Olivia
Online
Daisy
@daisyhavingfun
Saved from eternal conscious torment by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.
✝...when I see the blood, I will pass over you...Exodus 12:13
Joined September 2023
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Red flags in churches:
1. They do not respect the inspiration of and inerrancy of Scripture, the deity of Christ, His virgin birth, His substitutionary atonement, His resurrection and return
2. Service begins with carnal rock concert
3. Promoting and funding heretical churches (like Hillsong, Bethel, Elevation) by using their man-centered music
4. Alpha (ecumenical-unity over truth) or affiliation with other compromised parachurch organizations
5. Women pastors
6. Multisite church growth movement business model, where instead of planting churches, a pastor plants himself on big screens in multiple locations
7. TPUSA chapter (ecumenical)
8. Spiritual formation, centering/contemplative/breath prayer (New Age cloaked in Christianese)
9. The flag of the sexual revolution (rainbow) displayed
10. No membership (only those at the top know the church's business)
11. Constant focus on government policy and politicians
12. Respect for the latest liberal cause or movement
@libsoftiktok And they know this how?
@btshowertonslp @HonestYPTweets I certainly agree that a church is not a democracy, but elders and boards are there to hold the others, including the head pastor, accountable.
@DemarsSean Terrific post!
Why Our Church Doesn't Sing Hillsong, Bethel, or Elevation Music
Every few years the debate resurfaces: Should churches sing songs from Hillsong, Bethel, Elevation, and similar ministries?
Some Christians believe the answer is obvious. If a song isn’t theologically wonky, we are free to sing it. Others, however, argue that the source of a song matters just as much as the lyrics. Our church falls into the latter category. Why? Because we believe pastors have a responsibility to think carefully about what they place before God's people in corporate worship.
Here are a few reasons why we’ve chosen not to sing songs from these ministries, and why we would encourage you not to, either.
1. If I Wouldn't Recommend Their Teaching, I Shouldn't Recommend Their Music
Imagine a church member approaching you after the service and saying, "Pastor, I'd like to learn more from Bethel. What books would you recommend?" I'm guessing your answer would be the same as mine: none.
Or suppose another member approached you and said, "I've been listening to Hillsong lately. Are there any sermons you'd point me to?" Hopefully, your response would be the same as mine: "Let me strongly exhort you away from their preaching ministry!”
Most faithful evangelical pastors would answer such questions the same way and without hesitation. We wouldn’t recommend their books, their sermons, their conferences, or any form of their teaching ministries. Which leads me to ask: If we wouldn’t recommend their teaching, why would we recommend their songs? Singing, after all, is a teaching ministry of the church (Col 3:15, Eph 5:18-19).
If we truly believe that ministries such as Bethel and Hillsong are untrustworthy teachers of God's Word, that they promote serious theological errors and unhealthy ministry practices, that they are leading unbelievers astray and true believers into a compromised and weakened walk with the Lord, why would we place their songs in the mouths of the congregation every Sunday?
At this point, many Christians attempt to separate the music from the ministry. "We're not endorsing their teaching," they say. "We're just singing one of their good songs." The problem here, of course, is that every song functions as a recommendation, if not explicitly then implicitly.
When we place a ministry's songs on the lips of our congregation week after week, we communicate (whether intentionally or not) that this is a voice worth listening to. The books we recommend, the conferences we promote, the missionaries we support, and the songs we sing all communicate trust. They all function as endorsements to one degree or another.
Here's a good rule of thumb for thinking through this issue: If I wouldn’t hand a church member one of their books, we probably shouldn’t be singing their songs in corporate worship.
2. People Really Do Follow the Music Back to the Ministry
This concern is not merely theoretical. Many Christians openly testify that they were introduced to Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation, not through books, conferences, or social media, but through their worship music.
