Hillsong: scathing internal letter denounces church response to Brian Houston's 'unhealthy' leadersh

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Hillsong: scathing internal letter denounces church response to Brian Houston’s ‘unhealthy’ leadership

Exclusive: Senior manager says church indulged Houston’s ‘distinct lack of personal accountability’ over many years and board members should consider resigning

Elle Hardy
@ellehardy
Fri 22 Apr 2022 00.33 BST
Last modified on Fri 22 Apr 2022 02.24 BST

A senior member of the Hillsong church has written an explosive letter to the church’s global board criticising the handling of complaints against its former head Brian Houston and his leadership style.

John Mays, the church’s head of people and development, recommended in the letter dated 19 March that Brian Houston and his wife, Bobbie, should be permanently sacked from Hillsong, saying Brian Houston “considered himself beyond disciplinary boundaries” and defied them “without further recourse from those responsible for his discipline”.

“Unfortunately, I believe this typifies the leadership that is foundational to many unhealthy people practices employed within our Church based on my observations over many years,” Mays wrote.

Houston resigned on 23 March, after internal investigations found he had engaged in inappropriate conduct of “serious concern” with two women, which “breached the Hillsong Pastor’s Code of Conduct”.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/22/hillsong-scathing-internal-letter-denounces-church-response-to-brian-houstons-unhealthy-leadership