Brian Houston, the founder of Australian megachurch Hillsong, has stepped down from his role as global senior pastor amid an internal investigation into allegations of abuse towards two women, the church announced on Wednesday.
"We would like to advise you that Pastor Brian Houston has resigned as Hillsong Church's global senior pastor and the board has accepted his resignation," the church said in a statement.
"We recognize that change is needed. We have committed to an independent review of our governance structure and processes," it continued.
On Friday, Hillsong issued its first statement on the matter, saying the founder had "violated" the church's "clergy's code of conduct" after investigating harassment complaints from two women.
According to the church the first incident occurred "about a decade ago" and "involved inappropriate text messages from Pastor Brian to a member of staff, resulting in the staff member's resignation."
Hillsong claimed that at the time of the incident Houston was "under the influence of sleeping pills, on which she developed a dependence."
Hillsong's statement said, "He immediately apologized to the person. We worked closely with Pastor Brian to ensure he received professional help to end his dependence on this drug, and this was successfully achieved." Gone."
According to Hillsong's global board, the second complaint was received in 2019 when Houston entered a woman's hotel room after the Hillsong conference.
“It was found that after a session at the Hillsong conference, Pastor Brian became disoriented after consuming an anti-anxiety drug mixed with alcohol in excess of the prescribed dosage. This resulted in him knocking on the door of a hotel room that did not belong to him. , entering this room and spending time with the woman who lived there," Church said.
The statement continued, "While all parts of the complaint were unable to be upheld, important elements of the complaint were upheld and the conduct was a matter of grave concern."
In a video conference shared with Australian media, Houston's interim replacement Phil Dooley said the church did not know whether any "sexual activity" was involved in the incident. CNN could not independently verify the video.
"The truth is we don't know what happened next. The woman hasn't said there was any sexual activity. Brian has 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 contacted by CNN.
Houston temporarily resigned as Hillsong's global pastor in January this year to "strongly defend" against allegations that he allegedly concealed the sexual abuse of a young man in the 1970s .
Houston was accused last August of concealing child sexual abuse by her late father, Frank Houston, a charge she vehemently denied.
Australian authorities said last year that Houston allegedly knew information related to 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 is a friend of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who regularly attends the Hillsong National Convention, and delivered the inaugural address at the event in 2019.
In December of 2019, Houston was invited to a faith briefing with religious leaders at the White House, where she prayed for then-President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room.
Hillsong was founded in 1983 by Brian Houston and his wife Bobby in a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Today, it operates churches in thirty countries – including the US – and markets itself as a "contemporary Christian" place of worship.
It is known globally for its record label Hillsong Music, which produces Christian pop-rock with groups including Hillsong Young & Free, Hillsong Worship and Hillsong United.