The testimony of Christians who have experienced this progression is remarkably consistent: songs are not merely songs. They often function as gateways. This should not surprise us. "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm" (Prov. 13:20). The voices we repeatedly invite into our lives inevitably shape us.
In fact, Bethel and Hillsong understand this reality themselves. Their worship leaders are often encouraged to think of themselves as the tip of the missionary spear, introducing people to the broader ministry through music.
The point is simple: if we believe a ministry teaches serious error, we should not be surprised when our people eventually follow the trail we helped them discover.
3. When We Sing Their Songs, We Are Financially Supporting Their Ministries
Before making this point, it's important to acknowledge that many Christians simply don't know how music licensing works. Why would they? Therefore, if you've never considered this issue before, don't feel bad. I certainly don't assume bad motives on the part of churches that sing these songs. But I do think it's important to understand how the system works so that we can make informed and discerning decisions.
Most churches report and license their worship music through CCLI and similar licensing agreements. Every time we sing, report, stream, reproduce, or distribute copyrighted songs, royalties (i.e. money) flow back to the rights holders. In other words, our churches are not merely using these songs for worship, we are actively funding the ministries that produced them.
This raises a simple question: Should our churches financially support ministries we believe teach serious doctrinal error?
Imagine discovering that your church was sending monthly support checks to a ministry that promoted prosperity theology or some other serious theological error. Most pastors would object immediately, even if it were only a small amount. Yet every time a church sings songs from these ministries, money flows from our offerings to their coffers. That’s a problem.
The amounts may be small and the mechanism may be indirect, but the principle remains the same. Money is a form of partnership. Paul thanked the Philippians for their "partnership in the gospel" because of their financial support, after all (Phil. 1:5). Financial support is never merely financial; it’s an expression of shared priorities and mission. Therefore, churches should think carefully before using congregational worship as a means of financially supporting ministries they would never otherwise endorse.
4. Pastors Must Not Bind Consciences Without Biblical Warrant
Every Sunday morning pastors call God's people to participate in corporate worship. We ask them to pray, confess, sing, and listen to God's Word. In doing so, we are binding consciences. We are not merely suggesting that our people participate in these actions; we are requiring it according to the clear teaching of Scripture. That is a tremendous and weighty responsibility.
Crucially, pastors must understand that they possess no authority to require God's people to do anything apart from God's Word. Every element of a worship service should pass a simple test: Can I confidently stand before God and his people knowing that what I am asking them to do is biblical?
I can confidently ask believers to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. I can confidently ask them to praise and petition the Lord in prayer. I can confidently ask them to confess biblical truth with one heart and mind. What I cannot confidently do is require them to sing songs produced by ministries I believe are teaching serious theological error.
The question is not whether every lyric we sing is orthodox. The question is whether Scripture authorizes me, the pastor, to place my congregation in the position of having to separate sound lyrics from an unsound ministry in the first place. I do not believe it does.
The good news is that we don’t have to put ourselves in such a position. We live in an age of embarrassing musical riches. The church has inherited centuries of faithful hymnody, and with each passing year, biblically sound ministries produce more and more new songs that are both beautiful and biblical. There is no shortage of excellent music for God's people to sing. Therefore, we are not forced to choose between singing Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation and mediocre worship music. We have thousands upon thousands of beautiful and biblical songs at our disposal—songs produced by faithful Christians and faithful churches that do not require us to compromise our theological and pastoral convictions in the process.
5. Most of Their Songs Are Designed for Performance, Not Congregational Singing
One final concern that is often overlooked: most of these songs are not conducive to congregational singing.
To be clear, I am not saying every Hillsong, Bethel, or Elevation song is unsingable. Some are quite accessible. But taken as a whole, these ministries produce music in an environment, and with an aim, that is fundamentally different from God’s design for the local church: performance.
Their songs are often written by professional musicians, performed by highly trained vocalists, accompanied by full bands, and designed for large-scale worship events, recordings, and broadcasts. As a result, many of them feature wide vocal ranges, difficult melodies, extended instrumental sections, and arrangements that depend heavily on the skill of the musicians leading them, i.e. the professionals on stage.
