Seth Udinski, FISM News
On Monday, former senior pastor of the Sydney, Australia Hillsong megachurch Brian Houston announced that he and his wife Bobbie will host a worship and fellowship gathering on Nov. 9 called “An Evening with Brian and Bobbie.”
This worship event comes in the wake of a legal battle involving the 68-year-old Houston for allegedly helping cover up sexual abuse charges against his father that involved a minor in the 1970s.
Houston said in a brief Facebook announcement,
Well, big hello. Bobbie and I are excited because on November the 9th, it’s a Wednesday evening, we’re going to have a night called an evening with Brian and Bobbie. It’s just all about connection, fellowship, community. And of course, Bobbie will share some thoughts. As always, I’m sure there will be a prophetic energy to that. I’m gonna preach a message, pray for people. We’d really love to see you come, so come along and, of course, we’ll also be livestreamed on all available platforms. So don’t miss the night. We’re really looking forward to it.
FISM News has followed the troubling slew of sexual abuse allegations against Houston, who had no choice but to step down from the megachurch this past spring.
Additionally, further allegations were levied against Houston, including a strange instance from 2019 where he allegedly followed a woman into her hotel room and remained there for forty minutes, all under the influence of alcohol while at a Hillsong conference.
There have been numerous other allegations against both Houston and Hillsong pastors who had served under him, causing a dramatic shift in the landscape of the global megachurch.
Houston awaits charges for the 1970s coverup in court, with proceedings beginning in early December.
Author’s Biblical Analysis:
The public, and often controversial, saga surrounding Hillsong Church has reached fever pitch in the last year — not only with Houston’s resignation and the resignation of controversial New York Hillsong celebrity pastor Carl Lentz two years prior — but also with the recent release of the tell-all docuseries on Discovery+ titled “Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed.”
There are many lessons for Christians to learn from this disturbing report of public moral failure. First, we must be careful not to pile on unnecessarily against a professing brother in Christ, no matter how serious or embarrassing his public sins may be.
I do not know Houston’s heart or his spiritual state before God, but I know it will do no good for Christians to join with those on the other side who are likely giddy to see yet another public Christian leader fall.
We must think soberly and humbly about this situation, knowing we, like Houston, Lentz, Ravi Zacharias, Mark Driscoll, and all other leaders with a publicly damaged reputation, are sinners who also need a Savior.
At the same time, we must call sin to account. There is no denying the serious, institutional flaws found not only in the Hillsong movement in general but in Houston and his leadership in particular. “Where there is smoke, there is fire” may be most accurately assigned to the drama of Hillsong Church and its disgraced former lead pastor.
Therefore, Christian, remember this — You are held to a higher standard. Do not mar the name of Jesus Christ with your conduct.
When the world looks at us, it must see something different, set apart, and yes, even holy. God has called us unto holiness and He has set apart His people to stand out in a perverted and crooked generation (Phil. 2:14-15). If we who claim the name of Christ act as the world does, what kind of testimony is that to the name of Christ? It is woefully lacking and shamefully false.
This is especially true for those in leadership (1 Tim. 3:1-7). The most troubling aspect of the Brian Houston saga is the fact that for 40 years, he served as pastor-shepherd of a global congregation with literally hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of sheep under his care. His conduct, both personally in recent years and possibly even as a young man in the 1970s is completely unbecoming of a shepherd of God’s flock and outside of the standard God has placed on those who take the office of pastor.
But the lesson still applies to all of us who trust in Christ. We must live holy and set-apart lives to bring honor and glory to God! Do not love the things of this world, but be about your Father’s business.
It would behoove us to pray, as Brian Houston prepares for a potentially detrimental legal trial later this year, that he would run to the mercy and grace of God and experience the freedom of true repentance. May we be reminded of that great anchor for our souls as we seek to live in holiness and godliness: we have a Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who enables us to be truly holy because He was perfectly holy on our behalf.
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. – 2 Corinthians 7:1