Scott Morrison at the Horizon Church on Sunday (Image: Supplied)

We need to coin a new word for Scott Morrison. He is Australia’s leading “politicostalist”, a politician of Pentecostal faith who has been overt about his religion.

Morrison yesterday chose his local Pentecostal church, the Horizon Church, for his final public words as prime minister. It is a remarkable way to end four years in the Lodge — to account ultimately not to the Australian public but to his church.

It is of a piece with a prime minister who has always put secular accountability second to the judgment of God. The press gallery has never seen Morrison through this lens, preferring to separate Morrison the politician from Morrison the Christian, even though Morrison himself sends precisely the opposite message. This is, after all, the prime minister who spoke of the nights he spent praying by the side of his bed during the pandemic.

So, what were Morrison’s final words?

You can see a full transcript here. The outgoing PM chose verses from the minor prophets Habakkuk and Micah. A pastor who is a friend to Crikey — and who rejoices at Morrison’s end — has interpreted the verses for us.

“The Habakkuk verses mean, ‘I didn’t get any votes, I’ve got no friends any more, I didn’t get any votes, nobody likes me, I crashed and burned. But I’m still giving my trust to God’.  

“The Micah verses mean, ‘I took a horrible flogging from Anthony Albanese, I didn’t get any votes, nobody likes me, but I’m going to trust that God will look after me’.”

There was no hiding Morrison’s outpouring of grief and faith yesterday. He was too emotional to speak at times. He paused to wipe away a tear. His voice cracked. When he finished he was momentarily disoriented and lent into a hug from Pastor Brad Bonhomme before departing the stage. 

Yesterday was a day for Pentecostal royalty. Pastor Mike Murphy and his wife Pastor Valerie Murphy, the couple who “planted” the Horizon Church, were there for the prime ministerial send-off. Mike Murphy is chair of Alphacrucis College — the training college for Australia’s Pentecostal churches — and is a big wheel in the Pentecostal movement. Current Pastor Bonhomme is a director of the national Pentecostal body ACC (Australian Christian Churches).

There was nothing private about yesterday’s affair. Horizon Church records and posts all its services. So Morrison was well aware that his words and his tears and his obvious display of faith would be broadcast everywhere. 

Alphacrucis College, and no doubt other Pentecostal institutions, posted Morrison’s performance to its Facebook page, where followers gave the fallen PM a huge digital hug.

What’s Morrison’s Pentecostal legacy? 

In terms of members, his mini-me, the co-religionist Ben Morton, has lost Tangney — the safest of Western Australian seats. The Pentecostalists, though, have built a handy base in the Liberal Party of the west. Senator Matt O’Sullivan occupies an upper house seat. 

The most prominent remaining Pentecostal follower is former cabinet minister Stuart “Brother Stuey” Robert, who leads the South East Queensland LNP conservative religious bastion.

Though the political media studiously avoids seeing it, the religious-to-his-core PM has always hidden in plain sight.

To commemorate the passing of Morrison PM, one of Crikey’s theological informants has asked that, above all, we record that Morrison’s deeds as a Christian politician not be forgotten.

“I listened to Morrison addressing the faithful at Horizon, and I couldn’t help but think of the faith that allowed him to so blithely do almost nothing on climate change, accusations of rape and abuse of women in Parliament (and everywhere), asylum seekers, those affected by Robodebt, those seeking a workable NDIS, flood and fire survivors, and an Indigenous voice to Parliament,” he wrote.

“Maybe I should thank him — I think the number of journalists I have spoken to and worked with (including yourself) has increased exponentially under his ‘leadership’.”

Crikey devoted a large series to the puzzle of Morrison’s Pentecostalism. It’s here if you missed it. We argued that Morrison had little concern with mechanisms of parliamentary accountability, such as statements of ministerial standards or the workings of the Australian National Audit Office. Morrison also campaigned long and hard against judicial accountability through a federal ICAC, to his ultimate cost.

And yesterday the politicostalist crashed to earth, as Morrison prostrated himself at the Horizon Church.