When Hillsong Spin Doctors Contradict Each Other

Many readers would be aware of my pursuit of answers and accountability for some of the more disgraceful practices going on within the Fort Knox like environment of Hillsong church in Australia (and their many franchises throughout the world). The two major issues I took up with them last year revolved around their "Mighty to Save" CD and were as follows:

1. Their failure to preach repentance in their gospel presentation which was in direct conflict with their own doctrine statement. (http://myhillsong.com/what-we-believe)

2. The fact that they boldly displayed 2 Chronicles 7:14 on the back sleeve of the CD but deleted the line from the verse that says "and turn from their wicked ways".

In today's post I just want to focus on point 2 here regarding the "Hillsong adjusted Bible verse" and the conflicting excuses that have emanated from the Hillsong mothership because some more contradictory information has just come to light as you will read at the end of this post.

Here is what I said concerning this in my initial correspondence with Hillsong Church (you can read the entire post here):

I noticed on the back cover of the CD liner notes a quotation of 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says:

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

By checking in my Bible I found this verse to be incomplete and is missing the words in bold print:

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Can you explain to me why you deleted the line from that verse that speaks specifically about repentance? I hope you agree that it is very serious indeed to add to or delete information from sacred Scripture.

Robert Fergusson, who is Hillsong's theological top dog, wrote back but would not even give a reason for the deleted line from the Bible verse. He dealt with it by just ignoring that particular issue altogether. As an interesting aside, I was informed just last week by a former Hillsong volunteer worker that Robert Fergusson's academic credential is a degree in Zoology which probably explains a lot, including why Brian Houston deemed him the right man to oversee the theological soundness of the Hillsong empire (my correspondence with Robert Fergusson can be read here).

I then took up the issue of the "Hillsong adjusted Bible verse" with Joel A'Bell who is Hillsong's executive pastor in Sydney. This is what he had to say on the subject (pay particular attention to how alarmed he was by this revelation):

I'm sorry that certain sentences were left off some of the creative liners of that album. I can assure you it was not intentional as it is very obvious what we believe.

(My correspondence with Joel A'Bell can be read here).

Glen from New Zealand decided to write and got this response from Paul Aylett who is the customer service manager at Hillsong Music:

Thank you for your email to Hillsong Music.

We at Hillsong also honour the Word of God. Please see this excerpt from our Statement of Belief,

"We believe that the Bible is God's Word. It is accurate, authoritative and applicable to our everyday lives."

The intent was to represent the Scripture within the parameters provided. A close examination of the verse will reveal that the words ‘I will hear’ has also been removed to allow for the verse to meet the allocation available on the jacket.

Please understand our heart in this matter.

When Glen pressed the issue further due to the previous unsatisfactory answer he got this response:

Hi Glen,

Thank you for your reply.

At Hillsong we place the highest importance on Scripture as previously stated, and in no way are we devaluing Scripture.

Once again, thank you for your feedback.

Regards, Paul Aylett

Three questions/comments immediately spring to mind as I read this dialogue:

1. It is true that "The intent was to represent the Scripture within the parameters provided", if by that they mean that they were using an incomplete Bible verse for an incomplete gospel.

2. How exactly does editing Bible verses to meet the requirements of your own "parameters" reflect that "in no way are we devaluing Scripture"? Putting Scripture at the feet of your own agenda is Scripture devaluation of the highest order.

3. Is this correspondence evidence that repentance is not only absent from their gospel presentation, but also absent from the Hillsong culture?

Well, as I am currently visiting Australia, my good friend and open air preacher Josh Williamson informed me that he had also had some correspondence with Hillsong on this very issue after reading my blog. And lo and behold, he received a new excuse that contradicts the other ones thus far. Helen Tam, another customer service manager at Hillsong Music, had this to say:

In regards to the album Insert for Mighty To Save, at the time of print the purpose of the album insert was to emphasize that we need to call out to God, while it was read over and we spent a lot of time making sure details were covered, unfortunately this part was overlooked. The verse  should be complete, however due to this album been widespread it’s become an irreversible error.

So, are there any readers who would like to try and join the dots on this one? One thing I would appreciate is if more people would write to Hillsong and protest their disgraceful behavior.

Hillsong Update - Hillsong Explain Why They Edit Bible Verses

In the latter half of last year I had a running series on Hillsong (pastored by Brian Houston) in which I contended with them over their practice of deleting lines from Bible verses and presenting the gospel in a manner that clearly contradicted their faith statement regarding repentance. The two issues were interconnected because they deleted a line from 2 Chronicles 7:14 (turn from their wicked ways) that spoke of repentance. You can read a good summation of it here or click on the "Hillsong Saga" label under this post and scroll through all the previous posts. It does make for shocking/intriguing reading.

