Hillsong Church became even more popular because of contemporary Christian songs such as "Shout to the Lord" and "Oceans," but senior pastor Brian Houston admits that the megachurch rarely plays these songs during service anymore.
Houston made this revelation during his speech at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, Georgia last Friday, according to The Christian Post. Houston explained that it's not because they are sick of hearing these songs over and over again, but because they need to look into the future and get creative for God.
"When it comes to influence, predictability is our enemy. Because you never get influence from doing things the way they've always been done," he said. "You get influence from creating new ways. Stepping out, taking risks. Hoping people will see that there's another way of doing this."
Houston said because they pushed themselves to be innovative in the past, they were able to come up with great songs like "Shout to the Lord" and "Oceans." He knows they won't come up with great new hits if they merely sit on their laurels and wait for creativity to strike.
A lot of people are still fond of their old hits and long to hear them played in church, but Houston hopes they understand why they are choosing to be different this time around.
"Over the years we've dared to do things differently. We've dared to take some risks. There are certain things like the Word of God that's unchangeable," he said. "You may be shocked to hear we don't sing 'Shout to the Lord' anymore at Hillsong Church. It's not 1993. If you come all the way to Australia and you hope to hear 'Shout to the Lord,' your chances are slight. We don't even sing 'Oceans' much anymore."
For his part, Houston likes "that new songs are written that bring new life and freshness. I love the creativity that goes along with it." He then thanked God for the spontaneity, innovation, and creativity that Hillsong Church has become known for, adding that "spontaneity is our friend in the church."
