his”Carl Lentz and Right OnFormer Hillsong New York pastor Carl Lentz denied the notion that he was a “pastor in disgrace” amid the scandal of being fired by Hillsong in 2020. Speaking to reporters on the podcast “Hillsong: The New York Times,” Lentz, 45, said he didn’t want to be described as a “pastor in disgrace” by the media when he was fired by Hillsong in 2020. Christian Post I will report.
“All the headlines typically say, ‘Dishonored pastor, dishonored pastor,’ or, ‘Failed pastor, failed, failed, dishonored pastor.’ The funny thing is, God blesses these people. [media] “They don’t understand grace,” Lentz lamented.
“Because you can’t fall from grace. You fall into grace. It just didn’t make sense to me. And I’m not upset that the tabloids write ‘a disgraced pastor.’ ‘A disgraced pastor?'” he asked in a hushed voice of incredulity.
“You don’t understand what grace is. It’s the opposite of grace. Grace is the mercy and favor and forgiveness that God gives you that you don’t deserve. So, I was blessed with grace. I would appreciate it if people would stop writing headlines like that because it’s inaccurate. Shame on you pastor,” Lentz argued.
“I’m not a disgraced ex-pastor. I’m a man who made big mistakes. My mistakes were public, they were there for all to see, and now I’m a man who is trying to fix his life, correct his mistakes, and live a totally different life. But I’m not a disgraced man,” he insisted. “I’m more full of grace than I’ve ever been. Did I fall from grace? Absolutely not. I did fall, and I’m so grateful for that.”
Lentz was fired in November 2020 for “leadership issues” and moral failings, including infidelity to his wife, who cheated on him with multiple women. According to an internal investigation, Lentz was also accused of manipulating and inflicting emotional distress on former staff and volunteers. carried out The New York City law firm Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman LLP represented Hillsong Church.
Lentz said he understood people would feel “disgraced” by his scandal, but insisted that it did not make him a “disgraced” pastor.
“Some people will say what I did is shameful. Sure, sometimes it can be. But I’m not ashamed, because we are forgiven,” Lentz said. “I feel more graced by God than I’ve ever felt before. I understand that sentiment, but I just wanted to get that out there. It’s not about me. Keep writing that headline if you want, but that’s not me. I don’t think I’m some disgraced ex-pastor. No, sir. No, ma’am.”
Lentz said he wanted to commit suicide after the scandal broke. He also revealed that he and his family were evicted from their home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the day after the news broke. Lentz had just sold his house and was staying with friends at the time.
“We were obviously in a state of shock when it happened. It was a really horrible situation. It feels weird even talking about it,” Lentz said.
“We got a call from the guy who lived there, and he said, ‘The owner doesn’t want anything to do with you, you have to get out,'” Lentz recalled. “I remember we had to take everything that was in this apartment out onto the streets of Brooklyn, and we got a U-Haul and a U-Haul van, and we just dumped our stuff in there.”
He struggled to get help from his network, but a friend in Connecticut allowed them to stay in his home.
Lauren Lenz also spoke on the podcast, revealing that she sought professional counselling for the trauma of the betrayal, and that when the scandal broke, her daughter Charlie was checked into a psychiatric hospital for teenagers, where she ended up staying for eight weeks.
“I didn’t know that happened. [betrayal trauma]”I found a therapist who specializes in betrayal trauma, but I was so messed up that I didn’t realise how much work it would take,” she said.
“When you’re gaslighted in this situation, it’s more than just trauma. It’s like anguish, mental pain, physical pain to your brain,” Laura continued. “So I had to unravel a lot of things that were going on in my head.”
Lentz praised his wife for standing by him despite his infidelity, which he said gave them an opportunity to repair and improve their relationship. He added that she never participated in his personal failings and was unaware of his addiction until it became public.
“You had nothing to do with my hidden sins, hidden habits, hidden addictions. You had no idea what was going on with me. And I know there have been confusing reports where people have pieced things together and said Laura was an accomplice, or she knew, or whatever, but that’s not true. That’s not our story,” Lentz told his wife. “You had no idea what I was doing, because I was very adept at managing my life, despite a lot of pain.”
The former pastor believes his sin became public because “God couldn’t take it anymore.” When his wife asked him what it was like to preach while keeping his addiction a secret, Lent called it “torture.”
“Living with a secret like that is torture for the living person – for me – and for anyone who doesn’t know. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done. No one is born to live a lie,” Lentz said.
“We lie, we accept it, we learn to live with it. It’s like a dysfunctional adaptation. That’s what it is to live with a lie. And you can’t bury the lie. We think that’s what’s happening. … I was really digging my own grave. It’s a hard reality to face. But now I know the power of honesty in a whole different way. And it’s been a really powerful part of our healing.”
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Charley Gallay / Stringer
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