Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed (2022) User Reviews

It was made for the blind ones to finally understand

[carolu21 · 8/10 · 7 May 2022]

Being a person that grew up on churches myself I found this series to be really accurate and helpful for those who are blind enough not to understand the problem with mega churches like Hillsong.

It explained almost every single problem with this company. And that right there gained my respect.

just the tip of the iceberg... this is a good start

[ajburrell · 8/10 · 29 March 2022]

Surprised, not surprised... Any church or any organization for that matter that gets So huge is going to have issues. And, this documentary showed that all over the board there are issues in nearly every main area for the church. The ask for people to 'serve' only to pressure them so much that they're exhausted... Not okay! Any organization that uses volunteers so much that they "need" them; time to get them paid. Financial corruption, sex & labor abuse issues, historically dealing with everything wrong in their church empire with cover-ups and more corruption- I feel like this is a very good start to a much bigger picture. I feel this could be followed up by several episodes that goes into the details and proof behind their lavish spending, or what the tithes actually goes to (can you say Scientology? They literally buy buildings for no reason). An episode going into more of the sexual abuse and cover up. The labor they ask for FOR FREE from students that they really should be paying for. And, what's happening now? Where is the current staff and administration and how they're changing things? I want to hear more... cause you know there is a lot more!

Exposing a multi-billion dollar industry

[ansgar-ander · 8/10 · 20 April 2022]

This was personal to me. I have grown up being educated in a private christian school in Sweden. And with the Hillsong movement so strong here, I could'nt neither resist to watch the documentary nor recognize the pattern of brainwashing as described.

Myself am a non-christian. Which of course is OK but I remember being invited to a few Hillsong events here. I could not believe what I was seeing.

Everyone was either crying or on the ground shaking and I simply turned around and walked away. But regardless how weird and proposterous it may have been, I remember crying to one song, I think it was "Oceans". I didn't know why at the time but about what was said in the documentary it all makes sense now.

Regarding the documentary, started off very strong but felt unfinished when the series was over. I was also led to believe that the church finally was exposed, over and done but I feel it wasn't.

Giving it an 8 for all the Hillsong supporters trying to bring the score down, probably on the fence between 7 and 8.

Hilariously ironic that this doc is as contrived as the target

[RGreene23 · 2 April 2022]

Certainly not a fan of Hillsong and the cowo style of worship. Church isn't where we go to be entertained, it is where we go to worship God. But I have to say this show comes across as extremely contrived. Just one example- Why stage the other woman in a church with all the smoke, lighting and dramatic music? Find it highly ironic that this doc is just as emotionally manipulative as Hillsong appears to be.

Should have been a single episode

[RandyFoxglove · 7/10 · 27 March 2022]

The first episode was powerful, especially the focus on how worship music is designed to provoke an emotional response that congregations interpret as divine (especially as a former worship leader). Afterwards, it felt so drawn out and had a few cringey interviews with petty arguments. Very frustrating to watch the majority of people escape this cult yet still cling to Christianity...

Meh

[marysammons-42220 · 6/10 · 2 April 2022]

I'm no fan of Hillsong and someone of this was doc was very good. Especially the first part when talking about worship music. But one thing I don't get. These people who complained about the college. You continued to stay there. Was a gun to your head that you couldn't leave? I'm not defending them but no one was forcing you to stay there.

Great insight into a corrupt organization.

[middleearthmusic · 10/10 · 31 March 2022]

I thought they did a great job in breaking down the problems with Hillsong. We are led progressively through the issues until in episode 3 the rot is exposed. This church was never created for God. It was a money making venture by men who have zero morals. This is just one of them and they all stink. So we need more documentaries like this to expose them. It's easy to spot them too if you remember what God said. "That which is highly esteemed amongst men is cursed in the eyes of God." The world loved this church at one point which was enough for me to smell a rat.

The Dangers of progressive Christianity

[rawrxgoesxthexzebraxbear · 10/10 · 25 March 2022]

"It's foolish to make god out of anyone. This isn't what majority of Christians are doing, but the famous ones are the ones that get to set the narrative."

Jesus says "BE ON GUARD against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is HYPOCRISY. There is nothing covered that won't be uncovered, nothing hidden that won't be unknown. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops." -Luke 12:1-3.

The description of the show about homophobe isn't correct and shouldn't be in it. But I do encourage every Christian to watch it as a learning tool and how dangerous this is.

Frank Houston was a vile and disgusting man. Those who covered and tried to "handle" it themselves are just as guilty of the crime! This wasn't a moral issue this WAS A CRIME! My heartbreaks for the deception in the hurt that Hillsong and other churches has caused. Those are NOT God's church they are man's.

Where's the rest of it?