One of the standout features of the series and the correspondence that occurred between both Robert Fergusson (their chief theologian) and Joel A'Bell (executive pastor) was their constant refusal to even engage the issue of the altered Bible verse - they seemed to hope it would go away by ignoring it (which is a great way to demonstrate your theological credentials). Today, I am giving an update on this saga because one of my regular readers (Glen from New Zealand) took the initiative to write to them and ask the same questions - and much to my surprise he actually got an "explanation" from Paul Aylett who is the customer service manager for Hillsong Music Australia - and that is a big organization.

Here is the correspondence with Glen's words in bold and Paul Aylett's words in italics.

To whom it may concern,

It's been brought to my attention that the verse 2 Chronicles 7:14 has been incorrectly quoted on the insert of the Hillsong Live: Mighty to Save CD.

As quoted on the insert, the words (that seem to be most commonly translated to English as): "and turn from their wicked ways" have been removed from the verse. From what I can see, there is a slight gap between the first part of the verse and the second part where the missing words should be.

As a Christian, I take the Bible very seriously. And find the removal of these words grieving. I would like to quote Revelation 22:19 (NIV):

"And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."

I appreciate that mistakes can happen; but as Hillsong represents the church I would like, at the very least, to have this mistake acknowledged, and all future publishing of the insert to have the missing words added (true to the translation the verse was taken from).

Sincerely, Glen

Paul Aylett then wrote back:

Hi Glen,

Thank you for your email to Hillsong Music.

We at Hillsong also honour the Word of God. Please see this excerpt from our Statement of Belief,

"We believe that the Bible is God's Word. It is accurate, authoritative and applicable to our everyday lives."

The intent was to represent the Scripture within the parameters provided. A close examination of the verse will reveal that the words ‘I will hear’ has also been removed to allow for the verse to meet the allocation available on the jacket.

Please understand our heart in this matter.

Once again, thank you for contacting us, we appreciate your diligence and rigour with the Word of God.

Regards, Paul Aylett

Glen wasn't satisfied (of course) and had another try:

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the prompt reply.

I like the excerpt from the statement of belief you quoted. I agree.

Are you saying that the words were removed from the verse so it would fit on the CD jacket? Is the jacket allocation more important than quoting a Bible verse correctly? There is clearly enough room on the CD jacket for the whole verse.

I honestly don't understand Hillsong's heart in this matter. I don't understand why Hillsong would intentionally remove important words from a Bible verse.

Can you please explain?

Sincerely, Glen

Paul responded and If you read ever so carefully you might spot some hypocrisy - see if you can pick it up:

Hi Glen,

Thank you for your reply.

At Hillsong we place the highest importance on Scripture as previously stated, and in no way are we devaluing Scripture.

Once again, thank you for your feedback.

Regards, Paul Aylett

Three questions/comments immediately spring to mind as I read this dialogue:

1. It is true that "The intent was to represent the Scripture within the parameters provided", if by that they mean that they were using an incomplete Bible verse for an incomplete gospel.

2. How exactly does editing Bible verses to meet the requirements of your own "parameters" reflect that "in no way are we devaluing Scripture"? Putting Scripture at the feet of your own agenda is Scripture devaluation of the highest order.

3. Is this correspondence evidence that repentance is not only absent from their gospel presentation, but also absent from the Hillsong culture?

Please write to Hillsong and voice your protest at this disgraceful behavior - the most disgraceful of which is their refusal to even acknowledge that they have done something wrong . . .

Tom Hanks summed up the problems at Hillsong best when he said those famous words "Houston we have a problem!"

My Online "Discussion" With Hillsong's Executive Pastor (Part 3)

There are two pictures that can be seen above. Can you tell the difference? I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but I think I can tell the difference. One is about preference and the other is perfect. One is defined by the consumer and the other defines the consumer. One changes daily according to the tastes of men and the other is the same "yesterday, today, and forever" according to the eternal sovereign decrees of God. One is a Buffet and the other is a Bible - can you see the difference?

No, I am not trying to insult the intelligence of the vast array of discerning readers who frequent this blog! But I am suggesting that there are some people high up in the Hillsong enterprise who definitely need their eyes checked. One of the most serious allegations I have levelled against "Hillsong" is their treatment of Scripture as something that they can pick and choose from to reinforce the theology that they have already invented as Brian Houston can ably demonstrate:



I won't comment on that video since Tom Hanks was able to sum it up so well . . .



