Should Christians listen to Hillsong? What about other popular worship groups like Bethel or Elevation? These groups are responsible for many, many of the songs sung in church worship services around the globe. But one question I get asked all the time is whether it’s really okay for Christians to listen to music from them. These extremely large ministries have faced criticism over the years for some of their lyrics, doctrines, and practices. Many Christians say that the music should be avoided in all circumstances.
Let me give you 10 considerations in making the decision, and then I’ll tell you where I personally stand.
Every article, video, and blog post (including this one) on this topic is SUBJECTIVE!
No matter how convincing the content is, it is someone’s opinion. There is no clear scripture in the Bible that would prohibit listening to this type of music. There are principles that can be applied, but no specific orders.
Some of the teachings in these churches promote heresy
Let’s start with Bethel, which I feel is the most dangerous out of the three.
First, Bethel promotes an incorrect view of Jesus. Here’s what their senior leader, Bill Johnson, has said:
“Jesus performed miracles, wonders, and signs, as a man in right relationship to God, not as God. If He performed miracles because He was God, then they would be unattainable for us. But if He did them as a man, I am responsible to pursue His lifestyle.”
Johnson is basically saying that Jesus did miracles as a man, not God, to show us what we can do. For Johnson to pigeonhole Jesus in that way is heretical. Jesus was fully God, every moment of His life.
Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation all promote prosperity theology to certain degrees. That’s the idea that God’s will is for us to be healthy and wealthy at all times.
You can find a detailed list of all the false teachings from Bethel at this link, if you’re interested in learning more.
Some of the practices of these churches are unbiblical
My professor in seminary always told us: “Bad interpretation always leads to bad application.” This is the case at Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation.
Bethel promotes a practice called “grave soaking.” This is the idea that Christians can go to the graves of prominent Bible leaders and physically lay on their graves to soak up their anointing. That is absolutely insane, bizarre, and unbiblical.
Bethel also has a “school of supernatural ministry” where they teach you how to do miracles. One example is “prophecy on demand.” The idea that people can set appointments with you to get a prophetic word. That’s also unbiblical. Even the Old Testament prophets didn’t have this ability on-demand. God initiated prophecy, not the prophets themselves.
They believe the same thing about healing on demand, that they can pray over any sick person or even dead person and pray healing or life back into that person. Again, they believe this because of that belief that Jesus did miracles only as a man who was in right relationship with God, not actually as God.
Teach people to think theologically and stop trying to be the Holy Spirit for them
Let me give you an example. If I’m trying to teach you to identify counterfeit money, I could spend forever showing you various examples of fake currency and all the different kinds of counterfeits. But the better way would be to show you an authentic bill and teach you all the details to look for so that you’ll know if you seen any bill without those details, it’s a fake.
I personally choose to dedicate my time to teaching you how to think theologically about the truth. When I do address false teachings, I highlight the teachings themselves, not the teachers. I want you to know how to discern truth so that whatever you’re exposed to, you can evaluate it, take hold of what’s true, and reject what is false.
Christians need to be equipped on their own to answer questions like “Should Christians listen to Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation music?”
A younger, inexperienced Christian could be drawn into their church through their music
These ministries use their music as a gateway to lure inexperienced Christians into their ministries, brainwashing them with false teaching and false theology. You need to be aware of that as you listen to the music so you don’t get drawn in to an unbiblical ministry.
Their statements of faith primarily line up with the core tenets of the Christian faith
When I went to their websites, I didn’t see anything in their statements of belief that went against the core essential tenets of faith. There were some things I disagreed with, but they were secondary issues. You’ll hear some things in their sermons that may deviate from that, but their statements are pretty consistent.
The songwriters may love Jesus just as much as you, despite the church’s teachings
At one point in my life, I was in a false teaching church. I would’ve hated for someone to discount everything I did in that time because of some of the teachings of the church I was in.
By purchasing, downloading, or streaming their music, you are financially supporting their ministry
This is a true statement, but if we were really serious about using this as a reason for not listening to their music, we would need to apply this standard consistently to everything we watched and listened to, and everywhere we shopped. So, we should be careful about what we support, but I’m not sure this reason alone is enough to say you shouldn’t ever listen to their music.
Evaluate every song for theological accuracy, not the writer of the song
If we evaluated every song we listen to in terms of all the details of the writer’s personal theology and practices, we might not have many songs left to listen to. There are sacred hymns we sing in church to this day, but the writers promoted false teachings.
If your conscience convicts you, then don’t listen
Should Christians listen to Hillsong, Bethel, Elevation and the like? This is a decision that you have to come to. I won’t be the Holy Spirit for you, and no one else should, either. This is an issue of conscience. Let God’s spirit within you guide you on this decision.
Should Christians listen to Hillsong, Bethel, Elevation? My take
If you’re an inexperienced Christian who isn’t sure you can discern truth from error, I would advise you to steer completely clear of their teachings, and possibly their music.
If you’re unsure, filter your musical choices through a spiritual mentor who can better evaluate it from a biblical perspective.
Be discerning about who you share your music with. You may be strong enough to listen to it, but someone else may not be, and you may lead them down a wrong path of the false teachings mentioned before.
Personally, I listen to music by these three churches. I do so because I’m personally edified by passionate and theologically sound worship music, and I have the ability to discern truth from error. Also, people are still being saved by these ministries. They do preach Jesus.
They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains painful to me. But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice.
Again, the question of whether Christians should listen to Hillsong, Bethel or Elevation is a subjective topic, not a scriptural law, but hopefully these considerations will help you come to the decision that is in God’s will for you!
For more helpful biblical Christian content from Allen Parr, visit his YouTube channel The BEAT or browse other topics on the Let’s Equip blog!