Less than two weeks after Reed Bogard abruptly resigned as lead pastor of the now-defunct Hillsong Dallas church in January 2021, an internal investigation commissioned by Hillsong Global showed that he was accused of rape by a junior female staff member with whom he had a monthslong sexual affair while serving at Hillsong NYC.
March 4, 2021
Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston has sent an email of apology to the the whole church, acknowledging that Hillsong East Coast “failed to be the kind of church it should be” in light of the extramarital affair scandal that forced founding pastor Carl Lentz out in 2020 and led to a leadership crisis. “I accept responsibility for these failings and apologize unreservedly,” Houston said, and promised to implement new structures to prevent future scandals.
The email comes on the heels of the largest scandal in the enormously influential church’s history, in which Lentz was ousted for an affair with a Brooklyn jewelry designer. Lentz left Hillsong Church with his wife and their three children and is currently living in California. The move sent shockwaves through Hillsong’s celebrated attendees, leading high profile members like Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez to cut ties with the church and unverified reports of more indiscretions were printed.
(RNS) Brian Houston, the founder of Hillsong, apologized Thursday (March 4) for the leadership crisis at the global evangelical church’s New York outpost resulting from an adulterous affair carried on by its now former pastor, Carl Lentz.
In a document that accompanied his letter of apology, Hillsong promised to institute sexual harassment training and a mechanism for anonymous reporting of misconduct.
“We know that Hillsong East Coast has failed to be the kind of church it should be. On behalf of the Global Board and as Global Senior Pastor, I accept responsibility for these failings and apologize unreservedly,” Houston wrote in an email addressed to “Dear Church.”