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What to make of the latest Hillsong drama. · The Slippery Slope

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  Hi Jason here, and you're listening to the slippery slope.
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  So just wanted to discuss what happened on the weekend
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  regarding Hill soul, and I've got to say I was, it was, it was
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  quite entertaining, it was a little funny to see some of the
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  reactions that were coming out from musicians and, and pubs and
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  clubs and festivals about all of this.
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  But, and I think it's just Another for Hillsong was just
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  another bad headline. I'll be up front, I have gone to
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  several Hillsong conference has. When I was when I was much much
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  younger back I think when it was kind of around that time when it
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  first started maybe the late 90s early 2000s.
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  I went to several of them and I have been to Hillsong Church
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  couple of times a long time ago, probably about 10 years ago
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  there. It's it's not somewhere I would
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  attend anymore. And I don't want to bag them at
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  all. However, just my opinion, I
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  don't think he'll song ID best examples of Christian Church.
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  However, in Australia, they are the undoubtedly, the best known
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  brand for church. So getting onto this headline
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  here, from the guardian, says New South Wales.
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  Premier shocked by footage of Hillsong members, dancing.
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  And singing at Youth Camp, can't believe you shocked by It
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  Anyway. The new supplies premiere, Yeah,
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  it's Dominic parrot at says he was incredibly disappointed to
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  see the footage of young, Hillsong parishioners dancing
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  and singing to music and the church could be fined.
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  If found to have breached the state's covid Public Health
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  order. There's rules aren't there for
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  the sake of it? Parotid said on Friday morning.
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  I'll scroll down further on parotid said his expectation was
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  that if there was a breach by Hillsong I find should be
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  issued. Now I've already found that this
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  Hillsong avoided the fine and all go on to that later on but
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  it continues on saying on Thursday night the church was
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  ordered by New South Wales Health to immediately.
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  Stop singing and dancing at the Youth Camp after footage of
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  Youth, parishioners dancing to music sparked wide.
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  Widespread anger over certain exemptions for religious.
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  Photos and videos posted on Hillsong social media accounts.
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  This is the problem. They got busted because they
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  themselves, put up the footage on their own social media
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  accounts. So the put it up over the past
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  two days, show crowds of people singing without masks during
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  services and dancing to pop music.
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  That was non devotional. So they can't even stick to the
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  rules properly that have been laid out the camp, which is
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  aimed at 15, to 17 year. Olds is due to finish on
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  Saturday, That was last Saturday so singing and dancing.
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  At a major recreational facility is in breach of the public
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  health order. So, Brad Hazard and user fills.
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  Help Minister said, while the order does not apply to
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  religious Services it does apply to Major Recreation facilities.
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  And this event is clearly in breach of both the spirit and
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  intent of the order which is in place to help keep the community
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  safe. Now, I will say, although I
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  don't agree with any of these orders, whether it The church or
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  pubs and clubs all especially the festival's.
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  I think there should be allowed, but, you know, whether we like
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  it or not, they've made these Health orders.
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  They've got these rules out there.
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  No singing. And dancing and get they've,
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  they've kind of the using a using exemption that's given for
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  churches for the way they described.
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  As for specifically for a church scene, we're in a church.
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  You would stand Stand up and sing to a band at the front.
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  You wouldn't be moving around but these fellows decided no no
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  will use it for a youth camp. And quite frankly, the festival
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  looks more like a while. The Youth Camp looks more like a
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  festival rather than a church service.
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  And this is where they've gotten Strife.
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  So New South Wales police on Thursday, issued a statement
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  saying it would liaise with organizers to ensure future
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  compliance with the public health orders after the use of
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  Wales Health. Deemed the location to be a
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  major recreational. Leti when contacted by Guardian
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  Australia for comment on Thursday?
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  Hillsong spokesman denied. The event was essentially a
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  music festival. Well okay.
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  I do know a little bit about these music about youth camps
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  and I know a little bit about music festivals to funny enough.
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  And for this Hillsong spokesman spokesperson person to deny the
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  event was essentially a music festival.
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  I'm sorry. But if you're, if you were just
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  a musician Ian or a festival organizer just on the outside.
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  Looking in at these youth camps. You would, you would have to say
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  this would fall into the bracket.
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  This would fall under that umbrella of a music festival at
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  they definitely do look like it. You have Pete you have a band
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  standing up for front playing playing with you know, even if
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  it's Worship Christian worship music, it's still a still
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  playing music that people then go and dance and Marsh to.