Twisting Scripture is bad enough. But Hillsong took it to a whole new level on their "Mighty To Save" CD where they decided to indulge in editing God's sacred word! As Hillsong emblazoned 2 Chronicles 7:14 on the back cover of their liner notes, I noticed that the verse seemed somewhat abbreviated. It read:

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

By checking in my Bible I found this verse to be incomplete and is missing the following words in CAPITAL LETTERS:

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

It would seem that Hillsong's aversion to the vital biblical subject of repentance extends a long way. Scripture itself has some interesting things to say about this practice of using liquid white-out for a Bible highlighter:

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19)

You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you. (Deuteronomy 4:2)

"Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it." (Deuteronomy 12:32)

Do not add to His words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:6)

"Thus says the LORD: Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the LORD all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word." (Jeremiah 26:2)

But what did the people at Hillsong have to say for themselves? Well, in my correspondence with Robert Fergusson (their main theological heavyweight), I brought the subject up several times. Fergusson used a very interesting apologetical approach - just ignore my question! Now I have read some books on Christian apologetics but I cannot recall ever hearing about the "pretend the guy never said anything" approach. Later on I experienced the same problem in my online correspondence with Joel A'Bell (Hillsong's Executive Pastor). After much perseverence I finally heard something on the subject. Not from Pastor Joel but from Joseph De Araujo (who seems to be one of Joel's preferred "Hillsong defenders"). Joseph wrote:

I don't think it is intentional though (leaving out parts of scripture), and this is something we need to understand too. But this must be addressed. If we are to communicate the whole message, sure we can change the language so that the modern reader can understand, but we can't cut bits out. I think in a real sense, this is about quality control, someone should have proof read that, and said, "Hey, there's a bit missing." Good quality control will get rid of any mistakes like this. The solution is simple, get more editors, proof readers - get more excellence in quality control.(emphasis mine)

So what do you think? Is this purely an accidental mistake that can be rectified through "more editors and proof readers" or is there a theological element to this subject? Love your feedback before I continue this series on Wednesday. This is a big deal and needs to be pursued . . .

Go On To Part 4
Go Back To Part 2
Go Back To Part 1

A Screen Door On A Submarine - The Hillsong Faith Statement

Stop the press! Just when I thought I had finished with my series on the false gospel of Hillsong some intriguing videos were drawn to my attention. Many of you have been reading my series over the last few weeks where I have exposed Hillsong's shameful editing of Scripture. Equally shameful was the blatant contradiction between their faith statement and the gospel presented in their massively popular worship CDs. This contradiction was so bad that Hillsong's faith statement actually defines their gospel presentation as a false gospel. This is an extremely serious matter for people who publically represent stewardship of the Christian faith.

Robert Fergusson, who Brian Houston (their senior pastor) used to write their faith statement, actually engaged in some correspondence with me. He is one of the most prominent preacher/teachers at the Hillsong mothership in Sydney. Fergusson's e-mails ultimately revealed (click here to read the correspondance) that Hillsong's faith statement is as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike or a screen door on a submarine. It gives the cosmetic effect of orthodoxy all the while serving no practical purpose whatsoever (it is a lesson to all of us to make sure that our churches have orthodox creeds and that the teaching submits to those creeds).

Even though Fergusson ultimately decided to deal with my questions by ignoring them, one of the readers on this blog drew my attention to this intriguing video . . .



So, clearly, Fergusson outwardly professes that their faith or creedal statement should be the driving force behind the message they communicate. But his apologetic with the Anglican minister was amazing - listen to some of our other CDs! What a great way to answer a legitimate theological question - NOT! Furthermore, it was interesting to note that Fergusson stressed the importance of teaching the theology of the Trinity in their songs. Robert, if the Trinity is so important then why did you invite this guy as your main speaker?????



That's right, TD Jakes, the keynote speaker at this year's Hillsong conference doesn't even believe in the Trinity. He is what is known as a modalist, someone who denies the three distinct Persons of the Trinity by describing them as three manifestations. TD Jakes' modalist presentation of God is clearly not the God of Scripture and therefore an idol. Modalism is a heresy that was denounced in the fourth century AD by the Athanasian Creed (http://www.ccel.org/creeds/athanasian.creed.html) and was punishable by death during the reformation. But in 2010 it qualifies you as a keynote speaker at a Hillsong conference!

