teachings to his flock. Why then do otherwise solid pastors give these men access to their sheep through music?
Bethel
Bethel Church is a member of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Bill Johnson, the head of Bethel Church, is recognized as a modern-day apostle in the NAR, and Kris Vallotton, also of Bethel, is recognized as a modern-day prophet. At this link, you can find numerous articles from different Christians from various theological and denominational backgrounds who all agree on the very un-Biblical and downright dangerous beliefs of Bill Johnson/Bethel Church.
Unbiblical beliefs promulgated by Bethel include:
Paterology (study of God the Father): Bill Johnson teaches that we shape God the Father’s desires. In his book The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind, Johnson wrote, “For many years I misunderstood the biblical concept of desire. Psalm 37:4 tells us: ‘Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.’ Like many pastors, I foolishly taught that if you delighted yourself in the Lord, He would change your desires by telling you what to desire. But that’s not at all what this means. That verse literally means that God wants to be impacted by what you think and dream. God is after your desires. The word desire is made up of the prefix ‘de’ meaning ‘of,’ and sire meaning ‘father.’ Desire is, by nature, of the Father.”
Christology (study of Christ): Bill Johnson teaches the kenotic heresy. In his book When Heaven Invades Earth, Johnson writes, “Jesus had no ability to heal the sick. He couldn’t cast out devils, and He had no ability to raise the dead. He said of Himself in John 5:19, ‘the Son can do nothing of Himself.’ He had set aside His divinity. He did miracles as man in right relationship with God because He was setting forth a model for us, something for us to follow….Jesus so emptied Himself that He was incapable of doing what was required of Him by the Father – without the Father’s help.” Johnson also wrote, “He performed miracles, wonders, and signs, as a man in right relationship to God….not as God. If he performed miracles because he was God, then they would be unattainable for us. But if he did them as a man, I am responsible to pursue his lifestyle.” In the same book, Bill Johnson also teaches that Jesus became “the Christ” when he came up from His water baptism.
Of this teaching, Bob DeWaay rightly wrote, “If Johnson is right and Jesus had laid aside His deity, then the mighty works prove only that Jesus learned what anyone could learn if he had the right faith and relationship to God. The claims of the gospels thereby become moot. Jesus is no longer unique, but only a special enlightened one who could lead the way to many such enlightened ones in the future. Thus, we have a New Age Christ rather than the Biblical one. If Johnson is correct and we can do greater works than Jesus (based on his misinterpretation of John 14:12; Johnson: 136), then whoever did greater works would have even greater reason to make himself the object of someone’s faith and worship. The apologetic that points to Jesus’ life and miracles as proof of His deity would become worthless because others could do the same.”
Pneumatology (study of the Holy Spirit): Many, many things can be said about Bethel’s teachings on the Holy Spirit. Jenn Johnson, Bill Johnson’s daughter-in-law and co-founder of Bethel’s music school, said she thinks of the Holy Spirit like the sneaky blue genie from Aladdin. One of the foremost scholars on the NAR, Holly Pivec, visited Bethel and witnessed Bethel church leaders encouraging attendees to get drunk (and act drunk) on the spirit. In this article out of Bethel, a church leader said, “Drunkenness” is a term to describe the manifestation of how someone looks and feels in the presence that can appear nearly identical to being drunk on alcohol.” Rather than a spirit that exhibits fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, the spirit at Bethel exhibits a distinct lack of self-control, peace, gentleness, or joy. Watch here and here as individuals at Bethel, under the influence of a spirit they call the Holy Spirit, scream, bark, laugh uncontrollably, and writhe around as if demonically possessed. Bethel has also claimed that the Holy Spirit appears in their services as a cloud of gold dust (watch here to see Johnson’s explanation, and if you want to see the video of the alleged miracle, you can skip to around the 6-minute mark).
Bibliology (study of the Bible): Bill Johnson does not hold Scripture in high regard. He does not believe it to be infallible and believes in the need for continued revelation from God. There are numerous examples of this.
