Submitted by: M Mullukin
Celebrity Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz fired from New York Hillsong due to 'Leadership Issues, Moral Failures'
06 November 2020
On Thursday, Carl Lentz,[pictured above] the lead pastor of Hillsong NYC, admitted to an extramarital affair, ending a day of speculation as to why he had been fired.....another high profile Pentecostal pastor to fall in the past few months. Lentz, relatively unknown before taking the helm of Hillsong NYC, became a darling of major media outlets for his hipster dress, his tattoo-covered arms and his celebrity congregants, including Justin Bieber, who was apparently baptized by the pastor in the bathtub of Tyson Chandler, a New York Knicks player at the time.
Hillsong founding pastor Brian Houston sent out an email to church staff and members of Hillsong East Coast on Wednesday afternoon, announcing the termination of Hillsong NYC’s lead pastor, Carl Lentz.
In a statement, which was sent to The Christian Post by Hillsong, Houston revealed that Lentz’s termination was due to “leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures.”
Members of the Hillsong NY staff revealed that they were currently “processing” the news.
“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, whose church has locations worldwide, wrote in the email.
“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.”
Lentz, who was responsible for all Hillsong campuses on the east cost, was often pegged a celebrity pastor in mainstream media because a number of his friends and congregants included A-list stars such as Justin and Hailey Bieber, [pictured below with Lentz R] Kevin Durant, Selena Gomez, Kylie Jenner and others.
The Hillsong empire has now grown from a single entity to an international ministry that extends to cities on five continents, including London, Paris, Sao Paulo, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro and Phoenix.
In the United States, Hillsong is recognized for its thriving congregations in New York, which up until Wednesday, was led by Lentz, and Los Angeles. Combined, the ministry reaches over 100,000 people weekly.
Lentz served alongside Houston’s son, Joel, who served as a worship leader of Hillsong NYC during its foundational years, starting in 2010. The edgy pastor and the Hillsong name drew thousands of people to the church, which was held at Irving Plaza in Manhattan at the time and was a church by day and club by night.
Lentz’s rise to fame came after he became the lead pastor of Hillsong NYC due to his fashion choices, tattoo-covered arms and celebrity congregants.
Hillsong said it will not be making further public comments on this matter. Lentz has not been active on social media since September.
Hillsong East Coast services will "proceed as usual." Move along,, nothing to see here!
Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to deceitful spirits, and doctrines of demons; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 1 Timothy 4; 1-2
No comments:
Post a Comment