The Hillsong megachurch has announced that co-founder Brian Houston has resigned as the global senior pastor. The resignation follows complaints from church members that the former pastor was inappropriate with them. One staff member claimed that Houston sent her inappropriate text messagesâ and the church said the allegations did not support the claims. The accusation was made based on video evidence that has not been independently verified by CNN. Howeverâ a representative for the church confirmed that it is still investigating the claims. The Australian public has been outraged by Houston's resignation. The Hillsong Global Board conducted an investigation into the first complaintâ in which Houston had allegedly violated a woman's privacy. According to the complaintâ Houston had taken anti-anxiety medication over the prescribed dosage and drank alcohol. In additionâ he had knocked on a hotel room that was not hisâ and had spent time with the woman in the room. Although some aspects of the complaint were not upheldâ the accusation was important and was a matter of public interest. After discovering the allegationsâ Houston agreed to take specific actionsâ but failed to do so. The board then took further action and asked Houston to resign. The church's public relations department said that the decision has not been finalizedâ but the church's board has not responded to queries about the matter. The allegations are based on the testimony of one of Brian Houston's own childrenâ and he has denied the claims. After the discovery of the abuseâ Brian Houston apologised and sought treatment. The Hillsong statement said that the incident occurred in the 1970sâ when he was still a young boy. The accusations stemmed from Houston's alleged role in covering up his father's sexual abuse of children. After the revelationsâ the church stated that it was not a coincidence that his pastor was accused of covering up for child sexual abuse. The church's statement says that Brian Houston breached its pastoral code of conduct by entering a woman's hotel room for 40 minutes. The woman has not disclosed whether they had sex. Several Hillsong members have contacted the media and filed complaints on behalf of their fathers. Despite the allegationsâ Houston has not been accused of any criminal offense. Nonethelessâ he has resigned. Earlier this yearâ the Hillsong board found that Houston had violated the code of conduct and recommended an independent review of the organisation's structure. Immediately after the conferenceâ Brian Houston temporarily stepped down as global pastor. After the Hillsong board made the decisionâ the interim pastorâ Phil Dooleyâ stepped in. During a video conference with the mediaâ he defended the allegations that his late father had sexually abused his son. While there were rumors that Houston had been mistreated as a childâ the pastor resigned indefinitely.
The allegations are unfounded and the church will not allow this to happenâ the spokesperson for Hillsong declined to comment on Brian Houston's resignation. Neither the pastor nor his wife publicly commented on the matter. At this pointâ it is unclear whether the allegations against Brian Houston are true or false. Following the allegations of sexual abuse against Brian Houstonâ the Australian Assemblies of God has decided to remove Houston as their national president. As a resultâ the Australian Assemblies of God's board of directors has taken a position in the absence of the former pastor. The church will continue to investigate the allegations and will dismiss Houston immediately if he refuses to step down. While there is no evidence of any physical misconduct against Houstonâ the church will not enforce it unless the allegations are proven true. The allegations that Houston engaged in sexual misconduct have caused the megachurch's board of directors to remove him. The Australian leader has pleaded not guilty to the allegations and is facing trial. The Australian board has already received complaints about the church's conduct. But the decision has been taken because of the circumstances surrounding the matter. The issue of his personal behavior has caused the Church to become notorious and has resulted in his resignation.
Confidential church documents reveal that in 1999 Frank Houstonâs son, Brian Houston, learned of the sins of his father. He was the leader of the Assemblies of God in Australia â he and his executives were legally required to report Frank to the police. But no-one did #60Mins pic.twitter.com/Gpf5iCzE7c — 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) November 18, 2018
Hillsong blames Brian Houston's harm done to women on sleeping pills, anxiety medication, and alcohol.
Listen. I take anxiety medication. I drink.
I haven't made advances on people without consent. I haven't abused my power over someone.
Predators do that. Not medications. — Julia (@thatlouddecon1) March 19, 2022