In When Heaven Invades Earth, Johnson wrote, “None of us has a full grasp of Scripture, but we all have the Holy Spirit. He is our common denominator who will always lead us into truth. But to follow Him, we must be willing to follow off the map—to go beyond what we know.”
In the video Friendship with God, Johnson said, “It’s difficult to expect the same fruit of the early church when we value a book they didn’t have more than the Holy Spirit they did have. It’s not Father, Son, and Holy Bible.”
Holly Pivec helpfully consolidated the following examples:
“I'm convinced that the pace of revelation will increase very rapidly in these last hours of history.... That acceleration of revelation is beginning in our day... It's about the purposes of God being unveiled on the planet. On-going revelation and encounters with the power of God launch us into understanding of things we've never understood before." (The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind, page 68)
"It is absolutely impossible to live the normal Christian life without receiving regular revelation from God." (The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind, page 58)
"I am convinced that as His government and Kingdom rule increase on this earth ... the Church will receive revelation like we've never known.... But first we must learn to hunger for and receive revelation as part of our everyday lives. That revelation will help us to carry out our earthly assignments with greater precision and wisdom." (The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind, page 56)
"There are vast resources of revelation in heaven for the areas of education and business, the arts and music, and these resources have yet to be tapped anywhere near to their fullness…. Our job is to tap the revelation of the Lord in our area of talent or gifting so that we can accurately and powerfully reflect the King and His Kingdom." (The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind, page 67)
"Presently, every denomination, church, and group seems to have revelation into certain Kingdom matters. Nobody has the whole picture.... But in these last days God is going to release a Spirit of revelation over the Church... We are coming into an hour where there will be a common revelation.... an hour when the people of God will simultaneously hear and see similar revelations, no matter the church or group." (The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind, page 68)
"Revelation comes piece by piece, layer upon layer, to generation after generation." (Hosting the Presence, Kindle edition, page 52)
"In this hour the experience will help to open up those portions of Scripture that have been closed to us. No one in their right mind would claim to understand all that is contained in the Bible for us today. Yet to suggest that more is coming causes many to fear. Get over it, so you don't miss it!" (When Heaven Invades Earth, Kindle edition, pages 104-105)
Soteriology (study of salvation): Because Johnson is gravely confused about who Jesus is (see the section on Christology above), he has a profound misunderstanding of how Christ's death secures salvation for those who believe and what Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the dead meant for us. Rather than believing in grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, Johnson preaches a works-based gospel that requires us to do supernatural wonders, teaches that we can do greater things than Christ, and that physical healing is part of the atonement. He has gone so far as to say that those who do not preach physical healing are preaching a false gospel and that Jesus had to go to hell and be born again. Johnson said that Jesus was the first born again man. Regarding physical healing, Johnson has also said, "How can God choose not to heal someone when He already purchased their healing? Was His blood enough for all sin, or just certain sins? Were the stripes He bore only for certain illnesses, or certain seasons of time? When He bore stripes in His body He made a payment for our miracle. He already decided to heal. You can't decide not to buy something after you've already bought it."
Eschatology (study of end times): Johnson has an over-realized eschatology and preaches the Seven Mountain Mandate/Dominionism. Additionally, Bill Johnson co-wrote a book with Lance Wallnau called Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate. This book is marketed as a collection of teachings from “some of today's most anointed and prophetic voices” about how to strategically implement the 7 Mountain Mandate.
Hamartiology (study of sin): Bill Johnson rarely talks about sin. Sin, in his view, is not what you commit against God that incurs His wrath. Instead, sin is something that prevents you from having your best life now. When speaking about repentance in The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind, Johnson stated, "Renewing the mind begins with repentance…" Re" means to go back. "Pent" is like the penthouse, the top floor of a building. Repent, then, means to go back to God's perspective on reality." Self-proclaimed Bethel prophet Kris Vallotton says it would be wrong to confess our sins to each other because that would "create a culture where we are always looking for what is wrong with each other." Instead, Vallotton says we should look for the "goodness, the GODness, the gifts that God has given us."
