Carl Lentz, a mega-church pastor and one-time spiritual adviser to singer Justin Bieber, has been fired from Hillsong church partly due to “moral failures”.
Brian Houston, the founder of Hillsong, announced the termination in an online statement on Wednesday, November 4.
He stated;
This action has been taken following ongoing discussions in relation to leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures. 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.
Houston added;
We thank Pastors Carl and [his wife] Laura for the way they have served faithfully and sacrificially since the start of Hillsong NYC and for contributing so significantly to the countless lives that have been transformed for Jesus Christ through this ministry.
They have a heart for people and we are confident that after a time of rest and restoration, God will use Carl in another way outside of Hillsong church. In terminating his tenure, we in no way want to diminish the good work he did here.
Lentz and his wife were yet to publicly address the termination, as at the time of filing this report.
The church is known for attracting a number of celebrity worshippers including Bieber, his wife Hailey, and Kylie and Kendall Jenner. Lentz also baptized Bieber in NBA player Tyson Chandler‘s bathtub.
Hillsong, which describes itself as a “contemporary Christian church,” was founded in 1983 in Sydney, Australia, and has grown to include locations in more than 20 countries.
Its locations in the U.S. include New York, New Jersey, California, Arizona, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, Texas, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
