Tag: sam collier

Categories
News

Prominent Atlanta Pastor Announces Divorce Amid Infidelity Allegations

Sam Collier, who once was lauded as being the first black lead pastor of Hillsong Atlanta before stepping down to found his own church, shared on Instagram in a since-deleted post that he is divorcing his wife; something he’s tried to do seven times but never committed to, until now. 

Early Friday morning, Toni Collier shared on Instagram that she was seeking a divorce from her husband, citing “discovering and enduring repeated acts of infidelity” over the course of years, and writing that “despite seasons of hope, attempts at reconciliation, and counseling, after recently discovering more infidelity, I realized this wasn’t a sustainable or God-honoring marriage anymore.”

Within minutes, he rejoined with his own statement accusing her of sustained abuse towards him, which he quickly deleted.

He later released a more measured statement, writing: “I would like to apologize for my earlier comments regarding my divorce. It did not reflect the leader I am or my sincere feelings. I was emotionally overwhelmed and angry at the highest level. These past two months have been extremely exhausting.”

The couple have two children.

In late 2021, Hillsong Atlanta launched with Sam Collier as pastor. Collier has a wild theological past, including spending years as Youth Choir Director in a church where the Senior Pastor was the openly pro-choice, openly pro-LGBT, heresy-spewing, Planned-Parenthood-endorsed Democrat Senator, Dr. Raphael Warnock, and then several years at Bishop Eddie Long’s megachurch – a prosperity gospel heretic who preaches wretched blasphemies about name-it-and-claim-it, speaking realities into existence, little god theology, and multiple sex scandals. Later he joined up with Andy Stanley for several years until he was tapped by Hillsong head honcho Brian Houston to lead the new plant, even though Collier has no seminary training and a horrific Christian pedigree.

Hillsong gave them $762,000. 

Once the news that Brian Houston was ousted from Hillsong, Collier also announced that he was leaving Hillsong and starting his own church, which he did three weeks later. Like seemingly every other Hillonsg Church, they too had questions about financial impropriety. The report reads:

“Although Hillsong Atlanta was intending to commence operations with only 5 staff members, $18.8k was allocated for the staff picnic/retreat. Yet, zero was allocated to CityCare Program Costs and zero for Bibles and Literature.

When Sam Collier decided to separate from Hillsong in early 2022 due to the Brian Houston scandal, the $762k USD Hillsong had invested into this fledgling campus was also lost. This included $82.5k in venue break costs.

Hillsong Atlanta’s Year One budget was approved with an operating deficit of $608,646. This included a salary of USD 145K for Senior Pastor Sam Collier (more than twice of the salary of the COO), Sunday Catering expenses of $60k, and executive meals, travel and accommodation totaling $43k.”

Categories
News

Hillsong Atlanta Dissolves, ‘Story Church’ Will Take Its Place

Nine months after launching Hillsong Atlanta, the church is shutting down and dissolving, with lead pastor Sam Collier taking the reigns of a new church called ‘Story Church.‘ It is the third Hillsong church to shut down in the last week.

Collier made the announcement during Sunday’s service. Where it was initially believed that he would be starting his own church and drawing the congregation with him, leaving whoever wanted to remain at Hillsong Atlanta to eke out a living, instead that church is shutting down completely, with Collier renaming the church and launching it Easter Sunday, free from the baggage that the Hillsong name brings. He explained:

I hear the Spirit of the Lord saying, ‘This isn’t a step back.’ God is saying, ‘This is the birthing. This is the birthing of something new.’ I hear the Lord saying, ‘At this month, it’s exactly nine months.’ It’s exactly nine months. And what the Spirit of the Lord is saying in this moment is, ‘I’ve been preparing you.’ Hillsong has been the ground in which the seed was planted, because He does nothing on accident. And He used the incubation period to birth something new.

…Transitioning into Story Church, so many people have questioned, ‘Well, we hear what happened over here, but what’s going to make you different? What policies are you putting in place? We’re imperfect; somebody is going to make a mistake. But when somebody makes a mistake, what are we going to do to reassure members and congregants that they can trust us with their lives and their investment?”

Collier plans on bringing in ‘culture experts’ and other pastors to audit the congregation and his church in order to “really go deep on how we can guarantee that safety” and ensure that what happened with Houston and many other Hillsong churches doesn’t happen with them. Instead, they plan on focusing on racial reconciliation as a founding principle for the new-not-new church.

“Racial reconciliation is our number one reason for existing besides salvation. There are so many churches within Atlanta; Atlanta doesn’t need another church. But what we believe is that Atlanta needs a church that is focused on uniting our world.”

His bio on the new story church website says “Collier was previously in ministry at North Point Ministries, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Newbirth Church, Orange Leaders and most recently Hillsong Atlanta where he was the former Lead Pastor.”