Angelology (study of angels): Bill Johnson claims to find feathers from angels constantly. Additionally, as Joe Carter wrote, Beni Johnson (Bill Johnson's wife, also a senior "pastor" at Bethel) "teaches some peculiarly unorthodox views of angelology, such as that there are "different kinds of angels: messenger angels, healing angels, fiery angels" who have "fallen asleep." In a blog post, she wrote, "I think that they have been bored for a long time and are ready to be put to work." She relates a story about one of her students at the Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry who claims God told her to go to the chapel and yell "WAKEY WAKEY!" Nothing happened for about five minutes, so [the student] turned around to cross the road to go over to a shop. As she turned around, she felt the ground begin to shake and heard this huge yawn. She looked back at the chapel, and a huge angel stepped out. All she could see were his feet because he was that large. She asked him who he was, and he turned to her and said, "I am the angel from the 1904 revival and you just woke me up." She asked him, "Why have you been asleep?" The angel answered and said, "Because no one has been calling out for revival anymore.””
Other unbiblical teachings found at Bethel:
Leaders at Bethel teach there are modern-day apostles and prophets
Bethel promotes the use of "Christian Tarot Cards"
Bethel promotes The Passion Translation (TPT). TPT was written by Brian Simmons. Holly Pivec summarized an interview Sid Roth conducted with Simmons wherein "Simmons claims that, in 2009, Jesus Christ literally visited him in his room, breathed on him, and commissioned him to write a new translation of the Bible. He claims that, by blowing on him, Jesus gave him 'the spirit of revelation'...” Specifically, Simmons said, “he breathed on me so that I would do the project, and I felt downloads coming, instantly. I received downloads. It was like, I got a chip put inside of me. I got a connection inside of me to hear him better, to understand the scriptures better and hopefully to translate.”
In the same interview with Sid Roth, Simmons claimed that God showed him an additional chapter of the book of John which he will reveal to the world in the future and which will spark a great end-time revival.According to the in-depth research of Calvary Chapel pastor, Mike Winger, the translation has been infused with terminology unique to the teachings of the New Apostolic Reformation.
Bethel promotes the occultic practice of grave sucking/soaking. Some members of Bethel—including senior pastor Beni Johnson—engage in the practice of "grave sucking" or "grave soaking"—lying on a person's grave to "soak up" the deceased's "anointing" (see videos and screenshots of Facebook posts here and here). In The Physics of Heaven, Johnson wrote, "There are anointings, mantles, revelations and mysteries that have lain unclaimed, literally where they were left, because the generation that walked in them never passed them on. I believe it's possible for us to recover realms of anointing, realms of insight, realms of God that have been untended for decades simply by choosing to reclaim them and perpetuate them for future generations."
Bethel promotes dead raising and has a dead raising team (their website link seems to be broken, but Bethel has never repented or publicly renounced its views). In late 2019, they gained particular notoriety when they attempted to raise 2-year-old Olive from the dead.
Bethel runs the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (dubbed the Christian Hogwarts by students). The BSSM website says their students will "learn how to read, understand, and 'do' the Bible, how to practice His presence, to witness, heal the sick, prophesy, preach, pray, cast out demons and much more."
Bethel teaches that modern-day prophets are not held to the biblical standard for prophets and can be wrong. One of many false prophecies to arise out of Bethel include Kris Vallotton's prophecy that Donald Trump would win the 2020 election.
Bethel teaches the Word of Faith/positive confession heresy (that we can speak things into existence). That is an ability only God has, but they say Christians have it too. They teach the little gods doctrine. Bill Johnson said, “As He is, so are we” while Kris Vallotton told Bethel parishioners, “Yea is big ‘G’ and you are little ‘g’, you’re a little ‘g’ god.”
Bethel preaches a prosperity gospel. As an example, before taking the collection the congregation chants, "We are believing the Lord for: Jobs and better jobs, raises and bonuses, benefits, sales and commissions, favorable settlements, estates and inheritances, interests and income, rebates and returns, checks in the mail, gifts, and surprises, finding money, debts paid off, expenses decrease, blessing and increase."
Bethel claims to have put an end to racism by decreeing and declaring it gone while banging a stick on the ground like Gandalf. View this here.
Bethel promotes people like Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, Todd Bentley, etc.
