Brian Houston (pastor)
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Brian Charles Houston ( ; born 17 February 1954) is a New Zealand-Australian former pastor and evangelist. He was the founder and senior pastor at
Hillsong Church Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a charismatic Christian megachurch and a Christian association of churches based in Australia. The original church was established in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, as Hills Christian Life Centr ...
, based in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
with locations around the world. He was the national president of
Australian Christian Churches The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Finished Work Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomina ...
, the Australian branch of the
Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
, from 1997 to 2009. In January 2022, Houston stepped aside from his roles within the church, after being criminally charged in Australia for allegedly concealing sexual abuse of a child by his father, of which he became aware in the 1990s. In March 2022, he stepped down as the global senior pastor of the church, after he was found to have breached the moral code of the church in his behaviour towards two women. In August 2023, he was found not guilty of concealing a serious indictable offence.


Life and career


Early life

Brian Charles Houston was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 17 February 1954. His parents, Frank and Hazel, were then
Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
officers. When Houston was three his parents joined the Assemblies of God in New Zealand and began pastoring a church in
Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...
, near
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
, where Houston and his brother and three sisters spent their childhood. After completing school he went to a Bible college for three years. Shortly after completing college he met his future wife, Bobbie, on Papamoa Beach in New Zealand during a Christian convention. They were married in 1977.


Ministry

After moving to Sydney,
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia, in 1978, Houston served at the Sydney Christian Life Centre in
Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...
, where he became the assistant pastor to his father, Frank. In 1980 he started a church on the Central Coast and worked at a church in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 1981. In 1983, Houston hired the Baulkham Hills Public School hall in Sydney's north-western suburbs to start a new church, the Hills Christian Life Centre. The first service was held on Sunday, 14 August 1983. In May 1997, Houston was elected the president of the Assemblies of God in Australia (now called Australian Christian Churches) after the retirement of Andrew Evans. In February 2000, Houston helped to create the Australian Christian Churches network of Pentecostal churches. This alliance represented about 200,000 regular attenders in affiliate churches and Houston was its inaugural president. He is also a member of the Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship (APMF). Houston founded Hillsong Music Australia (HMA), the music ministry of Hillsong Church. Over a number of years, this music ministry has been successful with chart-topping albums from Hillsong United (born out of the youth ministry), and
Hillsong Worship Hillsong Worship (formerly Hillsong Live) is a contemporary worship music, praise and worship collective from Sydney, Australia. They started making music in 1983 at Hillsong Church. Fifteen of their songs have appeared on the ''Billboard (magazi ...
, which is the "worship expression" of Hillsong Church and incorporates their entire worship team. Annually, Hillsong records a live album, and songs from this recording are sung by church congregations all over the world. Hillsong songs include " Mighty to Save" and " Shout to the Lord"; with the latter featured on a 2008 special episode of ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'' called "Idol Gives Back". In September 2018, Hillsong left the Australian Christian Churches to become an autonomous denomination, identifying itself more as a global and
charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...
church. According to both Hillsong and ACC, the parting was amicable. On 5 August 2021,
New South Wales Police The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...
issued a warrant for Houston's arrest, alleging that he concealed child sexual abuse by his father, Frank. Houston was in the United States at the time of being charged and resigned from the church's board as a result of his arrest. In March 2022, Houston resigned his position as senior global pastor after an internal investigation into his conduct with two women connected to the church. It was reported that in 2013 and 2019 he had engaged in inappropriate behaviour with both women. In December 2023, Houston announced plans for starting a new community and church in 2024.


Views on homosexuality

Houston has made public comments on homosexuality and
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
: Houston has said, "I think my father was homosexual, a closet homosexual."


Sexual abuse by Frank Houston

On 10 May 1999, Houston's father, Frank Houston, stepped down from the role of senior pastor at Sydney Christian Life Centre and Houston was appointed to the position. Brian Houston said that Frank "appeared rushed" to hand his church to him. This was before the revelations of Frank's
child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...
became known. Fifteen years later, in 2014, Houston spoke at hearings held by the
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and repo ...
, stating that he received an allegation in October 1999 that his father sexually abused an Australian boy. Houston's statement and the evidence submitted to the commission revealed that, in November 1999, his father confessed to child sexual abuse. Houston reportedly forced his father into retirement and did not go to the police. The royal commission censured Houston for his failure to report the sexual abuse allegations against his father and for his failure to avoid a clear
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...
investigating his own father while serving as national president of the Assemblies of God in Australia. On 5 August 2021, NSW Police issued a warrant for Houston to attend the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on 5 October, alleging that he concealed child sexual abuse by his father. Houston was in the United States at the time of being charged and resigned from the church's board as a result of his arrest. He was charged with concealing a serious indictable offence. Houston stood trial at Downing Centre Local Court and pleaded not guilty. In August 2023, he was found not guilty. The magistrate determined Houston had a "reasonable excuse" for not reporting his father as Houston believed the victim did not want the allegations reported to the police, however, the victim testified at trial that he did not make this request.


Family and personal life

Houston and his wife Bobbie reside in the suburb of Glenhaven, Sydney, Australia. They have three children, Joel, Ben, and Laura. All are married and involved in the leadership of Hillsong Church. Houston has been friends with Australian prime minister
Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...
, who described Houston as a mentor during his maiden address to parliament in 2008. Morrison has, however, distanced himself from Houston following the circumstances of Houston's resignation from Hillsong Church.


Writings

Details of books written by Houston:


References


External links


Brian and Bobbie Houston's website

Hillsong Church website

Hillsong Church TV

Hillsong Church Blog Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Brian 1954 births Hillsong Church New Zealand Pentecostals New Zealand emigrants to Australia Religious leaders from Auckland Clergy from Sydney Living people Australian Christian Churches people Assemblies of God pastors Australian television evangelists New Zealand evangelical leaders Pentecostal writers Charismatics pastors Scandals in Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity People acquitted of crimes