(If at any time you referred to yourself as a Christian)

Religion has become an (even more so) ultra-sensitive and polarising topic of late, and there are several documentaries and podcasts about mega-churches and popular Christian personalities. As a person who grew up in the Christian subculture and has spent time examining¹ my faith, I find these documentaries important to how I define my beliefs, even if I never attended Mars Hill or watched the Duggars when they were on TV. It’s not about judging the content of the documentary, instead, it’s about looking at how the rest of the world perceives Christianity, and whether it is seen through a clear or twisted lens. I don’t think that we’re meant to run PR for Jesus, nor are we meant to be marketers for faith, but if we are representative of what it means to be a Christian, and all the world sees is hate and control, then we are failing at representation, and I want to be a good representation of what it means to have faith.

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey on Netflix exposes the polygamous fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints organization led by Warren Jeffs (and previously run by his father). This is extremely heartbreaking to watch as it shows just how abusive the organization was, especially towards women² and children. It’s a four-part series and all episodes are under an hour.

This one was interesting to me because it’s easy to look at it and think, “Wow, I would never fall into a cult like that” but it doesn’t start out so radically all the time, sometimes it sneaks up on you, which leads me to the next one…

When I watched Shiny Happy People on Amazon I felt a sense of relief that I never got into watching the Duggars. I know that the documentary didn’t go into a lot of things, or expound fully on some of the issues they raised, however, there was enough there that will leave you aghast. The ideologies, the way they broke the spirits of their children and indoctrinated them, the whole idea of the Joshua Generation, all of it was both wild and absolutely horrifying.

It’s so easy to put a man above God, I’ve seen it so many times – churches break up and people walk away from the faith when a leader is caught doing something they shouldn’t, because that leader was the focus. I’m not saying that the people who walked away are in the wrong here, no, they were in a situation where they were taught to give reverence to a person and that person took advantage of them, and it happens so much that it’s surprising that there aren’t more of these documentaries. I know many people who admired the Duggars and wished their family was like them because they saw a narrative on television but not the dark side behind the scenes, and I know enough people who had similar family experiences. The fact is this one is so easy to fall into if you’re not careful because it starts in the family and it starts when you are young. This is why I think it’s important to examine your faith and the things you hear from the stage and at home.

Up next we have Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed currently on Max. I love Hillsong worship – Darlene Zschech, Marty Smith, Brooke (Fraser) Ligertwood, these people wrote and performed some of my most beloved worship music. The first songbook I purchased (for piano) was the Hillsong United King of Majesty book. I have led worship and used Hillsong music in my setlist. I would claim that Hillsong Music is the vehicle that rocketed Hillsong into popularity. Yet, they aren’t above scandal and the documentary goes into the corruption in leadership and the way that affected the organization in Australia and around the world. There are several documentaries and a podcast on this issue, and honestly, I’m not very surprised but it does make me sad, especially given my close connection with their music.

Then there’s the question of, given the scandals should we still use their music, there are compelling pros and cons for this but I land on a yes for now³.

One of the biggest themes running through these documentaries is the lack of accountability and transparency. I am suspicious of any non-profit organization that is not transparent in its mission, the way it uses its funding, or how accountability works in leadership. I don’t know if this is the only answer, but I do know that when leaders have no accountability the people they lead suffer. For myself, I try to seek out organizations that show some level of accountability and transparency, and when I think about churches, I try to find those that are social justice-minded and don’t have strange rules⁴. If you have seen any of these docuseries, I’d love to hear your thoughts⁵!

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1. People may call it deconstructing but I think it’s important that we are continually examining what we believe and why.
2. There’s a theme here.
3. This is a whole other post, but the long and short of it is that I think that any art, once out in the world, is left to the interpretation of the viewer/reader/listener.
4. One day I’ll be brave enough to talk about my thoughts on purity culture.
5. Find me on socials if the comment section is iffy.