He also has political pulling power: Prime Minister John Howard, Treasurer Peter Costello and former NSW premier Bob Carr have all addressed the Hillsong congregation in recent years. Houston has become the most influential pastor in the Pentecostal movement, and is a household name to born-again Australians.

Just a few weeks later, Hillsong’s formidable marketing arm has swung into action, releasing a four-CD set of Houston’s teaching on the sins that undermine potential in people, retailing for $35 in the church shop. Houston instead says the sins are negativity, regret, complacency. “What would be my deadly sins, destructive in the lives of people?” Avarice, gluttony and wrath are apparently old hat. He’s been thinking about the seven deadly sins. People reach into their bags for Bibles and notebooks. “Awesome!” The background music fades away and the house lights brighten. “The faithful are in church tonight,” he declares, surveying the auditorium. The king of Hillsong evangelism, Brian Houston, bounds onto the stage, clad in a dapper suit. And a former member, Robert John Orehek, was charged with fraud after allegedly fleecing believers of up to $20 million, which he sank into failed and fraudulent property investments. Hillsong’s main benevolent arm, Hillsong Emerge Ltd, has been accused in federal and NSW parliament of misappropriating commonwealth grants worth millions of dollars. Only last month, the Labor Mayor of Blacktown in Sydney’s west, Leo Kelly, accused Hillsong of attempting to pressure him, via an ALP state official, to dampen his criticism of their use of public funds. The message of Hillsong’s prosperity gospel is: the richer you are, the more you can help others.īut along with the expanding congregation and profit margins have come the ugly rumours that won’t go away – of underhanded treatment of disaffected church members, of attempts to silence critics, of profiteering from the faithful. And then there are the donations – it’s anybody’s guess how much – from the owners of the $40 million Gloria Jean’s coffee empire, Nabi Saleh and Peter Irvine, who are both senior members of Hillsong, the former as treasurer. And the rivers of cash keep flowing: donations and salary tithes to Hillsong were $15.3 million in 2004 merchandise, CDs, books and DVDs, returned a further $6.93 million, while total church revenue has now passed the $50 million mark – all tax-free thanks to Hillsong’s charitable status. The buckets have holes in the bottom, presumably to discourage parish-ioners from giving coins. Ushers flood the aisles and pass black buckets down each row. Under each one is an envelope and credit card form for believers to donate their pre-tax 10 per cent salary tithe. The audience sits not on wooden pews but on 3500 cushioned theatre seats. There are no images of Jesus being tortured on the cross at Hillsong headquarters in Sydney’s Baulkham Hills, no vaulted ceilings.

As traditional religious congregations shrink, Hillsong attendance expanded more than 13 per cent in 2004. Every weekend at Hillsong churches in Sydney 19,000 people sing, clap and jump through a two-hour tribute to a God who rocks. It’s Hillsong Church, part religious service, part rock concert, part multi-media conglomerate. Over a sea of raised arms, five cameras capture the action as the audience, in time with the lanky, tousle-haired lead singer, belts out a thundering chorus: “You’re the best thing that has happened to me.” Whoa! I wanna know you, I wanna know you today.” With that catchy lyric, the lead singer rips into a punky-pop riff on his electric guitar as the band and side-stage choir spring to life. None of the complainers about critiques of Hillsong have sent me anything yet, that I can recall).Īs crowds – and their cash – flood into Hillsong Church, former members tell Jennifer Sexton about the heavy price they paid for leaving the flock. The correct response is to email a counter-argument, and if it’s reasonable – in both senses – I’ll publish it at the foot of the article being ‘complained about’. I usually respond by saying that there are articles pro and con all sorts of subjects: Arab/Israeli tensions, liberalism/fundamentalism etc. But I get regular emails complaining about the half-dozen articles on this website critical of Hillsong. The conference hosts people like Rick and Bill Hybells and others who would not fully share the Hillsong ethos. Recently I watched a re-run of Hillsong’s annual conference and enjoyed listening to Rick Warren.

(Note from Rowland: I have no problem with Hillsong as a highly effective modern Pentecostal expression of the Christian faith.

Hillsong pastor brian houston net worth