Hillsong
Hillsong is also a member of the NAR and arose out of the New Order of the Latter Rain movement. Brian and Bobbie Houston, formerly the Global Senior Pastors of Hillsong, recently stepped down due to a sex abuse scandal. Brian and Bobbie Houston are recognized as modern-day apostles in the NAR. At this link and this link, you can find sermon reviews and numerous articles from different Christians from various theological and denominational backgrounds about the unbiblical beliefs and teachings of Brian Houston/Hillsong church.
Unbiblical beliefs promulgated by Hillsong include:
Paterology: In 2014, Brian Houston stated that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. In one sermon, he said, “Do you know – take it all the way back into the Old Testament and the Muslim and you, we actually serve the same God. Allah to a Muslim, to us Abba Father God. And, of course, through history, those views have changed greatly. But let’s make sure that we view God through the eyes of Jesus, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the beauty of a Savior, the loving, open, inclusive arms of a loving God.” Following the uproar over this claim, Houston attempted to clarify his statement. He said, “I wanted to address the issue directly myself and agree that the statement was indeed clumsy in the moment and did not clearly communicate my intention. I was simply making the point that Christians and Muslims both believe that the God of Abraham is their God. I apologise for any confusion, and obviously, my allegiance is to the Lord Jesus Christ alone.” However, as Pastor Chris Roseborough pointed out, this does not really clarify the original statement. “This is due to the fact that Islam DID NOT originate from the descendants of Ishmael. Islam didn’t even show up in human history until 2,700 years AFTER Ishmael was born…To clarify his statement by saying that Islam claims to worship the same God as Abraham is, again, a statement that causes even more confusion. Mormons claim to worship the same God as Abraham, and so do Jehovah’s witnesses. Yet, the gods that they worship have nothing in common with the YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob!” Brian Houston relies on us giving him the benefit of the doubt, but it is hard to do so when pastors at his church like Carl Lenz believe there are many ways to God.
Christology: There is a lot to say about Hillsong’s low view of Christ and elevation of man. Some of this will be covered in the section on soteriology below. This section will highlight one sermon in which Brian Houston stated, “It was weakness that caused the fall. But Jesus turned it all around. You see on the cross, Jesus became you, so that you could become Him. And what do I mean by that? I’m not saying you’re Jesus and we should all pray to you… What I am saying is that on the cross Jesus took on your weakness, your sin, your sickness, infirmity and so on. And in the resurrection, He filled you with the POWER of the resurrection. That’s what I mean when I say ‘He became you’. He took on your fallibility, your weakness, your vulnerability on the cross, so that you could become Him. Have his power as your strength in life.”
Soteriology: Hillsong does not hold a proper understanding of the doctrine of salvation. Hillsong does not accurately teach how Christ’s death secures the salvation of those who believe.
Like Bethel, Hillsong believes that physical healing was part of the atonement. Their statement of faith includes this statement, “We believe that God wants to heal and transform us so that we can live healthy and blessed lives in order to help others more effectively.
In 2016, Grace to You authors Cameron Buettel & Jeremiah Johnson found that Hillsong’s official website contained “a gospel presentation in which we are told that the main point of Christ’s incarnation was to “show us our full potential . . . the wonderful potential of perfected humanity.”” While the gospel presentation on that page has since changed, there are other examples of Hillsong pastors providing unclear or inaccurate gospel presentations.
Buettel and Johnson correctly stated, “In Hillsong’s spiritual economy, man has tremendous inherent worth. The individual replaces Christ as the central figure in God’s redemptive plan. Their own doctrinal statement says that the purpose of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection was to “prove His victory and empower us for life.” The redemption of wretched sinners is not in view…Effectively, Hillsong’s leaders seek to enable and empower a latent human condition. Their focus is primarily on the enormous potential we have to do great things and be great people.”
Hillsong has a very low view of what Christ has done for us. Compare what Hillsong says to Titus 3:5-8. "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."
Eschatology: Hillsong promotes the NAR’s Seven Mountain Mandate/Dominionism.
