Joel Houston plays in a band called Hillsong United. They’re out of Sydney, Australia and they play what most people call “worship music”. I guess that means many of their songs would be considered appropriate for congregational singing in a church. I know a lot of people reading this aren’t huge fans of Hillsong United. Some of you think the music is more “pep rally” than “God glorifying”. Some of you think the music is too loud and too fast. Some of you think anything that isn’t a hymn is somehow less holy. Some of you just think it’s not good art. You know what, that’s all cool. I’m glad we all like different music.
I love their music because not only does it glorify God and Jesus lyrically, it’s just great music. I’d probably listen to them if they were singing about dissecting frogs or mopping floors. (ok maybe that’s not totally true…but you get my point). In my opinion, it is great art.
A few of the members of Hillsong United led the worship service last night at the conference I’m at. It was very cool to sing along to some of my favorite songs live and in person with the band. Then today i sat in on a 30-minute session that Joel led on guarding your heart as you create art and use your gifts. It was cool to hear a little about his struggles and the things that inspire him.
As you can see in this crappy picture I took of him, he’s a tall dude. In this picture he looks like a giant, but in real life, I bet he’s only 6′ 3″ or something like that. He also wears skinny black jeans. A lot of the musicians here are wearing skinny black jeans. It’s a bit unnerving, actually.