Carl Lentz, a prominent Christian pastor to celebrities, was fired Wednesday from Hillsong East Coast due to “leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures.”
“Today Hillsong Church East Coast advised our congregation that we have terminated the employment of Pastor Carl Lentz. This action was not taken lightly and was done in the best interests of everyone, including Pastor Carl,” Brian Houston, Hillsong Church’s founder, wrote in a statement to their website Wednesday.
“This action has been taken following ongoing discussions in relation to leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures,” Houston wrote. “It would not be appropriate for us to go into detail about the events that led to this decision. Our focus at this time is to honor God and pastorally care for our East Coast church community as well as the Lentz family.”
Shortly after the announcement, Carl Lenz issued a statement on Instagram confirming that he was fired from Hillsong Church. He also apologized and admitted being unfaithful to his wife, Laura.
“When you lead out of an empty place, you make choices that have real and painful consequences. I was unfaithful in my marriage, the most important relationship in my life, and held accountable for that,” the pastor said.
Carl Lentz fired from Hillsong church; admits being unfaithful to his wife
“This failure is on me, and me alone and I take full responsibility for my actions. I now begin a journey of rebuilding trust with my wife, Laura and my children and taking real time to work on and heal my own life and seek out the help that I need. I am deeply sorry for breaking the trust of many people who we have loved serving and understand that this news can be very hard and confusing for people to hear and process,” he added.
Carl Lentz was known for his celebrity connections, one of which is singer Justin Bieber, whom he baptized in an NBA star’s Manhattan home bathtub.
The Hillsong Church is known for bringing in celebrities and athletes, including Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.