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Hillsong
Brian Houston: How Hillsong Grew From a Small Local
Church to an International Movement
Taylor Berglund
Though Senior Pastor Brian
Houston may recoil at the term "megachurch," it's an accurate
descriptor for the Hillsong movement he founded.
He says no one but God could
have predicted the international fame and impact his once-small, local church
would have.
In 1983, Houston and his
wife, Bobbie, planted Hills Christian Life Centre in Sydney, Australia.
Forty-five people attended its first service.
Within four years, 900 people
attended weekly services, and the Houstons started the Hillsong Conference, an
annual event dedicated to raising up the next generation of Christian
musicians.
Worship leaders like Darlene
Zschech and Geoff Bullock emerged from that conference, which grew so popular
that in 1999, Hills Christian Life Centre changed its name to Hillsong Church.
Today, Hillsong is not just
one of the largest churches in the world but a megachurch that spawns other
megachurches.
Every week, roughly 130,000
people attend one of the 123 Hillsong campuses, spanning 24 countries on six
continents.
People from another 183
countries have watched the Hillsong Channel, which broadcasts nonstop to nearly
164 million households worldwide.
In 2017 alone, over 33,000
people came to salvation in Jesus as a result of a Hillsong ministry or
service.
The movement has also
launched three distinct worship bands, three annual conferences, several
international social justice initiatives and a college.
Until last year, all of this
was done under the umbrella of the Australian Christian Churches (ACC) — the
Australian branch of the Assemblies of God denomination.
From 1997 to 2009, in
addition to his responsibilities at Hillsong, Houston served as the ACC's
national superintendent and president.
But in September 2018,
Houston announced Hillsong was leaving the ACC to form its own international
denomination. He describes the decision as a pragmatic one.
"The ACC would have no idea who our
pastors are around the world," Houston explains. "How would they deal with issues
related to a youth pastor in Portugal, for instance? It was almost solely about
being able to credential our own pastors."
Houston has also consistently
emphasized that Hillsong bears no ill will toward the ACC, saying they still
share a close "associate relationship."
Nor was this a way for
Hillsong to flex its size and power by becoming an autonomous organization. If
anything, Houston seems uncomfortable calling Hillsong its own denomination.
"I hate the word
'denomination,'" Houston says. "I
don't actually think denominations are as important as they used to be. I think
relationship is so much more important than denominationalism."
Instead,
he prefers to describe Hillsong with a word picture: "We consider our church to be 'one house, many rooms,' which is
something my wife came up with once. I was speaking of the church, and she
described the church that way, and that's how we see it: Hillsong is a single
house with many rooms, and that's how we function."
Welcome to Hillsong
Carl Lentz first attended
Hillsong Church in Sydney as a brand-new believer in 1999. When he walked
through the doors, he says he couldn't believe how much fun Hillsong had made
church.
"I was trained in this American
religiosity, where it's like the more you smile, the less sanctified you
are," Lentz says.
"To walk into Hillsong and see this
Australian pastor preach with passion and fire but also joy, it really stuck
out to me. ... I never thought I could fit into a church. Ever. I couldn't
stand churches. But when I walked into Hillsong, I thought, I could actually come here. I
wouldn't mind coming back. That
was a new feeling for me."
Lentz did more than come
back. He befriended Houston's son, Joel, during Bible college, and the two
dreamed of launching a Hillsong campus in the U.S.
Ten years later, Joel called
Lentz and said his father wanted to plant a church in New York City. Lentz
immediately knew he needed to be a part of it. In 2010, Lentz and Joel
co-founded Hillsong NYC in Manhattan.
Lentz still remembers when
Pastor Brian imparted the Hillsong vision to him.
"I'm going to give you the framework
of what I want our church to be in New York, but I'm not going to tell you how
to paint the picture," Houston said.
"I'm not going to tell you what
colors to use. I'm not going to tell you what style to use. The framework has
to remain the framework. This is who we are. This is our culture. This is what
we believe. But within that, that's why I picked you. You know things that
maybe I won't know."
Lentz
says, "That really freed and
released things for me to lead this, because I knew that he trusted me."
