Category: False Teachers

Discernment, False Teachers

Joel & Victoria Osteen

Michelle Lesley

If you are considering commenting or sending me an e-mail objecting to the fact that I warn against certain teachers, please click here and read this article first. Your objection is most likely answered here. I won’t be publishing comments or answering emails that are answered by this article.

This article is kept continuously updated as needed.

This article is what I call a “clearinghouse article”. It is a collection of articles written by others on the teacher, ministry, or unbiblical trend named below. Either I have not had the time to write a full blown article on it myself, or I felt that the articles listed did a fine job of explaining the biblical issues and there was no need to reinvent the wheel.

Disclaimer: I did not write the articles below, and I am not thoroughly familiar with all of the websites used in my clearinghouse articles. I do not endorse anything on these sites that deviates from Scripture or conflicts with my beliefs as outlined in the “Welcome” or “Statement of Faith” tabs in the blue menu bar at the top of this page.

Here are the  biblical criteria I use when deciding whether or not to recommend a teacher, ministry, etc.:

Generally speaking, in order for me to recommend a teacher, speaker, or author, he or she has to meet three criteria:

a) A female teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly preach to or teach men in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12. A male teacher or pastor cannot allow women to carry out this violation of Scripture in his ministry. The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be living in any other sin (for example, cohabiting with her boyfriend or living as a homosexual).

b) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be partnering with or frequently appearing with false teachers. This is a violation of Scripture.

c) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be teaching false doctrine.

I recommend against any teacher or ministry who violates one or more of these biblical tenets.

I am not very familiar with most of the teachers I’m asked about (there are so many out there!) and have not had the opportunity to examine their writings or hear them speak, so most of the “quick checking” I do involves items a and b (although in order to partner with false teachers (b) it is reasonable to assume their doctrine is acceptable to the false teacher and that they are not teaching anything that would conflict with the false teacher’s doctrine). Partnering with false teachers and women preaching to men are each sufficient biblical reasons not to follow a pastor, teacher, or author, or use his/her materials.

Just to be clear, “not recommended” is a spectrum. On one end of this spectrum are people like Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth and Kay Arthur. These are people I would not label as false teachers because their doctrine is generally sound, but because of some red flags I’m seeing with them, you won’t find me proactively endorsing them or suggesting them as a good resource, either. There are better people you could be listening to. On the other end of the spectrum are people like Joyce Meyer and Rachel Held Evans- complete heretics whose teachings, if believed, might lead you to an eternity in Hell. Most of the teachers I review fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum (leaning toward the latter).

If you’d like to check out some pastors and teachers I heartily recommend, click the Recommended Bible Teachers tab at the top of this page.

Joel & Victoria Osteen
Not Recommended

Primary issues with the Osteens (and their “church,” Lakewood) : Word of Faith (prosperity gospel) heresy, self-help/seeker driven theology, Scripture – when used – is twisted and mishandled, Victoria is co-“pastor” of Lakewood and women guest preachers are normative, the Osteens yoke with numerous false teachers

Theological Issues

What’s the Problem with Joel Osteen? at CBC Media

A Biblical Critique of Joel Osteen’s Teachings by Melissa Dougherty

Who is Joel Osteen, and are his teachings biblical? at Got Questions

The Danger Of Prosperity Preaching: A Review Of Joel Osteen at Reasons for Jesus

Justin Peters exposes Joel Osteen the Phony by Justin Peters

John MacArthur Rebukes Joel Osteen by John MacArthur

Joel Osteen’s false gospel by Protestia on X:

Book Reviews

Joel Osteen’s “Your Best Life Now” [and “Become a Better You”]: An Honest Review at Reasons for Jesus

Positive Thinking is False Thinking…and a Few Thoughts on Joel Osteen’s Latest Book (Think Better, Live Better) at Truth + Fire

Specific Incidents with Joel & Victoria Osteen

Joel Osteen’s “I Don’t Know”-athon on Larry King by Steve Lawson

Victoria Osteen says to do good for yourself, not God at CARM

Victoria Osteen Ripped for Telling Church ‘Just Do Good For Your Own Self’; Worship Is Not for God, ‘You’re Doing it for Yourself’ at The Christian Post

Joel Osteen: Mormons Are ‘Brothers In Christ’ on Wolf Blitzer

Just How Rich Is Joel Osteen? at TheStreet

Collections of Articles/Episodes

Joel Osteen at Apprising

Osteen at Berean Research

Osteen at Fighting for the Faith

Osteen at The End Time

Discernment, False Teachers

Joyce Meyer

Michelle Lesley

If you are considering commenting or sending me an e-mail objecting to the fact that I warn against certain teachers, please click here and read this article first. Your objection is most likely answered here. I won’t be publishing comments or answering emails that are answered by this article.