These are not good things.

Collier has a wild theologcial past, including spending years as Youth Choir Director in a church where the Senior Pastor was the openly pro-choice, openly pro-LGBT, heresy-spewing, Planned-Parenthood-endorsed Democrat Senator, Dr. Raphael Warnock, and then several years at Bishop Eddie Long’s megachurch – a prosperity gospel heretic who preaches wretched blasphemies about name-it-and-claim-it, speaking realities into existence, little god theology, and multiple sex scandals. Later he joined up with Andy Stanley for several years until he was tapped by Hillsong head honcho Brian Houston to lead the new plant, even though Collier has no seminary training and a horrific Christian pedigree.

The core pillars of the new church are ‘Salvation, Multi-Culturalism, Spirit-Filled, Excellent in Presentation, Women Empowerment and Post-Christian’ and it’s tagline is “When your story connects to God’s story, it leads to A Greater Story“

I


Categories
News

Hillsong Atlanta Pastor Resigns After Brian Houston Scandal, To Start Own Church

Nine months ago Hillsong Atlanta officially launched its first service. Joined by rapper Da’ T.R.U.T.H. performing a hip-hop and rap worship set while flanked by Hillsong head honchos Brian and Bobbie Houston who made the trip from Australia for the grand opening, the congregants cheered for their new pastor, Sam Collier, who was being lauded for being the first African- American man to serve as lead pastor of a Hillsong church.

Yesterday, Collier announced that he was resigning from the pastorate in light of the slew of scandals, including the sex scandals that saw Hillsong head honcho Brian Houston likewise resign, explaining:

“My greatest reason for stepping down as Pastor of Hillsong Atlanta is probably not a secret to any of you. With all of the documentaries, scandals, articles, accusations and the church’s subsequent management of these attacks it’s become too difficult to lead and grow a young Church in this environment.

I have no shame in admitting I cried like a baby moments after I informed the Hillsong global pastor of my departure. I truly love the Hillsong family and believe they will get through this storm and come out better than they were before.

In what will sure to be a catastrophic loss for the budding church, Collier said that this week’s coming service will be his last, and then he is launching his own church in three weeks for Easter Sunday, He will likely take almost the entire church with him, all but guaranteeing the shuttering of Hillsong Atlanta.

Hillsong has had a tough go at it these last two years, from the resignation of Carl Lentz of Hillsong NYC to the unreported news that Reed Bogard of Hillsong Dallas was promoted despite having an adulterous affair and then later being accused of rape.

Collier said he will reveal the details of the new church on Sunday.

Collier has a wild theologcial past, including spending years as Youth Choir Director in a church where the Senior Pastor was the openly pro-choice, openly pro-LGBT, heresy-spewing, Planned-Parenthood-endorsed Democrat Senator, Dr. Raphael Warnock, and then several years at Bishop Eddie Long’s megachurch – a prosperity gospel heretic who preaches wretched blasphemies about name-it-and-claim-it, speaking realities into existence, little god theology, and multiple sex scandals. Later he joined up with Andy Stanley for several years until he was tapped by Hillsong head honcho Brian Houston to lead the new plant, even though Collier has no seminary training and a horrific Christian pedigree.

In light of the announcement, interim Global Senor Pastor Phil Dooley told Collier in a video message: ‘We just want to give you guys our absolute blessing for the next season that you feel to step into…I just want to say from us to you- God bless you.”

Categories
Charismatic Nonsense Cursed Headlines Evangelical Stuff Featured

New Hillsong Church Professionally Partners/Consults with Facebook to Build Better Church + Pastor Signs NDA over Details

In a sure sign that this church will never do anything to offend our BigTech overlords or violate their ever-increasingly unreasonable and authoritarian Terms of Service, the New York Times is reporting in an article “Facebook Wants You to Connect With God. On Facebook” that Hillsong’s new Atlanta Church plant has professionally consulted with Facebook in order to create a church and worship experience.

We last wrote of this new plant two months ago, when we recounted how the 32-year-old lead pastor, Sam Collier, has a wild theologcial past, including spending years as Youth Choir Director in a church where the Senior Pastor was the openly pro-choice, openly pro-LGBT, heresy-spewing, Planned-Parenthood-endorsed Democrat Senator, Dr. Raphael Warnock, and then several years at Bishop Eddie Long’s megachurch – a prosperity gospel heretic who preaches wretched blasphemies about name-it-and-claim-it, speaking realities into existence, and little god theology. Later he joined up with Andy Stanley for several years until he was tapped by Hillsong head honcho Brian Houston to lead the new plant, even though Collier has no seminary training and a horrific Christian pedigree.

