Wow! Anyone else just watch Tanya Levin on "Enough Rope"? I'm thinking there won't be so many happy people at Hillsong tomorrow...
posted by jodi @ 10:51 pm
About Me
- Name: jodi
- Location: Sydney, Australia
I have the privilege (and most days the joy) of working fulltime in Christian ministry with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students: and I'm based at the biggest testimony to ugly concrete designs - UTS - where with a team of others I minister to young men and women (well, more so to the girls!). I also sometimes work as a freelance makeup artist which allows me to indulge in a couple of my great loves; being creative, playing with colour and spending time with a wide variety of people. This blog has a couple of purposes - namely a forum for me to express things that I have been experiencing or thinking through (whether in day-to-day life or in ministry) and hopefully as a way to challenge some others in how they view the impact of Jesus on their lives too.
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7 Comments:
At 11:29 pm,
Anonymous said…
Sure did!
At 11:35 pm,
jodi said…
um - care to share what you thought about it then anon?
At 9:28 am,
Lachlan Payne said…
I missed Enough Rope - I was seeing The Simpsons Movie - but if Tanya Levin is who I think she is, I read an excerpt from her book in The Bulletin last year.
At about the same time, I read some pieces in The Briefing by, I think, Tony Payne and Gordon Cheng (going from memory here), who had spent a week at the Hillsong Conference.
I remember thinking that The Briefing articles, regardless of their final viewpoint, were measured, thoughtful, and genuinely seeking the 'right' outcome.
In comparison, the excerpt I read in The Bulletin was marked with bitterness, hostility and resentment - far from being objective.
I don't know if the same thing came across last night.
At 9:43 am,
jodi said…
Hey Lachlan
No that was the interesting thing about it actually - I didn't get the overwhelming sense of bitterness, rather disillusionment with an institution she grew up in. She still spoke quite warmly of the Bobby Hueston (not sure how you spell his name - should have checked) and agreed with Denton when he said "even now you say that hearing his voice brings you comfort"...
I think there was a touch of bitterness that came out when she was talking about how she, and others, had been told that they could be/are possessed by demons because, in their lack of Godliness, they obviously didn't trust the accountants enough if they had to ask about where their money was going (and frankly - wouldn't you be bitter at that?).
One of her main things at the end (and I only got the last 20 mins) was that she was frustrated and wanted to question the apparent lack of transparency - and that their agenda, even advertising campaign, states clearly that they want to raise money and make more buildings, rather than proclaiming salvation through Jesus, which she said was the point of Scripture.
I thought she spoke in a quite measured way - esp because I can imagine that she is copping a lot of crap today. I'm curious to read the book and see what difference there are though.
Anyone read the whole thing yet? Or watch the show and have a different perspective?
At 10:21 am,
Lachlan Payne said…
I believe Bobbi is a 'her' and Brian is a 'he'.
Looks like you can get full transcripts and at least excerpts of the video (maybe more - didn't look long enough) on the Enough Rope website.
At 11:00 pm,
Anonymous said…
Hi Jodi. When you originally posted this I hadn't seen Enough Rope, but I wanted to track it down. The audio is up on iTunes (in the podcast section) for anyone who's interested.
I thought Tanya spoke quite well and I'm also curious to read the book. Different denominations and stereotypes is of increasing interest to me. And apparently the interview provoked another conversation between two very close friends of mine. Will have to tell you about it soon. x
At 10:53 am,
Anonymous said…
There is an article in the paper today about Tanya's story: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/hillsong--the-church-with-no-answers/2007/08/03/1185648145760.html
I think the article is actually quite measured. The author makes a few quick jabs at "hot-button issues" like homosexuality and submission, but overall the things that Tanya says don't come across as your typical "bash 'em cause they're Hillsong" ramblings.
And her testimony is powerful for that very reason.
I think she does genuinely want to help to church, and bring its leaders to account.
And I hope that my Hillsong friends read the article and are challenged to do the same.
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