🚨 🚨 ‼️ ‼️ 💰 💰
Alabama Church of the Highlands pastor Chris Hodges was mentioned by name in an Australian parliamentary session, amid questions about an international megachurch’s lavish and allegedly fraudulent spending.
An Australian legislator called a $10,000 payment from global megachurch network Hillsong Inc. to Hodges “curious.”
Andrew Wilkie, an independent member of the Australian Parliament, claimed on March 9 that the Australia-based Hillsong had engaged in fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, based on a set of financial and business records he said were leaked by a Hillsong whistleblower.
During his speech to Parliament, Wilkie mentioned a number of financial transactions he found concerning.
“There were also the curious payments of $10,000 each to (New Zealand megachurch pastor) Paul de Jong and Chris Hodges, the external pastors who investigated allegations of (Hillsong founder) Brian Houston’s 2019 sexual misconduct in a Sydney hotel room involving a female parishioner,” Wilkie told Australian Parliament. It’s unclear if the amounts were calculated in Australian or U.S. dollars.
Under Australian law, Wilkie said, it could be illegal for charitable organizations to send payments overseas or to claim certain types of payments as tax-deductible.
When AL.com reached out to Hodges for comment, a representative of the church responded and declined to provide one at this time but said the request had been forwarded to the church’s Board of Trustees.
Hillsong’s financial records, which AL.comobtained from the Australian Parliament’s website, appear to show that Hillsong paid Hodges $10,000 in March 2019, on a list of expenses titled “Senior Pastor Donation Expenses.” The page also lists a $10,000 payment to De Jong, as well as payments in various amounts to other pastors and ministries between 2018-2020. The document doesn’t list what the payments are for, other than to say “Donations are distributed to the following organisation/people (sic) for their ministries.”
Hillsong frequently pays honorariums to guest speakers and Hodges did speak at the Hillsong Conference in 2019, an annual event that draws crowds of more than 30,000 people to Sydney.
Other documents also show Hillsong paid Hodges a $20,000 honorarium plus airfare and accommodations for being a guest speaker in 2012.
Hodges has had close ties with Hillsong and Houston for more than a decade.
At the Hillsong Conference in 2018, Hodges told the crowd that he counted the Houstons as “some of my closest ministry friends” and called Brian Houston one of his heroes. Hodges told the audience he’d attended nearly every Hillsong Conference since 2008. Hodges’ son David also worked briefly as a youth minister at Hillsong Church in Los Angeles.
The financial documents also show that Church of the Highlands paid $15,000 for Houston to speak at the church in September 2016. The Association of Related Churches, the global church planting network cofounded by Hodges and currently headed by Highlands pastor Dino Rizzo, paid more than $30,000 for Houston to speak at several ARC conferences.
Alabama Church of the Highlands pastor Chris Hodges was mentioned by name in an Australian parliamentary session, amid questions about an international megachurch’s lavish and allegedly fraudulent spending.
An Australian legislator called a $10,000 payment from global megachurch network Hillsong Inc. to Hodges “curious.”
Andrew Wilkie, an independent member of the Australian Parliament, claimed on March 9 that the Australia-based Hillsong had engaged in fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, based on a set of financial and business records he said were leaked by a Hillsong whistleblower.
During his speech to Parliament, Wilkie mentioned a number of financial transactions he found concerning.
“There were also the curious payments of $10,000 each to (New Zealand megachurch pastor) Paul de Jong and Chris Hodges, the external pastors who investigated allegations of (Hillsong founder) Brian Houston’s 2019 sexual misconduct in a Sydney hotel room involving a female parishioner,” Wilkie told Australian Parliament. It’s unclear if the amounts were calculated in Australian or U.S. dollars.
Under Australian law, Wilkie said, it could be illegal for charitable organizations to send payments overseas or to claim certain types of payments as tax-deductible.
When AL.com reached out to Hodges for comment, a representative of the church responded and declined to provide one at this time but said the request had been forwarded to the church’s Board of Trustees.
Hillsong’s financial records, which AL.comobtained from the Australian Parliament’s website, appear to show that Hillsong paid Hodges $10,000 in March 2019, on a list of expenses titled “Senior Pastor Donation Expenses.” The page also lists a $10,000 payment to De Jong, as well as payments in various amounts to other pastors and ministries between 2018-2020. The document doesn’t list what the payments are for, other than to say “Donations are distributed to the following organisation/people (sic) for their ministries.”
Hillsong frequently pays honorariums to guest speakers and Hodges did speak at the Hillsong Conference in 2019, an annual event that draws crowds of more than 30,000 people to Sydney.
Other documents also show Hillsong paid Hodges a $20,000 honorarium plus airfare and accommodations for being a guest speaker in 2012.
Hodges has had close ties with Hillsong and Houston for more than a decade.
At the Hillsong Conference in 2018, Hodges told the crowd that he counted the Houstons as “some of my closest ministry friends” and called Brian Houston one of his heroes. Hodges told the audience he’d attended nearly every Hillsong Conference since 2008. Hodges’ son David also worked briefly as a youth minister at Hillsong Church in Los Angeles.
The financial documents also show that Church of the Highlands paid $15,000 for Houston to speak at the church in September 2016. The Association of Related Churches, the global church planting network cofounded by Hodges and currently headed by Highlands pastor Dino Rizzo, paid more than $30,000 for Houston to speak at several ARC conferences.
