Brian Charles Houston who is the founder and global head pastor of the international megachurch, Hillsong, has stepped aside from his pastoring duties in the church.
The New Zealand-Australian pastor and evangelist has stepped down due to what the Hillsong church refers to as a breach of the code of conduct.
The board of directors of the Hillsong church has “apologized unreservedly” over the senior pastor’s misconduct over the last ten years.
What did Hillsong pastor Brian Houston do?
The Hillsong church board of directors made a media report on Friday, March 18, 2022.
In the statement, Brian Houston had breached Hillsong’s code of conduct in two incidents.
During the investigation, the founder of Hillsong church was found to have sent “inappropriate text messages” to staff in the church, which later resulted in the employee resigning.
According to the statement, “At the time, Pastor Brian was under the influence of sleeping tablet, upon which he had developed a dependence”.
The second account of misconduct was about a complaint the church received in 2019, about Brian Houston’s behavior attributed to medication and alcohol.
How did Brian Houston land in a woman’s hotel room?
According to the statement from the Hillsong board of directors, pastor Brian entered a woman’s hotel room due to the influence of alcohol and drug abuse.
“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 statement added that “this resulted in him knocking on a door of hotel room that was not his, entering this room and spending time with a female occupant”.
Even though the woman said nothing sexual happened between her and pastor Brian Houston, she has been compensated.
