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alissaallred
Reviews
The Secrets of Hillsong (2023)
Could have been one episode, not four
Just finished watching. As others have mentioned, it goes on and on in circles.
Not sure why Carl was even part of this, but I guess he was the perpetrator of those "Secrets" of Hillsong. I feel for his family, but he should have been and was eliminated from ministry for good cause.
I find it interesting that many of the people they had featured with their stories of being excluded were devastated that they weren't elevated to the status that they wanted. Most individuals featured were not at all focused on elevating Jesus, which is likely the REAL reason they were likely eliminated from ministry. Most wanted the recognition, opportunities & status. The most authentic stories of pain were a Mom & Daughter that served along with Carl Lentz and I felt for them! It would have been really challenging to witness his behavior and I could see their heart for The Lord and their pain. We must not elevate people of this world! Only Jesus. I also know that we have authentic Jesus-loving brothers and sisters at Hillsong who are doing their best to serve God. It's been gross to see how quickly the church turns its back on its own body, as many churches have moved towards banishing Hillsong's music (written by our faithful brothers and sisters who have had zero to do with these scandals). We need to weed out the individuals that aren't authentic in ministry and keep pressing on.
The others in this documentary that I feel for are the victims of Frank Houston. It's horrific and I am SO sorry for their pain. He was not part of Hillsong though...he had a different church. His crimes all occurred before the 1970's and he was banished from preaching after he confessed of a single crime to Brian Houston in 1999. The crime had occurred decades earlier in a different country and he was ailing in his late 70's and no longer a threat to society. Frank also apparently revealed that he himself had been abused by his own grandfather. I can't call Brian guilty for the sins of his father, and it doesn't seem like a cover-up as he wasn't trying to keep him in ministry...he banished him from speaking. When this disturbing info came to light, his father was suffering mental challenges and near 80 years old. I can't even imagine what it would be like to learn this info about your family member. It's detestable but again, how do we hold Brian responsible for that? Should he have preached about his Dad being a serial pedophile near 80 years old? We'll see what the court says this month about whether or not he is accountable, as I'm not sure how courts work outside of USA.