#Hillsong pastor sexting series

Hillsong’s biggest draw was the charismatic leadership that was attached to the entertainment world, as well as the political world. Now, with the departure of Brian Houston the church desperately needs to regroup. Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Sexual Abuse says in a 2015 report that when the allegations of Frank Houston's past abuse was made known to Brian Houston, then the national president of the Assemblies of God in Australia, Brian Houston ' confronted his father, who confessed to the abuse.'

#Hillsong pastor sexting series

As chronicled in “Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed,” a series on Discovery Plus, Brian Houston, who founded Hillsong in Australia, was charged there with not telling officials that his late father, Frank Houston, also a pastor, had sexually abused a boy in the 1970s. What is different about Hillsong, however, is the foundation of the church. After all, there have been countless tales of sexual abuse, pedophilia and other abuses in Protestant and Roman Catholic churches and in religious groups across the world. Hillsong’s problems with reports of abuse - sexual and otherwise - are not unique. How did the church that once attracted stars such as Justin Bieber and Kyrie Irving (who's since converted to Islam) fail to keep its hip, holy image?

Given the daily stream of new accusations regarding moral lapses and deceit, including mismanagement and sexual abuses, Hillsong makes ' Righteous Gemstones,' HBO's spoof of televangelism, look tame in comparison. In 2020, when Business Insider reported that multiple people had accused Kimes of racism, he responded, 'Our Hillsong Boston team has taken some intentional steps to improve racial diversity and equity at Hillsong Boston since we launched and we’re committed to make further strides as we continue to listen and learn.” The Christian Post said the internal report shows that Kimes admitted to sending a racist text when asked about allegations against him of racism. On Tuesday, The Christian Post reported that in a deposition conducted by the law firm leading the investigative report, Josh Kimes admitted to having once sent a racist text to church colleagues, for which he later apologized. The couple explained that they're ' ready for a fresh start.” Their departure is part of a string of resignations of Hillsong leadership across America as the church’s scandal sheet appears to grow longer by the day. Just this week, Leona Kimes, who said she was ' subjected to manipulation, control, bullying, abuse of power, and sexual abuse' when she worked as a nanny for the lead pastors at Hillsong NYC resigned from Hillsong Church Boston where she served as a co-pastor with her husband, Josh, who also resigned.