Hillsong Church operated a lucrative speaker’s circuit, or “celebrity preacher’s scam,” that netted as much as a million dollars in extra income for high-profile preachers, according to whistleblower documents recently made public. As previously reported, some of those involved in this “scam,” like Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer, were friends of Hillsong founder Brian Houston and Australian evangelist Christine Caine—the two who allegedly invented the “scam.”
But other preachers had to “buy their way into this exclusive, reciprocal speaker’s circuit” by using their church’s money (3% of tithes and offerings) to become members of the Hillsong Family, the whistleblower documents state. Thanks to these documents, we now know which churches and pastors belonged to the Hillsong Family and participated in this alleged scheme. And we have compiled a list of the Top-10 Hillsong Family Donors below.
In return for their hefty donations, these pastors would reportedly get several perks, the documents state. These included invitations to speak at Hillsong events, garnering large honorariums and profits from merchandise sales the pastors could pocket themselves. Hillsong Family pastors would also be invited to join Brian and Bobbie Houston at “luxurious” Hillsong Family retreats “a couple times a year,” the documents state.
Interestingly, four of the top 10 donors to Hillsong Family have ties to the scandal-ridden Association of Related Churches (ARC). This is perhaps not surprising,...
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