Hillsong loves a cheerful tither

on my day off yesterday, before auditioning for ready steady cook, i was watching whatever the channel 7 morning show is (the one with larry), and they were interviewing some Hillsongers

having several people in my faculty at uni from hillsong, and other denominations i'm not 100% on the same page as, i've often tried to pin down why i'm uncomfortable with a lot of what they say.

there are many areas of agreement, but it's not good enough to say "i like some of your stuff, but not this," as there must be an underlying thing behind it.

and i think larry's question on tithing might have triggered the answer.

the atheist society at UNSW had a sign up saying, "Hillsong: God's ATM Machine (sic.)"

larry's question was along these lines, and the answer was, "tithing is a biblical principal. I give 10%."

and i think i've got it
it's all about biblical theology.
the way they read the bible, beginning to end, is fundamentally different. questions i have from Hillsong members, and other AOG* churches, betray a lack of understanding in the cohesiveness of the whole bible. a superficiality of understanding, of Jesus' fulfillment of the Law.

so Paul's exhortation to give generously, with a joyful heart, supplying others' need out of your riches; has been summed up in the Law - give 10%, as opposed to the other way around, where 10% was a number, due to the hardness of people's hearts.

i hope this is the sympathetic reading i've been searching for.

* Assemblies of God, the bigger denomination Hillsong comes under

vote #1 hillsong?

a photo from o-week at UNSW.
by choice or by design, that is the question.

Jesus Ain't A Dirty Word

At UNSW the 2nd Session Mission has begun!
It started yesterday with a debate between Rob Forsyth and Peter Slezak, on whether Jesus rose from the dead or not.
By all accounts it went well, with more questions raised than answers given, but the end result being that people need to make a decision of faith, whether they are willing to put their trust in the evidence for the ressurection of Christ or not!
Praise God!
Stay tuned for all the events, with MP3s of talks going up soon.

Have a look at:

• JesusAintADirtyWord.com