Los secretos de Hillsong, la iglesia de las celebrities

Who needs to be told that a hipster in a leather jacket, who posts shirtless photos of himself and cries on cue, leading a megachurch that has services which look like pop concerts isn't actually a real spiritual leader?

I feel insulted that this documentary even exists, I guess this is made for people who are genuinely surprised that Donald Trump is a narcissist and a liar.

Next I'm looking forward to Secrets of Wal-Mart and Secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.

Fifteen minutes into this documentary I'm just laughing at these people and thinking no wonder most of the people in the crowd are teenagers.

This has to be the most engaging, informed, exposed and gritty documentary I've watched. Christians and Non-Christians alike will find more than enough to keep them on the edge of their seats while also being provided with receipts of a broken system throughout. My jaw dropped wide open when Carl Lentz showed up on the screen in the most recent interviews recorded for this, it certainly felt real and all too gripping. Certainly while this is quite the expose' and the intro theme may be oddly & aesthetically pleasing, when they warn you about triggering episodes, please don't look past that... There's a lot of info in the last episode or two to make a weak stomach or a victim of SA and the like feel triggered and mind-boggled. It's a lot to chew on but at the end of the day, no matter what you believe spiritually, finances and scandals shouldn't become the norm, and thats what ultimately brought down this den of wolves I used to see as a legitimate church.

There are two things wrong with this production: there's no focus and they failed to ask Carl en Laura Lentz some quite obvious questions.

About the focus: what is the documentary about? That evangelical organizations tend to be very conservative and have a strong bias towards all people that are 1. White and 2. Male? Thats how 90% of the Christian churches work, especially the pentecostal ones. Of course it's very sad when a young girl of color finds out she never will be a pastor because she isn't 1. White and 2. Male. But, no disrespect intended, she should have read the fine print before joining. Instead, the documentary should have been about a narcissistic opportunist (not Carl) and his buddies (enter: Carl) who see religion as a way of making (heaps of) money.

I can imagine how the production meetings went: a bunch of happy, lefty, intellectual people with no clue what churches are, were in the proces of making the show with the bad-narcissist approach. But then someone noticed "Wow, they are against abortion, gay-marriages, equal rights! Our viewers can't relate to that. Let's interview gay/female/colored people and let them speak out what we all think in this room!" -cheers all around- I imagine one person in the back faintly arguing: "But the majority of the (young) people who go there, share these opinions. Shouldn't we at least interview one or two of them?" Of course not, don't be ridiculous!

And then, just before the meeting was closed, there came this huge announcement. Carl and Laura wanted to be on the show! -more cheers, clapping- "The negotiations were successful. Carl and Laura agreed to tell their story! Of course we won't ask them any uncomfortable questions or verify their stories. -some laughter- "We are producers, not journalists" -more laughter- The faint voice in the back said something about telling the other people interviewed in the documentary that they will be participating in a crying-Carl-I'm-so-sorry-but-'they'-are-to-blame show. But alas the meeting was already over.

And there you have it. Interesting footnote is that Carl joined another mega church with accessory celebrities and controversies. Let's see how this turns out.

I've followed the Hillsong story for almost 20 years buying my first album in New Zealand and dipping in and out by attending the occasional conference or buying an album, or watching on TV. Have taken my eye off the ball as this is an amazing documentary showing inconceivable developments in the story. It's clear that this massive church's success has come at a huge cost but so many of the issues described plague so many churches. This is a fantastic story and my mind is blown! This story is still developing too. What will August the 17th bring? I won't give my opinion on the people involved (all loved by God) or what happens as this will ruin it, but this documentary is wonderful.

I listened to the other one megachurched exposed vy Discovery+ and this one is less deep into emotional drama and Vanity Fair has it to add the Razzle Dazzle in their Docu series. I loved it way much better, even that I literally created a account on IMBD just to let everyone (like me) who still reads these comments to say its worth the watch of you like good docu series. I hope they make other ones like this. Not that the discovery+ one is not legitimate, it is! It just had a different direction or path from one another. You should watch it if you're still wondering if you should watch it or not.