“It was decided Brian should take three months off from ministry but unfortunately he didn’t abide by that. He did conduct some ministry and he did consume some alcohol,” Dooley said. In 2021, the elders confronted Houston and indicated that he should take more time off.
The incident in the New South Wales hotel was the second incident of indiscretion that had come to light. The first occurred a decade earlier and involved a Hillsong staff member.
Under the influence of alcohol combined with sleeping pills, on which Houston had developed a dependency, Houston sent “inappropriate text messages” to a Hillsong staff member. According to Dooley, the messages were romantic in nature.
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The staff member felt so uncomfortable that she resigned from the church. Months later, after the former employee returned to work for the church after being unable to find other employment, Houston personally paid her the amount of wages she would have earned during the period of her absence had she not resigned.
Other leaders within Hillsong, including Dooley, were not aware of the incident until the end of 2021.
In the January 2021 announcement of his stepping aside as global senior pastor, Houston did give an indication that his time away was connected to more than merely the charges against him. In that announcement, Houston said that he and the Hillsong Global Board had “been having detailed discussions around the requirements for leadership.”
“We’ve talked about the effects of the situation with my father, going back many years, up to the current legal case and the impact this has had on me emotionally,” Houston said.
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Houston has maintained his innocence in the legal case against him, saying that he “welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight.”
The statement released by the Hillsong Global Board on Friday did not make any indication as to whether Houston would return to his role as global senior pastor in 2023.