So what is the essential,
uncompromising framework of a Hillsong Church?
Each Hillsong leader phrases
it a bit differently, but at its core, Hillsong is devoted to preaching the
gospel, listening to the Holy Spirit and living supernaturally — in a way that
remains accessible to everyone, from the hardcore believer to the skeptic who
wandered into church.
That stems from a commitment
to living out the Bible.
In January, Houston
participated in a YouVersion Bible study called "30-Day Shred."
Inspired by the popular
workout program of the same name, the study is designed to be a rigorous spiritual
workout — one which has participants read the entire Bible in 30 days.
Houston read through the Old
Testament in 11. He says it was amazing.
"So often we look at the Bible and
we study the leaf," Houston says.
"But this is like looking at the
whole tree. It's such a different way of reading the Bible — reading it through
the way you'd read a book. I've been amazed at how much I picked up. ... For
example, on this reading, the one thing that stood out to me, right from Adam
and Eve all the way through, is to be obedient. I think you see in the Word
that when people were obedient to God, He blessed them."
For Hillsong's leaders,
obedience means following the Holy Spirit's guiding, no matter where He leads.
Lentz says Houston taught him how to develop a healthy perspective on the
supernatural.
"When you say the word
'supernatural,' what do you think about?"
Lentz says.
"You think about mystical weirdness
or magic. But if you break down the word, it's 'super-natural.' It's just
'natural' with 'super' on it. That means everything's enhanced, everything's
better, but it's still natural.
“So our thing is not to make the
supernatural this otherworldly thing that you access. No, this is something you
possess, and we have the right to access it anytime you want. But it should
affect you in your natural world.
“If the only time you're feeling the Holy
Spirit's presence is when you're speaking in tongues at your charismatic
altar-call service, you're missing the point."
For Hillsong, Lentz says, the
supernatural is not meant to be a place you visit. It's a present you live
with. And that philosophy started with the church founder.
"Brian was one of the first guys who
actually showed me that, because I was always spooked out by weirdness,"
Lentz says.
"If I say 'I'm going to talk about
the supernatural' in Manhattan this week, people will come out in droves
thinking we're going to be looking for gold dust and we're going to have
40-hour services of laughing and dancing. That's people's mindset. They think
that's what the supernatural is. I totally disagree."
Part of the secret to
Hillsong's success has been making Pentecostal theology accessible and even
attractive to people who might be otherwise turned off by "weird"
charismatic elements.
Houston credits Hillsong
building relationships that span national and denominational lines. He also
says the church's famous worship has played a key role.
"I think the worship is one of the
key things that has broken down the walls,"
Houston says.
"For whatever reason, people have
always identified with our worship. People sense the Holy Spirit through the
lyrics, music and worship. For us, it's definitely been one of the things God
has used to draw great groups of people from various parts of the Body
close."
Pastor Russell Evans, founder
of Planetshakers Church, credits Hillsong with using worship to change how
society views church in general.
"I look at Hillsong and I see what
they've done globally to help transform the church into being hungry for
worship," Evans says.
"It's pretty amazing, out of
Australia, that God would raise up people like Brian Houston and Hillsong to
help change how church is done globally."
Once people are in the doors,
Hillsong's leaders strive to make sure every person hears the gospel — whether
they're rich, poor, famous, unknown or anything in between.
"We really want everyone to get a
chance to hear the gospel," Lentz says.
"So part of our culture is that you
can come as you are. Our faith and belief teach us that if we can get you in
the doors, the Holy Spirit can do the rest. ... No matter where you're from or
what you believe, you're going to have a chance to sit in this church and hear
the truth in love."
Plenty of churches around the
world have dedicated themselves to preaching the Word, following the Holy
Spirit and making themselves accessible to everyone.
So what's made Hillsong
successful? Frankly, Houston says, "it's a miracle" only made
possible by the grace of God.
But he says he sees two
things — getting the right people at the right time in the right places and
making wise, Spirit-led decisions at critical moments — as the most important
elements of Hillsong's success.
