‘HUMBLE REFLECTION’

Hillsong Founder Resigns After Probe Finds Evidence of Inappropriate Behavior

One female church employee complained Brian Houston sent her inappropriate texts.

The founder of a global megachurch has resigned after an internal investigation concluded he had behaved inappropriately toward two women, according to Hillsong Church’s board. In a statement addressed to the church community, the board confirmed that it had accepted Pastor Brian Houston’s resignation as global senior pastor. “We understand there will be much emotion at this news, and we all share these feelings,” the statement read. At an emergency all-staff meeting on Wednesday, acting head of the church Phil Dooley acknowledged that it was a time for “humble reflection.” Dooley, who took over the Hillsong organization after Houston stepped back from his pulpit duties over a separate legal battle in January, read the board’s statement aloud at the meeting. The two complaints leveled at Houston are from the last decade, according to a Friday statement by the board. One came from a church employee who alleged the founder sent her inappropriate texts, according to the Daily Mail. The second stemmed from a 2019 incident in which Houston, “disoriented” by a cocktail of alcohol and prescription medication, allegedly entered a woman’s hotel room and stayed there for 40 minutes. No allegations of assault have been made toward Houston, according to Dooley.