Leaving Hillsong

Where does the money at Hillsong go?  The oldest question in the book, Natalie Moses, a former employee, currently stood down with pay, has filed a complaint in the Federal Court that she saw a lot of where it went and it was corrupt, unethical, illegal and fraudulent.  On this episode, we speak with solicitor, former AoG/ACC executive officer, and PhD candidate  in this field Alex Spencer about w...

Barry Bowen from the Trinity Foundation in Texas (trinity.fi.org) joins me today as a TV evangelist investigator and researcher, reporter and journalist to discuss Natalie Moses's case from a US point of view.  Ms Moses's allegations include shuffling money on off to the US and Barry talks us through some of the  the ramifications of what this means.  Then we have a little chat about What Would Ca...

So Brian H formerly of Hillsong won and Ernie award held at Parliament House and Meg who nominated him and collected his misogyny prize continues the story of the night in question and what it's like when women use the power to say NO to things that men like Brian say.  It's chat time!    Producer: Kimberly Robinson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last Thursday a friend in Melbourne contacted me to tell me she had succeeded in nominating Brian Houston of Hillsong for an Ernie award for misogyny and that he'd won!   I immediately asked if she would share her experiences and she did!  This episode is an update on the court matters that Hillsong is surrounded by and drowning in, including the matter of Pastor John McMartin, chief concealer of...

What does anyone do when they hear about or experience child sexual assault or any crime coming out of a church?  How do we stop the cover ups and ignorance?  Join Nick Jordan and me as we discuss the work he does chasing down offenders to bring about justice in the form of compensation and acknowledgement.  It's a tough but urgent chat, and it's mandatory for all LH listeners. As well as anyone e...

Grace and I continue our conversation about Hillsong's implosion and loss of revenue and members.  We discuss conferences and events and the addictive and fun nature of being involved and feeling special...  And then I force Grace's hand about her current or not attendance at Hillsong and where does she come from?  So stick around til the end and enjoy our dissection of a young person's experience...

GRACE IS BACK!  and she's telling it like it is.  We sat down to kick off recording Grace's own history with Hillsong and thought we'd go over some updates. She'd had a few chats with some insiders and has taken the liberty of sharing news with us all.  We discuss the recent Hillsong conference, or what's left of it, and Hillsong College or what's left of it, and it's going to take until the end o...

Counselling: should Christians seek counsel with unbelievers? Can Christian counsellors be professional? Why not just keep it in house? In church?  Today we meet Petra a long time mental health social worker to find out how these two worlds meet and why it’s so important that they do   Come chat with us ! Producer: Kimberly Robinson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WELCOME TO CASE NOTES - LEAVING HILLSONG'S NEW SEGMENT ON MENTAL HEALTH.  TODAY we meet James, a mental health practitioner from Victoria, Australia who joins me to discuss the myriad he of mental health possibilities that are expressed in the posts and personalities and behaviours of former Hillsong leaders, Brian and Bobbie Houston.  While THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE OR A PSYCHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS,...

Sarah continues her deconstruction story and wow there's a lot here... We discuss issues that women face in leaving churches, especially if they're gay women.  Describing herself as both a 'wee sensitive soul' and a 'diehard atheist' we managed to get through issues including  - rape in marriage - custody battles - lesbian parenting -neurodiversity - purity culture -prophecies and facades - consen...

Sarah continues her deconstruction story and wow there's a lot here... We discuss issues that women face in leaving churches, especially if they're gay women.  Describing herself as both a 'wee sensitive soul' and a 'diehard atheist' we managed to get through issues including  - rape in marriage - custody battles - lesbian parenting -neurodiversity - purity culture -prophecies and facades - consen...

Growing up in the Christian Outreach Centre movement, Sarah was immersed in church life. She grew up in a Christian home and married a Christian man. Everything was perfect.  Except Sarah is gay and she knew something had to change.  Sarah is from Glasgow, and it's another look from another culture at  what happens when an insignificant gay kid is also 'a raging homosexual'.  Hosted on Acast. See...

When People in Glass Houses was first released in July 2007, Australian ABC show Enough Rope and its host Andrew Denton wanted  exclusive rights to interview me. That interview  was intense for me having never done any media and starting on TV was a lot.  Derryn Hinch is an Australian icon for an 80's kid like me. He was a late night current affairs host who famously served a jail sentence for rel...