The False Gospel Of Hillsong (Part 6) - The Eleventh Commandment

A prominent theme in Brian Houston's teaching is "thou shalt not criticize", or as I call it, the eleventh commandment. Many bad teachers survive solely on the basis of this mantra. It is commonplace among the Word Faith and prosperity crowds.

Without a doubt we should be careful about our motivation and attitude when asking critical questions. But Scripture actually mandates the testing of all teaching commanding us to test all teaching (I John 4:1), expose the works of darkness (Ephesians 5:11), mark false teachers (Romans 16:17), and condemn any other gospel than the one found in Scripture (Galatians 1:8-9). John Macarthur had this to say about teaching that opposes any critique:

In a time like this of tolerance, listen, false teaching will always cry intolerance. It will always say you are being divisive, you are being unloving, you are being ungracious, because it can only survive when it doesn't get scrutinized. So it cries against any intolerance. It cries against any examination, any scrutiny—just let's embrace each other; let's love each other; let's put all that behind us. False doctrine cries the loudest about unity. Listen carefully when you hear the cry for unity, because it may be the cover of false doctrine encroaching. If ever we should follow 1 Thessalonians 5, and examine everything carefully, it's when somebody is crying unity, love, and acceptance (online source)

One of the real problems with trying to have productive discussion with people immersed in this kind of "theology" is that they mask their unrepentance in a four fold strategy - change the subject, ignore it, deny it, or question the motivation behind a question. For example, Brian Houston responded to criticism by Tim Costello about his prosperity theology by saying:

Costello, says Houston, "likes what we do generally" but has a problem with Hillsong's success. He, like those from some of the more traditional churches, is simply jealous of it, Houston tells me. "The irony is, Tim Costello is a pretty successful guy himself. The big difference between us is that I like to teach other people to be successful and not just enjoy the success myself."

Did you see it there? Rather than answer the criticism, Houston preferred to question Costello's motivation and then take a veiled swipe by portraying Costello as someone who is unlike him because he does not share his "success" - and all with a smiling face. It is an art form that few of us can exercise so skilfully.

We also saw Robert Fergusson deal with my question about Hillsong's willingness to alter Bible verses by ignoring it altogether. Well done Robert - a great way to display all those years of theological education! Furthermore, Fergusson's denial of any contradiction between Hillsong's faith statement (concerning repentance) and gospel presentation was behavior that any ostrich would be proud of. And from beneath the sand (where Fergusson's head was buried), he managed to slip in the good old subject change when he said:

It would also be ungracious for either of us to suggest that we believe the Bible, repentance or the gospel more than the other.

Encountering the four fold stragey of:

1. change the subject
2. ignore it
3. deny it
4. question the motivation behind a question

serves as a reminder as to why I have gone public with my attempts at engaging in a productive dialogue with Hillsong church. It is my hope that many readers, friends, and beneficiaries of God's glorious Gospel, would diligently pursue increasing public awareness of the drastic difference between the Gospel of God's redemptive work in Christ, and the gospel of man's invention. Only one of them can save us!

Go Back To Part 5
Go Back To Part 1

The False Gospel Of Hillsong (Part 4) - My Entire Correspondance With Hillsong

Today, I am going to post the entirity of my correspondance with Hillsong, or more specifically, Robert Fergusson. I realize that a lot of this has already been posted, but I thought it might be useful to have the entire dialogue and chronology laid out in a single post so the reader can get a clear picture, and also as a tool for others to pressure Hillsong (e-mail them at prayer@hillsong.com). Forgive me if this is too long for you - if you don't want to read through the entire dialogue then you can scroll down to Fergusson's e-mails which are in italics.

For those of you who don't know who Robert Fergusson,here is his profile on the "Hillsong International Leadership College" website:

Robert Fergusson
Cert.IV AWT, PGCE, B.Sc (Hons)
Trainer and Advisor (Pastoral Leadership)

Robert Fergusson is one of the Senior Associate Pastors at Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia where his primary responsibilities are preaching and teaching in the Bible College. Originally from England, Robert was a minister there for twelve years before he moved to Australia in 1990. He has travelled extensively and has a passion to teach practical life principals. Robert is married with three adult children.

From what I am told, Fergusson is perhaps the most popular and prominent preacher at Hillsong Sydney along with senior pastor Brian Houston. Someone who is recognized for biblical insight. In the light of the glowing endorsements of Fergusson's teaching/preaching you will have to arrive at your own conclusion after reading through this correspondence.

