5 Alternatives To Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation Music!

False Teaching and Worship Music Discernment

Hey guys, Colin here, and welcome back to the channel where the Bible and critical thinking meet to give you real Christian commentary about the things that matter. Thanks so much for watching, let's get into the video.

So Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation make up what you might call the trifecta of worship music in modern times. They are most certainly not the only worship artists, but they are the most popular. They are the bands which are consistently winning awards and getting massive followings.

But more importantly, these are the bands that write most of the music that the average Christian will sing in their church on Sunday. And therefore, it is a travesty that most of us never even stop to ask ourselves whether or not these movements have Biblical discernment or sound theology.

After all, if worship music is a way of expressing one's deeply held beliefs, which it is, then it would be very telling for us to analyze the deeply held beliefs of Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation. I will link videos I've made about each one of these movements in the description for more context.

But to make a long story short, it is blatantly obvious to those of us who monitor churches like Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation that they consistently mishandle the Word of God. In fact, the leaders of each one of these movements have made a habit of spreading false teaching to their church.

And as a result, the worship teams that come out of these churches are full of people who dedicate themselves to false teaching. By definition, that's what they're doing by being heavily involved church members of Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation.

These people sit under the teaching of false teachers every single week. How could that not affect a person's theology? Of course it does. In other words, there's really good reason for us to believe that these three worship bands don't have enough discernment to be writing music for the church to use either in corporate or individual worship.

If they trust the teaching of Hillsong, Elevation, or Bethel and their leaders, then why on earth should we trust them? As I said before, worship is an expression of one's deeply held beliefs. So why would we want to listen to worship music written by people who have deeply held beliefs which are dangerous and unbiblical?

Biblical Reasons to Avoid Music from Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation

In short, there are several Biblical reasons to steer clear of music made by Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation. Romans 16 -17 tells us to, quote, avoid those who teach things that are contrary to sound doctrine.

Now I'm not saying it's a sin to listen to these bands. Rather, it's a matter of Christian liberty. I'm simply saying that it puts you in doctrinal danger, and therefore there are better things you could be listening to.

1 Corinthians 10 -23 says this, quote, All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. In other words, I would make the case that just because you can listen to Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation as a Christian, which you can, doesn't mean that you should.

So without further ado, here are five worship bands that provide great alternatives to these three unbiblical movements and their music. They are not listed in an order that reflects their musical ability or doctrinal purity or anything like that.

They're simply listed in the order that I wrote them. Number one, Sovereign Grace Music. According to their website, quote,. The mission of Sovereign Grace Music is to produce Christ-exalting songs and training for local churches from local churches.

We call it Sound Plus Doctrine, end quote. This is precisely the goal of biblical worship. In my estimation, John 4 -24 says, quote, God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.

We want our music to sound excellent and skillful. We want it to be full of deep theological accuracy as well. Sovereign Grace Music attempts to accomplish both of these things for the glory of God, and that's why they're on this list.

If you're anything like me, you'll probably love their most popular song entitled Behold Our God. It is really an anthem of God's majesty, and I would highly recommend that you listen to it. Coming in at numbers two and three, we have Matt Boswell and Matt Papa.

These two gentlemen don't just have a name in common. They also both specialize in modern hymn making. That means they make songs with modern language and often have a modern sound to their songs, but they also seek to emulate the doctrinal depth and accuracy that comes with many old hymns.

Matt Boswell is a Texan pastor and a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Unlike many of the writers for Hillsong, Bethel, or Elevation, Boswell actually has some education in theological issues.

Just to be clear, having such an education isn't necessary. Anyone who's faithful to Scripture, after all, can write a great worship song. But having that instruction in doctrine certainly doesn't hurt.

Matt Papa is a worship leader who works alongside Matt Boswell, and together they have written and performed several doctrinally sound hymns. And they have not compromised in the many horrible ways that Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation have.

So let's continue to encourage people like these gentlemen and the other people on the list, and let's reward them for their diligence by listening to their music, rather than rewarding the sloppiness of Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation by listening to their music.

Keith and Kristen Getty, Stuart Townend, and Doctrinally Sound Modern Hymns

Number four, Keith and Kristen Getty. And I'll also throw Stuart Townend in there as a bonus artist. Getty music has been a mainstay for many doctrinally sound Christians for years. Like Matt Papa and Matt Boswell, their goal is to create songs with modern sound yet steady, firm doctrine.

And they have certainly accomplished their goal. Many of the best songs I know are Getty songs, with their lovely sound and tremendous theological depth. This includes songs like Speak, O Lord, My Worth is Not in What I Own, and The Lord is My Salvation, and many more.

I mean, just by the titles, you can clearly see how much deeper and richer these songs are than songs made by Elevation, Hillsong, or Bethel. I mean, it's not even close. And that's what makes them so good.

And Stuart Townend has worked with the Gettys for years. In fact, he contributed to writing their song In Christ Alone, which is wildly popular. You've probably heard it. But Stuart also has his own songs, which are definitely worth listening to.

Check that out. And this brings us to number five, The Corner Room. The reason I personally love The Corner Room is that they're the only band on this list that you don't have to scrutinize doctrinally, at least as far as their lyrics are concerned.

Why do I say that? Well, because The Corner Room have a very interesting method of songwriting. That is, they don't write any of their songs. And that's because their songs are pulled directly from the Scriptures and put to music.

They even have a whole album with passages of Scripture made specifically for children to enjoy. Think of how amazing it would be to hear your child singing God's holy word with a catchy melody that they can understand and love.

And many of the songs on that album are great for adults as well. At least, I know a lot of them sound good to me. The Corner Room also have an excellent selection of psalms put to music and several other Biblical passages.

But besides being doctrinally sound because they are God's Word, The Corner Room's songs have another fantastic purpose. They can greatly help in your memorization of Scripture. I mean, think about it.

How many secular songs have you memorized over the course of your life? Probably too many to count, right? There are some songs made by popular pop and rock bands where if you heard the first note, the first chord, you would instantly be able to recite two pages of lyrics.

There's no getting around it. It's just easier to memorize a song than almost any other form of language. That's part of how God, in His wisdom, designed music. And we should thank Him for it. And with The Corner Room's music, you can memorize the Scriptures just by singing a song in the shower, or on your way to work, or playing a song for your child.

If you're looking for doctrinally sound music with an emphasis on Scripture, The Corner Room is an excellent choice. So in conclusion, Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation are church movements that will often lead people into false teaching.

Therefore, I and many others believe that it is dangerous and unwise to recommend their music or listen to it in church. Thankfully, there are several alternatives to the shallow yet catchy music produced by these three movements, and five such alternatives are listed in this video.

Please know that these bands are not churches. It's very hard to find doctrinal information, at least detailed information, on worship bands. So I'm not endorsing everything these bands believe or have ever promoted, posted, or said.

I don't know everything about them. I'm simply suggesting that there's a really good chance that these five artists will keep you closer to sound doctrine in your worship music than Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation ever will.

It's really that simple. No worship band is perfect, I know that. But if given the choice, I'll always recommend the worship band that isn't directly affiliated with any movements that spread false teaching.

I pray that this list has been encouraging to you and that you will use any music you discover to glorify God. That is, after all, the purpose of our worship and the purpose of our lives. Thank you so much for watching.

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