Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly, billed as the Broadway Boyfriends, will marry in 2016. Both are Hillsong choir singers. Canfield is the choir director.
THE ENGAGEMENT/PROPOSAL:
HILLSONG NYC CHOIR LED BY
AN “ENGAGED” HOMOSEXUAL
(Friday Church News Notes, August 7, 2015, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -
According to the New York Times for October 17, 2014, a homosexual couple, Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly, sing in choirs at Hillsong New York City, and Canfield is a volunteer choir leader. Canfield and Kelly were billed as the “Broadway Boyfriends” on the reality show Survivor: San Juan del Sur.” In a December 16, 2014, interview with Playbill, Canfield described how that he “came out of the closet” at Hillsong. He also speaks of his “engagement” to Kelly. He said, “I became truthful with my church. I’m a part of Hillsong NYC. I’m one of their choir directors. I also sing on their Worship team. They’ve been amazing as well. Nothing has changed there now that I'm completely out and with Reed. He sings in the choir as well.” After this was recently re-reported by a blog operated by Geoffrey Grider, Brian Houston of Hillsong Sydney issued a statement that that marriage is only for “heterosexual couples.” But in truth Hillsong is trying to face both ways on this issue, as so many others are. Last year the senior pastor of Hillsong NYC, Canfield and Kelly’s pastor, told CNN, “We have a lot of gay men and women in our church and I pray we always do” (“Hillsong New York Pastor Carl Lentz,” Christian Today, June 6, 2014). In the same interview, Laura Lentz, Carl’s wife and Hillsong NYC co-pastor, said, “It’s not our place to tell anyone how they should live, it’s--that’s their journey.” There’s where Hillsong really stands on moral issues, and Laura is brave enough to say so plainly. Carl Lentz said, “I am still waiting for someone to show me the quote where Jesus addressed it on the record in front of people.” Perhaps I can help him out here. What Jesus did say in regard to homosexuality was three things. First, Jesus exalted the law of Moses as God’s holy law. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-19). The law of Moses that Jesus exalted as God’s holy law says, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination” (Leviticus 18:22). Second, Jesus limited marriage to one man and one woman as in the beginning of creation (Matthew 19:3-9). This completely destroys the biblical legitimacy of “same-sex marriage.” Third, Jesus said that His Spirit would lead the apostles into all truth (John 16:13). We find this canon of Spirit-taught truth in the New Testament Scriptures, where we find the strongest statement against homosexuality in the entire Bible in Romans 1:24-28. To separate the authority of the Gospels from the authority of the Apostolic Epistles is rank heresy, for we are told that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Obviously Jesus left no room for homosexual Christianity and “same sex marriage,” and His teaching on this was very public, Mr. Lentz. The Hillsong churches are so “culturally relevant” that they are traitors to the truth of God’s Word, yet their music is influencing large numbers of Baptists and fundamentalists. When asked by a reporter why Hillsong is so successful, Brian Houston of Hillsong Sydney replied, “We are scratching people where they are itching” (“The Lord’s Profits,” Sydney Morning Herald, January 30, 2003). That is right out of 2 Timothy 4:3, which is a warning of apostasy. It describes people who itch for a new kind of Christianity, and it describes heaps of preachers who will scratch this illicit itch. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” That describes Hillsong to a “T.”
_____________________________________________________________
WELCOMING BUT NOT AFFIRMING? PERHAPS BOTH?
BRIAN HOUSTON, HILLSONG CHURCH, AUSTRALIA:
Hillsong Church Statement by
Senior Pastor Brian Houston
Months After Proposal
August 2015:
"I wish to correct reports that Hillsong church has “an openly gay couple directing
a choir” at our New York City campus. Hillsong’s position on homosexuality and gay marriage
has not changed and is consistent with Scripture. As I have stated previously, I believe the
writings of Paul are clear on this subject. Several months ago when one of our choir directors
made an unexpected public statement regarding his engagement to a man who sometimes
sang in the choir, it was a complete surprise to us as well. It is my understanding that they
have not been involved in an active leadership or ministry role since. That said, we still love
them and acknowledge that they – like all of us – are on a journey, and our role as a church
is to assist them on this journey with grace and compassion."
ALSO:
HOMOSEXUALITY: WELCOMING OR AFFIRMING?