On Wednesday December 30th 2009 I wrote the following mail to Hillsong's prayer@hillsong.com address which is supposed to be for non-Christians with questions:

To whom it may concern,

I recently read through the CD liner notes of your "Hillsong Live - Mighty To Save" CD. In it I found an explanation on how to become a Christian.

Here is what it said:

"Our prayer is that you would discover the Author of Love . . . Jesus. His life and death represent the greatest gift of love the world will ever see . . . a gift for you. All you need to do is accept it . . . a brand new start to a life lived in relationship with God. Meeting God is as simple as praying a prayer . . . asking Jesus to meet you right where you are. If you are not sure that you know God, and that you are going to heaven, then make this your prayer today . . .

Dear Lord Jesus

I need You . . . I need Your grace to forgive me and I need your love to change me. Thank You for your amazing love. Thank You for giving me life and eternity. But above all, thank you for dying on the cross for me.

I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now I'm a Christian, which means You live in me.

I belong to You. I will live my life for You and I will love You forever . . . Amen."

Now I am concerned about several things lacking in this presentation including Who God is, defining what sin is, that we must all be judged, and why Christ needed to die on the cross. These all give me great cause for concern with the gospel you are proclaiming. But I want to zero in on one particular issue. On your website you have a statement of "what we believe" which says this:

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. (http://myhillsong.com/what-we-believe)

Can you please explain to me why repentance is never mentioned in the gospel presentation in the CD's you sell but your website says that "in order to receive forgiveness and the 'new birth' we must repent of our sins"? Can you tell me which one is the correct?

Adding to this I noticed on the back cover of the CD liner notes a quotation of 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says:

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

By checking in my Bible I found this verse to be incomplete and is missing the words in bold print:

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Can you explain to me why you deleted the line from that verse that speaks specifically about repentance? I hope you agree that it is very serious indeed to add to or delete information from sacred Scripture.

I am very concerned about this. I'm sure you would agree that the stakes are high and it is imperative that we get the Gospel right. Eternal destinies hang in the balance. The Apostle Paul said:

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8-9)

I would appreciate your response as to where Hillsong church actually stands on repentance and that you would promptly ammend your website or the CD liner notes that you publish. I am writing to you first to give you opportunity to clarify your position before I discuss this publicly on my blog.

Sincerely
Cameron Buettel

Well Hillsong's 911 emergency hotline sent me an out of office auto reply with another e-mail address - bethany.norton@hillsong.com. So I resent the e-mail to that address but it seems that Bethany was not used to these sort of questions. Finally on Thursday 7th January 2010, 8 days later, Robert Fergusson responded. It would seem my letter had spent several days moving up their theological chain of command to answer my "difficult questions".

Hi Cameron,

Thank you for your recent email and your obvious concern for truth and the preaching of the gospel. I am responding on behalf of Hillsong church as one of the key preachers here.

Let me assure you that at Hillsong church we are as committed to the declaration of truth as you evidently are. As you have seen from our statement of faith our beliefs are those held by the Australian Christian Churches. All of our preaching and publications attempt to reflect those beliefs. For instance, in the example that you have chosen, although we didn’t use the word ‘repent’ on that occasion, we did use the words, ‘change’ and ‘forgive’. We felt that was appropriate at the time and I am sorry if you feel that is inadequate. Nonetheless, we do regularly review all our preaching and publications and have noted your helpful comments. May I suggest you visit our Hillsong church in London, which may allay some of your concerns.

We pray that God continues to bless you and your ministry,

Yours sincerely,

Robert Fergusson.

I wrote back on the following day (Friday the 8th of January 2010):

Dear Robert, I am honored that you would take the time to write to me. I do know of you as an author and seem to recall that you are from the UK. I hope I'm right about that.

I am from Australia (though I now live in Denmark) and my background is in the AOG movement. I am aware that Hillsong cops it's share of criticism - much of which is unfounded. I know that most of the controversy swirls around money and the use of it. Conspiracy theories abound as much as the wild imaginations of their originators. I realize that you probably get asked many "loaded questions" with an agenda bent on discrediting the Hillsong church. I would hope that you would not categorize me among these people but would biblically consider the objections I raise. They pertain to the purity of the Christian Gospel of which I preach both in the pulpit and on the street. And my questions have no grounding in personal credibility but in the authority of Scripture - which the Hillsong website professes: "We believe that the Bible is God's Word. It is accurate, authoritative and applicable to our every day lives". So please, regardless of what you think of my personal credibility, I ask that you give my words merit on the basis of their alignment to Holy Scripture.

