Leaving Hillsong

Yolandi B was accused of 'concerning behaviour' as a student of Hillsong college. In Part 2 she responds to this lurid term and tells her story.  Bible college is the golden goose of any church, if it wants to save on those nasty taxes.  But what happens when students don't produce the gold? What happens if they get sick? Is 20 hours a week reasonable for toilet cleaning as a practical element of...

Yolandi Bosch is a former Hillsong student who worked hard to get to the college and even harder to get away from it when the rug was pulled from under her.  Recently she found a response to an interview she was in from #hillsong's "newsroom" and it got her a little upset.  Join Yolandi and I as we review this article, the college, visas for international students and what, if any, the costs of sp...

Grace and Tanya talk about pastors turning into life coaches and #nepobabies also called career advancement in #Hillsong as well as many other nuggets of info that Grace is famous here for dropping into conversation.  This is Part 3 and it's the final so come on over and chat with us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The talk continues about philosophical crises and education or lack thereof in the hallowed Pentecostal halls. Grace has lots more to say and it's always such an interesting iceberg to chip away at.  So come talk with us!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grace went to #Hillsong for #Christmas and reports back on what that was like.  I play various clips of preaching that can be picked apart. We discuss all kinds of hypocrisies and questions left over while everything is left dangling in the air over this once hugely influential megachurch.  So grab your snacks and your beanbags and come gossip with us tonight! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

The surprise sale of the Houston family belongings on Instagram made for an even happier new year for people wanting to know where their tithes ended up.  Brian and Bobbie are selling up and moving out and moving on up or somewhere who knows?  Join Matthew Drapper and me, Tanya Levin for an irreverent and bemusing look at the items that the #Hillsong people have posted willingly online, from slipp...

London's #Hillsong seemed exciting to Catherine and an opportunity to further her walk with God through a church where she might use her talents.  There was only one problem - the rest of her life, including her work, got in the way.  Catherine attended Hillsong for years, despite her limited capacity to 'serve' but eventually, she left, and only relatively recently to this recording.  Find out wh...

Hi there! Welcome back to Leaving Hillsong and The Court Case of Brian Charles Houston on one count of concealing a serious indictable offence, namely his father's child sexual abuse of a nearly 8 year old boy in 1970.  Jake Elliot from @the_framew0rk (insta and FB) and me, Tanya Levin,  combed through our notes fresh out of court. And this is what we got.  It's such a fascinating case that it tru...

Jake Elliot from @the_framew0rk and Tanya from LH carry on with whatever sense can be made of the story so far in Week 1. The DPP is laying out an extensive and intricate case and neither of us know shorthand so we're doing our best with our notes.  It's proving to be the highest theatre in the Downing Centre in Sydney for the trial of Brian Charles Houston, the former Global Senior Pastor of Hill...

Grace speaks openly about looking back on her years at Hillsong as a young woman who had invested so much and now is recovering from the losses and reflecting on the gains.  She offers practical tips on coping with immediate triggers, running into old church associates in public and how to respond in the kindest way possible to YOURSELF.  Grace is awesome and so is this final part of this super co...

Jake Elliot from @the_framew0rk and Tanya Levin of @leaving.hillsong attended the trial of Brian Houston on a single count of Conceal a Serious Indictable Offence under Section 316 of the Crimes Act for the first 5 days at the Downing Centre in Sydney's CBD.  We recorded notes as best we could, Jake on his iPad and me by hand.  This is Part 1 of our note comparison of the events that unfolded over...

Grace and Tanya shooting more breeze with:  - that prayer for B and B by Rob Ferguson - facing the impact of the Hillsong volcano - trauma at HS and the response..    Come chat! Producer: Kimberly Robinson     Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grace and Tanya talk court. Part 1 - BCH stuff -Updates from last week's court chat from our legal assistant, Nic - Queen Natalie's response to Hillsong's attempt at a defence - and the prayers of the desperate   Come chat! Producer : Kimberly Robinson   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why is Hillsong's Brian Houston going to court?  What is this case about? Why do Australian lawyers wear wigs and who the heck is 'R'?  What's a Royal Commission?  Councillor Nathan Zamprogno joins me, Tanya Levin, to discuss the court case that will start in Sydney's local court on December 2, 2022,  We are not here to speculate or opine, merely to outline the processes that have taken place lead...

