Facing Heresy Accusations, Hillsong Finds Strong Charismatic Supporter
A pastor is questioning whether one of Hillsong Worship’s recent tunes goes against Scripture.
“God doesn’t need you and me. He lacks nothing. There isn’t anything we can give Him or do for Him that He doesn’t already have by virtue of the fact that He is God,” Sam Storms writes on his blog.
The Amillennial, Calvinistic, charismatic, credo-baptistic, complementarian, Christian Hedonist pastor says some people he knows are questioning if “What a Beautiful Name” violates the Scriptures.
The verse causing the commotion is as follows:
“You didn’t want heaven without us/So Jesus, You brought heaven down/My sin was great, Your love was greater/What could separate us now?”
“We cannot serve Him as if He were needy, give to Him as if He were lacking, supply Him as if He were depleted, support Him as if He were dependent, empower Him as if He were weak, inform Him as if He were ignorant, or heal Him as if He were wounded,” Storms says.
Despite his questions, the song remains one of the most popular in Christian music.
The single spent eight weeks atop Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart, Billboard reports. It reached No. 1 for the first time on the chart dated Feb. 25 and on the most recent April 22-dated list, it’s bulleted at No. 2.
Songwriters Brooke Ligertwood and Ben Fielding initially included the song on Hillsong Worship’s Live album, Let There Be Light. More recently, the band released an EP with six versions of “What a Beautiful Name.”
“It’s also my prayer first, that I am there to serve people and link with them in the presence of God. When you connect with people, you can feel their spirits being lifted. It’s really the beauty of singing something about the wonder and power of Jesus. When people connect, it’s freeing for them and breaks chains and creates faith,” Ligertwood says.
Though Storms debates the scriptural accuracy of the song, he ultimately sides in favor of it.
“I will sing it with the understanding that it is because Jesus desired to supply us with what will bring to our hearts the greatest imaginable joy: the sight and savoring of His own eternal and majestic glory!” he concludes.