I must be clear from the outset that I am very critical of the gospel proclaimed by Hillsong that I have been exposed to in both print and audio form. In my travels I have spoken with members of Hillsong church which has only served to increase my concerns about the gospel that is preached there. Also, a good friend of mine, while filming a reformation documentary in London, bumped into and interviewed some leaders from Hillsong London in which they were unable to clearly articulate the Christian Gospel - this again was more fuel on the fire in prompting me to write. I believe that God made His Gospel knowable for a wretch like me and it is a subject/discussion that does not require top level theologians to discuss at the basic level. I have just completed a series on my blog (www.onceuponacross.blogspot.com) which you are welcome to critique entitled "The Anatomy of the Gospel". Based on Scripture and, to a lesser extent, church history I have asserted that all Gospel proclamations must include:

1. Who God is - His Holiness (Romans 1:18-20)
2. Who man is - sin must be clearly defined in order to show us our sinfulness (Romans 3:10-23)
3. Judgment - heaven and hell - God must judge because He is good, loving, and righteous and we are not (Rev 20:12-15)
4. What Christ has done - the cross and the resurrection - that Christ died to endure God's wrath in the place of sinners and credit sinners with His righteousness - He rose from the dead confirming that He is God and made satisfactory payment for our sins. (Rom 3:24-26)
5. How man must respond - repentance from sin and faith towards Christ (Acts 20:2-21)

Now I could have targetted any one of those five points as the presentation in the CD liner notes was sadly lacking on all five. But I zeroed in on repentance as it is clearly affirmed by Hillsong's own doctrine statement.

I noticed on the back cover of the CD liner notes a quotation of 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says:

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

By checking in my Bible I found this verse to be incomplete and is missing the words highlighted in bold:

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Can you explain to me why you deleted the line from that verse that speaks specifically about repentance? I hope you agree that it is very serious indeed to add to or delete information from sacred Scripture.

Robert, there is no excuse for taking a scalpel to Scripture like this. It is bad enough when people quote verses out of context. How much worse to delete words out of a verse and print it as if that is what 2 Chronicles 7:14 says. The text does not even contain a ... to show that the verse has been abbreviated. I don't blame you for this and realize that you cannot possibly know everything that goes on in a ministry as large as Hillsong. But neither can I see how you could possibly defend this as a professing Christian preacher.

And there is no way that the words "change" and "forgive" (as found in the CD liner notes "prayer") remotely resemble repentance from sin in their context. Please read it again remembering that the faith statement says that people "must repent of sin" in order to receive forgiveness. Repentance is never mentioned and neither is sin. Robert, please take this seriously as a steward of the Gospel. If people must repent of their sin in order to receive forgiveness but the CDs that are sold say nothing that remotely resembles that they are giving false assurance. Please, I beg you, listen to your conscience. Please change your literature to reflect this truth and make sure that your preaching is consistent with this.

The Gospel is not about happiness but righteousness. People must come to Christ seeing their unrighteousness and need for righteousness found only in Christ's atoning sacrifice. A failure to talk about sin and the need to repent from that sin is short changing the glorious Gospel at its foundational level.

Sincerely
Cameron Buettel

Robert Fergusson replied again the same day (Friday 8th of January 2010):

Hi Cameron,

Thank you for your email and, once again, thank you for your observations. To be honest, I think it would be unprofitable for us to engage in a long debate on the nature of the gospel. It would also be ungracious for either of us to suggest that we believe the Bible, repentance or the gospel more than the other. We are both endeavoring, by the grace of God, to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and we should pray for and support one another in that endeavor.

God bless,

Robert Fergusson.

I responded again on the same day (Friday 8th January 2010):

Now Robert, be reasonable. They are fair questions that I am asking. How can you even suggest that repentance from sin is discussed in the Gospel presentation found in the CD? I was hopeful you would address the issue - not pretend it doesn't exist! I am not suggesting I believe the Gospel more than you - I am saying that if you do believe the Gospel then you will put a stop to the false one being presented on behalf of Hillsong. Doesn't it concern you at all that Hillsong propogates information telling people to pray this prayer and then you are a child of God with no call to repentance from sin. No mention of the cross. No mention of our guilt. Please tell me this is of concern to you as a preacher of the Gospel?

Cameron

So there you have it. What do you think about the theological guardians of the Hillsong empire?

Go On To Part 5
Go Back To Part 3
Go Back To Part 1

The False Gospel Of Hillsong (Part 3) - We Don't Want To Talk About The Gospel

The saga continues . . .

Well Robert Fergusson did write back one more time. I have now carefully reread the legalize at the bottom of each mail. Based on this comment it would seem that I can quote Robert's mails as I was the "intended recipient":

The material contained in this email may be confidential, and may also be the subject of copyright and/or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this document is prohibited.

