“17,000 Hillsong Fans Unite
for Concert Filming Event in Los Angeles” said the headline on Alex Murashko’s
article in today’s Christian Post.
According to Murashko, whose
extravagant review borders on sycophancy, the event was; “the best I've ever
witnessed. From the spectacular sound, lighting and staging, to the crowd
participation – the experience was powerfully moving, and a time of corporate
worship beyond words. Let's just say it was the largest and loudest ‘choir’
I've ever heard.”
The ‘concert’ attended by 17,000 ‘Hillsong fans’ was filmed by 12
cameras as part of a movie project which is intended to document the inexorable30
year rise of Hillsong to global prominence.
By any standard the Hillsong
operation is impressive. It has churches in many major cities who appeal
directly to the more ‘hip’ middle class millenials. Around 100,000 attend its
weekly services and 10 million are Facebook
followers. Most importantly, Hillsongs’ world-wide album sales are
around the 16 million mark.
The feature film will be
released in April 2015. Brian Houston the Hillsong senior pastor has said that:
“the aim is to give people the world over the opportunity to experience the
praise and worship that has been birthed in this House."
As a born again Christian,
there’s a fine line between true Biblical worship and the ego driven ‘look at
me’ excess of the corrupt, corporate, celebrity-driven Christian entertainment
industry.
True worship as outlined
throughout the Bible is much more than singing and music. It has been described
as ‘an act of reverential deference’, where true worshippers have a real
Biblical fear of the Lord and therefore humble themselves before His holy presence.
Worship is not about feelings.
Sadly many Christians mistakenly equate fired up feelings with genuine worship
where the higher hands are raised, the more peoples’ hearts must be inclined
towards the Lord. They are deluded.
In the Old testament, the prophet Isaiah concluded that
the worship which he observed was shallow and man-made: “Because this people
draw near with their mouth and honour me with their lips, while their hearts
are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men”.
Worship is what true believers do every moment
of every day, not just at special worship services or on a Sunday or at
Hillsong concerts.
Jesus’ meeting with the woman
at the well, recorded in John’s Gospel describes worship from a different
perspective: “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this
mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 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”.
The writer to the Hebrews
re-emphasises the 24/7 nature of true worship: “Through him then let us
continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips
that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you
have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God”.
In the 1990s I eagerly
awaited the release of the next Hillsong album. Since then its growth has been
exponential.
We should all pray that the
Hillsong ‘brand’ will remain on the right God-honouring side of the thin line……….that’s
where those who worship in spirit and truth are to be found.
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