But congregational worship is not a concert. Paul tells believers to “address one another through psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" (Eph. 5:19). Singing is one of the primary ways the church teaches, encourages, and builds up the body. For that reason, pastors and worship leaders should prioritize songs that ordinary Christians can sing confidently and joyfully. The best worship songs for Sunday morning enable an entire congregation to lift their voices together.
When a church fills its worship services with songs that only talented musicians can lead effectively, the congregation gradually becomes an audience rather than an instrument of worship. We should strive for something better by choosing songs that invite the whole church to sing together.
Answering the Most Common Objection
There are many objections to the arguments I’ve laid out in this article, but the most common one I hear sounds like this: "What about Horatio Spafford? Didn’t he go on to compromise the gospel in some very disturbing ways later in life? If we can sing It Is Well, why can't we sing Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation songs?" The answer is simple: these situations are not comparable.
Virtually nobody sings It Is Well With My Soul and then goes home to investigate Horatio Spafford's theological views. Nobody subscribes to the Horatio Spafford podcast. Nobody attends the annual Horatio Spafford conference to hear him preach. Nobody buys Horatio Spafford bible study materials. Nobody pays royalties in support of Horatio Spafford Ministries.
The influence pipeline for Horatio Spafford doesn’t exist. The same, sadly, can’t be said of Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation Music. These are ministries with influential platforms, active teachers, thriving conferences, massive publishing arms, and strong financial structures. Their music functions as a front door into the larger ministry. The same cannot be said of the long dead hymn authors of yesteryear.
Conclusion
Some readers will see these arguments and assume I am advocating a kind of one-drop purity test for all worship music. “If a song contains even the slightest theological imperfection, throw it out! If a songwriter has ever been wrong about anything, ban the song!”
Nothing could be further from the truth.
There’s no such thing as a perfect song or a flawless hymnbook. If we examined every song with sufficient scrutiny, we would likely find phrases we would word differently, emphases we would adjust, or theological nuances we would wish were clearer.
The issue is not whether a song, or the ministry that produced the song, is utterly free of theological blemishes. The issue is whether we should knowingly and repeatedly platform, promote, and financially support ministries that teach serious and persistent doctrinal error. A drop of dirt in a glass of water is one thing. Discovering that the well itself is contaminated is another. I am not arguing that every song must pass an impossible standard of theological perfection. I am arguing that pastors and worship leaders should exercise wisdom when choosing which wells they draw from week after week.
All I am urging pastors and worship leaders to do is “test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thess. 5:21). Don’t just test the songs, test the ministries behind them. And where serious error exists, choose music from the vast treasury of faithful songs God has already given His church.
----------------------------
P.S. I chose to publish this on socials rather than through traditional media source so it can be shared more easily without external link/algorithm issues.
In 1887, Charles Spurgeon said "To pursue union at the expense of truth is treason to the Lord Jesus." Today, many are willing to yoke with complete apostates and heretics, just as long as they agree on politics and cultural issues.
Here is a list of verses Turek and every believer should be familiar with regarding yoking with and promoting false teachers.
"If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds."
2 John 10,11 NKJV
"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." Gal. 1:8,9
"But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. "1 Cor. 5:11
"For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
1 Corinthians 5:12,13
"For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4:17
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." Ephesians 5:11
"Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them." Romans 16:11
"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?" 2 Corinthians 6:14-16
"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:13
" For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. "
Acts 20:29
"Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. 20Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear." 1 Timothy 5:19,20
Driscoll was disqualified (he was never qualified) for violence, has plagiarized, lied, called women "p***s homes", claimed the gift of pornographic divination, and claimed God spoke to him and his wife in an audible voice and told him to start a new church (extra-biblical revelations):
https://t.co/OEkPqeIgir
@SHudson68 @DrFrankTurek Follow Amanda for links about Howerton. Like Driscoll, he has a bible in one hand and porn in the other, and openly promotes the worst false teachers, and his church growth movement business model megachurch is a mess:
Please listen at 3:20, Turek says the we are to call out false teachers, but he promotes them. Years ago, I read one, possibly two of Turek's books and thought of him as fairly reliable. Now he hangs with ecumenical TPUSA and promotes false teachers. Here are some links about Howerton and Driscoll:
https://t.co/RxjQGSZqmU
@megbasham Great article. God bless you!
