Brian Houston, the founder and global senior pastor of Hillsong, the biggest evangelical church in Australia, resigned on Wednesday (March 23) after acting inappropriately toward two women.
According to Hillsong Church, an internal investigation into complaints from two women revealed Pastor Houston breached worshippers’ trust.
On March 18, Hillsong said its investigation found “inappropriate” text messages from Pastor Houston to a female employee.
She resigned after the incident in 2012.
Pastor Houston claimed he was under the influence of sleeping pills when he sent the text.
In 2019, the church found Pastor Houston became “disoriented” after taking anti-anxiety medication and drinking alcohol after a church conference, which led to him “knocking on the door of a hotel room that was not his, entering this room and spending time with the female occupant.”
The church could not substantiate all of the second woman’s complaints.
Hillsong recently released the following statement on their website concerning Pastor Houston’s resignation:
We understand there will be much emotion at this news, and we all share these feelings.
We acknowledge that change is needed. We have committed to an independent review of our governance structure and processes, understanding that this is a time of humble reflection.
Watch the ABC news report below:
Pastor Houston also came under fire last year for allegedly overlooking the transgressions of Hillsong’s New York lead pastor Carl Lentz.
Watch the video below:
Brian Houston founded Hillsong church in Sydney, Australia, with his wife, Bobbie, in the 1980s and set up ministries in Europe, Asia, and North and South America.
Hillsong has approximately 150,000 members.
Source: NBC News
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