Could someone please post a comment with advice regarding this. As I read the disclaimer it seems to me that only unintended recipients cannot disclose or quote it.

I want to be careful about this because I want to agitate Hillsong for one reason and not two reasons. I want to keep the argument relentlessly pointed at their shameful practices when it comes to adherence to the biblical Gospel and their willingness to edit Scripture as they please. We are to submit to Scripture. Scripture does not submit to the pragmatic practices of Hillsong. I do not want to provide an opening for them to argue about the secondary issue of copyright. If only they paid as much attention to detail when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So if I can receive further advice confirming that I am interpreting the disclaimer correctly, then I will publish Robert Fergusson's mails. I know some of you want to read them - and you may find them quite lame anyway. It would seem that his "apologetical approach" is to take his bat and go home. He seems to think that I want to argue about who belives most in repentance and the authority of Scripture - when nothing could be further from the truth. Scripture has no authority to people who vandalize it and I cannot find anything to suggest that "Hillsong" believes in preaching repentance at all. One of us believes in these things and the other doesn't. I was hopeful that he could figure this out - I thought my explanation was quite simple. Maybe Robert Fergusson is through with writing or maybe his third e-mail is delayed - perhaps he is still digging through Brian Houston's sermon archive looking for that elusive message calling sinners to repentance. Either way, I don't think I'll be hearing from him.

Nonetheless Fergusson's second mail provoked my third mail:

Now Robert, be reasonable. They are fair questions that I am asking. How can you even suggest that repentance from sin is discussed in the Gospel presentation found in the CD? I was hopeful you would address the issue - not pretend it doesn't exist! I am not suggesting I believe the Gospel more than you - I am saying that if you do believe the Gospel then you will put a stop to the false one being presented on behalf of Hillsong. Doesn't it concern you at all that Hillsong propogates information telling people to pray this prayer and then you are a child of God with no call to repentance from sin. No mention of the cross. No mention of our guilt. Please tell me this is of concern to you as a preacher of the Gospel?

Cameron

Based on feedback, this series has revealed to me that Hillsong is a far bigger sacred cow than I ever imagined. A sacred cow that needs to be carved up and barbequed. This isn't over . . .

Go On To Part 4
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The False Gospel Of Hillsong (Part 2) - Defending Heresy

The saga continues . . .

My previous post included my first e-mail that I sent to Hillsong church. I sent it to their salvation e-mail hotline, prayer@hillsong.com, which you would think would be 911 for lost souls on the brink of hell. Well, it turns out that my first mail, was responded to very promptly with an "out of office auto-reply". The lights were on but no one was home! I was given another e-mail address to try so I sent it there. This time I didn't get an out of office auto-reply, instead I got several days of silence.

Finally, after several days, Pastor Robert Fergusson wrote an e-mail to me. If you don't know who he is then let me explain it this way - If Brian Houston were Captain Kirk then Robert Fergusson would be Spock . . . I'm sure that analogy is somehow flawed but I think you get the point. It would seem that my unanswered e-mail had been busy working it's way up the chain of command and had finally reached the appropriate level of spin doctoring expertise.

I will only quote a portion Fergusson's e-mail:

The material contained in this email may be confidential, and may also be the subject of copyright and/or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this document is prohibited. If you have received this document in error, please advise the sender and delete the document.

This email communication does not create or vary any contractual relationship between Hillsong and you. Internet communications are not secure and accordingly Hillsong does not accept any legal liability for the contents of this message.
Please note that neither Hillsong nor the sender accepts any responsibility for viruses and it is your responsibility to scan the email and any attachments.

Hillsong

If only they were as detailed and meticulous about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! What I can say is that Pastor Robert was polite and diplomatic. He assured me of Hillsong's committment to truth and said that their gospel presentation did contain repentance because the words "change" and "forgive" were used (can someone please tell me where I missed that definition in the Bible?). Furthermore, I can say that Fergusson did not have a single word to say about Hillsong's editing of Scripture - the case in point being 2 Chronicles 7:14. I guess they didn't deem that to be of major importance. Clearly, they hold to a different heirarchy of importance than Scripture does!

What follows is my second attempt at discussing their version of the gospel and their willingness to selectively edit Bible verses (much akin to using liquid wite-out as a highlighter pen).

Dear Robert, I am honored that you would take the time to write to me. I do know of you as an author and seem to recall that you are from the UK. I hope I'm right about that.

