Brian Houston.Photo: Marcus Ingram/Getty Images
Hillsong ChurchfounderBrian Houstonis temporarily stepping down from leading the megachurch as he prepares for his trial in Australia.
“In September last year, I learned it was necessary for me tostep aside as a directorof all Hillsong boards during this season, enabling me to give attention to these charges,” Brian said in a lengthystatement. “But recently, we made a decision that may come as a surprise to you, and I want you to hear it from me directly.
“The result is that the Hillsong Global Board feel it is in my and the church’s best interest for this to happen, so I have agreed to step aside from all ministry responsibilities until the end of the year,” Brian continued.
Brian explained that he needs to be “fully committed” to preparing for the case, maintaining that he intends to “fight the charge” and welcomes the “opportunity to set the record straight.”
He added that Pastors Phil and Lucinda Dooley from Hillsong’s South Africa chapter will temporarily step in for him, and his wife Bobbie “intends to remain fully engaged in church life.”
Australian officials have accused Brian of “concealing a serious indictable offense,” claiming he knew about the sexual abuse that his father committed against a young boy in the 1970s.
RELATED VIDEO: PEOPLE Explains: Carl Lentz’s Hillsong Church Scandal
Brian previously told the Associated Press that the allegations he concealed his father’s crimes came “as a shock to me.” He hasentered a plea of not guiltyand his next hearing is set for March 3.
Hillsong, which has drawn the likes ofJustin Bieber,Selena Gomez,Chris PrattandKylie Jenneras members, has faced several waves of controversy in recent years. PastorCarl Lentz, Bieber’s one-timespiritual confidante,was firedin 2020 over “moral failures” amid reports hehad multiple extramarital affairs. Pastor Darnell Barrettstepped downlast April aftersending explicit photosto at least one of his followers.
The church is the subject of Discovery+’s upcoming three-part docuseriesBreaking Hillsong, which will explore the “headline-making world of global star-studded megachurch Hillsong and the downfall of its ultra-hip, celebrity senior pastor, Carl Lentz.”
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
