%% Someone like me, with red Mcintosh+ green granny Smith apple evidence inside\ an apple sceptic can easily be wrong. Taste + see , the LORD is good. Psalm 34.
Taste and see the lord is good? I already have and it was a disaster. Unrelated, but strange how many christian males can't keep their dicks in their pants. Like a balloon, the more one tries to squash desires, the more it squishes out the sides.
How Hillsong’s Houstons went from Baulkham Hills to Beverly Hills By Andrew Hornery April 3, 2022 https://www.smh.com.au/culture/cele...m-hills-to-beverly-hills-20220328-p5a8py.html If the writers of the dark but deliciously hilarious American comedy The Righteous Gemstones, currently screening on Foxtel and featuring a dysfunctional family of televanglists, are looking for inspiration for upcoming storylines, they need look no further than Baulkham Hills and our very own Houston dynasty of Hillsong fame. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny with Hillsong Church Pastor Brian Houston. While the Gemstones are a source of much humour, these days the laughs around the Houston household, a palatial gated multi-million-dollar spread in nearby Glenhaven, have been somewhat muted thanks to a string of scandals. So dire is the once untouchable family’s current position it has left many of us to wonder if Team Houston - comprising husband and wife Hillsong founders Brian and Bobbie Houston and their three adult children - has entered its own End of Days? Bobbie and Brian Houston, founders of Hillsong. Credit:Hillsong Given the success the Eyes Of Tammy Faye has enjoyed, perhaps there’s a Hollywood blockbuster waiting to be made about the Houstons? Playing the star-spangled televangelist Tammy Faye garnered Jessica Chastain the Best Actress Academy Award last week. Just like Brian and Bobbie Houston, the late Tammy Faye Bakker and her former husband Jim created a glitzy multi-million-dollar Christian megachurch, though they were eventually sunk and shrouded in scandal owing millions of dollars in the 1980s. Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in Malibu, 1987.Credit:AP Brian Houston may have once jumped at the opportunity to be immortalised on the big screen, and Kevin Costner or Nicholas Cage could easily pull it off. However, given recent events, the Hillsong founder and his co-preaching wife Bobbie have been uncharacteristically quiet following his resignation as Hillsong’s Global Senior Pastor, stepping down from his glittering pulpit after breaching the church’s moral code. They’ve even suspended comments on their usually effusive Instagram feed after being flooded with vitriol from disheartened followers. The tawdry tale, involving claims of booze and medication-fuelled romps, one of which allegedly involved Brian Houston with a woman in hotel room that was not his wife, have naturally made front page news, and created serious anxiety within the Hillsong power structure as it struggles to mitigate the unseemly fallout. Praise be: Righteous Gemstones cast members Adam Devine, Danny McBride and Edi Patterson in character as the fictional evangelical Gemstone siblings.Credit:HBO/Foxtel How could the man who preached fire and brimstone sermons from a Harley Davidson, bewitched stadiums of worshipers with rock bands and laser light shows, who reached superstar status among his millions of followers, who has written over a dozen books including one titled You Need More Money: Discovering God’s Amazing Financial Plan for Your Life; and who pioneered an enterprise generating more than $100m in mostly tax-free revenue from tithing, merchandise, stadium tours and music, have come so badly undone? And things are not going to get any easier in coming months for Houston who is due to face a three-week trial in November after pleading not guilty to charges he covered up his now late father, fellow evangelist Frank Houston’s historic child sex abuse. The charge stems from the 2014 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse which found Brian Houston failed to report knowledge of his father’s child sex abuse to the authorities. Bobbie Houston briefly addressed the nightmare she and her husband have become engulfed in on her Instagram account, posting last week: “I’m okay. It’s been a very painful week, but I’ll always stand by the man I’ve loved and walked with for 45 years. I know more about his personality, character, and honesty than anyone else.” Currently in the United States, where the Houstons and Hillsong have made huge inroads to become something of a celebrity magnet rivalling Scientology, attracting everyone from Justin Bieber and Chris Pratt to Kylie Jenner, the church has come under sustained attack thanks to a new documentary airing on the Discovery Plus streaming service titled Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed. Carl