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Chris Tomlin Defends Touring With Hillsong- ‘I Know Their Hearts’

Famed worship leader Chris Tomlin has responded to pushback over his decision to tour with Hillsong United over the next few months in light of the multiple scandals that have rocked the Australian megachurch over the last two years, saying that he ‘knows their hearts; and that that he believes the shows will be ‘amazing.’

This is not the first tour that the two bands, considered evangelical worship royalty, have gone on together. During their time last year, they came under fire for offering pricey ‘VIP experiences’ that included perks like “PRE-SHOW PHOTO OPPORTUNITY WITH YOUR PARTY FROM THE ON-STAGE CATWALK TO COMMEMORATE YOUR NIGHT.” Amid sustained criticism, theyeventually canceled that sort of ticketing.

By all accounts, Tomlin is the more theologically solid of the two bands, though he is not without his issues, given the other artists he worships alongside. He has toured with or put on shows with troublesome performers such as Matt Maher (a practicing Roman Catholic idolater) and Kim Walker-Smith of Jesus Culture, the musical group belonging to the hyper-charismatic cult of perdition that is Bethel Church in Redding, California.

As far as distancing himself from them, Tomlin says he has no intention of bowing out and will see it through. Christian Post reports Tomlin telling Hillsong when they offered to release him from the tour:

’ No, if we’re going to do this, I think it’s going to be amazing. And I think it’s gonna really help people, and I’m with you guys.’”

Tomlin is committed, knows full well what he’s getting into.

From the time that we started to the time we actually went on tour, they were completely different, [Hillsong United] were in a completely different place.

…It wasn’t like I was touring with somebody I really don’t know; I’ve known [Jonathon ‘JD’ Douglass] forever. I’ve known Joel for so long, and I know their hearts. I know their hearts are broken just like everybody else’s. The only difference is they have to live it and get lumped in with all this media stuff, and they have to take the hits on that.”

Everybody goes through hard times, and life is hard, and life throws curves in many different ways…To stand there and say, ‘You know what, in the midst of that I worship you, God.’ I mean, that is the Bible. That’s the Scripture; that’s what we read.

The fact that he’s playing with Hillsong- a mega musical band in their own right that has dominated the worship scene for the last two decades and who is simply a vehicle to deliver the scandal-riddled organization’s own brand of wicked prosperity gospel and cauldron of blasphemies is an indictment against him. We’re not trying to kneecap the guy. Still, Hillsong is awful, and we regard every aspect of the Hillsong ecosystem designed to draw in Christians and expand their influence to be wholly and utterly demonic.

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Chris Tomlin and Hillsong Tour Removes ‘VIP Ticket Packages’ Amid Backlash

The megaworship concert featuring Chris Tomlin and Hillsong has dialed back some of the more nakedly commercial aspects of their upcoming worship tour, with Premiere Productions, the organization in charge of tickets and putting on the event, pulling one of the add-ons and rebranding them as ‘Experience packages’ rather than ‘VIP experiences, followng backlash on social media. See the before/ after pictures;/

We had previously written:

For an event supposed to be designed to worship the Lord, this reeks of money-lovin’ and mammon-grubbin’ commercialism, offering multiple perks and add-on’s such as closer seats to the band, gifts, merch, lanyards, the ability to shop for merch early, early check-in with a host, and some degree of access to bands so you can bask in their presence. We support any band hocking their wares, as capitalism is a gift from God. But the fact that this is a worship event makes it feel unseemly.

We reached out to Hillsong and Tomlin’s reps but have not received a response.

Premiere Christianity, which has been covering the story, had a nice op-ed from Tom Read, where he writes:

“Looking through the various options available (of which there are a few), I can’t help but wonder: how could anyone think that this is a good idea in the context of worship? Many of us are well aware that the worship music industry has a thinly-veiled but dark underbelly of commercialism. But here, they don’t even seem to be trying to hide it anymore. Worship music, and much of the contemporary church, has a celebrity problem. And it’s about time we started talking about it…

MODERN-DAY WORSHIP HAS BECOME SO CORRUPT THAT I HAVE LITTLE DOUBT THAT JESUS WOULD FLIP THE TABLES ON MUCH OF IT

Looking at this latest offer through even the most charitable eyes, it’s hard to see it as anything other than a money-making opportunity…What about worship concerts then? Should we ever pay to attend a worship event? Some people argue that worshipping God should always be free.