Hamartiology: Like Bethel, Hillsong pastors rarely preach about sin. Their statement of faith includes these two statements, “We believe that sin has separated each of us from God and His purpose for our lives.” and “We believe that in order to receive forgiveness and the ‘new birth’ we must repent of our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and submit to His will for our lives.” However, what constitutes sin in Hillsong sermons is nearly always framed as that which prevents you from leading your best life, being healed, being wealthy, or doing more for Jesus. That stands in stark contrast to how sin is described in the Bible. In the Bible, sin is a transgression against the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18). Examples of Hillsong’s soft stance on sin include:
Former Hillsong New York pastor Carl Lenz famously, when asked about abortion, refused to take a stand and call it sin.
Carl Lenz also said, “If you go to a church and all they talk about is sin, then they aren’t talking about the whole gospel. Jesus to said to give the good news, and that’s what we’re doing. The heart of the message is, wherever you are living, whatever you do for a living, it’s valid.”
Brian Houston said Hillsong is a “come as you are church.” He once said to his audience, “And you hear people say, you don’t preach enough about sin. You don’t preach enough about repentance. But you know what I actually think they’re saying is, ‘You don’t beat people up enough.’ Cause you know, you don’t have to tell people they’re sinners. They already know.”
Other unbiblical teachings and concerning issues found at Hillsong:
Hillsong fully embraces the Word of Faith/prosperity gospel. As stated on Got Questions, “From the Hillsong website: “We believe that God wants to heal and transform us so that we can live healthy and blessed lives in order to help others more effectively.”…In Pastor Brian Houston’s 1999 book You Need More Money, he promotes the prosperity gospel: “We have to become comfortable with wealth, and break the bondage, guilt, and condemnation of impoverished thinking. Poverty is definitely not God’s will for His people. In fact, all His promises talk of blessing and prosperity” (page 8). Houston insists that he only promotes seeking wealth for unselfish purposes—such as investing in ministry—but it is hard to reconcile the idea that “poverty is definitely not God’s will” with Paul’s teaching to be “content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:12, emphasis added).”
Hillsong promotes a gospel of greed rather than the true gospel of what Jesus Christ has done.
The Hillsong statement of faith includes this statement: “We believe that in order to live the holy and fruitful lives that God intends for us, we need to be baptised in water and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to use spiritual gifts, including speaking in tongues.” This wrongly implies that one cannot live a holy and fruitful life without speaking in tongues.
Former Hillsong New York pastor Carl Lenz gave a universalist answer when asked by Oprah if people who were not Christians could be in relationship with God. He believes there are other ways to Christ than Jesus. This was surprisingly not the reason that Carl Lenz was forced out of pastoring the New York Branch of Hillsong.
As stated by Growing 4 Life, “[Hillsong] overemphasize[s] and distort[s] worship. It has been said that the worship part of their church services “rival any other contemporary form of entertainment.” Lights, smoke, effects, jumping up and down. One magazine article stated that “you’d think it’s a rock concert, but it’s actually church.” It’s the main part of their service. It’s me-centered worship. It makes people feel good. The music stirs up their emotions and gives them a false sensation of spirituality.”
Hillsong has multiple female pastors who preach on Sundays to the congregation.
Hillsong promotes, endorses, and platforms notorious prosperity preachers like Bill Johnson, Joseph Prince, Creflo Dollar, T.D. Jakes, Steven Furtick, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, etc.
As Steven Kozar stated, “Brian Houston and his gigantic Hillsong enterprise are finally being critically examined, largely because secular news agencies have covered Hillsong’s multiple scandals while most of the Evangelical world swayed back and forth to the sound of millions of dollars flowing into Brian Houston’s multiple corporate bank accounts. The documentary “Hillsong: A Mega-church Exposed” has done the job that Christian pastors should have done to protect the flock. But because too many Christian pastors were enamored with the shiny media company masquerading as a Christian Church, they partnered with Hillsong and patterned themselves on Hillsong while they should have been rejecting its failed methods, practices, and theology.”
In 2015, Hillsong produced a “Sleazy Night” Christmas special, which was a cabaret and burlesque-type show that incorporated Christmas hymns.