I am from Australia (though I now live in Denmark) and my background is in the AOG movement. I am aware that Hillsong cops it's share of criticism - much of which is unfounded. I know that most of the controversy swirls around money and the use of it. Conspiracy theories abound as much as the wild imaginations of their originators. I realize that you probably get asked many "loaded questions" with an agenda bent on discrediting the Hillsong church. I would hope that you would not categorize me among these people but would biblically consider the objections I raise. They pertain to the purity of the Christian Gospel of which I preach both in the pulpit and on the street. And my questions have no grounding in personal credibility but in the authority of Scripture - which the Hillsong website professes: "We believe that the Bible is God's Word. It is accurate, authoritative and applicable to our every day lives". So please, regardless of what you think of my personal credibility, I ask that you give my words merit on the basis of their alignment to Holy Scripture.

I must be clear from the outset that I am very critical of the gospel proclaimed by Hillsong that I have been exposed to in both print and audio form. In my travels I have spoken with members of Hillsong church which has only served to increase my concerns about the gospel that is preached there. Also, a good friend of mine, while filming a reformation documentary in London, bumped into and interviewed some leaders from Hillsong London in which they were unable to clearly articulate the Christian Gospel - this again was more fuel on the fire in prompting me to write. I believe that God made His Gospel knowable for a wretch like me and it is a subject/discussion that does not require top level theologians to discuss at the basic level. I have just completed a series on my blog which you are welcome to critique entitled "The Anatomy of the Gospel". Based on Scripture and, to a lesser extent, church history I have asserted that all Gospel proclamations must include:

1. Who God is - His Holiness (Romans 1:18-20)
2. Who man is - sin must be clearly defined in order to show us our sinfulness (Romans 3:10-23)
3. Judgment - heaven and hell - God must judge because He is good, loving, and righteous and we are not (Rev 20:12-15)
4. What Christ has done - the cross and the resurrection - that Christ died to endure God's wrath in the place of sinners and credit sinners with His righteousness - He rose from the dead confirming that He is God and made satisfactory payment for our sins. (Rom 3:24-26)
5. How man must respond - repentance from sin and faith towards Christ (Acts 20:2-21)

Now I could have targetted any one of those five points as the presentation in the CD liner notes was sadly lacking on all five. But I zeroed in on repentance as it is clearly affirmed by Hillsong's own doctrine statement.

I should apologize for a typo in my original mail concerning 2 Chronicles 7:14. I will correct it here as it pertains to my assertion that the necessity of repentance is being both denied and avoided in the thousands (maybe millions) of CDs distributed to the general public under the Hillsong banner. Here is how my mail should have read:

I noticed on the back cover of the CD liner notes a quotation of 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says:

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

By checking in my Bible I found this verse to be incomplete and is missing the words in bold letters:

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Can you explain to me why you deleted the line from that verse that speaks specifically about repentance? I hope you agree that it is very serious indeed to add to or delete information from sacred Scripture.

Robert, there is no excuse for taking a scalpel to Scripture like this. It is bad enough when people quote verses out of context. How much worse to delete words out of a verse and print it as if that is what 2 Chronicles 7:14 says. The text does not even contain a ... to show that the verse has been abbreviated. I don't blame you for this and realize that you cannot possibly know everything that goes on in a ministry as large as Hillsong. But neither can I see how you could possibly defend this as a professing Christian preacher.

And there is no way that the words "change" and "forgive" (as found in the CD liner notes "prayer") remotely resemble repentance from sin in their context. Please read it again remembering that the faith statement says that people "must repent of sin" in order to receive forgiveness. Repentance is never mentioned and neither is sin. Robert, please take this seriously as a steward of the Gospel. If people must repent of their sin in order to receive forgiveness but the CDs that are sold say nothing that remotely resembles that they are giving false assurance. Please, I beg you, listen to your conscience. Please change your literature to reflect this truth and make sure that your preaching is consistent with this.

The Gospel is not about happiness but righteousness. People must come to Christ seeing their unrighteousness and need for righteousness found only in Christ's atoning sacrifice. A failure to talk about sin and the need to repent from that sin is short changing the glorious Gospel at its foundational level.

Sincerely
Cameron Buettel

Fergusson wrote back again, and I'll talk about that in my next post on Friday. Suffice to say it reminds me a lot of Bill Clinton and the marijuhana he smoked but never inhaled!

The effects of this false gospel, that Hillsong propogates, are becoming far reaching. What follows here is a tragic video from Hillsong showing how to innoculate children to the true Gospel . . .



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