This article is kept continuously updated as needed.

This article is what I call a “clearinghouse article”. It is a collection of articles written by others on the teacher, ministry, or unbiblical trend named below. Either I have not had the time to write a full blown article on it myself, or I felt that the articles listed did a fine job of explaining the biblical issues and there was no need to reinvent the wheel.

Disclaimer: I did not write the articles below, and I am not thoroughly familiar with all of the websites used in my clearinghouse articles. I do not endorse anything on these sites that deviates from Scripture or conflicts with my beliefs as outlined in the “Welcome” or “Statement of Faith” tabs in the blue menu bar at the top of this page.

Here are the  biblical criteria I use when deciding whether or not to recommend a teacher, ministry, etc.:

Generally speaking, in order for me to recommend a teacher, speaker, or author, he or she has to meet three criteria:

a) A female teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly preach to or teach men in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12. A male teacher or pastor cannot allow women to carry out this violation of Scripture in his ministry. The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be living in any other sin (for example, cohabiting with her boyfriend or living as a homosexual).

b) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be partnering with or frequently appearing with false teachers. This is a violation of Scripture.

c) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be teaching false doctrine.

I recommend against any teacher or ministry who violates one or more of these biblical tenets.

I am not very familiar with most of the teachers I’m asked about (there are so many out there!) and have not had the opportunity to examine their writings or hear them speak, so most of the “quick checking” I do involves items a and b (although in order to partner with false teachers (b) it is reasonable to assume their doctrine is acceptable to the false teacher and that they are not teaching anything that would conflict with the false teacher’s doctrine). Partnering with false teachers and women preaching to men are each sufficient biblical reasons not to follow a pastor, teacher, or author, or use his/her materials.

Just to be clear, “not recommended” is a spectrum. On one end of this spectrum are people like Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth and Kay Arthur. These are people I would not label as false teachers because their doctrine is generally sound, but because of some red flags I’m seeing with them, you won’t find me proactively endorsing them or suggesting them as a good resource, either. There are better people you could be listening to. On the other end of the spectrum are people like Joyce Meyer and Rachel Held Evans- complete heretics whose teachings, if believed, might lead you to an eternity in Hell. Most of the teachers I review fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum (leaning toward the latter).

If you’d like to check out some pastors and teachers I heartily recommend, click the Recommended Bible Teachers tab at the top of this page.

Joyce Meyer
Not Recommended

Primary issues with Joyce Meyer: Word of Faith (prosperity gospel) heresy, twists and mishandles Scripture, female “pastor,” yokes with numerous false teachers

Theological Issues

Discerning the False Teachers: Joyce Meyer at A Word Fitly Spoken

Joyce Meyer at CARM

Exposing False Teachers (No.1): Joyce Meyer at Broad Oak Piety

Chris Tomlin Promotes False Teacher Joyce Meyer at G3 Ministries

Why we quit working for Joyce Meyer, and left the Word of Faith movement at Doreen Virtue with Paul & Emily Massey

Word of Faith False Teacher Joyce Meyer’s Shocking Doctrine and Heresy by Fran Sankey

Joyce Meyer is “Word of Faith” by Tim Martin

6 Reasons You Should Stop Listening to Joyce Meyer by Daniel Long

The Teachings of Joyce Meyer at Christian Research Institute (aside from this article, this is not a site I recommend)

Joyce Meyer – False Teacher at SO4J

Book Reviews

“Any Minute”: a review of Joyce Meyer’s book by Elizabeth Prata

Specific Incidents with Joyce Meyer

8 expensive things owned by American Televangelist Joyce Meyer at Ten Over Ten

Joyce Meyer, Former Focus of Senate Probe, Was Paid $250K While Ministry Earned $110.5 Million in 2014 at The Christian Post

Collections of Articles/Episodes

Joyce Meyer at Apprising

Joyce Meyer at Berean Research

Joyce Meyer at Fighting for the Faith

Joyce Meyer at The End Time

Discernment, False Teachers

Bethel/Bethel Music/Jesus Culture/Bill Johnson

Michelle Lesley

If you are considering commenting or sending me an e-mail objecting to the fact that I warn against certain teachers, please click here and read this article first. Your objection is most likely answered here. I won’t be publishing comments or answering emails that are answered by this article.

