In her statement Kimes wrote that, prior to becoming a pastor in Boston, she worked in the Lentz home. Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston said former pastor Carl Lentz had leadership issues that included lying and narcissistic behavior in an exclusive interview with "Today." Houston sat . Wife of ex-Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz is suffering PTSD, depression By Andrew Court November 12, 2021 4:59pm Updated Laura Lentz is revealing the emotional distress she has suffered after her. One pastor routinely asked Jones to replace singers, who had rehearsed, with celebrities (including, once, Vanessa Hudgens) and potential paramours. I prayed about it and I was heartbroken, she says. Ranin Karim, a woman who alleges she had a relationship with Lentz earlier this year, recently spoke out to Vanity Fair in an interview. From that day, Jones skipped the line and went right to the front row. But Lentzs infidelity, the apparent cause of his ouster, also led to broader scrutiny of Hillsong as congregants and volunteers recounted a pattern of exploitation and alienation within the church. [6] Early life and education Carl Lentz was born in Williamsburg, Virginia. A few months later, Jones decided to leave Hillsong. Kimes said in her statement that she told her husband about the alleged abuse after she learned of Lentzs departure from Hillsong, and she told Religion News Service that she had previously kept quiet because she feared both losing her family and Josh losing his job. We were hoping to share this update with you this weekend, Houston wrote.). His elevated status made me feel like he had all the power, and I had no voice.. ), Aspiring pastors, typically dressed in some permutation of the Lentz uniform, served as members of the drive team. Nominally, they ferried pastors to and from services on busy Sundays, but they were on call 24/7 for Lentz, former volunteers said. Crenshaw learned Mays had a wife, and she felt overwhelmed by guilt and traumatic memories. Pastors held exclusive late-night parties that managed to make space for the models whose agencies put them up in the building and the young men of Hillsong who had proven their loyalty. FORMER Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz appears unrecognizable in shocking new photos after quietly relocating to Florida in the aftermath of his cheating scandal. When questioned, Mays denied the incident. The churchs doors were still open to him, Keatinge wrote, if he were to contact Hillsong on his own. Its a spiritual investment and a literal one. Left, by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo; right, courtesy of Ashley Jones. Crenshaws father, a pastor in Pennsylvania, intervened and then the police became involved. Net worth: $3 Million Carl Lentz founded the New York City branch of Hillsong Church in 2010. A current pastor at the megachurch, who also worked as a nanny for the Lentz family, said that he threatened and belittled her when the two discussed his alleged abuse. Lead pastor Judah Smith, whose community also includes celebrity couple Ciara and Russell Wilson, had an emotional moment on stage with the Canadian performer. They changed their cell phone numbers, updating only a select few friends, according to one. Its contemporary spin on Christianity, embodied by Lentz, packed a thriving network of on-trend believers into services across the globe every week. In 2019 it opened new outposts in Indonesia, Brussels, Edinburgh, Milan, Dallas, Kansas City, and Monterrey, Mexico, as well as a college campus in Phoenix. I dont know what happened to me, I mean Ive done that before, but something clicked, Lentz later said. (A church spokesperson said its global leadership was previously unaware of this incident but learned that Amazing Grace may have been a special request of Lentz for a sermon unrelated to Black History Month.). In December the board of Hillsong Church Australia wrote an email to congregants dismissing the stories, some of which included allegations of exploitation and discrimination, primarily as gossip. What do you do when you discover the shepherds are part of the problem and even the problem itself?. Open main entertainment navigation Entertainment News of the relocation shocked Hillsong NYC congregants, who felt the Lentzes had just picked up and left. One night, a friend invited her to hang out at the home of another Hillsong congregant. [1] 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. We will have to reevaluate if youre fit for leadership positions, she recalled Keatinge replying. According to the Times reporting, Williams connect group coleader also lost her leadership role. This is up from about one-quarter in 2021, . After a few conversations where she outlined some preliminary stepsincluding leaving their role working with childrenshe proposed a longer-term path. Joe is an artist who frequently paints the phrase Cash Only in his work, and in 2018, Biebers seafoam blue Lamborghini was tagged with the slogan. The celebrity pastor was fired in November 2020 for "moral failures." 