Hillsong Says It Is Moving Forward?

Gilbert Beebe predicted this over 150 years ago: "We find this grave assemblage of dignitaries, including 1 President, 35 Vice-Presidents and 30 directors, in parliamentary form, legislating upon the destiny of the world, and voting away the moneys belonging to the Baptists of this State by tens of thousands, to be collected, appropriated and expended in such form as their Hons. - the Presidents, Directors & Co. of the convention, shall have decreed, viz: To the Home Mission, $10,000; the Tract Society, Sunday School Union, Literary and Theological institutions, &c., all that they can extort from the people. Instead of allowing to individuals the right of disposing of their own property in their own way, they dictate to them the amount to be raised, and the objects to which the same shall be appropriated; hence we conclude this argument cannot belong to them."

The famous Hillsong Church is being uncovered for what it really is - ed.The financial scandals of celebrities preachers like Bryan Houston and others have come to roost.  We read in Christianity Today that leaders in this massive worldwide congregation have apparently been abusing money.  Hillsong does not consider itself a church, but a denomination.  According to Wikipedia, it views itself as a brand.

According to Andrew Wilkie, an independent parliamentary member in Australia, the Hillsong church, through documents:

...contained in two large stacks of folders filled with papers that he tabled in parliament – were claims that four members of the Houston family spent $150,000 of church money on a luxury retreat in Cancun, Mexico. He also alleged lavish spending on luxury watches, luggage sets, designer clothes, skateboards, and cash gifts to board members for birthdays or anniversaries. Wilkie claimed Brian Houston, who stepped down from the church’s leadership in 2022, used “private jets like Ubers”, alleging the church founder undertook trips costing $55,000, $52,000, $30,000, $22,000 and $20,000 in one three-month period.

Another article, Adds more information:

$82,000 meal reimbursements for pastors and executive employees;
$26,000 entertainment;
$37,000 flowers;
$171,000 gifts;
$288,000 honoraria for guest speakers;
$13,000 high tea and more.

Yet apparently, in regard to the poor and needy, it "included only $2900 for direct pastoral care costs and $1500 for pastoral care visits."  Dolley stated that 153 Hillsong staff voluntarily resigned in an attempt to reduce the image of the church.  According to Dooley, this saved the church more than $9.47 million dollars a year.  If we divide this number evenly among 153 employees, each would be receiving $62,000 annually.  This is a modest sum for living in Australia.  We highly doubt that the top leadership is making such a small sum.  Yet, this number of staff members indicates a very fat payroll for so many employees.  If the church bureaucracy can lose this number of employees and still function, then they were not needed in the first place.  But there is more.  The "honorariums" are spectacular:

Also implicated in the alleged exorbitant spending by Hillsong are several U.S. Christian celebrities. Wilkie claimed Hillsong paid honorariums to Pastor Joyce Meyer of $160,000, $133,000, $100,000, and $32,000. Similarly, Pastor T.D. Jakes received $77,000 and $120,000 in honorariums, “with a staggering $77,000 worth of airfares to and from Australia thrown in." In return, Wilkie said Brian Houston spoke at megachurches in America and received “his own eyewatering honorariums.”

This is what some call the celebrity preacher scam:

This lucrative “Celebrity Preacher’s Scam” is described in more detail in a 44-page documents Wilkie submitted to Parliament, which The Roys Report (TRR) has obtained. According to the document, the “OG’s” (originators) of this scam were Brian and Bobbie Houston, as well as popular author, speaker, and founder of A21, Christine Caine.

The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to Caine and Houston for comment, but they did not immediately respond. According to the document, the scam works by a megachurch pastor inviting another megachurch pastor to speak at his church or event. The host church then “pays for business or first-class flights for the guest pastor, along with luxury accommodation, restaurant meals, gifts and green room comfort. The icing on the cake is the payment of a generous honorarium (around $10k to $20k or more) to the visiting celebrity pastor to preach a couple of 30 minute sermons.” The visiting pastor also sells his or her books and merchandise at the event for which the pastor receives royalties.

“This arrangement is then reciprocated,” the document states. “That is, the original celebrity preacher guest subsequently invites the celebrity pastor from the host church to come to their church or event to preach and offers all the same benefits they had received. “The problem with this arrangement is that it is the church money which pays for the honorarium, flights, accommodation, etc, yet the pastor receives the honorarium into their personal pocket. This scam means that Australian tax-exempt church income is being used to make celebrity pastors personally wealthy.

Julia Roys of the Roys Report goes on to detail how these celebrity preachers work financially:

This lucrative “Celebrity Preacher’s Scam” is described in more detail in a 44-page documents Wilkie submitted to Parliament, which The Roys Report (TRR) has obtained. According to the document, the “OG’s” (originators) of this scam were Brian and Bobbie Houston, as well as popular author, speaker, and founder of A21, Christine Caine. The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to Caine and Houston for comment, but they did not immediately respond. According to the document, the scam works by a megachurch pastor inviting another megachurch pastor to speak at his church or event. The host church then “pays for business or first-class flights for the guest pastor, along with luxury accommodation, restaurant meals, gifts and green room comfort. The icing on the cake is the payment of a generous honorarium (around $10k to $20k or more) to the visiting celebrity pastor to preach a couple of 30 minute sermons.” The visiting pastor also sells his or her books and merchandise at the event for which the pastor receives royalties.

The pastor who succeeded Bryan Houston, who stepped down, Phil Dooley, stated:

I can’t change the past, but I can play a significant role in changing the future,” he said during a Sunday service in Sydney, shortly after the board chair announced a forensic audit of church spending under Dooley’s predecessors, founders Brian and Bobbie Houston. “Our structure and culture is changing and needs to change more to ensure we are held to a higher level of accountability, and I welcome that.

Since Dooley took over, he stated But Phil Dooley himself seems to carry on the luxurious lifestyle that the leadership seems to be addicted to:

Some of Wilkie’s claims directly implicate Dooley, however. According to the member of parliament, the pastor also received a watch worth $2,500 and racked up more than $132,000 in business-class flights. The allegation that he once said he flew only economy has not been substantiated.