This article is kept continuously updated as needed.

This article is what I call a “clearinghouse article”. It is a collection of articles written by others on the teacher, ministry, or unbiblical trend named below. Either I have not had the time to write a full blown article on it myself, or I felt that the articles listed did a fine job of explaining the biblical issues and there was no need to reinvent the wheel.

Disclaimer: I did not write most of the articles below, and I am not thoroughly familiar with all of the websites used in my clearinghouse articles. I do not endorse anything on these sites that deviates from Scripture or conflicts with my beliefs as outlined in the “Welcome” or “Statement of Faith” tabs in the blue menu bar at the top of this page.

Here are the  biblical criteria I use when deciding whether or not to recommend a teacher, ministry, etc.:

Generally speaking, in order for me to recommend a teacher, speaker, author, or ministry, he/she/it has to meet three criteria:

a) A female teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly preach to or teach men in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12. A male teacher or pastor cannot allow women to carry out this violation of Scripture in his ministry. The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be living in any other sin (for example, cohabiting with her boyfriend or living as a homosexual).

b) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be partnering with or frequently appearing with false teachers. This is a violation of Scripture.

c) The pastor, teacher, or ministry cannot currently and unrepentantly be teaching false doctrine.

I recommend against any teacher or ministry who violates one or more of these biblical tenets.

If you’d like to check out some pastors and teachers I heartily recommend, click the Recommended Bible Teachers tab at the top of this page.

Bethel / Bethel Music / Jesus Culture / Bill Johnson
Not Recommended

Primary issues with Bethel / Bethel Music / Jesus Culture / Bill Johnson: Heresy (New Apostolic Reformation – NAR), false teachers/heretics, women “pastors”/preachers

From my article God’s Not Like “Whatever, Dude,” About The Way He’s Approached in Worship:

Bethel “Church” in Redding, California, and IHOP are, functionally, ground zero for the New Apostolic Reformation heresy. Heresy. Not, “They just have a more expressive, contemporary style of worship,”. Not, “It’s a secondary theological issue we can agree to disagree on.” Heresy. Denial of the deity of Christ. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Demonstrably false prophecy that the head of IHOP, Mike Bickle, has publicly rejoiced in (He estimates that 80% of IHOP’s “prophecies” are false.) And that’s just the tip of our metaphorical ice berg when it comes to the NAR.

IHOP and Bethel are, by biblical definition, not Christian organizations and certainly not Christian churches. They are pagan centers of idol worship just as much as the Old Testament temples of Baal were. The only difference is that, instead of being creative and coming up with their own name for their god, they’ve stolen the name Jesus and blasphemously baptized their idol with that moniker.

The point in this whole debate [over the song Reckless Love] is not the word “reckless”. The point is that Christian churches should not have anything whatsoever to do with idol worshiping pagans as they approach God in worship. Yet Sunday after Sunday churches use Bethel music, Jesus Culture music, Hillsong music, and the like, in their worship of God.

New Apostolic Reformation

New Apostolic Reformation articles

The Mailbag: What is the New Apostolic Reformation?

The Mailbag: Should Christians listen to “Reckless Love”? (Contains videos and discussion of blasphemous NAR music, practices, and beliefs, many at/connected to Bethel)

Articles by Unbelievers

Meet The “Young Saints” Of Bethel Who Go To College To Perform Miracles at BuzzFeed (This article is from a secular source and was written by a non-Christian journalist, under cover at Bethel. It contains a smattering of profanity.)

Born Again Witch: Witches at a Pentecostal Church – Healings and Prophecies by Annika Mongan (This article is the third in a series and was written by a practicing witch whose coven visited Bethel. No one shared the gospel with them, and they were affirmed in their sin.)

