“We would like to inform you that Pastor Brian Houston has resigned as Global Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church and the Board has accepted his resignation,” the church said in a statement.
“We recognize that changes are needed. We are committed to an independent review of our governance structure and processes,” she continued.
On Friday, Hillsong issued its first statement on the matter, saying the founder “violated” the church’s “Code of Conduct for Pastors” following an investigation into complaints of harassment from two women.
The first incident happened “approximately a decade ago,” according to the church, and “involved” inappropriate text messages from Pastor Brian to an employee, which subsequently resulted in the employee’s termination.
Hillsong claimed that at the time of the incident, Houston was “under the influence of sleeping pills, on which he had developed an addiction.”
“He immediately apologized to the person. We have also worked closely with Pastor Brian to ensure he has professional help to break his addiction to this drug and this has been successfully accomplished,” Hillsong said in a statement.
According to Hillsong’s Global Board, the second complaint came in 2019 when Houston walked into a woman’s hotel room after a Hillsong conference.
“It was discovered that after a session at the Hillsong conference, Pastor Brian became disoriented after taking more than the prescribed dose of anti-anxiety medication mixed with alcohol. This resulted in him knocking on the door of a hotel room that was not his, entering that room and spending time with the female resident,” the church said.
“Although all parts of the complaint could not be upheld, important elements of the complaint were upheld and the behavior was of serious concern,” the statement continued.
In a video conference shared with Australian media, Houston’s temporary replacement Phil Dooley said the church did not know if the incident involved any “sexual activity”. CNN was unable to independently verify the video.
“The truth is we don’t know what happened next. The woman did not say there was any sexual activity. Brian said there was no sexual activity but he was in the room for 40 minutes,” Dooley said.
Hillsong’s public relations team did not comment further on Houston’s resignation when asked by CNN.
Houston temporarily resigned as Hillsong’s global pastor in January this year to “vehemently defend himself” against allegations that he concealed the sexual abuse of a young man in the 1970s.
Houston was accused last August of concealing the sexual abuse of children by his late father, Frank Houston, an allegation he has strenuously denied.
Australian authorities said last year Houston allegedly knew information about the sexual abuse of a young man in the 1970s and failed to bring it to the attention of police.
Houston is one of the most influential religious figures in Australia and a friend of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is a regular attendee of the Hillsong National Conference and delivered the event’s opening address in 2019.
In December 2019, Houston was invited to a White House faith briefing with religious leaders, where he prayed for then-President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room.
Hillsong was formed in 1983 by Brian Houston and his wife Bobbie in suburban Sydney, Australia. Today it operates churches in 30 countries – including the US – and markets itself as a “contemporary Christian” place of worship.
It is known worldwide for its Hillsong Music record label, which produces Christian pop-rock with groups such as Hillsong Young & Free, Hillsong Worship and Hillsong United.