ABSTRACT
Hillsong is a neo-Pentecostal megachurch composed of individuals from varied global locations. This chapter examines how Hillsong has wrestled with its local and global identities toward issues of postcolonial justice. It focuses on lesser-explored motifs of “interconnectivity and collaboration”, although acknowledging “segregation, friction, or exploitation”. The chapter outlines the decolonial efforts following a “glocal” focus on race. and various missteps amongst global evangelical leaders. After George Floyd's death, a discussion about the Western paradigm controlling black bodies and churches came to the fore in many countries. Hillsong Church responded; however, many on social media denounced its response as weak and uninformed. South African space is diverse, yet the paradigm of thought, even in the church, still leans on coloniality. Still, African theologies rose amid colonial and Apartheid oppression.