Theological Issues

Protecting the Sheep: Why churches should not sing Hillsong, Bethel, or Elevation music in worship services (primarily a lengthy exposé on the “theology” of these “churches”) at Thinking and Living Biblically

The Deficient Pulpit of Bethel and Hillsong: The Growing Influence of the Modern Charismatic Movement by Josh Buice

Bethel EXPOSED with Emilio Ramos and Justin Peters

Errors of Bethel & Jesus Culture by Anthony Wood

At What Price Awakening? Examining the Theology and Practice of the Bethel Movement by Stephen Tan

Bethel Church Believes a Different Gospel by Gabriel Hughes

Bill Johnson’s Different Gospel? at WWUTT

Responding to the False Teaching of Bethel Church, Jesus Culture, and Todd White by Gabriel Hughes

Dangers of Bethel (Kenotic Heresy) at Christ Is the Cure

Wonder If Bethel Is A False Church? Wonder No More by Justin Peters

Books

Defining Deception: Freeing the Church from the Mystical-Miracle Movement by Costi W. Hinn & Anthony G. Wood

Music

Why Your Church Should Stop Playing Bethel, Hillsong, Elevation, and Jesus Culture (multiple videos/articles)

Protecting the Sheep: Why churches should not sing Hillsong, Bethel, or Elevation music in worship services at Thinking and Living Biblically

The Dangerous Teachings of the Jesus Culture Movement at Pointing to Christ

Jesus Culture is more dangerous than bad politics with Todd Friel and Phil Johnson

Book Reviews

Book Review: When Heaven Invades Earth, by Bill Johnson by David Schrock

An Invasion of Error: A Review of Bill Johnson’s—When Heaven Invades Earth by Bob DeWaay

Specific Incidents at Bethel

Lindsay Davis and The Escape From Hogwarts at Fighting for the Faith

Pastoral Response to #WakeUpOlive (Bethel’s Dead-Raising Charade) by Costi Hinn

Exposed: The Charismatic/Prophetic Movement Collapses by Justin Peters (Bethel’s/Bethel Music’s cover up of false “Google Prophet,” Shawn Bolz)

Bethel Church’s Use of Lord of the Rings Staff to End Racism Sparks Debate at Christian Headlines

Collections of Articles/Episodes

The Bill Johnson Cornucopia of False Teaching, Bible-Twisting and General Absurdity at Messed Up Church

Bethel articles at CrossEncounters with Tony Miano

Bethel articles at Berean Research

Bill Johnson articles at Berean Research

Bethel posts/episodes at Fighting for the Faith

Bill Johnson posts/episodes at Fighting for the Faith

If you came here looking for a critique of individual Bethel/Jesus Culture songs, that’s not really what this is about. Everything connected to Bill Johnson – Bethel “Church,” Bethel Music/Jesus Culture (as entities and all individual songs), all Bethel personnel, materials, programs, and events – are all fruit of the poisonous tree of false teacher, Bill Johnson. No, you cannot biblically pick and choose songs from Bethel Music/Jesus Culture that don’t seem to overtly violate Scripture. The Bible never tells us to “chew up the meat and spit out the bones.” It says:

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. Romans 16:17-18

“Watch out” for false teachers. “Avoid them.” That includes everything about them: all their materials, books, events, music, social media, etc. Would the God who breathed out these words of Scripture be pleased if we ourselves, or our churches, use materials by people who “do not serve our Lord Christ”?

Discernment, False Teachers

“Jesus Calling”/Sarah Young

Michelle Lesley

If you are considering commenting or sending me an e-mail objecting to the fact that I warn against certain teachers, please click here and read this article first. Your objection is most likely answered here. I won’t be publishing comments or answering emails that are answered by this article.

This article is kept continuously updated as needed.

This article is what I call a “clearinghouse article”. It is a collection of articles written by others on the teacher, ministry, or unbiblical trend named below. Either I have not had the time to write a full blown article on it myself, or I felt that the articles listed did a fine job of explaining the biblical issues and there was no need to reinvent the wheel.

Disclaimer: I did not write the articles below, and I am not thoroughly familiar with all of the websites used in my clearinghouse articles. I do not endorse anything on these sites that deviates from Scripture or conflicts with my beliefs as outlined in the “Welcome” or “Statement of Faith” tabs in the blue menu bar at the top of this page.

Here are the  biblical criteria I use when deciding whether or not to recommend a teacher, ministry, etc.:

Generally speaking, in order for me to recommend a teacher, speaker, or author, he or she has to meet three criteria:

a) A female teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly preach to or teach men in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12. A male teacher or pastor cannot allow women to carry out this violation of Scripture in his ministry. The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be living in any other sin (for example, cohabiting with her boyfriend or living as a homosexual).

b) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be partnering with or frequently appearing with false teachers. This is a violation of Scripture.

c) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be teaching false doctrine.

I recommend against any teacher or ministry who violates one or more of these biblical tenets.