While I don’t disagree with this opinion, I do think there is also a strong (and biblical) argument to be made for artists and ministers being fairly paid for what they do. This is certainly the case when it comes to covering the costs of events and other projects. But let’s be honest, there’s a significant difference between paying an artist for their work and buying VIP tickets so you can have a photo on a catwalk at a worship event. What is so problematic here is the leveraging of the worship of God for the creation of personal fame and fortune…

Visibility matters. Leaders have a responsibility to set an example they would be proud for people to follow. Are Christian VIP experiences something we really want to encourage? 

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Featured Heresies Scandal

Chris Tomlin and Hillsong Concert Reeks of Money-lovin’, Mammon-grubbin’ Commercialism

In typical Christian consumerism that would make the money-lenders in the temple blush, famed artist Chris Tomlin and worship band Hillsong United have joined forces for a 33-stop North American tour together, which will likely be regarded as one the biggest Christian music concert of the year.

“We really believe this tour is going to be something unforgettable,” said Chris Tomlin and Joel Houston (UNITED) in a press release. “We’ve been trying to do something like this for a long time and we have a real sense of trust in the fact that this is the right time. This is the moment for what God has been planning and in that, we think the timing has everything to do with the people joining us each night.”

It will be big. TIME magazine called Tomlin “the most often sung artist in the world” with his music being played by over 30 million believers in the United States every Sunday. According to his spec sheet:

“Chris has scored 17 #1 one singles at radio, placed 29 top ten hits (more than any other Christian artist), sold more than nine million albums with 4.5 Billion career global streams, earned a Grammy, three Billboard Music Awards, 26 Dove Awards, became a two-time BMI Songwriter of the Year honoree and an ASCAP Songwriter of the Year. In 2016, he was named one of only four artists ever to receive the Sound Exchange Digital Radio Award for over 1 Billion digital radio streams, alongside Justin Timberlake, Pitbull and Garth Brooks.”

By all accounts, Tomlin is the more theologically solid of the two parties, though he is not without his issues, given the other artists he worships with. He has previously toured or put on shows with troublesome performers such as Matt Maher (a practicing Roman Catholic idolater) and Kim Walker-Smith of Jesus Culture, the musical group belonging to the hyper-charismatic cult of perdition that is Bethel Church in Redding, California.

The fact that he’s playing with Hillsong- a mega musical band in their own right that has dominated the worship scene for the last two decades, and who is simply a vehicle to deliver the scandal-riddled organization own brand of wicked prosperity gospel and cauldron of blasphemies does not help his case. We’re not trying to kneecap the guy, but Hillsong is awful, and we regard every aspect of the Hillsong ecosystem designed to draw in Christians and expand their influence to be utterly and completely demonic.

But there is one more thing we wanted to point out.

For an event supposed to be designed to worship the Lord, this reeks of money-lovin’ and mammon-grubbin’ commercialism, offering multiple perks and add-on’s such as closer seats to the band, gifts, merch, lanyards, the ability to shop for merch early, early check-in with a host, and some degree of access to bands so you can bask in their presence. We support any band hocking their wares, as capitalism is a gift from God. But the fact that this is a worship event makes it feel unseemly.

In fact, one of the perks you can pay for is “PRE-SHOW PHOTO OPPORTUNITY WITH YOUR PARTY FROM THE ON-STAGE CATWALK TO COMMEMORATE YOUR NIGHT.**  with the asterisk noting that ‘there is not artist participation with photo opp.’

Yep. You can pony up some cash for the opportunity to stand on the very same stage and catwalk…that the worship band walked and performed, with perhaps the opportunity to touch the hem of their garmen-guitar stand if you’re lucky and blessed enough.

It’s not just them doing it either. The house band at Steven Furtick’s Church, Elevation music, is going on tour with tickets to worship selling for upward of 195$ and just this morning we wrote of a Christian conference that has tickets of $1000.00, offering many of the same perks this one does.

Apparently, no one seems to think this is grossly excessive.

But it’s really getting a bit much.

h/t Christian Post