WEBVTT - Introducing: False Profits: Hillsong

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<v Speaker 1>Hillsong is a major dumpster fire. This is a story

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<v Speaker 1>of a mecca church and its followers, a church that

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<v Speaker 1>started small and became a global brand. I was introduced

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<v Speaker 1>by two friends that I went to high school with,

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<v Speaker 1>and they introduced me in the Whole Song, and that

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<v Speaker 1>first day is the date that I have tattooed on

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<v Speaker 1>my collar bone. Hillsong created a winning formula, a concert vibe.

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<v Speaker 1>It looked and felt different from the traditional church that

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<v Speaker 1>I grew up in. Like it's at a bar. It

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<v Speaker 1>appears unconventional, but at the court it's a Pentecostal church.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a lesson in how to make religion cool. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a lesson in power, money and abuse. I would like

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<v Speaker 1>Hillsong to to stop existing, but even more than that,

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<v Speaker 1>I would like for it to account for what it's done.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm no Emmy would even I was a part of

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<v Speaker 1>Hillsong Church, but I left. Now I'm telling my story.

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<v Speaker 1>While Song started with a few followers in Australia and

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<v Speaker 1>now it's in more than thirty countries. Thousands of people

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<v Speaker 1>say Whole Song brought them to Jesus. The message is simple,

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<v Speaker 1>welcome home, you belong. I felt like I was building

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<v Speaker 1>God's Church, and I felt like included and it felt

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<v Speaker 1>like a family. I felt like a part of something,

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<v Speaker 1>even just for the first time. Emotional, financial and sexual

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<v Speaker 1>abuse are at the heart of the story, and star

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<v Speaker 1>preachers who thought they were untouchable. They never saw the

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<v Speaker 1>worth in us, never suspected that we would say anything,

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<v Speaker 1>or than anyone would listen. And where some of the

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<v Speaker 1>loudest voices out here because we just saw so much

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<v Speaker 1>because they never saw us, and they just felt free

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<v Speaker 1>to just be bad actors. In this series, we get

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<v Speaker 1>access to information hill Song never wanted the public to see,

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<v Speaker 1>and access to people prepared to speak out. I remember

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes looking around and being like that, I get myself

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<v Speaker 1>into The church says it's changed, but has it truly

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<v Speaker 1>owned the past? And our Hillsong scandals a symptom of

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<v Speaker 1>a deeper problem in Christianity. There's something much bigger than

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<v Speaker 1>just this particular institution. In my opinion, it has everything

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<v Speaker 1>to do with modern Christendom, especially within the evangelical world.

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<v Speaker 1>There's something really rotten at the core within evangelicalism. Listen

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<v Speaker 1>to False Prophets starting February two on the I Heart

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<v Speaker 1>Radio app Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts