Hillsong Church says founder Brian Houston has violated his code of conduct, with the organization apologizing “unreservedly” to two women who complained about his inappropriate behavior.
Key points:
- Hillsong church chief Phil Dooley said Brian Houston paid a woman several months of her pay as compensation
- He said Mr Houston was drinking alcohol while on emergency medication during the second incident in Sydney.
- The pastor said Mr. Houston was reassured about his actions
The Hillsong Global Board sent a letter to church members on Friday afternoon, leaking to the ABC, about complaints about Mr Houston’s behavior in 2013 and 2019.
The letter was sent to members hours after the new head of Hillsong Church, Pastor Phil Dooley, held an extraordinary meeting with 800 global staff members detailing Mr Houston’s “indiscretions”.
“We have unfortunately been dealing with two complaints against Pastor Brian in the last 10 years,” the board said.
“We sincerely apologize to the people affected by Pastor Brian’s actions, and commit to being available for any further assistance we can provide.”
The first incident, detailed in the letter and by Pastor Dooley, involved “inappropriate text messages” sent to a female staff member, which led to her resignation.
Pastor Dooley, in an emotional video conference, said the lyrics were in line: “‘If I were with you, I’d love to kiss and cuddle you,’ words of that nature. ‘
The Hillsong Global Board said Mr Houston at the time was “under the influence of sleeping pills on which he developed an addiction”.
“He immediately apologized to the person. We also worked with Pastor Brian to make sure he received professional help to eliminate his dependence on this drug, and this was successfully achieved.”
Pastor Dooley said this morning that the female employee, who “felt upset and uncomfortable”, had lodged a complaint with Hillsong general manager George Aghajanian.
When she returned months later and told the church she could not find work after she resigned, Mr. Houston paid “a few months’ pay” as compensation out of his own pocket.
“Pastor Brian said, ‘I want to pay this personally because it was my fault,’ because it was personal indiscretion,” Pastor Dooley said.
The 2019 incident, the church said, happened during its annual conference at Qudos Bank Arena in Homebush, NSW, which was opened by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Pastor Dooley said Mr. Houston met a woman who was not a member of the church in the foyer of the Pullman Hotel.
“It was after one of the conference nights and he was drinking with a group,” Pastor Dooley said.
“Later that evening, Pastor Brian tried to get into his room, but he did not get his room key and finally knocked on the door of the room.
“She opened the door and he went into her room.
“The truth is we do not know what happened next. The woman did not say it was sexual activity. Brian said there was no sexual activity but he was in the room for 40 minutes.”
The board said an investigation found that Mr. Houston was “disoriented … after consuming anti-anxiety drugs above the prescribed dose, mixed with alcohol.”
The inquiry did not cover all parts of the complaint, but “key elements of the complaint were sustained and the conduct was of serious concern”.
“Finally, the board found that Brian had violated the Hillsong pastor’s code of conduct,” the board said.
“We also recognize that this person did not deserve to be put in the situation she found herself in by Pastor Brian.”
Pastor Dooley said after the incident, the woman’s conference fees and her “Kingdom Builder” donations were returned. Both were paid in person by Mr. Houston.
He said Mr Houston had taken three months off, promising to abstain from alcohol during that period.
“Unfortunately, he did not stick to it. He made a ministry, I believe on three separate occasions … and he also, as he would say, consumed alcohol.”
Mr Houston stepped down as director of all Hillsong boards earlier this year to defend a criminal charge that he sexually abused his father’s child.
“In December, during our board meeting, Hillsong’s external legal counsel provided the board with advice on the current charges I was facing,” Mr Houston said in January.
“[The advice said] that it would be ‘best practice’ for me to completely abstain from church leadership during court proceedings. ”
Pastor Dooley told the assembly that some churchgoers raised concerns that the board had “covered” the complaints of the two women by not mentioning them in the statement about Mr. Houston.
He denies any charges of cover-up.
“I would say that I believe the Board of Directors acted appropriately under the circumstances of the information provided to them and with a desire to see Brian healthy,” he said.
Pastor Dooley said the decision was made to offer “grace”.
“I think we have always been a church that sees the grace of God expressed in Jesus and that our desire is not to offend anyone.”
He told the congregation that it was important for everyone who came to the church to feel safe and not feel that they were being subjected to “any form of abuse or harassment”.
“We deeply regret the victims and for what they had to go through and what they had to endure,” he said.
“We recognize Pastor Brian has made significant mistakes … we also want to pray for Pastor Brian and Bobbie [his wife] and family because there is a lot of pain associated with this.
“Sin is evil and it brings all kinds of pain.”
Mr Houston and Hillsong Church were asked for comment.
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