Never qualified. Plagiarized, called women "p***s homes", fired for violence, claims extra biblical revelations and the gift of pornographic divination. Mark and a void the wicked, but also avoid leaders who would rather fellowship with wolves than protect the flock (hirelings):
https://t.co/OEkPqeIgir
@HonestYPTweets There are plenty of reasons to mark and avoid Howerton.
I've never heard a godly man speak this way. Scroll down on this post:
https://t.co/GrYKEaub6W
Whoopsie daisy, Lakepointe elders. I think Josh is calling y’all out and confirming the deep rot in your church and its CULTure for standing by while your organization allows Josh’s repeated messaging to ch*ldren about s*xual desires to infect our community. This is grooming.
The use of the music funds and promotes false teachers. Bethel, Hillsong, Elevation, Gateway, Northpoint, Passion have grown massively, in part, because of the music. And much of the music is bad, too:
https://t.co/4Fvh75tdvx
https://t.co/PUDWgfTJYF
https://t.co/dwjn3o9mnU
https://t.co/A0AxQNoD0r
https://t.co/AsUnloxazl
@JoshuaBarzon You tell her that it is a present for her 😊
@LABC222 More reasons to avoid Howerton. Scroll down on this link, adults only:
https://t.co/GrYKEaub6W
Whoopsie daisy, Lakepointe elders. I think Josh is calling y’all out and confirming the deep rot in your church and its CULTure for standing by while your organization allows Josh’s repeated messaging to ch*ldren about s*xual desires to infect our community. This is grooming.
@marcminter Not the only reason to avoid Howerton. Scroll down on this link, adults only:
https://t.co/GrYKEaub6W
Whoopsie daisy, Lakepointe elders. I think Josh is calling y’all out and confirming the deep rot in your church and its CULTure for standing by while your organization allows Josh’s repeated messaging to ch*ldren about s*xual desires to infect our community. This is grooming.
@JenniferEValent Love of money is only one issue with Howerton and his awful multisite-church-growth-business-model church. Scroll down on this link. Adults only:
https://t.co/GrYKEaub6W
Whoopsie daisy, Lakepointe elders. I think Josh is calling y’all out and confirming the deep rot in your church and its CULTure for standing by while your organization allows Josh’s repeated messaging to ch*ldren about s*xual desires to infect our community. This is grooming.
@osucowboytc Greed is only one of Howerton's disqualifying attributes. Scroll down on this post:
https://t.co/GrYKEaub6W
Whoopsie daisy, Lakepointe elders. I think Josh is calling y’all out and confirming the deep rot in your church and its CULTure for standing by while your organization allows Josh’s repeated messaging to ch*ldren about s*xual desires to infect our community. This is grooming.
The musical diet of a congregation is not a matter of preference, style, or cultural relevance; it is a matter of spiritual life and death. It is the soundtrack of our theology, so we should be very careful what we sing in church. https://t.co/z69M9dFivp
@slicktyger1 @MichelleDLesley @Protestia Believers need to know more about the dangers of yoking with, promoting and funding this awful music and churches:
https://t.co/FuoiVf9d0U
It's not because of the song lyrics!
I warn people about using worship music from the
"Big Three" for these reasons: https://t.co/GfqN3SXmQ1
Bookmark this article⬆️⬆️⬆️and share often!
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