Lentz tarnished the Hillsong brand following a series of alleged sexual indiscretions.Credit:AP Among the “scandals” being exhumed is the one which engulfed the Louis Vuitton hoodie wearing Hillsong preacher in designer trainers Carl Lentz. Dubbed a “hypepriest” by GQ, in 2020 the photogenic Lentz - who studied his craft in Sydney and preached pre marital sex was a sin - admitted to having an extramarital affair and was fired from his position as head of Hillsong’s New York church. The final episode of the three part series delves into the Frank Houston child sex abuse saga and the upcoming court proceedings facing Brian Houston. While there are no immediate plans for the documentary to be screened in Australia, that is likely to change given local interest would be considerable. Even our sitting Prime Minister Scott Morrison once referred to Brian Houston as his spiritual “mentor”, though more recently has publicly distanced himself from Houstons and Hillsong. Bobbie Houston and the couple’s three adult children, Joel, Ben and Laura, remain actively employed in Hillsong, either as pastors or headline acts in the mega musical productions the church is famous for. From Baulkham Hills to Beverly Hills, the Houston’s have certainly come a long way from Hillsong’s humble beginnings in a Sydney community hall back in 1983, though exactly what path their future holds, and that of the church which they are so intrinsically part of, remains to be seen.
Australian Federal election coming up within a couple of months, a good opportunity for Australians to vote Morrison the evangelical idiot out.
Former Hillsong pastors say they were threatened by Brian Houston to hand over their church and assets By Hagar Cohen, Alex McDonald, Raveen Hunjan, and Mario Christodoulou Posted 11 hours ago https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04...ire-financial-control-over-churches/100969258 Zhenya and Vera Kasevich led the congregations of Hillsong Kyiv and Moscow for two decades before their sudden departure.(ABC News: Isaac Mead-Long) Two former European pastors have accused Hillsong co-founder Brian Houston and the church's general manager of sending threatening emails during a dispute over the transfer of their church, cash, and assets to Hillsong Australia. Key points: A 7.30 investigation has found Hillsong expanded its property portfolio partly by taking financial control over other churches Hillsong also keeps some of its Australian assets separate from church activities using a web of interlinked charities and trusts Hillsong boasts more than 120 churches across 30 countries Zhenya and Vera Kasevich led the congregations of Hillsong Kyiv and Hillsong Moscow for two decades. They have spoken to 7.30 for the first time about the circumstances behind their sudden departure from the megachurch. It comes as the Pentecostal juggernaut faces one of its worst crises since its establishment in the early 1980s. Last month, Hillsong's Sydney-based global pastor Brian Houston resigned after the church revealed it had received complaints from two women about his behaviour. Since then, nine Hillsong branches in the US have broken away from the church. Now, the former lead pastors of the Kyiv and Moscow churches say they too attempted to break away from the church in 2014. They say they ultimately chose to hand over their churches and assets after Brian Houston threatened to open a rival Hillsong church in Kyiv. Vera and Zhenya Kasevich are speaking out for the first time about the takeover of their church.(ABC News: Isaac Mead-Long) Documents signed by Hillsong Australia general manager George Aghajanian show that Hillsong Church Ltd requested the Kasevichs make a "voluntary donation" of the proceeds of the sale of a property, as well as over $US230,000 in cash. "I was in an impossible situation," Zhenya Kasevich said. "No matter what decision you make, you lose." At that time, the Kasevichs were planning to emigrate to the United States and were in the process of applying for US residency. Hillsong had agreed to assist them in dealing with US immigration. In one email obtained by 7.30, George Aghajanian writes that he "can make things very difficult" for them "with the American authorities". A screenshot showing George Aghajanian's email to the Kasevichs.(Supplied) In another email, Brian Houston warns that Vera and Zhenya Kasevich "have a lot to fear" and that his general manager has "a lot of useful information for the US embassy" about the former Hillsong Kyiv pastors. "Basically [Brian Houston] said ... 