I have long loved this podcast. As someone who attended a predatory evangelical church (Wave Church) with close ties to Hillsong and having had Carl Lentz as my pastor, this podcast has been VERY relatable. Early guests on the pod were insightful, gracious and some shared truly profound and beautiful observations. But recently, the content has felt gossipy and juvenile. I don’t mind getting updates on the Houston court case but does every episode need to be a deep dive into that OR what’s on Bobbie’s Instagram? I truly do don’t care, it’s not productive. Yes, the Houston’s are finally falling off their pedestal and it’s somewhat satisfying but let’s focus on the bigger issues. Because there are a million more predatory pastors right behind them and the Hillsong machine rolls on. Also, the audio quality is horrid. I can barely understand most of the guests, who sound like they’re calling in on a cell phone with spotty connection. I gave the early episodes five stars. Current episodes two or three. I really hope this feedback is valuable to the host and that the pod gets back on track to doing the meaningful work it was when it began.

I grew up in Pentecostal churches & attended mega churches in the US. This podcast resonates with me so much!! Highly recommend!

If the only reference I had for Hillsong was this podcast, what would I think about everybody from there? If I didn’t know anybody from Hillsong college or church I would think they are all horrible. Not in any way will I defend actions from any of their leadership or members. At the same time, I will not claim as though there are no genuine people at the church, school or any of their ministries. Too many snide remarks in this podcast when discussing what happened. Yes, pray things get exposed and dealt with but not from a joking, happy place. Just my thoughts…

Thank you for the thoughtful interviews, for providing such a good history of Hillsong for context, & for inviting people to share their stories. I’ve never been a member of or even attended a Hillsong service - there are none in my area. However, I found their worship music in college and loved it. In recent years, though (in my 40s), I’ve started to rethink my own church experiences growing up and even the way that music like Hillsong’s and others shaped my views a certain way… a way that I do not necessarily identify with any longer. Again, thank you for this. As someone who finds different religions and even different Christian denominations a very interesting topic of study, this is the first interview/story-telling format I have found about Hillsong. Thank you!!