Now that the world is changing and more and more people are embracing homosexuality and same-sex marriage as what appears to be the new way of life, people have been bombarding Hillsong Church's Brian Houston if this is acceptable, or whether he himself has joined the bandwagon and accepted the apparent new norm.
In an article for The Christian Post, Houston explained that he loves and cares about people from all walks of life, with various beliefs, ethics, perspectives and lifestyles. And they include people from the LGBTQ community. However, he also stands by his convictions as a Christian, and values the traditional and biblical approach on marriage.
"Hillsong Church welcomes ALL people but does not affirm all lifestyles," he said. "Put clearly, we do not affirm a gay lifestyle, and because of this we do not knowingly have actively gay people in positions of leadership, either paid or unpaid. I recognise this one statement alone is upsetting to people on both sides of this discussion, which points to the complexity of the issue for churches all over the world."
Houston loves and accepts all kinds of people, so much so that if he lived next to a gay couple, he would still treat them "with the same embrace" he would any other neighbour. He believes that everyone has the right to pursue happiness, and even though he might disagree with others on how they can achieve true happiness, he will not force his own opinion on others. And he hopes that the same courtesy will be granted to the Church.
"The Western world is seemingly moving quickly towards gay marriage being universally legalised, so how does that affect us as a Church, and how does it affect the various individual members of Hillsong Church?" he asked. "I believe we can quite comfortably continue to function within that environment, presuming we are not forced through legislation to compromise our own convictions. Gay marriage is already legalised in many places where Hillsong Church exists, and we are functioning well and without impediment."