But months before Hillsong Atlanta was launched, barely a twinkle in Brian Houston’s eye, Collier sought advice from Facebook on how to build a church in the midst of a ‘pandemic’.

For months Facebook developers and Hillsong met and collaborated on how Facebook could be tightly integrated into the structure of the church, particularly the back end discussing the best apps to use for tithing and giving, a well as streaming their services using Facebook video and Lightworkers (Branded ‘Streaming Exclusively on Facebook’. Collier told I am Queen magazine:

It’s unbelievable to think that an organization as large as Facebook has agreed to help shape what the future of the digital Church could be, with a new yet prayerfully innovative family like us. Facebook has lent its development team to Hillsong Atlanta and together we are working on tools that will one day be able to help all churches.

As far as more specifics ways they partnered together and what these months of consults looked like, Collier noted that he can’t reveal more about the specific strategies with Facebook that they collaborated on, nor the nature of their talks, on account of having signed a nondisclosure agreement. When asked, he cryptically stated:

They are teaching us, we are teaching them. Together we are discovering what the future of the church could be on Facebook.

The NYT article goes on to explain that “the company aims to become the virtual home for religious community, and wants churches, mosques, synagogues and others to embed their religious life into its platform, from hosting worship services and socializing more casually to soliciting money. It is developing new products, including audio and prayer sharing, aimed at faith groups.” They’ve done this by partnering with different denominations and faith groups, particularly within the Church of God and Assemblies of God.

In an interview with Nora Jones, Facebook’s Director for Global Faith Partnerships shared: I just want people to know that Facebook is a place where, when they do feel discouraged or depressed or isolated, that they could go to Facebook and they could immediately connect with a group of people that care about them.”

They conclude on this revealing note:

For churches like Hillsong Atlanta, the ultimate goal is evangelism.

‘We have never been more postured for the Great Commission than now,’ Mr. Collier said, referring to Jesus’ call to ‘make disciples of all nations.’

He is partnering with Facebook, he said, ‘to directly impact and help churches navigate and reach the consumer better.’

‘Consumer isn’t the right word,’ he said, correcting himself. ‘Reach the parishioner better.’

Categories
Church Evangelical Stuff Featured Money Grubbing Heretics

Hillsong Atlanta Launches And Their New Pastor Has a Heck of a Past

Hillsong Church of Atlanta officially launched its first service this past weekend, joined by rapper Da’ T.R.U.T.H. performing a hip-hop and rap worship set while flanked by Hillsong head honchos Brian and Bobbie Houston who made the trip from Australia for the grand opening. During the service the congregants cheered for their new pastor, Sam Collier, who is being lauded for being the first African- American man to serve as lead pastor of a Hillsong church.

Who is Collier? He’s a 32-year-old author, speaker, radio show personality, and pastor. His road to the Hillsong pastorate is a wild one indeed.

Around a decade ago he spent several years as the Youth Choir Director at Ebenezer Baptist Church. This is the church that Martin Luther King Jr. co-pastored in the ’60s. During his time there, the Senior Pastor was the openly pro-choice, openly pro-LGBT, heresy-spewing, Planned-Parenthood-endorsed Democrat Senator, Dr. Raphael Warnock.

After leaving Ebenezer, he joined up with New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a 25,000 member megachurch pastored by Bishop Eddie Long. Long, you’ll recall, was a prosperity gospel heretic who preached wretched blasphemies about name-it-and-claim-it, speaking realities into existence, and little god theology. Long was a multi-millionaire who flaunted his wealth from the pulpit and was embroiled in several sex scandals with males youth in his church. Collier spent a couple of years on staff here as well.

In his autobiography, A Greater Story, Collier recounts that it was during this time in his mid 20s that he made his first white friend, an odd revelation given the overabundance of white people around. He eventually left Long’s church in 2014 and joined Andy Stanley’s NorthPoint Church, hardly a bastion of sound theological and biblical fidelity, preaching his first sermon there in 2016. He remained there for 6 years, being appointed pastor at some time (we have no record of him going to seminary or receiving formal pastoral training) until he and his wife were tapped for the lead pastors of Hillsong in 2020, until she backed out to continue her career as an author.

With such a…varied pedigree…it is unsurprising that his theological convictions are a bit of a mess. A brief perusal of his social media contains a ton of posts about supporting Black Lives Matter, social justice, and explaining what privilege is and how white people definitely have it. These sobering truths, coupled with him being a willing participant in listening to Warnock, Long, and Stanley for years, ought to throw up more than a few red flags.

During the sermon, which attracted over a thousand people across two services, Collier introduced the Houstons by noting it has been a “difficult year” for Hillsong, likely referencing the raft of major sex and financial scandals that have struck a third of their campuses – the natural consequence of appointing fiscally unaccountable hipster hype-priests.