Justin Bieber's former pastor Carl Lentz fired from Hillsong Church

UPDATE: Carl Lentz has issued a statement via Instagram addressing the firing, admitting to being unfaithful to his wife, Laura. The couple share three children and Lentz aims to begin "a journey of rebuilding trust."

 

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Our time at HillsongNYC has come to an end. This is a hard ending to what has been the most amazing, impacting and special chapter of our lives. Leading this church has been an honor in every sense of the word and it is impossible to articulate how much we have loved and will always love the amazing people in this church. When you accept the calling of being a pastor, you must live in such a way that it honors the mandate. That it honors the church, and that it honors God. When that does not happen, a change needs to be made and has been made in this case to ensure that standard is upheld. Laura and I and our amazing children have given all that we have to serve and build this church and over the years I did not do an adequate job of protecting my own spirit, refilling my own soul and reaching out for the readily available help that is available. 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. 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. I would have liked to say this with my voice, to you, in person because you are owed that. But that opportunity I will not have. So to those people, I pray you can forgive me and that over time I can live a life where trust is earned again. To our pastors Brian and Bobbie, thank you for allowing us to lead, allowing us to thrive and giving us room to have a voice that you have never stifled or tried to silence. Thank you for your grace and kindness especially in this season, as you have done so much to protect and love us through this. We, the Lentz family, don’t know what this next chapter will look like, but we will walk into it together very hopeful and grateful for the grace of God..

A post shared by Carl Lentz (@carllentz) on Nov 5, 2020 at 12:12pm PST

Justin Bieber’s former pastor and close friend Carl Lentz has been fired from Hillsong Church. In an email sent on November 4 by Hillsong founder Brian Houston, staff at the celeb-favourite church learned that Lentz has been let go after several years of service.Lentz was the lead pastor at the New York city location for the megachurch. In Houston’s email, which was obtained by Religion News Services and later posted in full on the Hillsong website, Houston provide a vaguely cryptic reasoning for Lentz’s termination. “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,” wrote Houston, who cited Lentz’s  “leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures” as the reasoning behind his firing.“In terminating his tenure, we in no way want to diminish the good work he did here,” wrote Houston, noting the "personal sadness" he is experiencing over Lentz’s termination. Houston added that it would not be appropriate to provide any further details on the termination, but added that the staff “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 said the church will not be providing and further details on the matter.Lentz met his wife Laura while the pair were attending Hillsong College, a training program for the church that is based in Australia. The church was founded in the early 1980s by brothers Brian and Bobbie Houston and has locations in almost 30 countries. In 2010, Lentz opened the NYC location of Hillsong Church along with Brian Houston’s son Joel. The church is located in the night club Irving Plaza in Manhattan and its trendy location means long lines on Sunday morning and several past celebrity attendees, including Bono, Kevin Durant, Selena Gomez, Kendall and Kylie Jenner and Justin Bieber and wife Hailey.Lentz, who is covered in tattoos and typically dresses in stylish, hipster-esque outfits, has been categorized as a "hyper-priest" by GQ. Bieber began spending time with Lentz around 2014 following several public instances of bad behaviour, including an arrest for drag racing on a Miami highway. Shortly after, Bieber reportedly moved in with Lentz and his family for almost two months in order for the pastor and popstar to work through issues that required guidance from a higher power.Lentz was also responsible for baptizing Bieber, which took place in the bath tub of former NBA star Tyson Chandler after Lentz and Bieber were unable to find a pool on short notice that wasn’t surrounded by screaming fans. Bieber and Lentz were often spotted together in the following years, with Lentz providing guidance to Bieber on several aspects of his life, including his relationship with Selena Gomez.Bieber and wife Hailey continue to attend Hillsong Church, but it appears that the popstar and Lentz had a falling out in 2017.The famous Hillsong Church came under fire a few years ago. The Houston brothers' father, Frank Houston, was an influential leader of the Pentecostal denomination Assemblies of God in the 1960s and 70s in New Zealand. In 2018, Frank Houston, who died in 2004, was accused of sexually assaulting nine boys during his time as a pastor. Brett Sengstock is one of the men who accused the late pastor of abuse and said that his son Brian Houston found out about his father’s abuses in 1999 and did not report him.[video_embed id='-1']BEFORE YOU GO: This is why you should always take a moment to park your car correctly [/video_embed]