Kong Hee's reappearance brings megachurch criticism back into focus
The United States-based publication, founded by Billy Graham in 1956 and considered as one of the most important in the evangelical world, shone a spotlight on Kong, who had been convicted in 2015 in the largest case in misuse of charitable funds in Singapore's history. The case involved S$50 million, which was later returned to the church. He was jailed from April 2017 to August 2019 .
Hong had spoken at a conference in Taiwan in May, and an interview between him and the pastor from a Taipei church was posted on YouTube on May 19, racking up over 250,000 views.
As the CT piece noted , it gave rise to a debate between Chinese Christians in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and North America as to whether or not Kong had been genuinely repentant and if he should have gone back to leading City Harvest.
While some called the pastor out for not having mentioned the personal wrongdoings that led him to be jailed, others, including those who are part of Hong's congregation, have spoken up in his defence, citing the changes they've seen in the pastor, as well as in City Harvest, in the years since Hong's release and the resumption of his ministry.
Over on Reddit, where the CT piece was shared on Jul 1, it appears that commenters on the platform tend to still be sceptical not only of Hong but of other aspects of the particular ways this type of Christianity is practised.
'Megachurches are more like businesses than a religious organisation. The way people treat their pastors is almost cult-like…. Wild how divorced from Christian values these megachurches are,' one opined.
'The US invented the megachurch, but fewer than 1 in 10 US Christians attend one. In Singapore, more like 40% of Christians attend one. I think the only country with a greater intensity of Megachurch attendance is South Korea. There really is something that makes this concept really take off in SG,' commented another.
Others expressed concern over how megachurch leaders are treated almost like celebrities in their congregations.
'Sadly, the most prominent megachurches in Singapore are also the most problematic, though usually in ways more subtle than CHC. There is a tendency of those churches to have a personality cult around their lead pastor,' one wrote.
'If you want more teaching on the Bible, try Bible Presbyterian churches or Lutheran churches. Both were pretty good. There are pretty good ones at Bishan and Geylang,' suggested a commenter.
Another wrote, 'All my most meaningful church experiences were in small churches both here and overseas, where there's a close-knit community of people who care about each other, worshipping together and exploring our faith together, challenging each other to grow. Many of my closest friends were from churches like that.'
Read also: Netizens divided on City Harvest's Kong Hee
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