How do you deal with the trauma a narcissist inflicts?  How do you recover from abuse that you were taught was love?  How do you stop blaming yourself for what you loved and believed in to be true?  Whether you were in Hillsong, a regular cult, a domestic violence relationship, or the subject of any trauma, especially where your boundaries were violated and your good faith exploited, THIS POD is f...

10th grade Kat went to a play at a church that changed her life. Fearing the fires of hell that were threatened that night, she focussed on avoiding its clutches at the AoG church in Mildura, Victoria just on the banks of the river.  Kat sacrificed everything she could and threw the rest into the fire, but it wasn't enough for God or for the church, and eventually, for Kat.  Join us as we go to a...

Narcissism. Narcissistic Personality Disorder.  What is it? How can you spot it... and what can you do about it?  In this fascinating discussion with James, our resident Mental Health Clinician with 30+ years experience in the field working in psychiatric fields and  facilities, we discuss what the medical model is regarding NPD and narcissistic behaviour.  This is episode 2 of #casenotes which is...

Grace and I pick up where Part 1 left off and move into the realm of salacious discussion and juicy commentary on the likes of Brian H. Carl Lentz and what we think on all that.  Grace is on fire so don't miss her ideas and thoughts as she brings back the freshest opinions from the inside out...  Come chat with us about married and unmarried life... in leadership and the front rows... in Part 2 of...

Grace is back ! Our semi reg cohost joins me for a late night chat about deconstruction, adjusting to life in the outside world... marriage.. family.. and what the hell has she been told?  Only out of Hillsong culture for 2 years, Grace shares her insights fresh from the hothouse and out in the sun! We had a lot of fun with this and hope you will too. Come chat!\ Producer: Kimberly Robinson Hosted...

Lindsay Duncan is a faithful listener of the Leaving Hillsong pod and he has recently published his second book, Becoming Ben - From God to Gay. He sat down with me to talk about writing this time, how he creates his fiction, and why oh why he put himself through it! Lindsay is a psychologist with over 30 years' experience and he also shares his lived experience in the pentecostal movement includi...

Dave started up as a youth pastor, but as he tell us, "everything great they said would happen DID happen... after I left.." But it wasn't an easy path and Dave had to find his way out of a psychiatric maze of medication and diagnoses... and on the path to his own happiness along with his wife.  In Part 2 we discuss Dave's regrets about the role he played in driving the Vision of Hillsong and the...

How much of the damage done at Hillsong is the fault of the every day person? Of the leaders? Of the people up top?  We start opening the dynamics of this power and how abusive systems perpetuate by talking with Dave who spent 13 years following his 9th grade conversion experience dedicated to making the world a better place for God with his youth group.  Looking back though, he worries about the...

Tom Tilley has been known for over 15 years around Australian music circles and media, working as a journalist on Triple J's Hack program, the Australian ABC and on commercial networks.  And while his friends and colleagues knew he'd grown up in a religious home and church, they didn't really understand. So Tom released a book this year called Speaking in Tongues , and he joins me and Fiona who wa...

How do you solve a problem like Mesiti? Who are these men who make the decisions over our worlds as religious devotees?  What do you do when a roving evangelist has a prophecy over your life? You do what Luc did and fulfil your family's dreams, and, God's.. or so he thought.  Join Luc and me while we discuss the different influences of Hillsong and the CLC movement and the huge effects it had on h...

What would you do if you were given an ultimatum to choose between your family and your faith?  Luc gives Pentecostalism a one-star review and he's got a bunch of reasons why. That scenario is just one of them... Luc joins us to discuss growing up AoG and CLC and Hillsong.. and what he saw, felt, and heard along the way...  There are so many stories in this one that it's a 2 parter and a few conte...