"Hillsong has been forced to "apologise unreservedly" after the church's founder, Brian Houston, was found to have engaged in conduct "of serious concern" by the church.
Following media reports on Friday, the church's global board said in a statement that Houston had breached Hillsong's pastor code of conduct in two incidents over the past decade.
"We have sadly been dealing with two complaints made against Pastor Brian over the last 10 years," the church's global board said.
The board said the first incident occurred "approximately a decade ago", in which "inappropriate text messages" from Houston were sent to a staff member, "which subsequently resulted in the employee resigning".
"At the time, Pastor Brian was under the influence of sleeping tablets, upon which he had developed a dependence," the statement said. The board said it "worked with Pastor Brian to ensure he received professional help to eliminate his dependency on this medication, and this was achieved successfully".
The second investigation concerned a complaint the church received in 2019, about behaviour which Hillsong attributed to medication and alcohol."
Salon: Secret Service report details growing threat of "incel" terrorism
The Secret Service found some crossover between violent incels and white supremacists
A new Secret Service report highlights a concerning rise in terrorism threats posed by men who called themselves "involuntary celibate," often refered to as "incels."
The 26-page report, released on Tuesday by the Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), documents a sharp uptick in incel-fueled attacks against women over the past decade.
"The term 'incel' is often used to describe men who feel unable to obtain romantic or sexual relationships with women, to which they feel entitled," the report notes.
Researchers put a particular emphasis on the case of Scott Beierle, 40, who in 2018 shot several women at a Florida yoga studio. According to the report, Beierle had a long history of warning signs leading up to the shooting. CBS reports that he'd previously been fired from several teaching jobs, and banned from numerous restaurants and apartment buildings.
"During his teen years, the attacker was accused of stalking his classmates, and he wrote stories that centered around violent themes," said Steve Driscoll, lead research specialist at NTAC, on Thursday. "One of those stories was 81 pages long and involved the protagonist murdering several girls before committing suicide. The female characters in the story that were killed, represented the attacker's actual classmates from his high school, but he slightly changed the names in his writing."
Beierle had also been arrested for groping women and was known as Ted Bundy amongst his close friends.
The day before his shooting, Beierle left a note that said the following: "If I can't find one decent female to live with, I will find many indecent females to die with."
"The Hot Yoga Tallahassee attacker was motivated to carry out violence by his inability to develop or maintain relationships with women, along with his perception of women's societal power over men," Driscoll said.
"In the late 1990s, a Canadian woman created an Internet peer support forum for people who wanted a sexual relationship but were unable to find a partner. It was intended to be a safe place to seek support for those who felt sexually deprived due to social awkwardness, marginalization, or mental illness. She popularized the term "involuntary celibacy" as a nonjudgmental way for lonely people to identify as a group. Over time, the term would be shortened to "incel." This forum, along with similar communities, was intended to be positive and focused on providing support for overcoming one's "incel" status.
As the community grew, the ideas expressed in the forums changed and by the early 2000s, some of the more dominant voices were young heterosexual men with vindictive and aggressive views toward women. Though the original developer took down her website, the community continued to spread across other forums.
Today, the term "incel" is often used to describe men who feel unable to obtain romantic or sexual relationships with women, to which they feel entitled. The term is used to describe one online subculture that exists within the "manosphere" – a network of blogs and forums frequented by groups including incels, men's rights activists (MRAs), Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW), and pickup artists (PUAs). Although these groups are known to promote male-dominant views, some members express extreme ideologies involving anti-woman hate, sexual objectification of women, and calls for violence targeting women."
Gwendolyn Roit
Sunday, June 26, 2022, 2:00 PM-2:50 PM - OnlineMost trauma - especially complex trauma - disconnects an individual from their self, their true essence. For those who have come out of a high demand group or relationship, it is imperative to rediscover, or in the instance of an SGA, discover for the first time, this sense of authentic self.
Addressing the needs of former members, I point to connection with our natural environment as one form of recovery from both the controlling environment and as a way to recover/discover one's essential self.
Connection with the natural world dissolves the dualism of mind-body and can create a sense of self within the larger environment that empowers an individual to access spirituality without human manipulation or coercion. Research has proven that even small doses of time connecting to nature relieves mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Being part of something bigger and more complex than ourselves can create a sense of awe, instill deeper resilience and allow expansive thinking. Nature's intricacies inspire us to think creatively and hold potential for seeing ourselves anew.My childhood experiences of backpacking in deep forests offered a protective factor that offset the destructive effects of growing up in a cult. A sense of belonging and comfort in this realm was there for me when I left the cult and became suddenly alone in the very 'world' I had been taught since birth to avoid. Until I learned to trust others and myself again, I had the unconditional support of the natural world with its patterns and beauty. I had the awareness that my interactions within this world were based on absolutely clear reciprocation. This healing modality is something I feel increasingly moved to share, specifically in the realm of spiritual abuse and recovery.Gwendolyn Roit, MA, NCC, serves as an outpatient therapist at a community mental health agency and as a co-facilitator of outdoor eco-therapy groups and retreats, weaving together nature based interventions and mindfulness skills. Born and raised as a Jehovah's Witness, Gwendolyn left the religion at age 13 but didn't find the help she needed to fully understand her experience until 30 years later while attending her first ICSA conference in 2018. She is interested in using the power of connection with our natural world to heal from trauma - specifically that which is incurred from a high demand group or relationship. She earned her BA in Journalism and Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and decades later, her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch University, New England. While exceedingly grateful to have had the opportunity for higher education - something of an impossibility growing up - she credits her travels to remote places, spending time alone in the woods, and decades of organic farming and gardening for healing and teaching her the most.
2Idaho News: Chad Daybell wants his case separated from Lori Vallow Daybell
"Chad Daybell's attorney on Friday argued in a motion to officially have his case severed from the ongoing case with his wife, Lori Vallow Daybell.
Whether Lori joins Chad Daybell for the trial remains to be seen as she has still not been found competent to stand trial.
"I don't want any delay, I need a decision one way or the other as to whether this is going to be severed," said John Prior, Daybell's attorney. "We have no certainty where this is going to be in another five or six months. I think it's inappropriate to put Mr. Daybell hanging in this situation."
In the end, judge Steven Boyce did not make a decision, but said he would make a written ruling on the matter."
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