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  Okay. It comes across Us as a music
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  festival. Continuing on these events are
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  annual High school-aged youth camps and are not similar to a
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  music festival. In any way.
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  The spokesperson said I think that spokesperson is being a
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  little disingenuous, maybe a little delusional in their
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  answer. Yeah, you really not help doing
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  yourself any favors, Hillsong with that kind of answer outdoor
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  Christian Services are held during the camp, but they're
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  these are only a small part of the program and any Singing is
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  only a small part of each service.
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  Hey, brackets are goes on. Say a video circulating on
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  social media today. Reflects a few minutes of this
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  part of the program, but when pressed on how large groups of
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  young people dancing to songs such as Turn Down for What.
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  Bye. DJ Snake and Lil Jon constituted
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  constituted a religious service. The Hillsong spokesperson did
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  not respond. This is the problem with
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  Hillsong. Okay, they keep trying to Push
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  the boundaries, they don't try and work within the rules and
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  they give themselves. They give the church in general,
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  a bad name because of statements like this.
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  No, no, this isn't a music festival.
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  No, no, we're staying within the rules and not we you can't call
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  this a festival. This is just a youth camp.
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  Oh, yeah. But but what about what about
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  people who are singing and dancing to a song?
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  That's not a devotional song, not a Christian Soul, Turn Down
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  For What by DJ Snake and Lil Jon.
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  Well well, I don't know. Car needs to that one.
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  Hillsong just don't do themselves, any favors.
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  So the problem is the new restrictions to a Spate of
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  cancellations and postponements from several music events,
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  including Grapevine, Gathering, Festival Tamworth, Country,
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  Music Festival, and National tours by Belinda, Carlisle on
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  Rod Stewart, but churches and places of worship were
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  considered exempt from the restrictions with the New South
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  Wales Health, spokesman telling the Australian on Tuesday,
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  singing and dancing. And Hospitality of venues and
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  nightclubs is deemed. I risk due to increased movement
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  and mingling within and across these venues the influence of
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  alcohol consumption and the removal of masks in these
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  settings, to consume food and drink people attending religious
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  Services, generally remain in fixed positions and master
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  mandatory for these indoor Gatherings.
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  So, this is the problem. They've made it for a general
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  Church setting. And then, Hillsong have gone
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  said ìyou, that will include Our Youth Camp Where we don't have
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  where we everyone knows their youth camps aren't a general
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  Church setting. You know, though, they have the
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  obligatory moshpit going, no one's wearing masks.
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  They're not even not even dancing to Christian music.
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  Anyway, the dancing to other music.
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  And then you wonder why people out there, who aren't Christians
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  clubs, pubs bands, touring groups festivals.
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  You wonder? Why people I get frustrated with
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  places with churches, like Hillsong a Hillsong.
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  If anyone from Nelson was listening, you really need to
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  pull your head in and do the right thing by everyone.
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  Okay, now I'll just go by the last article, which said that
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  he'll songs avoided Defines due to political click connections.
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  This is on Sky News to Hillsong church has political
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  connections, helped them avoid a fine after allowing singing and
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  dancing at a Youth Event, says the New South Wales greens.
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  MP, David Shoebridge. Now, they don't offer any any
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  evidence for that. This is just the greens typical
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  greens, mouthing off saying something without offering any
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  kind of evidence and I wouldn't believe in the came out of a
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  green Senator, the mouth anyway, but But the problem is the
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  problem is they got he goes on to say mister Shoebridge said
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  Hillsong had a very very close connections to some of the
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  liberal party in New South Wales, not least, Scott Morrison
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  as the current prime minister. One rule for those who are
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  well-connected politically, Hillsong in a different rule for
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  everybody else. And this, I believe highlights
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  the problem with Hillsong and what they've done with this
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  Youth Camp, okay? They do have a lot of political
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  connections and they do have probably a lot of sway in the
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  political arena in Australia and when these rules came in for for
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  these restrictions came in for these festivals and pubs and
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  clubs and churches. Religious Services were given
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  exemptions. Hillsong should have put more
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  consideration into what they were doing and thought, you know
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  what, we can't have at typical youth camp, we need to consider
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  the rest of Australia. We need to consider how this
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  looks perception as 11 calling wise, but one man said to me
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  perception is everything. Jason he says, Perception.
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  Hillsong, You need to remember perception.
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  You've had two years of constantly bad headlines.
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  You need to think you need to think.
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  Before you act, you really do. That's my opinion.
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  Don't be too hard on a church. I just thank you for listening
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  to the slippery. Slope