A new SBS documentary, which delves into the Hillsong phenomenon in Australia, should create plenty of interest in Newcastle when it airs next month.
Premiering on Thursday 8 June on SBS on Demand, as well as 7.30pm on Sunday 11 June on SBS, The Kingdom sees Walkley Award-winning journalist Marc Fennell (Framed, Stuff the British Stole, Mastermind) step back into the Pentecostal world he ran away from 17 years ago.
Along the way, he uncovers the seismic shift driving Hillsong’s decline and confronts his own raw and complex childhood within the church.
Fennell meets current and fellow former believers who expose the human cost of the Pentecostal juggernaut and explores how allegations of bullying, sexual assault and financial mismanagement have eroded the organisation’s once mighty empire.
That includes catching up with Newcastle’s Dave Lillo-Trynes, a recovering Hillsong foot soldier.
The local spent 10 years working in different roles in the Pentecostal movement, including as a youth pastor and leader.
“We explore Dave’s time studying at the Hillsong College, how he gave everything to build the kingdom and the long-term effects this cost his mental and physical wellbeing,” said Fennell, who doubles as the show’s producer.
“He was regularly told ‘never question authority’ by members of the senior leadership team.
“And, those who dare to speak out are labelled as bad apples and discredited.
“On another occasion, he was told they should never ask for a pay rise and instead always look to God for their finances.
“After attempting to take his own life and a stint at a mental health hospital, after being diagnosed with depression and anxiety, Dave decided to leave the church in 2016.
“He’s now in limbo about his faith.”
For Fennell himself, he confronts his own past spent in these churches, where he witnessed adults speaking in tongues, falling to the ground and demons being thrown out of people.
He also explains why he escaped and why he’s remained largely silent about it until now.
“The moment the rest of the world knows that you have this in your past, they don’t pay attention to whether you liked it, hated it or if you left,” Fennell said.
“You get tarred with it.
“Many people have had their lives positively transformed by Pentecostalism.
“But, there are also volunteers, staff, victims and others who have been completely chewed up and spat out by such enterprises like Hillsong.”
Spanning a wild journey around Australia and into the USA, The Kingdom takes cameras inside the up-and-coming Pentecostal megachurches making the bold move into Hillsong’s home turf and asks: Is this the competition for souls it seems to be and can they succeed where Hillsong has failed its followers?
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