There, I said it. In the title of this article. That isn’t hyperbole, it’s the only explanation left after watching how this machine churns. Hillsong sold itself as a worship powerhouse while its leadership gorged on money laundering, tax evasion, and lavish “gifts” hidden from view.

Brian Houston, the CEO, was caught up in scandal after scandal while NYC lead pastor, Carl Lentz, fell in a string of sexual scandals, parading celebrity friendship as a cover for his own collapse.

These are not one-off embarrassments. They are symptoms of an industry where fame and fortune masquerade as worship, and the sheep are left bloodied while the shepherds are drunk on applause.

And this is not some fringe corner of charismatic excess, either. It is the beating heart of modern Christian music. The very songs that reverberate through Sunday sanctuaries are often written in the boardrooms of a celebrity cult. They speak the name of Christ but serve Mammon and Baal.

While Hillsong is old news, and has been exposed again and again over the decades, there is nevery anything new under the sun. Today, we see this unfolding again under the bright lights and smoke machines of Maverick City Music. “Gospel artists” like Kirk Franklin now spend their careers hopping from one collaboration to another with the foulest mouths the hip-hop industry can offer.

Last year, Franklin partnered with GloRilla, a rapper whose lyrics glorify fornication, vulgarity, and rebellion against God, and then dares to slap God’s name over the whole charade. This is the same Kirk Franklin who apologized for the church’s “hurtful” stance on LGBTQ sin and danced with Kamala Harris at the White House while she championed abortion as a sacrament.

And standing shoulder to shoulder with him are the darlings of Maverick City. They claim they are “bringing God into new spaces,” but what they are really doing is baptizing filth. Their collaborations aren’t about gospel witness—they are about extending their brand.

So, when the church raises a legitimate concern—asking why a worship collective would lend its credibility to lyrics about fornication and debauchery—the response is not repentance. It is Maverick City’s “gospel” artist, Naomi Raine, dismissing us all as “racists.”

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But that’s the modern playbook, right? Deflect with worldly talking points, smear the church, and insulate the brand from correction.

Instead of addressing the reality—that attaching God’s name to an industry that celebrates sexual perversion profanes His glory—they smear the church with the world’s favorite insult. Racism. They cannot answer the charge of compromise, so they cry foul and demand silence. Of course, these clowns parade under the banner of Christ while spitting in His face. They are the very definition of Isaiah’s indictment:

“This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me.”

And it is not just Maverick City. Lecrae has long since abandoned the church for the culture. He has promoted pro-abortion, pro-LGBTQ politicians like Stacey Abrams, defends vulgar collaborations in the name of “relevance,” and then dares to lecture the church about justice.

What ties all of this together—from Hillsong to Bethel, from Lecrae to Maverick City—is not musical style or cultural nuance. It is allegiance. Allegiance not to Christ, but to the world. They crave the spotlight, the streaming numbers, the cultural relevance, the magazine spreads.

They will sacrifice doctrine, holiness, and truth on that altar, and when anyone dares to question it, they scream “racist,” or “bigot,” or “legalist.” Anything to keep the machine running.

But make no mistake, this machine is not powered by the Spirit of God. It is run by Satan himself. He has no problem with you singing the name of Jesus, so long as you empty it of its power. He has no problem with you building platforms, so long as those platforms cradle rebellion.

And he has no problem with you playing church, so long as you never call sin what it is or preach Christ crucified.

The tragedy is not that unbelievers run headlong into filth. The tragedy is that those who name Christ are leading the parade. The modern Christian music industry is not a sanctuary—it is a stage, and the actors are handsomely paid to entertain the goats while mocking the Shepherd.

And for all their branding, their lights, their celebrity collaborations, their pious soundbites—the judgment of God is coming because He will not allow His name to be mocked forever.