[varodisimona · 5/10 · 26 March 2022]

It feels incomplete. No info about how much money Carl, Brian or the church made. Is it exempt from taxes, if so, how did they manage and go about with the IRS? Nothing about Bonnie, Brian's wife or Carl's wife, how did these two profit from the church? Apparently Bonnie was preaching. Where is Carl these days, where did he end up and with what fortune? It's not very in depth. They idea was good, the beginning was promising and then it just felt like it lacked in information. It needed more.

This isn't a story just about Hillsong...

[hanna-inman · 10/10 · 29 March 2022]

It's also a story about most mega churches and churches who strive to be mega themselves. I've been a part of two different ones in the past 15 years and it's the same story as far as the money and notoriety, the covering up of misdoings, etc.

I thought the story was well told, including different perspectives from real people at different locations. It shows how the culture from the "top" is inoculated in all of the other branches regardless of geography.

I also have to add that the music from Hillsong has really touched so many people around the world, myself included. I still listen to them from time to time and I'm grateful for it. That part of the doc didn't really affect me so much, though I can see how it would bother people. I don't have a problem with churches finding avenues to increase income when they're actually doing good work to help the less fortunate people in the world. Unfortunately, many times, this just isn't the case.

When a church is more concerned with how their "campus" looks than how their city looks, that's where the problem is. When the church people begin to worship their pastor and leadership, this is also a problem. That's what has happened with Hillsong and so many other large churches. It's nauseating and infuriating.

Kind of boring

[athoffman-80353 · 3/10 · 26 March 2022]

I didn't feel like this documentary was very well put together. The people they interviewed was more about quantity and not quality.

When there was an interesting storyline, it quickly moved on to the next topic.

Disgusting that this church still exists

[kt-davis11 · 10/10 · 6 May 2022]

Saddened that some reviews talk about already hearing the story or that it should have been wrapped up in a little (shorter) bow because it was too long. Well I personally appreciated that they took the time to show all of the egregious and criminal activity that this cult has done, and upon children that deserved more than a short hour of your time. These religious organizations need to be shown for what they have done. And hopefully those impacted can feel as though the majority of us care that this happened.

Exposing a culture

[mrscaddymc · 8/10 · 4 April 2022]

This film details the dehumanizing descent of Hillsong's evangelical entrepreneurship journey, but it's not exposing a "scandal", it's simply revealing the culture within organized religion, over and over once again. Abuse, gaslighting, victim blaming, public shaming - all are elements within not only this mega church culture, but can also found within the smaller, localized, wannabe mega church. Because this is the model - the blueprint. The only thing sensational about this story is the name Hillsong and the fame of Carl Lentz.

Hours of Blanketed Statements & Opinions from like 3 people

[micahlyzette · 2/10 · 17 April 2022]

Big documentary guru over here. And this one is just awful in every way. I could hardly get past the first episode because random people are going off about things like "if music makes you feel a certain way, then it's emotional manipulation."Right. None of the people the interview in the first episode are actual members - well they did interview the light guy?

I understand the two scandals of Carl Lentz and Frank Houston. But they tried to make a bigger story out of the entire church that just isn't there.

Netflix didn't talk about the money the church made

[TheOneThatYouWanted · 9/10 · 13 April 2023]

Overall an okay documentary. Funny how they hide this documentary over at Netflix. Just imagine if it was aired on mainstream TV. Anyhow, this is worth checking out. They stretched it out longer than it should have, put in a few nothing interviews and even a lot of repeated material. Basically they Netflix'ed the documentary, in other words almost killed it with padding for time. Still, the source material is good enough to make it worth watching. Plus Netflix was too lazy to pull up IRS documents about how the church rips off the members. Interesting how they use music and make people dance because they can not sell the message without distractions.

As if we didn't already know...

[jfost75 · 4/10 · 29 March 2022]

This documentary was about the mega church Hillsong. The entire documentary seem to focus around the fact that the church exploits its members for money and personal gain while the heads of the church behave in a completely unchristian manner. This is not new information! I assumed everyone on earth knew that these type of organizations were all about the money... I don't mean to sound anti-religious, but I am strongly opposed to these massive, cult-like organizations.

I found most of the testimonials in this documentary to be a bit whiny. Perhaps I was being too judgmental of them for being so naive , especially after having so many examples of where these large religious organizations abuse their authority over the parishioners. All things being equal, this want a bad series but don't expect any sort of conclusion. It's essentially 3 hours of ppl talking about being duped by con men in the name of god...

Living in the age of deception

[bobmarleyherbman · 10/10 · 2 March 2023]

Rating this 10 stars strictly because of the circumstances this documentary sheds light on and its overall message. We are living in the day and age of deception. With social media and the ever growing desires of upward mobility and the toxic spread of ascension theology this documentary serves as a small tear in the veil that will allow people to see behind the business model of modern christianity. If I were to weigh my review on other elements such as cinematography, storyline and characters, certainly there would be much room for improvement however I believe that because of the message, the intent and the purpose of this film being to inform viewers on a topic that has long gone swept under the rug it deserves a 10/10. If not for anything else but the courage and bravery to tackle a corporate giant (the church) and expose corruption for the sake of vulnerability.