'This church is mine. I will make your life small. I will squash it,'" Vera Kasevich said. Brian Houston told 7.30 in an email that the Kasevichs' account of the takeover of Hillsong Kyiv and Moscow was "a complete fantasy", and that he made no threats regarding the US embassy. The Kasevichs said they were finally free to speak out about their ordeal because their US residency had been secured and they no longer felt intimidated by Hillsong's Australian leaders. "We were quiet for eight full years … and now we are safe," Zhenya Kasevich said. He said the aim of the takeover by the church's Sydney head office was "to get the assets of [Hillsong] Ukraine into their own hands". 'A voracious appetite for money': Growing the property empire A 7.30 investigation has uncovered how the Sydney-based Pentecostal church has built a property empire, partly by taking financial control over other churches in Australia and globally. The first takeover occurred in 2009, when Brisbane-based Garden City Christian Church merged with Hillsong. In the process, Hillsong acquired properties and assets valued at $12 million at the time. Elsewhere in Australia, in 2013 and 2014, two churches in Victoria decided to merge with Hillsong, with three properties transferred to Hillsong. One of those properties was repurposed as a luxury rental. In 2015, a Gold Coast church agreed to merge with Hillsong, transferring ownership and the mortgage on its Upper Coomera church building. Hillsong has built a property empire since its establishment in the early 1980s.(AAP: Mick Tsikas) A year later, two churches in Darwin valued at more than $2 million were also transferred to Hillsong. In 2020, a church hall at Joondalup in Western Australia — worth an estimated $2.5 million, with a small mortgage owing — was handed over to Hillsong. As a registered charity, Hillsong is not required to pay taxes such as stamp duty on any real estate that it acquires. A previous congregant from one of the churches that merged with Hillsong has told 7.30 that he never supported the move. Lance Goodall, who attended Brisbane's Garden City Church, said a vote of church members at the time decided overwhelmingly to install Brian Houston as their senior pastor, but he felt that the discussion at the time glossed over some important questions. "Everyone was encouraged to consider [the merger] as being the best possible choice for the church going forward," he said. "It was perplexing, to be honest with you." Garden City Church eventually transferred the ownership of more than a dozen Brisbane properties to a Hillsong charity, with no money changing hands. Lance Goodall attended Brisbane's Garden City Church and didn't support the merger with Hillsong.(ABC News) Lance Goodall says he was always sceptical about Hillsong's motivation for merging with Garden City. "One of the key objectives in the takeover by Hillsong is the acquisition of property and assets," he said. However, it's not only properties that Hillsong acquires at no cost — 7.30 tracked down a church whose funds ended up under Hillsong control. Jaime San Martin, a previous assistant pastor at the Botany Spanish Church in Sydney in the early 2000s, said when his church joined the "Hillsong family" the church had to transfer all of its funds to a Hillsong account. Jaime San Martin was an assistant pastor at the Botany Spanish Church in Sydney in the early 2000s. (ABC News: Shaun Kingma) "They controlled everything," Mr San Martin told 7.30. Mr San Martin had helped seal an agreement with Hillsong which he hoped would help his small congregation with administration and pastoral duties. But ultimately, the relationship turned out to be "just a financial thing", he said. "We were having difficulties accessing our own funds," Mr San Martin said. "[Hillsong] were beginning to show signs of having a voracious appetite for money." Mr San Martin's church separated from Hillsong in 2002. Hillsong's expansion into the US In 2010, Hillsong established its first campus in the United States, and has since expanded to 16 locations. Since then, Texas-based private investigator Barry Bowen has tracked Hillsong's property expansion across the US. He told 7.30 that it's highly unusual for a charity to grow so quickly. Mr Bowen works for the Trinity Foundation, which is dedicated to investigating church fraud. While he didn't find fraudulent activity, he did find a large number of properties that Hillsong owns across three US states. This condo in Los Angeles is owned by Hillsong.(Supplied: Redfin.com) "It owns at least three condominiums in New York City. It owns a $US3.5 million home in California," he said. "When I searched in Arizona, I discovered 31 properties. If they don't sell any of those assets in the next year, it's expected to appreciate to over $40 million." In Australia, 7.30 found that some of Hillsong's biggest assets are separated from the church's activities through its use of a web of interlinked charities and trusts. Mr Bowen said he identified a similar strategy in the US, involving dozens of legal entities which he argues creates a firewall between the church and its properties. Hillsong Church has been touted as the biggest success story in modern Christianity.