ABSTRACT
The iconic “Hillsong sound” draws Christians from across the globe to its Australian church campuses. Associated with a uniquely Christian Contemporary Worship aesthetic, for many, Hillsong walks a tightrope between a distinctly Antipodean-Western totalizing hegemony and sincere evangelization, as it continues to grow in non-Western and non-English-speaking territories. This chapter lays some foundations for understanding how gospel music and black identity are experienced and articulated within the Hillsong Australia community/ies, interrogating claims made by Hillsong regarding its ecclesial/liturgical inclusivity. It examines the experiences of attendees actively involved in musicking within the church who negotiate musical and cultural diversity in both Hillsong and broader Australian society. In particular, inspired by Timothy Rommen's ethics of style, it investigates the role of gospel music within college and church via interviews with African Americans who traveled to Australia to study at Hillsong College, other minority ethnic communities, and some white advocates. Volunteers negotiate racism while battling for visibility and audibility within the Australian socio-political and socio-cultural context/s. In light of increasing reflexivity about how Christian communities do and do not engage with otherness, this discussion represents a crucial discursive moment in thinking about what it might mean to be both “Hillsong” and “black.”