I am not very familiar with most of the teachers I’m asked about (there are so many out there!) and have not had the opportunity to examine their writings or hear them speak, so most of the “quick checking” I do involves items a and b (although in order to partner with false teachers (b) it is reasonable to assume their doctrine is acceptable to the false teacher and that they are not teaching anything that would conflict with the false teacher’s doctrine). Partnering with false teachers and women preaching to men are each sufficient biblical reasons not to follow a pastor, teacher, or author, or use his/her materials.

Just to be clear, “not recommended” is a spectrum. On one end of this spectrum are people like Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth and Kay Arthur. These are people I would not label as false teachers because their doctrine is generally sound, but because of some red flags I’m seeing with them, you won’t find me proactively endorsing them or suggesting them as a good resource, either. There are better people you could be listening to. On the other end of the spectrum are people like Joyce Meyer and Rachel Held Evans- complete heretics whose teachings, if believed, might lead you to an eternity in Hell. Most of the teachers I review fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum (leaning toward the latter).

If you’d like to check out some pastors and teachers I heartily recommend, click the Recommended Bible Teachers tab at the top of this page.

Jesus Calling / Sarah Young
Not Recommended

Primary issues with Jesus Calling (and the entire Jesus Calling franchise/spin-offs) / Sarah Young: Twists and mishandles Scripture, false doctrine (extra-biblical revelation, New Age channeling and automatic writing)

Book Reviews

Jesus Calling: A Critical Theological Review by Jim Osman

Book Review: Jesus Calling By Sarah Young at Rick Thomas

Book Review on The (sic) Jesus Calling at CARM

Toxic Devotion: A Review of Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling by Bob DeWaay

Theological Issues

Jesus Calling and Divine Revelation Knowledge by Justin Peters

A Jesus Calling for Christmas Special by Gabriel Hughes

That’s Not Jesus Calling at Grace to You

Are there any doctrinal problems with Jesus Calling? at Got Questions

Jesus Isn’t Calling, God Has Already Spoken at Sheologians

Podcast Interview with Marcia Montenegro About “Jesus Calling” at Messed Up Church

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young: A False Jesus? by Marcia Montenegro

Jesus Calling By Sarah Young: WUI (Writing Under The Influence) at Christian Answers for the New Age

10 Serious Problems with Jesus Calling by Tim Challies

Specific Incidents with Jesus Calling / Sarah Young

David Jeremiah endorses Jesus Calling at Berean Examiner

Changing “Jesus Calling”—Damage Control for a False Christ at Berean Research

Books

“Another Jesus” Calling: How Sarah Young’s False Christ is Deceiving the Church by Warren B. Smith

Collections of Articles

Jesus Calling articles at Berean Research

Discernment, False Teachers

Hillsong/Brian & Bobbie Houston

Michelle Lesley

If you are considering commenting or sending me an e-mail objecting to the fact that I warn against certain teachers, please click here and read this article first. Your objection is most likely answered here. I won’t be publishing comments or answering emails that are answered by this article.

This article is kept continuously updated as needed.

This article is what I call a “clearinghouse article”. It is a collection of articles written by others on the teacher, ministry, or unbiblical trend named below. Either I have not had the time to write a full blown article on it myself, or I felt that the articles listed did a fine job of explaining the biblical issues and there was no need to reinvent the wheel.

Disclaimer: I did not write most of the articles below, and I am not thoroughly familiar with all of the websites used in my clearinghouse articles. I do not endorse anything on these sites that deviates from Scripture or conflicts with my beliefs as outlined in the “Welcome” or “Statement of Faith” tabs in the blue menu bar at the top of this page.

Here are the  biblical criteria I use when deciding whether or not to recommend a teacher, ministry, etc.:

Generally speaking, in order for me to recommend a teacher, speaker, author, or ministry, he/she/it has to meet three criteria:

a) A female teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly preach to or teach men in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12. A male teacher or pastor cannot allow women to carry out this violation of Scripture in his ministry. The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be living in any other sin (for example, cohabiting with her boyfriend or living as a homosexual).

b) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be partnering with or frequently appearing with false teachers. This is a violation of Scripture.

c) The pastor, teacher, or ministry cannot currently and unrepentantly be teaching false doctrine.

I recommend against any teacher or ministry who violates one or more of these biblical tenets.

If you’d like to check out some pastors and teachers I heartily recommend, click the Recommended Bible Teachers tab at the top of this page.

