At a press conference last week he was asked about his views on same-sex marriage and how to make Church relevant to modern-day life.
He replied: "I think with the Church, the message is sacred, but the methods have to change for the Church to stay relevant.
"And it's challenging. It's challenging to stay relevant. I mean, if we go to the one big hot topic maybe for churches...now with homosexual marriage legalized, and churches for generations, they hold a set of beliefs around what they believe the Word of God, the Bible says.
"All of a sudden in many circles the Church can look like a pariah, because to many people it's so irrelevant now. So staying relevant is a big challenge. I think it's more than just singing more contemporary songs and the colours you paint your walls or whatever."
Some news outlets used this quote to speculate on the pastor's view of homosexuality and Hillsong's stance on the issue.
The New York Times published an article with the headline 'Megachurch Pastor Signals Shift in Tone on Gay Marriage'.
In a statement, he said: "I encourage people not to assume a media headline accurately represents what I said at a recent press conference."
The pastor added: "Nowhere in my answer did I diminish biblical truth or suggest that I or Hillsong Church supported gay marriage.
"I challenge people to read what I actually said, rather than what was reported that I said. My personal view on the subject of homosexuality would line up with most traditionally held Christian views. I believe the writings of Paul are clear on this subject."
"I was asked a question on how the church can stay relevant in the context of gay marriage being legal in the two states of the USA where we have campuses. My answer was simply an admission of reality & no more and no less. I explained that this struggle for relevance was vexing as we did not want to become ostracised by a world that needs Christ.
"I made the point that public statements condemning people will place a barrier between the church and the world (and I note that Jesus came to save and not to condemn), which is why at Hillsong, we don't want to reduce the real issues in people's lives to a sound bite."