In a church-wide video conference, the wife of Hillsong founder Brian Houston cringed in front of the camera as a text message from her husband to another woman was read aloud.
The Hillsong megachurch employees and elders were informed about the SMS texts but Bobbie Houston was kept silent during the Zoom call.
Her frustrated grimaces, side-eye, and obvious pain, however, said volumes.
Houston abruptly left the church in March, and interim worldwide pastor Phil Dooley used the video conference to explain why.
After an investigation into the married pastor’s “inappropriate behavior” toward two women, the Australian founder and close friend of the former prime minister Scott Morrison left the church.
It was also discovered that he was addicted to sleeping pills and had been taking anxiety medications, which caused him to lose control when combined with alcohol.
In recently discovered video of the video conference, pastor Dooley explains the specifics of Houston’s abrupt resignation from the church after 39 years.
He said, “The first instance had Pastor Brian texting a female staff member, which resulted in an improper text message.”
It was something like, “If I were with you, I’d like to kiss and cuddle or hold you,” or anything to that effect.
“That specific employee was definitely upset by that.”
On the video call, Houston’s wife Bobbie is visible wearing a black lucky Seven-inspired baseball cap and grimacing through the reveal with her chin resting on her fist.
As the implications of the text began to sink in regarding the video conversation, she squirms uncomfortable and shifts in her seat.
According to Pastor Dooley, after Houston’s text message from ten years prior, the woman went to the church elders and informed them that she was unable to continue working there.
George Aghajanian, general manager of Hillsong Australia, butts into the video to emphasize that Houston was addicted to sleeping pills at the time and that the church had assisted him in breaking the habit.
During one point in the video conference call, Bobbie Houston seems to start shouting something, but her microphone is turned off and she is unable to be heard.
According to Dooley, the woman eventually went back to the church to complain that she had been unable to find employment since leaving and that the church had provided compensation that Houston later reimbursed on his own dime.
The second more recent of Bobbie Houston’s husband’s transgressions was then revealed to the church elders as she once more watched in silence.
After a wild night of drinking in the pub, the church’s founder went up to a woman’s hotel room and stayed there for 40 minutes, according to Pastor Dooley.
The incident in 2021 was attributed to Houston consuming booze while also taking anxiety medication, but what actually transpired in the room is still unknown.
Pastor Dooley revealed: “There was a group drinking [including] a woman who was a member of our church” as Ms Houston remained motionless.
Since he didn’t have his room key when he tried to enter his room later that evening while taking anxiety medication, Brian ended up knocking on the door of the woman’s room.
He entered her room when she opened the door.
We don’t actually know what transpired afterwards, he continued.
“This woman hasn’t indicated that there was any sexual activity.” There was no sexual activity, according to Brian.
But he remained in the space for forty minutes. He claims that the combination of the drink and the anxiety medications caused him to forget most of what happened.
Because she had also been drinking, “this woman’s memory is not entirely clear.”
As the information was presented, Ms. Houston was once more observed shifting awkwardly in her seat and appearing to sigh heavily before practically biting her lip.
She then blinks and gives the camera an accusatory look before giving it a side-eye.
Pastor Dooley encourages churchgoers to pray for Brian and Bobbie Houston later in the broadcast, which causes Ms. Houston to sneer at the camera before reclining in her chair and rolling her eyes.
Pastor Dooley continues, “Obviously, there is a lot of agony associated with this,” as she leans forward so far that she nearly headbutts the camera.
Sin is messy and painful in many different ways.
When the pastor concludes the gathering with a prayer, Ms. Houston at first appears to be exasperated and puts her head in her hands before turning back to stare at the camera with her hands clasped.
Brian Houston asserted that Hillsong expelled his wife from the church with a text message informing her that she had been laid off a month after the video conference session.
The Houstons are presently thought to be traveling Europe; their most recent social media update was reportedly published on Friday from Italy.