Global Senior Pastor Brian Houston. Photo / Getty Images
Global Senior Pastor Brian Houston. Photo / Getty Images
The co-founder of Sydney-based megachurch Hillsong Bobbie Houston has apparently been made redundant from the religious organisation by text message in a move she branded "cold and callous".
Ms Houston's husband, fellow Hillsong co-founder Brian Houston, revealed his wife's removal from Hillsong via an Instagram post.
"It's not OK," he wrote. "Our beautiful church is losing its soul."
Ms Houston's redundancy appears to be part of a move by the church to distance itself from the Houston family, which has found itself enveloped in scandal.
In March, Mr Houston resigned from the church he co-founded with his wife in 1983, following allegations raised by two women.
Late on Friday, Mr Houston posted to Instagram text messages between Ms Houston and an unknown sender who is purportedly a staff member at the church that suggested her employment was coming to an end.
The SMS to Ms Houston read: "I wanted to let you know I will be sending an email shortly regarding your employment. Please let me know if you would like to talk about it or if you have other questions."
It appears that Ms Houston replied to the sender saying: "I don't even have the words to express how cold and callous this has become ..."
Mr Houston posted the exchange and added his own commentary, pointing out the senior role she had played in Hillsong events just weeks ago.
"After 39 years of exemplary service and extraordinary faithfulness and fruitfulness, this is the communication Bobbie received from the Hillsong Church board as she is made redundant (effective immediately) through no choice of her own.
"She has relentlessly served God and served people as she stood side-by-side with me for four decades leading Hillsong Church, faithful in the good times and the tough times alike.
"And we are supposed to act like this is all OK. It's not!
"Our beautiful church is losing its soul," he added.
Mr Houston's resignation and Ms Houston's redundancy will remove two of the most notable figures from the Hillsong Church which was founded in Sydney's Hills District and has enjoyed success worldwide.
Mr Houston's father Frank began Hillsong's predecessor organisation the Sydney Christian Life Centre in 1977.
However, his later years were marred by allegations of child sex abuse. How these were dealt with also had implications for his son, Brian.
Mr Houston, who at times advised Prime Minister Scott Morrison, was charged in October last year with one count of concealing the serious indictable offence of another person.
Police allege Mr Houston knew from September 1999 that his father Frank Houston had indecently assaulted a male in 1970.
Earlier this year, he said he would "vigorously defend" the charges but would step aside from his role while the process played out.
He pleaded not guilty to charges of concealing a serious indictable offence and is due in court in November.
But in March he resigned from Hillsong after Mr Houston was accused of committing "indiscretions" towards two women.
"Irrespective of the circumstances around this, we can all agree that Brian and (wife) Bobbie have served God faithfully over many decades," the church wrote in a statement at the time.
The church's board committed to an independent review of their governance structure and processes.
"This is a time of humble reflection and we are committed to doing what is necessary to ensure God is honoured, and our eyes are fixed on Jesus," the statement said.
Pastor Phil Dooley, who took over the role as the head of the evangelical church after Mr Houston stepped down earlier this year, detailed two incidents investigated by senior church staff.
The first alleged incident involved a female church member who quit after making a complaint about an "inappropriate" text message about a decade ago.
Brian and Bobbie Houston with Michael Julian Bond at the Hillsong Atlanta grand opening. Photo / Getty Images
"It was along the line of 'if I was with you, I'd like to kiss and cuddle you', words of that nature," Pastor Dooley told a church meeting.
The woman left her job after complaining about the incident to Hillsong general manager George Aghajanian.
Brian Houston is reported to have paid the woman out several months' salary to compensate her for the incident.
"Pastor Brian said 'I want to pay that personally because it was my fault'," Pastor Dooley said.
The second incident allegedly occurred at a hotel during the church's annual conference at Qudos Bank Arena at Homebush, in Sydney's west, in 2019.
The senior pastor spent 40 minutes inside a woman's room after claiming to have been locked out of his own.
The woman was not a member of Hillsong staff but did complain to the church about the incident.
"The truth is we don't know what happened next," Pastor Dooley said, though Mr Houston denies that he engaged in any sexual activity.
On both occasions of alleged misconduct, the church reported that the senior pastor had been under the influence of either alcohol or sleeping tablets.
They claim to have helped Mr Houston eliminate his dependency on the medication.
