Nearly 40 years ago, I wrote a story for The Charlotte Observer about a rapidly growing megachurch on the south side of town. Yes, there were megachurches back then. In fact, there were already academics studying the factors that turned ordinary churches into megachurches.
Hang in there with me, because I’m working my way to the topic at the heart of this week’s “Crossroads” podcast (click here to tune that in), which focuses on the New York Times coverage of the fall of that hip Hillsong preacher in New York City.
Anyway, this Charlotte church was fascinating because it had strong Presbyterian roots and its creation was linked to splits that were already taking place in the world of mainline Protestantism. This was not a rock-band-and-lasers church. It was offering conservative Reformed-Calvinist thought with a style that a bit more suburban than your ordinary Presbyterian congregation.
It was clear, at least to me, that the preaching was the key to this story. This was a mainline-esque church where they were still talking about salvation, sin, heaven and hell — all in a dramatic, but intelligent way. So I ended my long feature story with a big chunk of a sermon, built on images of heaven and the end of all things. This led into an altar call and more people streaming forward to join the church.
That works, when you’re in Billy Graham’s hometown. Bit didn’t work for a key editor. One newsroom wit once said that this particular journalist “grew up Unitarian, but then he backslid.” He wanted that ending removed. I stood my ground and — here’s the point — argued that what this church was proclaiming, in terms of doctrine and faith, was a crucial element in its success. This wasn’t just a story about politics, real estate and zoning laws. The editor just couldn’t GET IT. A short version of the ending made it into print.
So back to Hillsong. During the five years that I did some part-time teaching in New York City (on the ground there eight weeks or so, each year), I had lots of students who went to Hillsong. They talked about the music. They talked a lot about the preaching. Yes, they talked about the excitement of being in that crowd and feeling like they were part of all that.
It was clear to me that this Hillsong operation — in the world’s Alpha City — was a big story.
The journalism question is this: To what degree should the faith content at Hillsong, and even the DNA of sermons by the Rev. Carl Lentz, play a significant part of a story about Hillsong NYC and the scandal that took down its leader?
Clearly, Hillsong’s hipper-than-thou image and the celebrities linked to Lentz was a key element of the story. My point, in a post earlier this week, was that this was not the only angle that mattered — especially since an earlier scandal in Hillsong history, back in Australia, pointed to familiar issues about independent megachurches struggling with issues of accountability. Thus, I wrote:
All of the glamour and celebrity details are important and valid. However, there is another angle of this story that is totally missing. The words “Assemblies of God” do not appear anywhere in this lengthy Times feature.
Truth is, Hillsong grew out of the Assemblies of God, an important Pentecostal and charismatic Christian flock with about 70 million members around the world. And why did Hillsong cut its ties to the Assemblies, other than a yearning for independence from denominational authorities and perhaps to erase a some bad memories?
Later, I added this:
… (The) history of Hillsong is also crucial, in that it offers yet another example of what happens when powerful church leaders cut their denominational ties and set up their own shops, complete with an education system, parachurch networks and handpicked clergy who thrive because of their ties to the Alpha Male at the top.
Trust me, I know that it is hard to cover these totally independent movements that tend to operate behind closed doors — without denominational structures that at least try to provide systems of accountability. … In this case, I think it would have been helpful to have provided more than a few sentences about the roots of Hillsong, including its flight from the huge, growing, Assemblies of God movement.
The scandal in the past was pretty nasty.
Hillsong founder Brian Houston had been accused of failing to tell police about accusations that his father, the Rev. Frank Houston, had sexually abused nine boys. The father led the Assemblies of God denomination in New Zealand until the early 70s, while Brian Houston led the Australian branch from 1997 until 2009. The younger Houston founded Hillsong in 1983.
That old scandal resurfaced in 2015. Hillsong left the Assemblies of God in 2018. Everyone said the split was amicable, but the timing is interesting.
Now Houston has another scandal to handle — in the hot spotlight of New York City.
What happens next? Will this be a story about (a) the fall of a celebrity pastor and his celebrity friends, (b) the future of the Hillsong movement in New York and worldwide or (c) both.
It is possible to cover both, of course. But would that kind of story appeal to editors?
We can — #ALAS — see hints of what comes next in a new Vanity Fair piece with this double-decker headline:
Carl Lentz Is Reportedly Being Treated for “Pastoral Burnout”
Since the former Hillsong pastor’s firing, reports of his time in therapy have been accompanied by a slew of Manhattan Beach paparazzi shots.
Here’s the overture (and note the publications being quoted):
Someone close to Carl Lentz has let Page Six and People know that the former Hillsong pastor is in “treatment at an outpatient facility that specializes in depression, anxiety, and pastoral burnout.” … Lentz “wants to be better for his family and is dedicated to doing the work. His family is supporting him and hopes their privacy will be respected on this journey,” the source said to Page Six, and also to People.
The reports are the latest in the wave of tabloid coverage that’s followed Lentz’s departure from Hillsong. Page Six has reported on Lentz’s “intense therapy” before, with a friend of Lentz telling the tabloid a few weeks ago that Lentz was in counseling along with his wife, Laura.
Privacy?
[Lentz] and his family traded Montclair for Manhattan Beach — after reportedly selling the New Jersey home for $1.5 million days before the news of his firing — meaning that he’s been able to maintain proximity to the celebrity class with which he’s famously associated. It’s evidently been a convenient location for paparazzi too: Since he moved out West, Lentz has been snapped riding a bike along the boardwalk, walking with Laura, and spending time on the beach. While Justin and Hailey Bieber have reportedly unfollowed Lentz on Instagram, The Sun reported on Monday that Tyler Perry covered six months of Lentz’s $16,000-per-month Manhattan Beach rent.
It’s hard to beat the formula of sex, scandal and celebrities.
But here’s hoping that religion-beat professionals are allowed to give it a try. The Hillsong story deserves serious coverage and, yes, this story has something to do with religious faith.
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