‘Change Is Needed’: Hillsong Megachurch Founder Resigns After Allegations of Misconduct

Hillsong’s founder and global pastor, Brian Houston, has resigned in the wake of an internal investigation into whether he had breached the church’s code of conduct, following allegations that he had mistreated two women.

The church’s acting global pastor, Phil Dooley, made the announcement on Wednesday at an all-hands staff “crisis meeting”, which was privately streamed on YouTube. 

“Irrespective of the circumstances around this, we can all agree that Brian and (his wife) Bobbie have served God faithfully over many decades and that their ministry has resulted in millions of people across the world being impacted by the power, grace, and love of Jesus Christ,” the board said.

Dooley promised the church’s staff and members that the pentecostal powerhouse, founded in 1983 by Houston and his wife, would undergo an independent review into its governance structure, because “change is needed”.

“This is a time of humble reflection and we are committed to doing what is necessary to ensure God is honoured, and our eyes are fixed on Jesus,” Dooley said, reading a pre-prepared statement from the global board.

The church’s global board first revealed that Houston had breached its code of conduct late last week, when it told its members in a letter that it had “sadly been dealing with two complaints made against Pastor Brian over the last 10 years”, and that each was being investigated by a board member. 

The earliest incident stretches back to 2013, when Houston allegedly sent “inappropriate text messages” to a woman he worked with at the church. Representatives of the church suggested Houston was struggling with a sleeping pill dependency at the time, and “immediately apologised”.

The second incident is reported to have occurred at an annual Hillsong conference in Sydney’s Olympic Park in 2019, where Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave an opening address. 

According to earlier reports, Hillsong said a woman submitted a complaint after Houston stumbled into her hotel room after a night of drinking. The church said he had been locked out of his hotel room, and knocked on the woman’s door after meeting her earlier, before spending 40 minutes there. 

Pastor Dooley said “no sexual activity” was reported, but the board found Houston “became disorientated…following the consumption of anti-anxiety medication [consumed] beyond the prescribed dose, mixed with alcohol”. 

Houston’s resignation comes just two months after he stepped down from his role as director of all Hillsong boards in January, to defend a criminal charge laid against him for allegedly concealing child sexual abuse by his father, Frank, in August last year. 

Hillsong has grown to become an unstoppable global brand over the last 38 years. The church has numerous celebrity worshippers, including Justin Bieber, Chris Pratt, Kourtney Kardashian, and Kylie and Kendall Jenner. It currently has at least 80 branches in 28 countries.

Brian Houston also has a famously close friendship with Prime Minister Scott Morrison. In 2020, Morrison asked the Trump administration to invite Houston to a state dinner at the White House – a move that drew criticism, given Houston remained under police investigation in relation to the allegations against his father.

“I’ve known Brian for a long time and Hillsong church has a very big network of churches all across the United States, and the ministry, when it comes to the music and so many other things have been very big – it’s probably the single largest church organisation that is known in the United States,” Morrison said at the time.

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