An up-and-coming worship artist, Mackenzie Morgan, a worship leader at Refine Church in Lascassas, Tennessee, recently blasted Hillsong, Elevation Church, and Bethel Church, stating that she “felt extremely convicted singing and supporting popular worship bands” such as these because of their heresies.

“Leading the music part of our worship service at church looks a lot different now for me than it used to in this picture,” Morgan stated in a Facebook post. “I’ve kept pretty quiet about my convictions on mainstream worship music, but since it is such an important part of worship and the modern evangelical church, I realize just because not everyone agrees with my position is not a reason to stay silent,” she continued.

Morgan stated that she began feeling convicted and wanted to “figure it out.” So she began to study and soon came to the realization that what “these bands and their churches were teaching to their congregations on Sunday mornings and behind the scenes” was something she could not support.

She pointed out in her post that Steven Furtick of Elevation Church subscribed to a heretical view of the Trinity known as modalism–which Reformation Charlotte previously covered–and that she cannot subscribe to these teachings.

Morgan said that it was sad that she would see many people “nod their head in agreement” with her, but ultimately, they really didn’t care about these things and noted that only God can make them care.

She then lambasted the modern worship scene and its use of highly emotive manipulation techniques, including smoke machines and lighting:

I told myself it was all in my head and I was overthinking it. But what if I wasn’t? What if the majority of the church is leading its people astray singing music that is less than worthy of a Sovereign and Holy God? Would God be pleased with the lights? With the smoke machines? With the obsession of hands in the air and ‘response’ from the crowd? With loud worship nights singing songs He doesn’t approve of? Why did God strike Nadab and Abihu dead with fire because of their offerings referred to in Leviticus 10:1 as ‘strange fire’? Because the fire they offered wasn’t authorized by God.

Reformation Charlotte has been making this argument for years, comparing the modern worship scene to self-idolatry which is steeped in paganism and mysticism.

The world wants to hear what these people say. The world likes it because what they say dismantles the biblical truths set forth by God in the revelation of His son Jesus Christ. The Biblical truths that we’ve held for so long–truths such as human depravity, the exclusivity of Christ, and God’s hatred of sin–are whitewashed with affirming antics and nuanced language that effectively stains the image of God from his perfect glory.