– Hillsong Co-Founder Brian Houston Resigns From Mega Church
Hillsong Church’s co-founder and senior pastor, Brian Houston as announced is decision to resign from leadership role following his legal battles and internal probe by the megachurch into allegations of inappropriate behavior which revealed that Houston “breached the Hillsong Pastor’s Code of Conduct.”
It was however discovered that not all the parts of the investigation by the integrity unit appointed by the global board can be sustained, important elements of the complaint were sustained and the conduct was of serious concern.
The resignation came following a culmination of series of scandals surrounding the church and legal battles Brian was facing, of which he has continued to maintained his innocence.
In part, statement released by the church on Wednesday as Brian Houston Resigns says:
“We understand there will be much emotion at this news, and we all share these feelings.
“Irrespective of the circumstances around this, we can all agree that Brian and 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.”
Houston had initially announced in January that he would be stepping aside from all ministry responsibilities to focus on fighting charge brought by police in Australia which alleged he concealed child sex offenses in a court case involving his father.
Houston has vigorously denied the accusation, while also claiming that the allegations “came as a shock to me, and it is my intention to vigorously defend them.”
His resignation came as another potential blow to Hillsong, which grew out of the merger of two organizations: Sydney Christian Life Center, founded by Mr. Houston’s father in 1977, and Hills Christian Life Center, founded by Mr. Houston himself.