Hillsong Church Pastor Bobbie Houston, Horrified by Islamic State's 'Theology of Rape,' Mobilizes Women Everywhere to Pray
Stirred by a report of how the Islamic State uses the Quran to justify systematic sexual violence against women and young girls, Hillsong Church pastor Bobbie Houston has called on women everywhere to pray over the shocking and abhorrent situation in any way they know how.
After reading The New York Times Aug. 13 feature "ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape," Houston posted a fervent prayer request on her Instagram account, alerting potentially more than 100,000 followers to the powerful report.
The Times feature, written by Rukmini Callimachi, highlights how "the Islamic State codifies sex slavery in conquered regions of Iraq and Syria," using the Quran in support. The radical Sunni militant group uses the barbaric practice as a recruiting tool to grow its numbers.
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Thousands of Yazidi women and girls are specifically being targeted by the Islamic State to be sold, forced into marriages and routinely raped. In one particularly horrid account, Callimachi writes of a "small" 12-year-old girl who is bound and gagged and raped by an Islamic State fighter, who prayed before and after violating her, "bookending the rape with acts of religious devotion."
Numerous similar survivor accounts have been reported by the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
Houston sounded the alarm among her followers and those belonging to Hillsong Church's empowering women's ministry Colour Sisterhood, writing:
"Asking the @coloursisterhood & any woman who considers herself SISTERHOOD to pray fervently for this heinous reality happening even now as we read this post. Perhaps if we committed ourselves to pray each day at 12 (the girl was 12yrs old) for a few moments. If you don't know HOW to pray - pray Psalm 10 over this situation. Prayer in the Spirit. Pray with understanding. Pray with authority. Pray for the victims. Pray for the perpetrators. Yes. Pray for the enemy. All I know is that PRAYER MAKES A WAY. Set your phone alarm to 12midday & send a prayer into the ATMOSPHERE.
Houston gave an update Thursday about the kind of traction her Instagram post had inspired in a matter of days, reporting that she was now "in conversation" with anti-sex trafficking activist and preacher Christine Caine of A21 Campaign and Lisa Bevere. Houston explained that "we are convinced that prayer will make a difference. We are pondering and waiting on God to lead us — but in the meantime, we pray!" Bevere, currently a guest at T.D. Jakes MegaFest 2015, leads with her husband, John Bevere, the global ministry Messenger International, whose mantra is to "teach, reach and rescue (from human trafficking)."
Caine, whose nonprofit A21 Campaign has gained national attention for its work in protecting, rescuing and restoring human trafficking survivors, also pointed her more than 600,000 social media followers to the "ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape" article, calling the report "the most disturbing article I have read to date about ISIS."
In her blog post on Thursday, Houston reminded readers that "when thousands of women (within the Colour Sisterhood and conference) have stirred their maternal, caring and militant hearts to rise up and pray — THINGS HAVE HAPPENED."
One thing that has happened so far, wrote Houston, was a phone call "from the region where a pastor ... works amongst the victims."
The pastor said that "the women are simply asking for prayer … they just want to know that they are not alone," according to Houston.
She added: "Prayer is eternal. It carries no bias or prejudice. It transcends distance and barriers and can penetrate, sustain and bring comfort to a troubled or despairing soul on the other side of the planet. It is part of our spiritual weaponry and arsenal against all that is dark, oppressive and opposite to God's true heart for humanity. It is something we may not fully understand this side of eternity — but if we are obedient, we shall see it unleash its miraculous power."
Houston summed up her blog post by reminding readers that despite these "crazy and darkening days," Isaiah 60 states that "the promise is that the light and glory (goodness) upon His Church in these latter days would burn bright and hopeful."
Houston, who has been leading the church alongside husband Brian Houston for 30 years, is described on the Hillsong Church website as "a beloved pastor with a prophetic teaching gift" who has "redefined the face of 'women's ministry,' raising up a strong and capable company of women through a local Hillsong Sisterhood, global Colour Sisterhood and flourishing annual Colour Conferences that take place across four nations."
The Houstons founded the Sydney-based church in 1983, and Hillsong currently has congregations in 14 countries and on five continents. The influential Pentecostal church, affiliated with the Australian Christian Churches, reports that it averages a global attendance "approaching 100,000 weekly."
The YouTube video, also published in the Times report, features purported Islamic State militants eagerly and excitedly chatting about how they plan to barter for and evaluate young female victims.
