Hillsong pastor Brian Houston decided to show an interview with Mark Driscoll at the Hillsong conference Tuesday (June 30), despite earlier claims that Driscoll had been dropped from the program. The pastor previously said that Driscoll would not not attend the event after an online petition demanding his removal gained over 3,200 signatures.
Christian Today reports Driscoll talked about grace, love, family, leadership and ministry in the interview.
He said, "The whole Bible is ultimately about the personal love of Jesus, and when it comes to salvation, it is the work that God does and we respond to that but we don't participate in that.”
Though Driscoll did not appear in person at the conference, petition creator Natalie Collins said she was disappointed that Houston included the interview in the conference.
The gender justice advocate said, "Many will be deeply saddened by the approach of Brian Houston, firstly the PR statement and then the interview still taking place, albeit pre-recorded. It is sad to know that it is the letter and not the spirit of Brian Houston's words that we should have trusted.”
"After Brian Houston's statement that Mark Driscoll would not be 'coming to Australia or the UK to attend Hillsong Conference', it seems the truth was in the semantics."
Driscoll has resigned from his position as lead pastor of Mars Hill Church after a number of allegations were levelled against him, including abuse of power, bullying leadership style, chauvinism, plagiarism, and misuse of church funds. After his resignation from the ministry, the multicampus megachurch dissolved.
Publication date: July 1, 2015
