Brian was back in the pulpit by August, preaching a sermon at Christian Faith Center in Seattle, one of eight U.S. cities he preached in over the course of six weeks. On Nov. 2, the pastor issued a statement by video addressing Hillsong’s account of why he and Bobbie were no longer in leadership at the church. He said:
I want to be clear: the media and others incorrectly say I resigned because I breached the Hillsong code of conduct, but that’s just not true. I didn’t resign because of my mistakes. I resigned because of the announcements and statements that have been made, which Bobbie and I felt made my position untenable. And I spelled out my reasons for my resignation in my resignation letter to the Hillsong Church Board…in direct quotes from my resignation letter, I said, “The Board’s statement to the church has made my position untenable. The Board gave enough detail to allow the people’s imaginations to run wild and draw their own conclusions.”
As he welcomed attendees to “An Evening with Bobbie and Brian,” Brian Houston told the audience that “unhinged and childish people” had caused some problems with event reservations. Even though the event was free, attendees were asked to reserve seats online. It turns out that one or more people were reserving “fake seats” every time the Houstons added new ones.
“There were seats reserved for Carl Lentz, for Carl Lentz’s mother, for Carl Lentz’s brother, for Carl Lentz’s sister,” said Brian. “Ben Houston, Joel Houston. I think we had a President Biden, a couple of Donald Trumps. So it’s frustrating.”
The pastor invited people interested in attending Thursday’s session to come even if they had not been able to reserve a seat because it was difficult to know which reservations were real or fake. “Isn’t it amazing how the devil still gets mad every time that you have initiative for the things of God?” he asked.
Brian Houston then turned over the microphone to his wife, Bobbie, who told the crowd, “It is lovely to see you. Thank you for coming.” The evening, she said, was an “opportunity to gather, for those of you who care to come and see that we’re actually ok and likewise to see that you’re ok.” It was also a chance for her husband to preach from the Word of God. Bobbie thanked people who have prayed for her and Brian throughout the year, saying, “I dare to say that, without prayer, I probably wouldn’t be standing here even physically tonight.”
Bobbie delivered a message based on Psalm 84:11, which says, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”
“I still believe,” said Bobbie. “I still believe in God.” She went on to express that, despite the challenges of the past year, she still believes in the church, God’s Word, the power of worship, community, and family. “I’m not disappointed,” she said. “I’m not angry, I’m not disheartened. I love the Lord Jesus Christ. I love God. I love Father, Son and Spirit more than ever.”
