Ex-Bombers chief Andrew Thorburn’s pastor tackles hot topics

After Essendon’s CEO Andrew Thorburn stepped down from his role after 24 hours over his links with a new-age Christian church, questions remain about the organisation.

Rock and roll vibe: City on a Hill founder and pastor Guy Mason sports a fade haircut and wears black skinny jeans ripped at the knee.

Guy Mason walks on to a stage holding a microphone. He has a dark beard, sports a fade haircut and wears black skinny jeans ripped at the knee. Drums and a guitar are set up behind him.

It looks like the start of a gig, but Mr Mason is Melbourne’s founding and senior City on a Hill pastor and he is presenting a sermon, part of a series called “Left and right: Jesus in a political age”.

With the sermons uploaded to YouTube and available in podcast format, the church has tried to tackle themes including transgender rights, climate change, refugees and gender equality to ask “What does Jesus have to say about the issues of our day and how are we to respond?”

A willingness to weigh into topics such as these – and a sharp looking website featuring the young faces of pastors and staff – appears offbeat with sermons that are dated a few years back but have been widely condemned in recent days.

On abortion, it said in 2016: “Abortion denies the voice of the most vulnerable. Even women who have raised children conceived through their rape have not regretted aborting their child. On the other hand, 80 per cent of those who have aborted their child have regretted it.”

On homosexuality, it said in 2018: “The Bible never calls same-sex attraction a sin. Lust is a sin, sex outside of marriage is a sin, practising homosexuality is a sin, but same-sex attraction is not a sin.”

Following revelations he is the chairman of the City on a Hill board, Andrew Thorburn quit as chief executive of Essendon AFL club after 24 hours in the post.

In a statement on Tuesday, he said he believed his “faith is not tolerated or permitted in the public square … As it happens, I do sometimes disagree with things I hear in church – but I believe strongly in the right of people to say them.”

In a video uploaded to YouTube in 2020, Mr Mason introduces Mr Thorburn as his good friend and “mentor” of many years. In the clip, Mr Thorburn said he and wife Kathryn’s decision to join the church “transformed their lives … That’s been the most significant and best decision we have ever made.”

Mr Thorburn joined the City on a Hill church in 2014 and became chair of the board in 2020.

Essendon president David Barham said “neither the board nor Andrew was aware of the comments from the 2013 ­sermon”.

The churches’ headquarters in Melbourne was quiet on Wednesday, tucked away in a building off a laneway in Carlton. A quote painted on the inside the office read: “You are the light on a hill. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden – Jesus.”

There were two staff inside, where about 10 desks had views of the CBD high-rises.

A media storm that has embroiled the organisation – with eight different churches spread across Victoria, NSW and Queensland – has caught its members off guard and by ­surprise.

Across the country, there are between an estimated 2000 and 3000 members, according to a spokesman.

The church was established in 2007 and its entities are registered charities. Based on video and ­photos available online, the church’s target membership ­appears to be young people but a spokesman said it had a diverse range of followers.