(Friday Church News Notes, August 7, 2015, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -
In the brouhaha surrounding the public statements about an engaged homosexual couple participating in the music program at Hillsong New York City, Brian Houston of Hillsong Sydney said, “We are a gay welcoming church but we are not a church that affirms a gay lifestyle.” He said that Hillsong allows homosexuals to be members of its churches but not to serve in leadership positions. What does this mean, though, and how does it work? How can a church welcome homosexuals without affirming a gay lifestyle? On one hand, “old fashioned” Bible-believing churches have been doing this for 2,000 years, but this “old” model is definitely not where Hillsong wants to go. According to the Bible, the welcoming without affirming is done by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to all sinners, welcoming all to repent and believe, and receiving as members those who do. It is very simple. This is what we see in the church at Corinth. The members had formerly been fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners, but they had been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). This is the example put forth in Scripture, but this “old” model presents a problem for emerging churches in that it requires plainly identifying homosexuality as something that is sinful that must be repented of, whereas this is no longer culturally acceptable. Today’s homosexuals are proud of their homosexuality. They believe that God accepts them as they are, and if He doesn’t, He’s the loser. They don’t want merely to be welcomed to hear the gospel, and they will not accept merely being welcomed. They demand to be affirmed in their lifestyle, and in truth, Hillsong is doing both by allowing homosexuals to be members without repenting of the sin of homosexuality and without a new birth experience that radically changes their thinking and their lifestyle.
______________________________________________________________
Hillsong Responds to Concerns
After Choir Director Comes Out as ‘Gay,’ Engaged to Another Member
SEE: http://christiannews.net/2015/08/04/hillsong-responds-to-concerns-after-choir-director-comes-out-as-gay-engaged-to-another-member/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
NEW YORK — Reports that a Hillsong choir director (or former choir director) has come out as “gay” and is engaged to another member has raised controversy nationwide and has elicited a response from the leader of the international chain of churches.
Josh Canfield, a Broadway performer, told Playbill earlier this year that he had become engaged to his boyfriend, Reed Kelly. Both had been featured on the reality show “Survivor: San Juan del Sur—Blood vs. Water.” He outlined that he is a choir director at Hillsong New York City and that he had admitted his homosexuality to his church.
“[I thought], ‘I need to be truthful with everyone,'” Canfield said. “I became truthful with my church. I’m a part of Hillsong NYC. I’m one of their choir directors. I also sing on their worship team.”
But he stated that after coming out to his congregation, “nothing changed.”
“They’ve been amazing as well,” Canfield explained. “Nothing has changed there now that I’m completely out and with Reed. He sings in the choir as well.”
On Sunday, a blog reported about the information afresh, lamenting that Hillsong New York City, led by Carl Lentz, “allow[s] an openly and unrepentantly gay couple to lead their choir.” The post went viral, generating over 63,ooo shares and generating concern from Christians nationwide.
Following the attention to the matter, Hillsong leader Brian Houston issued a statement about the situation, stating that both men are no longer in the choir. It is not clear as to whether the men voluntarily left or were ousted by leadership.
“I wish to correct reports that Hillsong church has ‘an openly gay couple directing a choir’ at our New York City campus,” Houston wrote. “Hillsong’s position on homosexuality and gay marriage has not changed and is consistent with Scripture. As I have stated previously, I believe the writings of Paul are clear on this subject.”
“Several months ago when one of our choir directors made an unexpected public statement regarding his engagement to a man who sometimes sang in the choir, it was a complete surprise to us as well,” he continued. “It is my understanding that they have not been involved in an active leadership or ministry role since.”
Houston added that although the information has come to light, “[W]e still love them and acknowledge that they—like all of us—are on a journey, and our role as a church is to assist them on this journey with grace and compassion.”
He said in a separate blog post that although homosexuals are welcome to attend the services, they are not permitted to serve in leadership roles.
As previously reported, Hillsong NYC leader Carl Lentz has raised concern over his lack of clarity on what constitutes sinful behavior, including homosexuality. Lentz says he does not like preaching about moral debates and once told Katie Couric that Jesus “very rarely” talked about “morality and social issues.”
“My Bible says, be attentive to individual needs,” Lentz told his congregation in a sermon, which was publicized by Huffington Post. “So I’m not gonna make polarizing political statements about certain things in our Christian community right now. No matter who says what, we won’t be pressured into giving blanket statements to individual needs. Never.”
Lentz is also known for his friendship with pop star Justin Bieber, who reportedly was baptized by Lentz last year. Celebrities often stop by Hillsong NYC to experience Lentz’s unorthodox messages, which are often replete with street slang and modern lingo.
______________________________________________________________
Brian Houston Acknowledges Gay Couple
______________________________________________________________
Brian Houston Acknowledges Gay Couple
in Hillsong Choir
Published on Aug 9, 2015
In a press release the week of August 2, 2015, Brian Houston said he was shocked to discover homosexuals in the Hillsong NYC Choir when an announcement about the celebrity gay couple was made to the press earlier that year. This was filmed November of 2014 - a LONG time before that press release when he supposedly found out. Wake up, folks.
In a press release the week of August 2, 2015, Brian Houston said he was shocked to discover homosexuals in the Hillsong NYC Choir when an announcement about the celebrity gay couple was made to the press earlier that year. This was filmed November of 2014 - a LONG time before that press release when he supposedly found out. Wake up, folks.
