Seth Udinski, FISM News 

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In the midst of an ongoing court case involving sexual abuse coverup, founding pastor of global megachurch Hillsong, Brian Houston, has resigned from his position after nearly 40 years. Houston had been the lead pastor of the Australia-based church network since its founding in 1983.

The church’s board released a statement on its website on Wednesday reading,

We would like to advise you that Pastor Brian Houston has resigned as Global Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church and the board has accepted his resignation. We understand there will be much emotion at this news, and we all share these feelings. Irrespective of the circumstances around this, we can all agree that Brian and Bobbie have served God faithfully over many decades and that their ministry has resulted in millions of people across the world being impacted by the power, grace, and love of Jesus Christ.

This announcement comes as Houston is in the midst of a legal battle regarding an alleged sexual abuse coverup from the 1970s. Last week it was revealed that Houston had engaged in questionable behavior in 2019 when he entered the hotel room of an anonymous female while under the influence of alcohol at a Hillsong conference. No one has revealed to date the specifics of the incident, but Houston and the woman were reportedly in the room for 40 minutes.

Further reports reveal allegations against Houston that he engaged in inappropriate behavior with former staffers, including sending questionable text messages to a female staffer that led to her resigning from her position.

FISM News will have more updates on this controversial report as it unfolds.