Hillsong/Brian & Bobbie Houston
Not Recommended

Brian Houston stepped down as head of Hillsong in 2022 (see below) and has been replaced by Phil and Lucinda Dooley. For the present, Brian’s and Bobbie’s names and the information below about them will remain in this article. They led Hillsong for nearly 40 years. It will take a while before Hillsong leaves them and their legacy behind.

Primary issues with Hillsong/Brian & Bobbie Houston: Heresy (Word of Faith/prosperity gospel/New Apostolic Reformation – NAR), false teachers/heretics, women “pastors”/preachers (Bobbie and others)

New Apostolic Reformation

New Apostolic Reformation articles

The Mailbag: What is the New Apostolic Reformation?

Articles by Unbelievers*

(May contain profanity)

Can Jesus Close the Wage Gap? Inside Hillsong’s Instagram-Fueled Women’s Movement at Elle

11 Things To Know About Hillsong Church at Cosmopolitan

Sunday service: one writer investigates the truth behind Hillsong church at Vogue

Hillsong: A church with rock concerts and 2m followers at BBC (this article also covers the homosexual worship leaders incident- see “Specific Incidents at Hillsong” below)

*More articles by unbelievers below

Theological Issues

The Deficient Pulpit of Bethel and Hillsong: The Growing Influence of the Modern Charismatic Movement by Josh Buice

Is Hillsong a biblically solid church? at Got Questions

You Need More Money by Brian Houston

Hillsong Church at Apologetics Index

The Heresy of Hillsong at The Protestant Standard

Music

Why Your Church Should Stop Playing Bethel, Hillsong, Elevation, and Jesus Culture (multiple videos/articles)

Hillsong’s Theology of Music and Worship

Should we Listen to Hillsong Music? by Justin Peters

Specific Incidents at Hillsong

Brian Houston’s resignation, scandal, and replacement

Australian megachurch founder steps down amid allegations of misconduct at CNN*

Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston resigns after revelation of misconduct at The Christian Post

Phil and Lucinda Dooley appointed new global senior pastors of Hillsong Church at The Christian Post

Brian Houston covers up his father’s child sexual abuse at Hillsong

Hillsong’s Brian Houston failed to report abuse and had conflict of interest – royal commission at The Guardian*

Hillsong pastor Brian Houston stands by decision not to report dad’s child abuse to police at Christian Today

Pedophiles being protected-at it’s finest. Hillsong and Houston, September 2019, Parliament Address*

Naked Cowboy at Colour (women’s) Conference

Cowboy-cott Hillsong

Homosexual worship leaders / Hillsong’s homosexuality policy

Why TV’s ‘Broadway Boyfriends’ will keep singing with Hillsong Church by Jonathan Merritt*

Hillsong’s Brian Houston says church won’t take public position on LGBT issues by Jonathan Merritt*

Sleazy Christmas performance

Hillsong’s “Sleazy Silent Night!” at Fighting for the Faith (here is the video to which the article refers)

Carl Lentz on abortion

Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz Provides Moral Cover For Abortion On ‘The View’ at The Federalist

Apostate worship leader

Hillsong Worship Leader Leaves the Faith by Gabriel Hughes

Fraud and Finances

Hillsong leaders accused of money laundering, tax evasion, shopping that would ‘embarrass a Kardashian’ at The Christian Post

Collections of Articles

The Brian Houston & Hillsong Cornucopia of False Doctrine, Abuse, Obfuscation & Money Generation at Messed Up Church

Hillsong articles at Grace to You (enter “Hillsong” in the search bar)

Hillsong posts/episodes at Fighting for the Faith

Brian Houston posts/episodes at Fighting for the Faith

Hillsong articles at Berean Research

If you came here looking for a critique of individual Hillsong songs, that’s not really what this is about. Everything connected to Brian Houston – Hillsong “Church,” Hillsong Music (as an entity and all individual songs), all Hillsong personnel (including Bobbie Houston), materials, programs, and events – are all fruit of the poisonous tree of false teacher, Brian Houston. No, you cannot biblically pick and choose songs from Hillsong that don’t seem to overtly violate Scripture. The Bible never tells us to “chew up the meat and spit out the bones.” It says:

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. Romans 16:17-18

“Watch out” for false teachers. “Avoid them.” That includes everything about them: all their materials, books, events, music, social media, etc. Would the God who breathed out these words of Scripture be pleased if we ourselves, or our churches, use materials by people who “do not serve our Lord Christ”?