Hillsong and LGBTQ

It seems a lot of people want to know about Hillsong and LGBTQ.

I’ve learnt not to trust all journalists. Most are good, but not all. Some  have “used” my story to push their own agendas. I was more interested in “the cause” than wanting to enhance their careers with a sensationalist story. I learnt early to always be on my guard.

There were several of us budding young preachers around when Brian Houston moved to Sydney in 1977. We got to know each other through events and conferences. In 1983, I launched my evangelistic ministry, Every Believer Evangelism, and Brian launched Hillsong. I preached for him in the early days when he was meeting in a school hall and continued preaching for him until I resigned from the ministry in 1991.

When the Hillsong scandal/saga unfolded, journalists and several documentary makers contacted me, keen to hear my “behind the scenes” stories and any new “gossip” they could find to fuel the media frenzy. Yes I do know a lot. At our initial zoom meetings, I was able to “suss” them out. Their promises of “we’ll handle this respectfully” I doubted, and they were not willing to agree to the boundaries I put around the interview.

Enter Storyglass, who were doing a documentary podcast on Hillsong for iHeartRadio. The initial interview was different. The producers listened and were willing to negotiate. They realised I had something positive to add to the conversation, previously not reported, that would give people hope instead of feeding their trauma. The producers were keen to include that. Over the next couple of months, we continued the communication. They also requested they would like my friend Andrew involved. We both felt they would handle our stories with respect and integrity, to the point where they gave us editorial control over the final product (something unheard of). We are both really happy with our contribution to this episode covering LGBTQ issues at Hillsong.

You can listen below or on the iTunes site.

Further background

  1. How, when and why Hillsong banned ‘ex-gay’ (conversion therapy) referrals
  2. Read or listen to Andrew’s full story HERE.
  3. Welcoming, Accepting and Affirming churches. Every LGBTQ person and our allies should know the difference.