(Hillsong) According to Mr Bowen, this corporate structure means potential claimants in any litigation against Hillsong may have a hard time recovering any funds. "If a victim sues the church, the church does not have major property assets," he said. "The church is limited in what it can pay for a judgement. This protects the church financially from large lawsuits." Brian Houston 'drawn to success' From their new home in the US state of Florida, Zhenya and Vera Kasevich say their first church started as a small congregation in 1992, just as the fledgling independent nation of Ukraine was emerging from the collapse of the Soviet empire. Hillsong Sydney sent an Australian pastor and some financial support to help them get established, and they named their church Hillsong, despite remaining independent. The Kasevichs say that as the congregation in Kyiv grew in 2008, Brian Houston developed a growing interest in their church. "He is drawn to success," said Vera Kasevich. "Our church budget in Ukraine was almost $1 million a year, only from income from [donations]." The Kasevichs say Brian Houston developed an interest in their church as it became more successful.(AAP: Paul Miller) Mr Kasevich told 7.30 that he remembered having to pay large sums for guest speakers to attend a Hillsong conference in Kyiv. "We had to pay $13,000 for first class tickets from the USA to Ukraine," he said. "We could not look at our poor people's eyes and tell them we are using church money for our benefit and our luxurious life. So when we saw this, we started to raise questions." As tensions rose, they claim Brian Houston began to challenge their independence, and that in 2014, he gave them an ultimatum — either stand aside or Hillsong would set up a rival church in Kyiv. To prevent the congregation from being split up, Vera and Zhenya Kasevich agreed to leave the church. The couple say they were asked to stay away from any church events and this "completely cut" their relationship with other church members who they described as their "only family". "They cut our emails, they cut our database, they cut us from the server," Vera Kasevich said. The Kasevichs were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement with Hillsong which required them to never attend any service at Hillsong Kyiv or Hillsong Moscow, and not to directly contact Hillsong's leadership, its staff, or key volunteers. The agreement, obtained by 7.30, was signed by Hillsong's general manager George Aghajanian, but the Kasevichs didn't agree to its terms and refused to sign it. "They excommunicated us," Vera Kasevich said. Vera and Zhenya Kasevich chose to walk away from the church and start a new life in the US.(ABC News: Isaac Mead-Long) The couple say they are speaking out now in the hope that others with similar experiences feel heard. "We are not afraid to tell the truth, and we want other people who are victims to have a voice," Vera Kasevich said. Brian Houston has denied the Kasevichs' claims. He said in an email that Hillsong provided financial support to Hillsong Kyiv over many years, and that he and his wife visited the Kyiv church on many occasions. 7.30 sent a list of detailed questions to Hillsong Australia, but it did not provide a response.
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?" Ezekiel 34:2
Mate....!!! These are full blown dyed in the wool christians. This is what I repeatedly hear from christians, "oh, those guys were fakes". You guys find it impossible to admit when you enter christianity then you implode big time because your religion is impossible to live. For starters, when a noob christian first starts out, the first thing they falsely learn is this..... There are TWO CAMPS (not three or more). One camp is Godly, the other camp is heathen, ruled by Satan. If you are not in God's camp then by default you are in Satan's camp. What's the outcome of this mindset? Judgemental attitude against anyone not in your camp. Alas, all too often high and mighty christians are brought down. (Unfortunately). Also, unbelievers can see and smell the bullshit.
God is the judge of who belongs to Him and who doesn't, and He's told us that it is based on repentance and faith in Jesus. I can't see into anyone's heart to make that determination except to say that some people's actions do not reveal a heart that is walking with God, no matter what they say with their mouths. God said, "Woe to you shepherds of Israel, who only take care of yourselves..." Those aren't my words. God takes it seriously when someone abuses those under their leadership, especially when they do it in His name.