Growing up in the Christian Outreach Centre movement, Sarah was immersed in church life. She grew up in a Christian home and married a Christian man. Everything was perfect.  Except Sarah is gay and she knew something had to change.  Sarah is from Glasgow, and it's another look from another culture at  what happens when an insignificant gay kid is also 'a raging homosexual'.  R - rated language wa...

When Ben Gresham had had enough of Hillsong's inaction on LGBT issues and Gay Conversion Therapy, he Tweeted the pastor, Brian Houston and was invited to breakfast.  Ben joins us in this chat to discuss that discussion and what it's like to come face to face with the leader himself.  We also talk coming out of the closet and out of Hillsong and living an authentic life... no matter who you are! Yo...

Ben Gresham-Petchell is an out and proud gay Christian. However, that wasn’t always the case. After coming out to his Hillsong youth group leader, Ben entered his first ‘ex-gay’ program at 16 years old believing that it was impossible to be gay and Christian. What followed was years of harm resulting in depression and even a suicide attempt. Ben joins Matthew and me to discuss his Big Gay Rainbow...

In Part 2 , we hear Matthew Drapper's story of gay conversion therapy and the damage and dangers it presented.  Drappa takes us through his path OUT of the closet and also the wannabe Hillsong church he was so heavily invested in.  It's a magical conversation and an incredible story of hardship and hope and authenticity. Please pull up a chair and join us!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...

In our first #PRIDE interview, Matt Drapper details a childhood growing up in a 'Duggaresque' family where homeschooling and homebirthing were the order of the day and the parents.  Being gay was a secret Matthew kept for a very, very long time, until he finally couldn't keep the truth inside for much longer..  Please join us for part 1 of A Kind of Empathy.. it's an emotional roller coaster and y...

When Hillsong's Interim Pastor Phil gave the Great Announcement of 19 March 2022 in front of 800 of the company's closest friends on Zoom, not everyone responded sympathetically to the delivery of the news that To Be or Not to Be a Houston supporter was to be the question.  Brian and Bobbie's daughter Laura, as well as their son, Pastor Ben, leapt to their defences with an emotive email to the boa...

Journalist, producer and multi Emmy award winner Rich McHugh joins us in the Leaving Hillsong conversation to discuss the similarities he sees between Hollywood and Hillsong.  Rich was the Supervising Producer at NBC's Investigative News Investigative Unit and interviewed scores of Harvey Weinstein accusers while working with Ronan Farrow.  The Pulitzer Prize winning work this story achieved in th...

Alcohol is not Brian H's friend so why is drinking so rampant in Hillsong life?  And what has changed since the old days when not a drop should be drunk? Or a pastor?  Grace and I continue our discussions on what the is going on recently in HS and its culture and it gets a little heated!   Join us for more chat about #leavinghillsong     Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grace and I (both Social Work grads and former Hillsong people) wanted to catch up on the who's who and who's where of Hillsong.  Cos we've both been a bit MIA. Join us as we attempt to make sense of some leaders' decisions by reporting and trying to attach some social work theory or bandaids to what is going on.  Over 2 episodes we discuss life development stages, mental health, gender, tulips an...

Leavers, Believers, and the rest of the world: WOW did you know this stuff? I sure as heck didn't and you can hear the excitement in my voice. 11 year old me had so much fun in this snooping world of spying on the bad guys.  Barry Bowen from Trinity Foundation (trinityfi.org) walks us right through a Form 990 of TBN the cable channel and shows us all the revenue they've disclosed.  We go snooping...

Well, goodness me! What a ride The Money Trail is becoming! In Part 2, Barry Bowen from the Trinity Foundation covers issues including: - fraud  - board structures  - property searches and data bases for church ownership  - income streams  - music, music, music - copyrighting your sermon and much more Do not miss Part 2 of THE MONEY TRAIL ! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

Oh baby, baby, it's a wild world. It's hard to get by just upon a smile. But it helps! WELCOME TO THE SPECIAL EDITION OF LEAVING HILLSONG THE TELEVANGELIST HUNTING EDITION! BARRY BOWEN FROM THE TRINITY FOUNDATION in Texas talks you through the way corporate structures, sneaky shifty boards, and limited liability helps evangelists flourish and propagate with little interruption.  In this episode we...