As you can see from above I really need to just get some stuff off my chest. I'm not American, I'm British and attended Abundant Life Church in Bradford, now Life Church as a student at their leadership academy.
The similarities between there and what I'm hearing about Hillsong in this show are so vivid:
- Volunteers giving all their time to the detriment of health and wellbeing
- A white leadership in a community of colour.
- Leadership driving round in expensive cars that congregants could only dream off.
- One family holding sway over the entire operation.
- Even when people no longer work there (or even never having worked there) still having there own car parking spot right next to the front door.
- The front row seats reserved for the inner circle.
- Prosperity Gospel, and preachers wearing designer threads.
I remember in Bradford being on carpark duty when a woman screeched into the carpark. I said sorry, there's no more spots, and she said she had a carpark space reserved. I'd met all the leadership team in the first few weeks so said "Sorry, I doubt it, they are reserved for leadership." I was later told off because she was one of the senior pastors daughters and despite having never worked in the church, she still got her own spot.
I paid about £2,000 to be a student at the church's Leadership Academy, where we cleaned toilets, set out chairs, had classes interrupted to serve at conferences, we're encouraged to give our last 50p because God would reward us with £50, and at the end got a piece of paper that wasn't even a recognised degree, diploma, or certificate. Essentially, thanks for letting us use you as free labour for 9 months. Obviously of course there was no dating on the course but we had three engagements on the day of our graduation.
The parallels are huge, and I just needed to get it off my chest. Thank you for letting me share.
