As Hillsong is in decline over its massive laundry list of scandals, other, less notable worship music producers are gaining in popularity that not only mimic the style and genre but bring with them much of the same mindlessness of the charismatic worship scene that Hillsong popularized in its worldwide movement.

Reformation Charlotte has been covering a lot of what calls itself “worship music” lately as its influence in mainstream Evangelical and Protestant churches is on the rise. One up-and-coming worship star on the scene we’ve been covering is Charity Gayle. Charity Gayle comes from a Oneness Pentecostal background—Oneness Pentecostals are heretics who deny the Trinity. Yet, despite this and her continued association with Oneness organizations that she founded in the United Pentecostal Church, her music is listened to in nearly every church, from Southern Baptist to Presbyterian.

We’ve also covered Sean Carter, who is associated with Gayle but also has his own music. Carter launched his career and became famous while serving as worship pastor for over six years in a gay-affirming church. We’ve written about Kari Jobe and her tendency to treat Jesus as her lover with her lyrics and also teach false and dangerous doctrines in her music. And, of course, we’ve covered Bethel Music which is just rank heresy-filled blasphemy and idolatry from top to bottom. All of this music, as we previously wrote, is steeped in Pagan idolatry and worldliness.

And to add salt to the wounds, the entire celebrity worship scene itself is a serious problem because it takes the glory off of God and places it on the performer or the performance.

All of this, and it’s still difficult to get through to those who claim to be conservative, Bible-believing Christians. Many of our worship leaders today not only lack discernment but serve in their churches as ordained pastors. Yet, their qualifications as pastors are severely lacking. It used to be that a worship leader was also a theologian. That is no longer the case—in fact, most of these pastors are hired on the sole basis of their artistic ability to sing and perform.

This is sad, because even while some of them have finally come to realize—after years and years of “I told you so’s”—that Hillsong and Bethel are not Christian. But they lack the biblical reasoning skills to know why, so they just move on to the next popular band that sounds pleasing to the ear. This is why groups like Passion City Church can be heard in your mainstream “conservative” Southern Baptist churches.

Yet, their music is just as bad as Hillsong’s, their movement is just as aberrant, and their multiple scandals are just as numerous.

Today, I’m just going to show you one popular song from Passion City Church. If you have any knowledge of Scripture, the first thing you’ll notice is that nothing in this song comes from Scripture. It is simply meaningless drivel. Here is the link to the lyrics, but I’ll post some of the below:

Just one word
You calm the storm that surrounds me
Just one word
The darkness has to retreat

So we have to ask the obvious question: what exactly does it mean to “calm the storm that surrounds me” or that “the darkness has to retreat”? The lyrics never exactly explain what the “one word” is that it repeatedly refers to throughout the song.

Just one touch
I feel the presence of heaven
Just one touch
My eyes were opened to see
My heart can’t help but believe

Same here in this part of the song, what is the “one touch” the lyrics are referring to? What exactly does it mean to “feel the presence of heaven”? The Bible never speaks of such a thing. The song then goes on to repeat multiple times that there is nothing that our God can’t do, which, of course, is technically true, but the things they’re ascribing to Him cannot be found in Scripture.

The lyrics go on, making repeated references to this “one word” and “one touch” again:

Just one word
You heal what’s broken inside me
Just one word
And you revive every dream

What does it mean to “revive every dream”? Once again, this is mindless charismatic nonsense. Jesus did not die so we could have our “dreams” revived or fulfilled or anything else.

Just one touch
I feel the power of heaven
Just one touch
My eyes were opened to see
My heart can’t help but believe

Again, what does it mean to “feel the power of heaven”? It means nothing, absolutely nothing. The song then ends with a call to “let faith arise,” whatever that means:

I will believe, for greater things
There’s no power like the power of Jesus
Let faith arise, let all agree
There’s no power like the power of Jesus

What “greater things” are we to be believing for here? Is there something greater than the cross of Christ? Is there something better we should hope for? Isn’t that why we worship Christ? Is there anything greater than Christ?

This music, as is with most modern contemporary music, is nothing more than a psycho-stimulus designed to garner an emotional response from the congregation. Sadly, it works for so many because so many are immature in the faith and not being fed good sound doctrine. The congregation lacks discernment and the churches are ruled by their emotions rather than by Scripture. And we predict that it’s only going to get worse.

Here is the song that was referenced in this article, if you can stomach it: