Carl Lentz, a graduate of Hillsong Bible College, was specifically chosen by Hillsong leadership to represent their brand in the USA. Just like the scandals surrounding Hillsong leader Brian Houston, we are now seeing the same rot emerging from Carl Lentz – evidence of a leadership that has no true foundation in Christ but instead one that was built upon the corrupt, vain egos and sinful desires of worldly men.
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” 2 Peter 1:3-4
Once again we see the Lord exposing false teachers in order to protect His precious flock.
The following article comes from ‘The Roys Report’, a Christian media outlet reporting the unvarnished truth about what’s happening in the Christian community so the church can be reformed and restored:
Carl Lentz, pastor of Justin Bieber and Hillsong NYC, terminated for ‘moral failures’
Roxanne Stone writes:
Hillsong today announced that Carl Lentz, the high-profile pastor of Hillsong New York City , is being terminated for “breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures.”
The announcement came in an email this afternoon from Hillsong founding pastor, Brian Houston, to church staff and members of Hillsong East Coast.
“I know this will come as a shock to you, but please know that this action was not taken lightly and was done in the best interests of everyone, including Pastor Carl,” Houston wrote.
“Please understand that it would not be appropriate for us to go into detail about the events that led to this decision. However you can be assured that this decision was made in order to honor God and pastorally care for you, our East Coast family, Pastor Carl and his family,” Houston continued.
Lentz, 41, was one of a number of pastors GQ Magazine has described as “hypepriests” who lead churches frequented by celebrities. Friends and congregants include Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey Baldwin Bieber, as well as the Jenner sisters.
Lentz along with Houston’s son Joel, began the first Hillsong East Coast church in Manhattan, New York in 2010. The church, part of the global network of Hillsong churches, quickly drew attention for the long lines waiting to be “let in” on Sunday mornings — and for the demographic waiting in those lines. The worshippers who flocked there were — like their lead pastor — young, hip and dressed looking more like they were headed to a rock concert than to Sunday morning church. Indeed, their venue, Irving Plaza in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan, was a church by day and concert hall by night.
Lentz, relatively unknown before taking the helm of Hillsong NYC, drew the attention of major media outlets for his hipster dress, his tattoo covered arms, and his celebrity parishioners, including Bieber, who according to GQ was baptized by the pastor in the bathtub of Tyson Chandler, a New York Knicks player at the time.
Lentz was raised in Virginia and played basketball at North Carolina State, where he told the New York Post he was “doing my own thing, being my own god.” He moved to Los Angeles to attend King’s College and Seminary, then headed to Australia to join Hillsong’s training program, Hillsong College, where he met his wife, Laura. He worked in youth ministry in Virginia Beach before moving to Brooklyn’s trendy Williamsburg neighborhood to launch Hillsong’s first U.S. location, according to media reports.
“While I have no doubt in my heart that this is the right course of action, I must mention Bobbie’s and my personal sadness, as we have known Laura her entire life and Carl for well over 20 years,” Houston wrote in his letter.
Pastors Brian and Bobbie Houston founded the original Hillsong Church in 1983 in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It now has locations in 28 countries around the world and, pre-pandemic, saw an average 150,000 attenders each week, according to its website.
Hillsong is also known for its popular worship music and conferences.
Neither Hillsong nor Carl Lentz immediately responded to request for comment.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
UPDATE: In addition to the email below, Hillsong has published a statement online.
Email from Pastor Brian Houston:
Source: Roxanne Stone,’The Roys Report’, https://julieroys.com/carl-lentz-terminated-moral-failures/?fbclid=IwAR2wFdEWDpGg5yoSboCkluhMuptaJbxUWoNCgEs4Yzuj6cLtm-FOUmvNyss Published November 4, 2020. (Accessed November 5, 2020.)
Other media outlets also reported the following updates.
The popular church leader shocked fans with his sudden firing
“A woman, who was involved with Hillsong for years before allegedly being “silenced” and “kicked out,” exclusively told The Sun that the affairs have been going on since at least 2017 – and the church apparently knew about them.
“My friend and I were leaders at the church so people came to us as their leaders about other transgressions with other leaders and pastors, including Carl.
“Women came to us and said Carl was sleeping around with people who were members of the church,” a former Hillsong group leader claimed.
She continued: “There have been many sexual transgressions at Hillsong NYC. We tried to address them in 2017 and we were told that we were spreading gossip.
“We still tried to go to the pastors about it and we were dismissed. They knew exactly what we were saying… we weren’t threatening anything, just asking for answers.
“But leaders and pastors wouldn’t give us the time of day.
“We heard Carl was sleeping with people and we tried to address it the proper way within leadership…and it was swept under the rug.
According to the source, those who brought up Carl’s behavior at the time “were kicked out and told they were unfit for leadership.”
The ex-Hillsong member concluded by speaking of the popular minister’s scandalous behavior.
“Carl is not brave in my eyes. I’m frustrated with his apology.
“There’s been over three years of this, he just finally got caught,” the insider alleged.
A rep for Carl was not immediately available for The Sun’s request for comment. (Link)
We remind our readers that Lentz also gained “notoriety” after baptizing his close friend Justin Bieber in Tyson Chandler’s bathtub back 2014, and served “as a relationship counselor for the popstar and his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez.”
The ex Hillsong pastor admitted to being ‘unfaithful’ to his wife, Laura
Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz was spotted having a tense conversation with his wife of 17 years, shortly before he announced to the world he had cheated on her and revealed his infidelity was the reason for his firing, exclusive DailyMail.com photos show
Additional CWC resources on Carl Lentz can be accessed here….
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“Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” Galatians 4:16
Categories: Hillsong