Religious Child Abuse News - Pentecostals Cover Up Down Under

Brian Houston, charged with concealing evidence of child abuse
"Stepping aside as global senior pastor"

Facing trial, Brian Houston steps aside as global senior pastor of Hillsong

I doubt anyone will be the least surprised that another Christian sect is embroiled in a child sex abuse scandal.

This time it is the Australian Pentecostal mega-rich Hillsong megachurch and global Christian music publishing empire. Its founder, Brian Houston, has agreed to step aside as global senior pastor until the end of the year, while he faces criminal charges in Australia alleging that he concealed the predatory paedophilia of his father, Frank Houston, who died in 2004.

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.

The court case I am facing is related to circumstances surrounding my father, and I need to be fully committed to preparation and engagement with the case and work closely with my lawyers in defending this charge.

I have said, including in a prior statement, that I intend to fight the charge and welcome the opportunity to set the record straight

Brian Houston, (Former) Senior Global Pastor
Hillsong Pentecostal Church, Sydney, Australia.

In a pre-recorded video, played to during the Sunday service in Hillsong's Sydney headquarters, he made the decision after consulting Hillsong's board and his legal counsel and citing 'best practice'. He had previously stood down as chairman of Hillsong's board. Hillsong's website also caried a statement from Houston in which he said:

Last year, I also received unexpected news of charges against me that allege the concealing of information that may have been material to prosecute Frank Houston. These allegations came as a shock to me, and it is my intention to vigorously defend them.

In September last year, I learned it was necessary for me to step aside as a director of all Hillsong boards during this season, enabling me to give attention to these charges. But recently, we made a decision that may come as a surprise to you, and I want you to hear it from me directly.

In December, during our board meeting, Hillsong’s external legal counsel gave the board advice regarding the current charge I am facing – that it would be ‘Best Practice’ for me to step aside completely from church leadership during the court proceedings. The court processes are likely to be drawn out and take up most of 2022 (especially considering the backlog in the courts, exacerbated by the Covid pandemic). Along with this, the board and I have had detailed discussion around the requirements for leadership. We have talked about the effects of the situation with my father, which go back many years up to the current legal case, and the impact this has had on me emotionally.

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.

In August 2021, Australian police charged Houston with one count of concealing a serious indictable offense by his father, Frank Houston. The charge alleged that the younger Mr. Houston, now 67:

…knew information relating to the sexual abuse of a young male in the 1970s and failed to bring that information to the attention of police.

The police action came after information was given to the Australian Royal Commission alleging that Frank Houston had sexually abused a 7-year-old boy decades earlier.

Hillsong Christmas service, New York, 2017

Hillsong was formed by the merger of two churches; Sydney Christian Life Center, founded by Frank Houston in 1977, and Hills Christian Life Center, founded by his son, Brian. It founded a powerful recording label that soon dominated Christian contemporary music. The American-style megachurch, which grew by targeting young people, is no stranger to controversy:

• It has faced criticism by other evangelical churches for being morally ambivalent on the question of same-sex marriages and homosexuality.
• Last year it sacked the head pastor of its New York branch when it emerged that he had been in an adulterous relationship with another woman.
• In June 2020, Brian Houston apologised for racist remarks made by the leader of the church’s London branch when commenting on the death of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter demonstrations.
• Earlier this month, footage emerged which showed that, with the disregard for the welfare of others and the entitled sense of being above the law common to other evangelical churches, Hillsong flouted the anti-COVID social distancing requirements at a Sydney youth camp, in flagrant violation of the pandemic restrictions.

The case against Brian Houston is scheduled to come to court on March 3, 2022.

Religion provides excuses for people who need excuses.

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