In 2016, Hillsong had a “naked cowboy” appear at a women’s conference and then, later that year, a “naked Santa.”
In 2018, Hillsong Sweden’s Christmas service extravaganza featured a dance routine on the stage that is traditionally done to honor the Buddhist deity Kuan Shi Yin, and which incorporated the “dance of a thousand hands” into a service designed to worship Christ.
Elevation Church
Elevation Church, led by Steven Furtick, makes popular worship music through their band Elevation Worship. At this link, you can find sermon reviews and numerous articles from different Christians from various theological and denominational backgrounds about the unbiblical beliefs and teachings of Steven Furtick. This video by Justin Peters on AGTV about Steven Furtick is extremely helpful.
Mr. Michael Pugh correctly stated, “It is likely that a discerning Christian could listen to any message from Furtick and understand he does not preach the full gospel. Furtick doesn’t usually come out with direct heresy like you might see from Bethel. It is much more subtle. But Furtick’s sermons are man-focused, not God-focused, and this is always the case. His sermons are more like self-help seminars than sermons, and they make everyone leave feeling better about themselves.” Steven Furtick is a talented showman, but he is a showman that does not preach the gospel. He points his congregation to himself rather than to Christ.
Unbiblical and questionable beliefs promulgated by Elevation include:
Paterology/Christology/Pneumatology: Steven Furtick has taught modalism.
Bibliology: Mr. Furtick often says things like “God told me to tell you this” and “are you getting this revelation” in his sermons. This shows a low view of Scripture and implies that he believes in extra-biblical revelation.
Other unbiblical teachings and concerning issues at Elevation:
Steven Furtick considers T.D. Jakes his role model.
Mr. Furtick does not have an in-church board of elders to hold him accountable, instead, he has a corporate board comprised of other mega-church pastors.
Mr. Furtick has cultivated a cult-like persona around himself. See here, here, and here as a few examples.
Mr. Furtick places personnel at the front of his church to vocally respond, clap, and cheer – manipulating his congregation’s emotions.
Mr. Furtick manufactures “spontaneous” baptisms.
Mr. Furtick teaches that God broke the law.
Mr. Furtick says his church is for unbelievers, not believers.
Mr. Furtick preaches a Word of Faith/Prosperity gospel.
Holly Furtick, Steven’s wife, sometimes preaches to the congregation on Sundays.
Mr. Furtick makes an undisclosed salary and lives in a 16,000-square-foot mansion.
In one recent sermon, Furtick incorrectly interprets God’s conversation with Moses, twisting Scripture to say that God was talking about Moses when he said, “I am that I am.” In the sermon he carried that false interpretation to himself and eventually said of himself, “I am God almighty.” While this was hopefully unintentional, he has not apologized or clarified his statement.
3 Reasons not to use Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation music
Reason 1: The use of this music funds unbiblical ministries
To legally play, sing, or display the words of a modern song, churches must have a CCLI license. Churches pay based on what they play or display per year. Royalties are then paid to each artist according to the number of uses of each song per year.
When we sing these songs, we are funding the ministries and leaders of these false churches to the tune of millions of dollars per year. Simply put, we are making these false teachers millionaires. Remember, of the current top ten CCM songwriters, 11 are leaders/members of either Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation Church. When we sing a song from these churches, we send money to false churches that teach heresy and lead people to hell. We are contributing financially to the spreading of false teaching and thus are taking part in their evil works.
Here is one example of this. This is what the revenue from using Bethel worship music goes to and what their music leads to – their school. There is nothing about the Gospel or Jesus taught in these sessions. Instead, the focus is on healing, facilitating atmospheres, encounters. The entire thing is new age.
Reason 2: The use of this music introduces the sheep to dangerous theology
When confronted with reasons not to sing music from heretical churches, two common arguments are made to justify the use of such music. The first argument goes like this, "Many good hymns were written by people with terrible theology or who were not even Christian, and we sing those hymns. So even though Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation have bad theology, we should be able to sing their songs too." The second argument is, "We recognize that Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation are false churches, but we only sing their songs that have sound theology." Let’s unpack both of those arguments in turn.