The Right People
As a leader, Houston strives
to train more leaders. He looks out for promising young people in his church,
mentors them and then empowers them to make decisions and lead the local
church.
"The
way our church functions, we've always built up a team of people that we're
looking to mentor," Houston says.
"I think a lot of churches have a
senior pastor who takes a strong place in the organization of the church, and
everyone else is very clear that they work for the senior pastor. Well, we're a
little different. In one way, it's clear that Bobbie and I lead the church, but
we've always felt perfectly comfortable with releasing other people. I think
that's really helped us."
Rev.
Mike Pilavachi, co-founder and leader of the U.K. ministry Soul Survivor, says
this approach to discipleship is the secret to Hillsong's incredible success: "I've had the joy of speaking to
Hillsong Sydney. I love them. I believe their secret is that even though
they're a big church, they do raise up sons and daughters. Some people think
it's a show, but it isn't.
“So many leaders at Hillsong are Brian
and Bobbie Houston's spiritual sons and daughters. They've invested in them.
People look at the outward manifestation, and they think that's the key to a
church's success. But the reason some of these churches reproduce so well is
they're raising up sons and daughters."
The first step to Houston's
process is finding the right people.
He says he looks for people
who are passionate about service, have Holy Spirit anointing on their lives and
have a proven track record of helping others. Circumstance and timing are
equally important.
"When it comes to global churches,
we've found that if you get the right people in the right place at the right
time, it works," Houston says.
"In other words, churches need all
three to grow forward. If you only get two of that trifecta, oftentimes it's
not going to work so well."
Houston says sometimes these
people became externally famous and successful, like Lentz and Zschech.
Other people were just as
anointed but only ever known internally, keeping things running behind the
scenes. Every part of the body is vital.
Once these leaders are
identified, the Houstons are intentional about mentoring them. They hold
regular staff meetings where the whole leadership team worships together and
Houston teaches about life, faith and leadership.
Then these young leaders are
given real responsibility and freedom to fail and learn from their mistakes.
Houston says, as he grows
older, he has to be increasingly intentional to empower the young and not defer
to the older or more experienced team members.
"I think you have to be careful as
you get older," Houston says.
"I'm 65, and as you get older, what
you see as being young is not that young. I was leading the Australian
Christian Churches when I was 43 years old, and now I look at a 43- year-old,
and I think of them as a young person. What I want to do is give people the
opportunity to do the things I did when I was in my late 20s or early
30s."
In return, Houston has the
respect and support of his team, many of whom view him as a spiritual father.
Lentz calls Houston encouraging and transparent.
"I don't know if it's possible to
see someone walk more humbly when God increases their profile, but honestly I
think Brian is getting a little bit better with age,"
Lentz says.
"He's proof that you can ask God to
use your life, and He will. We've got a guy from Australia who started a church
on a wing and a prayer, and we're talking about him in Manhattan — that just
doesn't happen. ... I think he deserves the honor he's given."
The Right Decisions
Any church movement as large,
successful and international as Hillsong is bound to court controversy at some
point. Houston says a megachurch based in Australia is especially scrutinized.
"In Australia, you know, the idea of
the megachurch is a real mind-bender for Australian society, because Australia
is a secular country," Houston says.
"It's a small population, and an
even smaller population of Australians go to church at all. ... People have an
idea that a church will be small, wimpy, old and irrelevant. So for it to be
large, mega, young and relatable to people, I think that has drawn a lot of
scrutiny."
Hillsong has dealt with its
share of scandals over the years, but the church has emerged from the fires
stronger than ever.
"The decisions you make in the tough
times or in the crisis are the most important decisions,"
Houston says.
"We've
been blessed with a really great church board. So we've always had a properly
functioning board, which I believe has been amazing blessing, and I think it
helped us, especially when we've been under any kind of scrutiny to make wise
choices."
Houston says it's important
to stay humble and not overreact when the inevitable attacks come.
"I think just be true to yourself
and be authentic, be honest, be open where it's possible to be open and don't
hide things," Houston says.
