Hillsong's music — 'What a Beautiful Name,' 'Oceans,' 'So Will I,' 'Shout to the Lord' — is explicitly Christian worship, proclaiming Christ and Scripture. The music itself is orthodox and has ministered to millions. Hillsong Church has faced catastrophic scandals: Carl Lentz's removal for moral failures (2020), Brian Houston's resignation (2022) over covering up his father's abuse, and financial misconduct allegations. The music is largely sound; the institution has been deeply compromised. 58/100 Mixed.
Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United, and Young & Free have produced some of the most widely sung worship songs in contemporary Christianity. Songs including "Shout to the Lord" (Darlene Zschech, 1993), "What a Beautiful Name" (2016), "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" (2013), "So Will I (100 Billion X)," "King of Kings," and "Cornerstone" are sung in churches across every denomination worldwide.
The music itself is largely theologically orthodox — proclaiming Christ's nature and work, drawing on Scripture, and designed for corporate worship. Many of these songs have become modern hymns. Artists including Taya Smith, Joel Houston, Matt Crocker, and Benjamin Hastings have produced genuine, worship-worthy music.
Hillsong Church — the Sydney-based megachurch that produces the music — has faced catastrophic institutional failures that cannot be separated from honest assessment:
Carl Lentz (2020): Hillsong NYC's lead pastor was fired for "moral failures" — multiple affairs were subsequently revealed. Lentz had cultivated celebrity relationships (including Justin Bieber) that brought enormous public profile to Hillsong.
Brian Houston (2022): Hillsong's founder resigned as global senior pastor after the church board found he had engaged in inappropriate behavior with two women. More significantly, an Australian royal commission had previously found he failed to report his own father's child sexual abuse to police.
Financial and governance issues: A 2023 Netflix documentary "The Hillsong Church" detailed financial misconduct allegations, governance failures, and a culture that prioritized image over accountability.
These two things are true simultaneously: Hillsong's music has been a genuine blessing to the global church, and Hillsong's institutional culture produced serious harm and enabled abuse. Christians can sing "What a Beautiful Name" in worship while being clear-eyed about the institutional failures. The music is not invalidated by the church's failures; the church's failures are real and serious. Compare with for KING & COUNTRY for artists with cleaner institutional track records. Find them on Spotify. See our Christian Musicians hub. The Gospel Coalition has covered the Hillsong scandals extensively.