Hillsong's Founder Brian Houston Committed "Indiscretions" Towards Two Women with Drugs & Alcohol Involved

At Hillsong Church's all staff meeting attended by at least 800 staff, it has been revealed that the mega church's founder Brian Houston has had committed "indiscretions" towards women on two occassions. Senior Hillsong pastor Phil Dooley also told the meeting that alcohol and Houston's prescription drugs for anxiety also played a role.   

Dooley writes, "We have sadly been dealing with two complaints made against Pastor Brian over the last 10 years. These matters - like all such matters under our code of conduct - were dealt with confidentially. In both of these cases we respected the confidentiality of both Pastor Brian and those involved, and we also must abide by local employment law. We are a church that believes in grace, love, restoration and integrity; these are our guiding values.

"You can be assured that investigations into these complaints were treated extremely seriously. Each of these were conducted by either board members or a body appointed by the global board to hear and resolve complaints against credentialled pastors, and were assisted by highly respected external pastors and advisors."

The first incident happened approximately a decade ago. It involved Pastor Brian sending inappropriate text messages to a member of staff, which subsequently resulted in the staff member resigning. At the time, Pastor Brian was under the influence of sleeping tablets, upon which he had developed a dependence. He immediately apologised to the person.

The second issue involved a complaint received in 2019. Following an in-depth investigation, it was found that Pastor Brian became disoriented after a session at the Hillsong Conference, following the consumption of anti-anxiety medication beyond the prescribed dose, mixed with alcohol. This resulted in him knocking on the door of a hotel room that was not his, entering this room and spending time with the female occupant. Though Pastor Brian and the female occupant denied that there was any sexual activity, the board found that Brian had breached the Hillsong Pastor's Code of Conduct. 

Following that investigation, Pastor Brian agreed to take specific action including stepping down from leadership for a period. However unfortunately he failed to take all of the agreed steps which resulted in further action being taken by the board in late 2021. Pastor Brian remains on a period of leave. 

Moreover, Australian police allege Pastor Brian Houston knew from September 1999 that his father Frank Houston had indecently assaulted a male in 1970. In court documents, police allege Pastor Brian failed to tell the authorities, despite believing his father had committed the assault, and knowing he had information that might help a prosecution. Pastor Brian's court case hearing will commence on December 2 later this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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