"Sometimes it takes a commitment to
not living reactionary — always fighting back and so on — but instead just
taking higher ground and staying true to who we are. By doing that, our church
has really come through many trying seasons, and the church has stayed strong
and just kept going forward."
He says the best way to
weather any controversy is to build roots of trust with your church
congregation. But those roots can only be grown slowly through years of
dedicated local church ministry.
"It's kind of a miracle, really, the
way our church has weathered all kinds of storms over the years,"
Houston says.
"The church and staff have stayed
healthy. I think being the kinds of leaders that people can trust — not just
Bobbie and I, but the team in general — is important. So that no matter what
the media say, no matter what swirls around these people, your people know who
you are.
"You are building trust with people,
which is one of the great strengths of long-term pastoring. You have the
opportunity to build credibility and put some roots down deep. It doesn't
matter what people might read or see if they know who you are and know that you
have been consistent over a long time. They trust in you."
Finally, he says, it's
important to always take time to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the right way to
respond in each season.
Houston says Hillsong has
gone through tough times, but God has been faithful and has always brought them
through.
"I really believe in being vocal,
being true to who we are and outlasting our critics," Houston
says.
"I thank God that our name is pretty
well known even in secular society these days. That's definitely different than
30 or 40 years ago, when really no one else would have known an Australian
megachurch around the world."
Future of Hillsong
Houston says Australian
church congregations trend younger than most other countries' congregations.
So perhaps it's no surprise
that Hillsong churches skew young. The largest age group at most Hillsong
campuses is 25-40 years old.
"I think young people are hungry for
God," Houston says.
"Our heart at Hillsong is to connect
to people and believe in young people again."
Lentz believes the cultural
shift toward progressivism and postmodernism presents a massive opportunity for
believers.
"I think that anytime culture has an
extreme swing, it's always a benefit for something that's consistent,"
Lentz says.
"So right now, the culture has swung
to a place of, 'Everything is tolerated except for people who love Jesus. There
is no definition of anything.
“You can be this, and you can live this
way.' I've never looked at that as a problem. In fact, I say, 'Thank you.
Please keep doing that. Please keep going that way, culture, because that is
such an empty, hollow, broken way to live that it actually highlights who we are
even more.'
"[People] are always looking for a
way off of this toxic highway that [culture] is giving people. But there's
nowhere to go.
“So my job is to create local churches
that are right there off the highway — you can see it from a mile away. You can
choose to take this exit, and if you give it a shot, I don't think you'll have
to get back on the cultural highway."
Houston believes the next
generation is ripe for revival in all aspects of life.
"I just really feel like we're in a
season of — the word 'revival,' I think, can conjure certain things in people's
minds, but I think it means freshness and movement and momentum,"
Houston says.
"And I feel like revival's in the
air. When I speak about revival, I'm not talking about the traditional
Pentecostal revival meetings, but God just really breaking into the atmosphere
of people's lives. I think people are being won to the name of Christ.
”Revival in pretty much all walks of life
— that's what I'm believing for: revival in people's families, their marriages,
their relationships, their finances and just across their lives. That's what's
been in my heart and what I've been praying for our people this year."
Lentz believes Houston is
right — young people are ready for a change, and that change could lead them to
Christ.
"I've
got teenagers in my house," Lentz says.
"I don't think they're looking at
this culture going, 'Man, this is amazing.' I think they're going, 'What is
going on in the world?
“This is insane.' ... I think it's a
really important time for us, not to do anything different but to do everything
passionately as we have been and create as many avenues as we can to get people
in the house, because we have the answers people are looking for."
What does that mean for
Hillsong's future? Still humble, Houston says he's more committed than ever to
championing the causes of local churches around the world.
After all, Hillsong — with
all its colleges, TV channels and touring bands — is still just another local
church.
"I think our responsibility is to go
to people and share our testimony," Houston says.
"People know who we are. When it
comes to our role, I think if we can just be a healthy local church that others
can look to and learn from, then that's a great thing. I see the fact that
God's given us influence as a church as a Holy Spirit-driven thing. It's been
quite miraculous, really, for a little church down under to have global
impact."
Taylor
Berglund is the associate editor of Charisma magazine.
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