Carl Lentz

Stephen Carl Lentz was an American pastor. He was the lead pastor of Hillsong NYC until November 4, 2020, when he was fired by Hillsong Global Pastor Brian Houston for "leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures."[1] On May 31, 2021, the former nanny of Lentz's children accused him of sexual assault.[2]

For the German lawyer and politician, see Carl Otto Lenz.
Carl Lentz
Born
Stephen Carl Lentz

November 6 1984 (aged 37)
Virginia Beach, Virginia, US
EducationNorth Carolina State University (1998–2000)
Hillsong International Leadership College
Spouse(s)
Laura Lentz
​
(m. 2003)​
Children3
ReligionChristian
Offices held
Lead Pastor of Hillsong Church, New York City

Early life and education

Carl Lentz was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[3] From 1998 to 2000, he attended North Carolina State University and was a walk-on basketball player on the school's men's basketball team.[4][5][6][7] As an adult, he moved to Los Angeles to study at The King's College and Seminary.[8] He then went on to study at Hillsong International Leadership College of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. It was during his studies, at the age of 20, that he and Joel Houston, Hillsong founder Brian Houston's son, had the idea to plant a campus of Hillsong Church in New York City.[9] He graduated in theology in 2003 and returned to Virginia Beach. He then became a youth pastor after being ordained.

Ministry

In 2010, Lentz co-founded Hillsong NYC in New York City with Joel Houston.[10]

Lentz baptized Justin Bieber, was present at the baptism of Kevin Durant, and has befriended various other well-known people.[11][12]

On October 30, 2017, while on The View, Lentz was asked if he believed abortion was a sin; he did not answer the question directly, instead saying that "the cultural, religious norm right now is that if you and I disagree, we're done. I don't believe that's the case."[13][14] Eight days later, Lentz released a statement via Twitter saying "I do believe abortion is sinful."[15] In January 2019 he strongly opposed the passage of the Reproductive Health Act in the State of New York, which allows abortion after 24 weeks when a fetus is unviable or the pregnancy poses a risk to the mother's health, calling it "evil, shameful and demonic".[16]

Scandals

Affair and dismissal

On November 4, 2020, Brian Houston, Global Senior Pastor of Hillsong announced through a church newsletter that he fired Lentz. The reason for Lentz's removal was cited as "leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures."[17][18] Lentz revealed on his Instagram page he was unfaithful to his wife and he was held accountable for that action.[19] His wife's employment with the church was also terminated despite her own conduct not being an issue.[20][21]

Sexual assault allegation

On May 31, 2021, Leona Kimes accused Carl of repeatedly sexually assaulting her over the period of her employment.[22][23] Kimes served as the Lentz family nanny, and alleges that the assaults happened from 2011 to 2017.[22] The same day, the allegation was acknowledged by the senior pastors of Hillsong Church, Brian and Bobbie Houston, in an official press release.[24]

Published works
  • Own the Moment (Simon & Schuster, 2017) ISBN 1501177001

References
  1. Graham, Ruth. "The Rise and Fall of Carl Lentz, the Celebrity Pastor of Hillsong Church". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  2. "Exclusive: Sex abuse allegations by Carl Lentz's former nanny put spotlight on Hillsong culture". Religion News Service. May 31, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  3. Phil Haigh, metro.co.uk, Who is Carl Lentz? The Hillsong pastor who is close friends with Justin Bieber, UK, August 2, 2017
  4. "Carl Lentz College Stats".
  5. "Pastor Carl Lentz (Extended Cut)". Retrieved January 31, 2020 – via www.youtube.com.
  6. "Carl Lentz – 1998–99 – Men's Basketball".
  7. "Carl Lentz – 1999-00 – Men's Basketball".
  8. Dana Schuster, nypost.com, Justin Bieber’s hipster pastor: ‘I’m praying for this boy to make it’, US, November 13, 2014
  9. Katherine T. Phan, christianpost.com, Interview: Pastor Carl Lentz on Hillsong New York City, US, February 17, 2011
  10. cbsnews.com, Fresh approach to faith draws thousands in NYC, US, December 25, 2014
  11. Taffy Brodesser-Akner, gq.com, Inside Hillsong, the Church of Choice for Justin Bieber and Kevin Durant, US, December 17, 2015
  12. "Hillsong Church: All the Celebrities Who've Attended". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  13. "Handling the Word of Truth "Men who must be silenced"". Archived from the original on January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  14. "Carl Lentz: Justin Bieber Is "Getting Better Day By Day" – Watch "The View" Video". October 30, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. GMT, Staff writer Wed 30 January 2019 21:35. "Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz says New York's new abortion law is 'demonic'". christiantoday.com. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  17. Beck, Andrew [@AndrewBeckNYC] (November 4, 2020). "Carl Lentz has been fired by Hillsong for "a recent revelation of moral failures" writes Brian Houston in an email to church members. t.co/Q653Qd4YvB" (Tweet). Retrieved January 12, 2021 – via Twitter.
  18. "Carl Lentz, pastor of Hillsong East Coast and Justin Bieber, terminated for 'moral failures' says church". Religion News Service. November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  19. "Carl Lentz Instagram".
  20. Gardner, Abby (November 11, 2020). "Hillsong Church Pastor Carl Lentz's Wife, Laura, Was Also Reportedly Fired". Glamour. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  21. Carl Lentz and the Trouble at Hillsong Vanity Fair, ALEX FRENCH and DAN ADLER, FEBRUARY 11, 2021
  22. Kimes, Leona (May 31, 2021). "Writing My Voice Back". Medium. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  23. "Exclusive: Sex abuse allegations by Carl Lentz's former nanny put spotlight on Hillsong culture". Religion News Service. May 31, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  24. "Letter from Brian and Bobbie Houston Regarding Medium Post". hillsong.com. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
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