Fastest growing church states their view on gays

[Melech 9,900]

 

Hillsong Church's New York location reportedly draws "a lot of gay men and women" among the thousands who flock there every weekend, according to head pastor Carl Lentz.

"Jesus was in the thick of an era where homos-xuality, just like it is today, was widely prevalent," Lentz told CNN in a June interview (above). "And I'm still waiting for someone to show me the quote where Jesus addressed it on the record in front of people. You won't find it because he never did."

Lentz's wife, Laura, added: "It's not our place to tell anyone how they should live. That's their journey."

Lentz's sentiments appear to be indicative of an overarching stance on gay issues set forth by Hillsong head pastor Brian Houston. At a press conference for the Hillsong Conference held in New York City Thursday, New York Times' Michael Paulson asked Houston directly about his stance on same-s-x marriage. In an unofficial transcript provided by Jonathan Merritt, Houston responded:

It can be challenging for churches to stay relevant. Because many mainstream churches upheld what they would believe is the long established view of what the Bible says about homos-xuality. But the world has changed around and about them. On the subject, I always feel like there’s three things. There’s the world we live in, there’s the weight we live with, and there’s the word we live by. The world, the weight, and the word.

Blogger Ben Gresham, who identifies as a "25-year-old gay Christian" from Sydney, Australia, grew up attending Hillsong Church and often uses his website to write about the church's stance on gay issues. In an August 2013 post Gresham wrote about a message Houston recorded at Hillsong London and broadcast to all the church campuses entitled "Scandal of Grace," which touched on the topic and echoed the pastor's comments on Thursday. The blogger transcribed a portion of the message, in which Houston said:

The one elephant in the room for churches around the world at the moment is the gay situation. What would Jesus do? What would Jesus do?

There's lots of hatred out there but in the middle of it all you know there are three things: the world of the times we live in; the weight we live with; and the word we live by.

Houston added that "the world has changed quickly" and said "the weight we live with" includes "the weight when a young person growing up in a church feels like they are confused in their s-xuality." This disconnect, the pastor said, can lead to hate, rejection and, in worst cases, suicide.

There's the world we live in. There's the weight we live with, and there's the word we live by. And they don't all necessary align. With the word we live by, many people have various convictions. In the middle of it all know that Jesus when it comes to people would let nothing stop Him from breaking through a divide to help hurting, broken, everyday normal people like you and I.

In March 2014 Pastor Danny Cortez of New Heart Community Church, a small Southern Baptist congregation in Southern California, delivered a sermon explaining that he no longer believed homos-xuality to be a sin. His church struggled with the decision of whether to dismiss him and ultimately decided not to but instead become a "Third Way church" -- based on Vineyard Church pastor Ken Wilson’s book, “A Letter to my Congregation†which puts forth the notion that churches could agree to disagree on the subject and refrain from judgement.

But as the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting approached in June, Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, published an article denouncing the "third way":

There is no third way. A church will either believe and teach that same-s-x behaviors and relationships are sinful, or it will affirm them. Eventually, every congregation in America will make a public declaration of its position on this issue. It is just a matter of time (and for most churches, not much time) before every congregation in the nation faces this test.

When faced with "this test," though, Religion News Service blogger Jonathan Merritt says that Hillsong's Lentz and Houston appear to adopt a similar "third way" by keeping definitive opinions to themselves and instead noting the complexity of the issue and the need for compassion. In the press conference Thursday, Houston said:

"The real issues in people’s lives are too important for us to just reduce it down to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer in a media outlet."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/17/hillsong-church-gays_n_6002762.html

 

 

[KyliesChild 16,907]

I agree

[garnite 8]

hillsong is that creepy money cult that a girl wrote a book on escaping.

[Cupid 760]

hillsong is that creepy money cult that a girl wrote a book on escaping.

 

They also have a band I think?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw

 

When will yo church :turkney:

[EdX 2,901]

Soo true

[garnite 8]

They also have a band I think?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw

 

When will yo church :turkney:

it's not even a church, it's a business enterprise using watered down religious sentimentality to market their products. it's all about da muny muny muny.

[Melech 9,900]

They also have a band I think?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw

 

When will yo church :turkney:

yes,selling out stadiums all over the world 

[Hellspont 1,468]

But you'll still probably burn in a fiery pit of doom for all of eternity....but we love you!

[Melech 9,900]

it's not even a church, it's a business enterprise using watered down religious sentimentality to market their products. it's all about da muny muny muny.

it's how you define a church. They are spreading the message of Jesus all over the world.

 

here in asia 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfXGua-23Os

[Hellspont 1,468]

it's not even a church, it's a business enterprise using watered down religious sentimentality to market their products. it's all about da muny muny muny.

Andddd you hit the nail on the head :laughga:

[garnite 8]

it's how you define a church. They are spreading the message of Jesus all over the world.

they are using the message of jesus as a product to sell to the young. how much did jesus charge to spread his message? have you ever read all his criticisms of wealth at all? :) i guess not.

[Morphine Prince 109,683]

They're probably being PC to not lose their audience.

[Melech 9,900]

But you'll still probably burn in a fiery pit of doom for all of eternity....but we love you!

completly wrong  

[hmm 979]

A good message definitely (and some of their music is ) It's a pity they don't have the same political power of the Catholic Church though 

[garnite 8]

also it's all superseded by islam so

They're probably being PC to not lose their audience.

it's a fact that people have a desire to be part of something bigger than them, like religion. the youth of today are more progressive than any generation before them, and businesses like hillsong know that the only way to win the hearts and minds (and POCKETS because they are money making monsters) is by selling coca cola with a teardrop of christ instead of the old full blown jesus juice.