When it comes to hymns, some were indeed written by people who were not Christian or who had terrible theology. However, those hymns were generally written decades, if not hundreds of years ago. So much time has elapsed since their writing that the author is not directly influencing the church today, and we are not associating their bad theology with their music. That is much different from Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation – three churches actively using their music ministries to grow their church and spread their theology. Their music is their primary tool of evangelism.
This brings me to the second argument about only singing the Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation songs that have sound theology. Many modern Christian songs are indeed repetitive, contain shallow theology, or have questionable theology. Bill Johnson even said, “Music bypasses all of the intellectual barriers, and when the anointing of God is on a song, people will begin to believe things they wouldn’t believe through teaching.” He knows how to use music to push his aberrant theology. However, since music is their primary tool of evangelism, songwriters from Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation will generally not write completely outlandish songs. If most of their songs did not pass a basic doctrinal test, other churches would not sing them at all. By remaining relatively orthodox in most of their songs, they are able to spread their theology into otherwise sound churches.
You might be asking how they do that.
Each week, worship leaders and pastors select songs to sing and record the CCLI number for each song so they can pay royalties. In much of modern evangelicalism, the church then displays during worship the lyrics for that week’s songs on a large screen, often including the CCLI number and the primary author of each song as well. Even if a church does not proactively provide the CCLI number and author of a song, churchgoers can easily find such information online. In this way, otherwise sound churches effectively give a stamp of approval to Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation by singing their music and may inadvertently encourage some to go and learn more from these cults. When a parishioner hears a beautiful or catchy tune played at their otherwise sound church, they think the source must also be sound (since their church used it) and search for more information about the source. That search is the entryway into false teaching. When someone listens to a song from one of these churches online, the algorithms on social media, YouTube, and music streaming platforms then introduce them to ever more NAR music, conferences, and speakers. Before long, the search for one song they heard at church has led a beloved sheep into a barrage of false, dangerous teaching.
When we sing music from Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation, we are introducing the sheep to their false churches and false teachings. In testimony after testimony, we hear from brothers and sisters who found their way into false teaching because of the music from these churches. As further proof that the music of these churches is very effective as a tool of evangelism, one need only consider that the NAR/Word of Faith is the fastest growing sect within the visible church. We have proof their method works because of the explosive growth across the world of the NAR/WOF as their music gained popularity and prestige within evangelicalism.
Reason 3: Worship from false churches blasphemes God
When we sing songs as a Church body, we worship God, and He is our audience. The only one we must please with our worship is God. Whether one of us likes or dislikes a song is more or less irrelevant. Does the song rightly glorify God? We must always ask that question. A song is more than just the words and melody. Where it originates from is important. Can we worship God in spirit and truth when we sing songs from (and pay money to) churches that blaspheme God’s name by preaching a false Jesus and a false gospel? Can we worship God in spirit and truth when we sing music from false churches that exploit the poor and sick? Would we sing songs from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) or Jehovah’s Witnesses? They probably have songs that would pass a basic doctrinal test. However, they preach a false gospel. As Mr. Michael Pugh noted, within evangelicalism, we seem to have incorrectly assigned different levels of acceptability to false gospels. The Bible’s language about false teaching should lead us to view the false gospels of the NAR and WOF as just as wrong as those of the Jehovah’s Witnesses or LDS.
A plea
One of a pastor’s most solemn duties is to guard the flock against wolves. Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation churches and the men and women who pastor them are wolves. Please guard the sheep against these wolves.
Excellent resources
1. If you can read only one resource, read this: https://g3min.org/stop-singing-hillsong-bethel-jesus-culture-and-elevation/
2. This is also an important read: https://manchesterbaptist.church/2021/10/28/a-call-for-christs-church-to-stop-using-the-music-from-bethel-elevation-and-hillsong-by-michael-pugh/
4. https://www.cicministry.org/commentary/issue124.htm
5. https://fitl.co.za/2018/07/25/bethel-school-of-spiritual-drunkenness/
6. https://pastorgabehughes.blogspot.com/2017/10/bethel-church-believes-different-gospel.html?spref=fb
7.