The new chief executive of the Essendon Football Club, Andrew Thorburn, has resigned just one day after being appointed to the role.
Mr Thorburn's resignation comes after it emerged the church he leads has published a series of articles critical of homosexuality and abortion.
The appointment of the ex-CEO of NAB was announced on Monday, and he was due to take over the AFL club on November 1.
Acting CEO Nick Ryan will continue in his role whilst the club commences the process to appoint a new CEO.
In a statement posted from his LinkedIn profile, Mr Thorburn reiterated his respect for all people but said that he was being forced to compromise "beyond a level that [his] conscience allowed".
"Today it became clear to me that my personal Christian faith is not tolerated or permitted in the public square, at least by some and perhaps by many," Mr Thorburn said.
"Despite my own leadership record, within hours of my appointment being announced, the media and leaders of our community had spoken.
"They made it clear that my Christian faith and my association with a Church are unacceptable in our culture if you wish to hold a leadership position in society."
Essendon board deny knowledge of controversial church comments
In a statement, Essendon president David Barham said the church's views were contrary to the club's values and that Mr Thorburn had been issued with an ultimatum.
"The board made clear that, despite these not being views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally and that were also made prior to him taking up his role as chairman, he couldn't continue to serve in his dual roles at the Essendon Football Club and as chairman of City on the Hill," Mr Barham said.
"I want to stress that neither the board nor Andrew was aware of the comments from the 2013 sermon until we read about them this morning."
Mr Barham said the reaction from club members, staff and players to the rapid dismissal was positive.
"I think they appreciated the fact that we have values and that we stand our ground," he said.
"I don't think anyone is disappointed, I think there's more people going 'this is good, this club's got clear direction on what it stands for'."
Mr Barham dismissed claims that his own position was untenable following the debacle, and said he was the right person for the job.
"I think I've got the right attitude and I think I've got the right desire for what it's got to be," Mr Barham said.
"This club needed a shake-up and a reset. We've secured a pretty good coach, board is strong. [We're] fine."
Sermons denouncing same-sex relations and abortion surface
Mr Thorburn is chair of the City on a Hill church, which has a post on its website of a sermon condemning abortion as "murder".
"Whereas today we look back at sadness and disgust over concentration camps, future generations will look back with sadness at the legal murder of hundreds of thousands of human beings every day through medicine and in the name of freedom," it reads.
Another sermon states acting on same-sex attraction is a sin.
"Sex is designed for marriage, and marriage for fulfilling God's mandate for humans to 'be fruitful and multiply'," it reads.
"Lust is a sin, sex outside of marriage is a sin, practising homosexuality is a sin, but same-sex attraction is not a sin."
Thorburn defends freedom of expression
Prior to announcing his resignation, Mr Thorburn told SEN there were different opinions within church.
"Not everyone in the church agrees with those views, but it's very important in a society that those views can be expressed," he said.
"Some of these views are offensive to people and upset people, and I really respect that.
"I totally respect that people will have a different view to what was expressed, and I'm sort of saying in some ways I do."
He said the posts predated his time at the church, and he had not heard the views in the sermons expressed during his time as chair.
He stressed that gay people were welcome at Essendon, and should feel safe and able to speak out.
"Look at my actions and look at my words as a leader and the organisations I've created to enable safe, diverse, inclusive workplaces," he said.
Mr Thorburn also defended the role of the church.
"People forget the church does a lot of great things," he said.
"It still plays an important role in community."
