Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed

This film details the dehumanizing descent of Hillsong's evangelical entrepreneurship journey, but it's not exposing a "scandal", it's simply revealing the culture within organized religion, over and over once again. Abuse, gaslighting, victim blaming, public shaming - all are elements within not only this mega church culture, but can also found within the smaller, localized, wannabe mega church. Because this is the model - the blueprint. The only thing sensational about this story is the name Hillsong and the fame of Carl Lentz.

Why make a 30 minute doc, when you can make 180 minutes of sloppy repetitive crap, and layer it with tropey sound effects?? Said the Discovery Execs

This is just crap. The story editor and picture editor should find new careers.

It's also a story about most mega churches and churches who strive to be mega themselves. I've been a part of two different ones in the past 15 years and it's the same story as far as the money and notoriety, the covering up of misdoings, etc.

I thought the story was well told, including different perspectives from real people at different locations. It shows how the culture from the "top" is inoculated in all of the other branches regardless of geography.

I also have to add that the music from Hillsong has really touched so many people around the world, myself included. I still listen to them from time to time and I'm grateful for it. That part of the doc didn't really affect me so much, though I can see how it would bother people. I don't have a problem with churches finding avenues to increase income when they're actually doing good work to help the less fortunate people in the world. Unfortunately, many times, this just isn't the case.

When a church is more concerned with how their "campus" looks than how their city looks, that's where the problem is. When the church people begin to worship their pastor and leadership, this is also a problem. That's what has happened with Hillsong and so many other large churches. It's nauseating and infuriating.

The first episode was powerful, especially the focus on how worship music is designed to provoke an emotional response that congregations interpret as divine (especially as a former worship leader). Afterwards, it felt so drawn out and had a few cringey interviews with petty arguments. Very frustrating to watch the majority of people escape this cult yet still cling to Christianity...

Certainly not a fan of Hillsong and the cowo style of worship. Church isn't where we go to be entertained, it is where we go to worship God. But I have to say this show comes across as extremely contrived. Just one example- Why stage the other woman in a church with all the smoke, lighting and dramatic music? Find it highly ironic that this doc is just as emotionally manipulative as Hillsong appears to be.