Here's an article I wrote for the Hillsong International Leadership College 2008 yearbook (unedited- yipes!):
Why go to Hillsong International Leadership college?
Well, here’s some reasons not to:
Do not come if you want your life to stay the same
Do not come if you want you perspective of God to stay small
Do not come if you want to hang around people that will keep you average
Do not come if you want to be a part of church that will allow you to be comfortable
In my experience as a student I have found that one of the greatest things I could do is become infected by Hillsong-itis. The culture in this church and school are such that you have to plug your ears and cover your eyes if want to justify staying the same.
So what is Hillsong-itis? It’s something God has obviously blessed. The influence of this church stretches across the globe and has impacted the lives of millions. So what is it? What makes this place so special? It’s not equipment (there’s frustrating gear even at Hillsong). It’s not a magical building (Yes, even here the bathrooms sometimes stink). It’s not the fact that they have sermons on television or have moved millions of records (but hey, that’s pretty cool!). I believe the secret behind this church is a relentless passion for God’s bride. This is Hillsong-itis. Just hang around for one moment and you’ll find that these people intend to build the Church no matter what the cost. Here, a church service is never just a church a service. It’s a chance to see God’s kingdom moved forward. They never let the passion die. There’s always more people to reach; more ways to improve how effectively lives are transformed. Every single system is laboriously thought out, planned out, improved, refined, revised or even disregarded and replaced if need be. Why? This local church is passion about God’s bride. And they realize that it must be God who gives life to it all. They understand that without the Holy Spirit, all the systems become like dry bones. They understand that if there’s not a love for Jesus, people will run out of fuel. This church is neither mechanical nor purely emotional. They are driven to do whatever it takes to see God’s church move forward. Why? They are passionate about His bride.
Hillsong-it is has no doubt infected everything about college life as well. The same passion that fuels church fuels college. Behind all the assessments and all the lectures is a desire to see God’s bride become more beautiful. This college is designed to equip people to make a difference in the world-not just gain head knowledge. Again: do not come if you want to stay the same! This is a place where people are healed during lectures. Where class becomes family. Where gifts are outworked and God is invited to move. Will college students learn great things about theology, music, communication, and the like? Yes. But much more importantly, they can be infected by a culture that is passionate about God’s church.
So why go to college?
To be transformed
To enlarge your perspective of God
To get around people that challenge you to reach your potential
To catch Hillsong-it is!
