HILLSONG TO HOST ALPHA CONFERENCE/CATHOLIC MASS
BY DAVID CLOUDSEE: https://www.wayoflife.org/friday_church_news/20-50.php
(Friday Church News Notes, December 13, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research
purposes:
Hillsong Phoenix is hosting Alpha Conference 2020 on January 30-31, complete with a Catholic mass. Speakers include Sarah Shin of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Francis Chan, Kelvin Walker of the Christian & Missionary Alliance, Catholic priest James Mallon, and contemporary worship leader Matt Redman. The conference opens on Friday morning with a Catholic mass in which a wafer of bread will become the actual body and blood of Jesus and will be worshipped as Jesus by the participants, according to official Catholic doctrine. Alpha is an interdenominational evangelistic program that was birthed in the 1990s at Holy Trinity Brompton Anglican Church in London, England, from a charismatic “revival” in which people experienced “massive electricity going through” their bodies, were thrown across rooms by spiritual forces, howled, laughed like hyenas, lay on the floor with their feet in the air, and were “drunk.” The Alpha course includes a “Holy Spirit Day” with the objective of bringing the participants into a charismatic experience, including teaching them how to speak in “tongues.” Alpha is helping to build the end-time, one-world “church.” Developer Nicky Gumble, vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, says, “Alpha runs in every arm of the Church. It’s growing the fastest in the Catholic church. ... What unites us is infinitely greater than what divides us. ... In every different part of the body of Christ--Presbyterian, Baptist, Lutheran, non-denominational, Catholic, Pentecostals, Bulgarian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox--Alpha crosses all divides” (“The Alpha Course: An International Phenomenon,” WillowCreek.org, March 2012). Hillsong is a network of churches and an influential producer of contemporary worship music. It began at Hills Christian Life Centre in Sydney, Australia, and has branched out to start churches in London, New York City, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and other cities. Popular Hillsong songs include “Oceans,” “Shout to the Lord,” “Stronger,” “This Is Our God,” and “Mighty to Save.”
