First Black pastor of Hillsong Atlanta parts ways amid growing scandals
Sam Collier who launched Hillsong Atlanta in June 2021 was the megachurch’s first African American pastor (Credit: Sam Collier/Instagram)
By TJ Sheridan // Church Scandal // EEW Magazine Online
Houston—as in Brian Houston, co-founder and global senior pastor of Hillsong—we have a problem.
The first Black pastor of Hillsong, who just came aboard in June 2021, is running for the hills less than a year later.
Sam Collier announced that he and his wife, Toni Collier, are completely disassociating from the high-profile, nondenominational megachurch after a legally embattled Houston, 68, resigned amid damning allegations of sexual misconduct.
Husband and wife, Sam and Toni Collier, former leaders of Hillsong Atlanta (Credit: Sam Collier/Instagram)
"It is with great sadness that I inform you of my departure from Hillsong," Collier wrote in an Instagram post Friday. "I have appreciated the Hillsong family and want to thank the Houstons for the love they have shown Toni and me."
In his goodbye message, the pastor, who is set to relaunch as Story Church on Easter Sunday, left no ambiguity as it relates to his reason for “stepping down.”
"With all of the documentaries, scandals, articles, accusations and the church's subsequent management of these attacks it's become too difficult to lead and grow a young Church in this environment,” he explained.
For him, the problem is clear, and walking away is the only solution.
(L to R) Sam Collier, Toni Collier, Bobbie Houston, and Brian Houston (Credit: Getty Images)
Unfortunately for Collier, it has been a rough ride since the beginning of the historic church’s grand opening. Before he could even settle in as new pastor, the viral story broke that Hillsong NYC pastor, Carl Lentz, had been carrying on a five-month-long affair that led to the celebrity leader’s ouster in November 2020.
Collier told CBS station WGCL that “for about a year and a half it was just non-stop media”—something that cast a dark shadow of controversy over Hillsong Atlanta.
Then, just this month, the other shoe dropped when news of Houston’s inappropriate behavior toward two women in separate incidents went public. Collier called it a "sad" and "emotional moment” that led to the difficult decision to give his final Hillsong sermon Sunday and ultimately leave the famous church brand behind.
But, according to Collier, he wasn’t the only one deeply troubled by the disturbing developments. "We had so many congregants saying I don't know if I can trust this place,” Collier told WGCL. "We realize, you know, that it might be better to replant a new place that people can believe in and trust in.”
Collier's resignation post comes just a week after Hillsong’s board announced in a letter that there were two sexual misconduct complaints against Houston, both of which had occurred “over the last 10 years.”
"The first issue was approximately a decade ago and involved inappropriate text messages from Pastor Brian to a member of staff, which subsequently resulted in the staff member resigning," the board said. "At the time, Pastor Brian was under the influence of sleeping tablets, upon which he had developed a dependence.”
After Houston “immediately” apologized, the board said, “We also worked closely with Pastor Brian to ensure he received professional help to eliminate his dependency on this medication, and this was achieved successfully.”
However, the scandal did not stop there.
"The second issue involved a complaint received in 2019. Following an in-depth investigation, it was found that Pastor Brian became disoriented after a session at the Hillsong Conference, following the consumption of anti-anxiety medication beyond the prescribed dose, mixed with alcohol. This resulted in him knocking on the door of a hotel room that was not his, entering this room and spending time with the female occupant," the board's statement read.
The investigation revealed that “the conduct was of serious concern," and “the board found that Brian had breached the Hillsong Pastor's Code of Conduct."
Hillsong's global board said that Houston had resigned, and “the board has accepted his resignation."
As previously reported by EEW Magazine Online, Houston had already stepped down from all church responsibilities to fight charges in Australia that he intentionally hid his late father Frank Houston's child sex offenses.
In a statement to the Associated Press in August, Houston said the "charges have come as a shock to me."
Since that time, he has maintained that he is innocent of the charges.