Hillsong’s board of directors said in a statement that the complaints were “extremely serious”.
The statement said that the first complaint about “inappropriate text messages from Pastor Brian goes to an employee, which subsequently led to the employee resigning” about 10 years ago.
Mr Houston resigned as leader in January and remains on leave.Credit:Janie Barrett
“At the time, Pastor Brian was under the influence of sleeping pills on which he developed an addiction. He immediately apologized to the person. We also worked closely with Pastor Brian to ensure that he received professional help to reduce his addiction to this drug. eliminate, and this was achieved successfully.
“This former staff member, we apologize once again and welcome the opportunity to offer further assistance if needed.”
The board said the second incident was related to a complaint received in 2019. An inquiry found that Mr Houston was “disoriented” after a session at a Hillsong conference, after “consuming anti-anxiety drugs over the prescribed dose, mixed with alcohol”.
“This led to him knocking on the door of a hotel room that was not his, entering this room and spending time with the female owner,” Ausso said.
Investigators said that although some aspects of the complaint were “incapable of receiving,” Mr Houston’s behavior was “of serious concern” and the board found that he had violated the Hillsong pastor’s code of conduct.
“Whatever the circumstances at the time, this person did not deserve to be put into the situation in which she found herself in by Pastor Brian,” the board said.
The board said it had accepted a request from the appellant to repay money it had donated to the church.
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“Pastor Brian was extremely reassuring and insisted the church pay for it.”
According to the latest investigation, Mr Houston has agreed to “take specific action, including to return to leadership for a period.
“But unfortunately, he did not take all the agreed steps that led to the Board of Directors taking further action by the end of 2021.”
Hillsong said Mr Houston “remains on leave”.
“We sincerely apologize to the people affected by Pastor Brian’s actions and commit to any further assistance we can offer,” the board said.
The board said there had been a “significant breach of trust” and members were “reviewing the government’s structure and measures to ensure higher accountability at Hillsong Church worldwide”.
In his address on Sunday, Mr Dooley said the church would “continue to pray for Pastor Brian, and [his wife] Bobbie and the whole Houston family at this time.
“As a church community, we’re dealing with a whole lot of pain, grief and hurt, and I know this is not easy for any of us … But I pray we can do that and we can get through this together.”
Hillsong Church was founded in 1983 in Sydney’s Baulkham Hills and maintains a worldwide weekly presence of more than 150,000 worshipers, with nearly 50,000 in Australia.
The church and Brian Houston were asked to comment on the results.
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