Excited to see if this documentary continues to expand following the current trials of Hillsong church.

I have to wonder...

[SpookyT · 8/10 · 28 June 2023]

How many of the negative reviews for this series are from Hillsong apologists and evangelicals who feel threatened? This is an important work and should be seen. Is it perfect? No, but it is pretty well done and most importantly it further shines a light on what is going on in ALL megachurches. Hillsong is just one among many. Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart, Earl Paulk, Jim Bakker, Robert Tilton, and so on all were exposed as frauds, thieves, and predators. This doesn't even begin to cover the actual fringe cults out there. This series does present facts. It does present victim testimony. It did request responses from the ministers in question. I reiterate, it is well worth a look.

Not THAT salacious...

[mecaro29 · 4/10 · 29 May 2023]

Maybe I've been desensitized to church/cult wrongdoings through watching about mass suicides, teleportation to space, and branding people, but this one is a little vanilla. Not that Hillsong isn't garbage, by any means, but hours of naive churchgoers whining about how a pastor was a hypocrite for having an affair... It tends to make one roll their eyes. Perhaps it's the sinner/non-believer in me, but I already expect the worst in people. This, oddly enough, includes phony, hipster, star-fúcker 'pastors'. There's nothing surprising here. It runs on and is truly boring. Save your church-bashing documentary hours for David Koresh.

So many opinions, so few facts.

[jakarandapanda · 3/10 · 7 April 2022]

This is a documentary about 3 men, not the Hillsong church.

If you take only the valid points and cut out everything else, this would only have been a 20 minute clip. The other 2 hours and 40 minutes are unnecessary, slanderous fluff.

The majority of the interviews don't amount to anything and are only there to throw mud. You hear a lot of "I think", "I feel", "in my opinion"... but very few actual facts. Even the expert testimonies don't contribute much. They make a lot of accusations and get numerous opinions, but quickly change the subject because they don't seem to have any actual proof. The word "cult" is thrown around dangerously but nowhere is this backed up with evidence, instead they make the accusation and quickly move on to something else before you have the chance to notice that there's no substance to what they're saying.

Then there's the way they criticize even the positive things of Hillsong. It's like looking at someone who exercises, eats healthy, and gets in shape and shaming them for thinking they're better than everyone else. It sounds ridiculous but that is what much of this documentary is about.

There are some valid points here, and if that is all they focused on, this might have been a good documentary. Instead, they decided to use this film as a way to shame a group/church/organization with gossip, rumors, and opinions, rather than sticking to facts.

Little facts, many opinions

[karolinafigaszewska · 1/10 · 7 May 2022]

They accuse of using music to wind up emotions, and at the same time they do the same. Huge church and a few people have spoken. Someone was offended and decided to shoot a documentary with a sexual scandal in the background. One should not equate the whole church with two people who made mistake. There was no evidence of corruption except that the pastor wore expensive shoes. Facts and figures, please. There are no data to support the allegations.

Boring

[klkurtz · 1/10 · 26 July 2022]

Nothing happens..... nothing very scandalous happens at all.. yawn. It kept seeming like they were going tell me something interesting and that moment never came at all. Pass.

"Documentary" reminded me of Yelp Reviews

[rdghdg · 1/10 · 8 April 2022]

Entire series played out like a handful of ex-volunteers that had bad experiences and wanted to cry about it on TV. No one forced them to go to that college, no one forced them to go to that church, no one forced them to volunteer. What about the thousands of people that attend their college/church every week and love every minute of it? What about the lives that church has changed and the community service? Their music is literally played everywhere and brings hope and faith to millions around the world. It could have been 1 hour and just focused on the child abuse and cover up and court case. The rest was trash fluff and boring entitled ex-members whining about how they didn't have fun.

Typical Discovery garbage

[editing_budgie · 4/10 · 1 May 2022]

Why make a 30 minute doc, when you can make 180 minutes of sloppy repetitive crap, and layer it with tropey sound effects?? Said the Discovery Execs

This is just crap. The story editor and picture editor should find new careers.

Good in parts but a missed opportunity.

[curlyclub · 4/10 · 1 May 2022]

This documentary did a good job on the exploration of cases of sexual misconduct, sexual abuse and the subsequent appalling behaviour by the church. However there were hours of minor complaints and whining for reasons often never properly explained. I would have liked to see in-depth reporting on the mechanics of how the whole thing operates, the churches prosperity preaching techniques and how they extract $$$ from their parishioners among other things.