Brian Charles Houston is the founder and global head pastor of the international megachurch, Hillsong.
The New Zealand-Australian pastor and evangelist has stepped down from his church leadership duties due to what the Hillsong church board of directors referred to as a breach of the code of conduct.
In a media report made by the board of directors on Friday, they “apologized unreservedly” for pastor Brian’s misconduct of behavior.
In the statement, Brian Houston had breached Hillsong’s church code of conduct in two incidents.
First was over the account of sending “inappropriate text messages” to a staff member in the church, which subsequently resulted in the employee resigning.
According to the statement, pastor Brian Houston was under the influence of a sleeping tablet.
Also, the second account of pastor Brian’s misconduct was about a complaint the church received in 2019, concerning medication and alcohol.
According to the statement from the Hillsong board of directors, pastor Brian entered a woman’s hotel room as a result of alcohol and medication influence.
The statement stated that “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 does, mixed with alcohol.
The board added that “This resulted in him knocking on a door of a hotel room that was not his, entering this room and spending time with a female occupant”.
However, both the woman and pastor Brian have said nothing sexual happened between them.
The internationally recognized church, Hillsong, has over 28 branches across the world with pastors.
Even though all the three children of pastor Brian are into ministry in the Hillsong church, the board of directors made no mention of whom would replace Brian Houston.