6 Discovery released the trailer for its new docuseries about Hillsong's Carl Lentz Credit: Getty 6 Kimes later confirmed that her statement was about Lentz. Lentz allegedly asked her for massages, and Kimes felt that she couldnt decline. The Lentzes arrived in New York City in 2010 from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Carls hometown. ArtAnd Lots of It, The actor, who plays a Bob Rossesque character in the new comedy, Breaking: Donald Trump Surrenders to Face Charges in New York. But on Nov. 4 . Neither Hillsong nor Lentz immediately returned The Post's request for comment. After selling their house in Montclair, New Jersey, Lentz and his wife Laura relocated to . As a child she was abused by a youth leader, and after the assault in Sydney, she went to a counselor to work through it all. Then Lentzs former dog walker went public about a 2014 incident in which he stumbled in on Lentz making sex noises with a younger star. Some congregants poked fun at the protective measures. Several years after their marriage in 2003, the couple moved to New York City to help Hillsong founder Brian Houston open and run the New York branch of the megachurch. Kimes said in her statement that Lentz repeatedly physically violated her, including on two occasions, in a movie theater and while she was driving, with one or more of his children present. Kimes wrote that she felt guilty about her discomfort and ashamed, and that she questioned whether anyone would believe her. Ad Choices. Lentz became head pastor of Hillsongs New York outlet in 2010 and quickly grew its base of young urban professional Christians, working with his wife, Laura Lentz. While Bieber said in a January Instagram Story that HILLSONG IS NOT MY CHURCH, the same month, Termini posted a photo of himself on the beach with Justin and Hailey Bieber. Termini and his family shared in some of these relationships. We just really feel that its time to transition off of our staff and take some time to remain healthy, get healthy, and to really see what the next season holds for us, Reed said. Carl has his impressive views towards god and abortion towards young pastors. Missing the community Hillsong provided, William organized his own prayer meeting. She wrote in a statement on Medium that during the seven years she spent as a nanny for Lentz and his wife, Laura, I was subjected to manipulation, control, bullying, abuse of power, and sexual abuse., I felt trapped and silenced. Strobe lights and stage smoke filled the church lobby. According to Jones, Keatinge brought the proposal to Lentz and returned with news that the idea had been approved. advisers believed his return began with three months out of public view, followed by a news cycle dominating mea maxima culpaperhaps, as suggested for a time, in this magazine. (Lentz declined to comment for this story.). Get the latest chatter, from Kensington Palace and beyond, straight to your inbox. Here are 7 facts you should know: Pastor Carl Lentz ran from speaking the truth on national TV. Everyone Knows It Now. Exclusive Excerpt: An Icy Death at the Bottom of the World Lolita, Blake Bailey, and Me Kate Middleton and the Future of the Monarchy The Occasional Terror of Dating in the Digital Age The 13 Best Face Oils for Healthy, Balanced Skin From the Archive: Tinder and the Dawn of the Dating Apocalypse Sign up for the Royal Watch newsletter to receive all the chatter from Kensington Palace and beyond. Crenshaw says the church notified Mays three months after her first report and took no action for two months after that. In 2020, Lentz was fired from the. Hillsong founder Brian Houston speaks about Carl Lentz in TODAY exclusive. Nobody from the gathering acknowledged the assault afterward. The wife of former Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz is speaking out for the first time since her husband was fired from the megachurch amid a sex scandal. Jasons actions have resulted in pain not only for Anna but also his wife Ashley not to mention other family members., Around the same time Crenshaws report was playing out in Australia, several whistleblowers brought complaints to church leadership about the culture at Hillsong NYC. When she showed up uninvited, she says she discovered a plan for a blue-eyed, blond-haired woman who has a reputation for singing Black to perform Amazing Grace backed up by Black singers in the shadows. Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 2. Kimes provided the domestic help with the same clear instructions Hillsong volunteers received: Dont talk to him, dont look at him, dont be in his way., If this occurred, it was extremely inappropriate and not in keeping with the culture or the expectations of Hillsong Church, Brian Houston said in a statement. When Lentz returned Stateside in 2005, he brought his wife with him. He added that he wasnt aware of the moral failures until late last year. Houston recently tweeted that the assault by Jason Mays was a sad story and that the victim had been previously abused at her fathers church in Pennsylvania. You have to choose where your loyalty lies, she recalls him telling her. My faith in God is now unshaken by the heinous . Soon after, Hillsongs Connecticut head pastor, Blaze Robertson, and his wife, Desi, materialized as the new executive pastors of Harvest Time Church in Greenwich, in an announcement that made no mention of Hillsong. He attended a school in Australia run by Hillsong in his youth, interned for church founder Brian Houston, and eventually moved to New York with his wife and Houston's family to help them open and run the first American Hillsong church in 2010 (via New York Times). In January 2020, Mays pleaded guilty to indecent assault and received two years probation and mandatory counseling. Entering Montclairs Wellmont Theater for Sunday service, Lentzs three young children were gawked at like they were, one observer said, Jesus come down from heaven. Grown men and women aborted selfie attempts with the Lentz kids when security was called. She often shares her mental health struggles amid the scandals and allegations regarding her husband. Ashleys mother, Mary Jones, grew up in segregation-era Baltimore and lived an entire lifetime before arriving at Hillsong in 2010, several years after her daughter moved to New York. Carl caught the culture from Brian, the former staffer says. However, controversy followed him in May 2021 when Leona Kimes, who worked as a nanny at the Lentz home for over seven years, claimedthat Carl subjected her to "bullying, abuse of power, and sexual abuse." Producers and studio execs wouldnt take his calls. Discovery+ is a streaming service owned and operated by Warner Bros. Later, he said that Williams voice lost meaning to him. Didn't expect this guy to get a bailout from Madea, did you? (Later that year, Houston attended a prayer meeting for Donald Trump at the White House.) The disgraced religious leader was fired from the New York-based church for "moral failures" in 2020, before moving to California and then disappearing from the public eye. In class, Lentz established himself as a brash and discursive presence. By Brendan Esposito/Fairfax Media/Getty Images. On Sundays Lentz sometimes delivered six sermons a day, ducking out between services to minister to the homeless. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Keatinge removed William from his connect group. She said that she was met with compassion when she subsequently reported her experience to leadership, particularly by Brian and Bobbie Houston, and that she plans to remain on staff at Hillsong working toward a stronger future., After Lentzs firing, Kimes and her husband appeared in several reports about Hillsongs labor practices. When a cheating scandal blew up the pastors life, some Hillsong congregants were left to question their relationship with a church that cultivated its own kind of fameand the double standards that often came with it. Sofia Richie Reveals She Converted to Judaism Ahead of Wedding to Elliot Grainge. Aghajanian asked Crenshaw to repeat her statement twice more. Lentz brought the Hillsong megachurch to the US from Australia and led a charmed life in a $1.5 million home in New Jersey as lead pastor of New York City before his world came crashing down. Volunteers with jobs farthest from the backstage areas occupy the lowest rungs of the Hillsong hierarchy, which, leaders often remind, is scalable. Lentz was for years the New York pastor and face of Hillsong, a global megachurch that counted Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez among its followers at the peak of its cultural power. He frequently responded to her social media posts and invited her to staff meetings and special events. The Secret to Owen Wilsons Infinite Chill? Having recently sold their home in Montclair, New Jersey, the Lentz family moved to a grand Spanish-style home with a terra-cotta roof and ocean views in Manhattan Beach, California. Austen texted, searching for answers, but received little response. The incident joined a growing list of things that upset Jones about the church: cliques, favoritism, a general lack of diversity. He phrased it carefully. What do you do when you discover the shepherds are part of the problem? 2018 letter from concerned Hillsong NYC congregants, From the moment Pastor Brian discovered this shocking news, around 20 years ago, the email said, he has always been very open and clear about the circumstances around this, and our church has stood with him and his family.. And at least some bad moral behavior had gone back historically., That afternoon, Lentzs publicists said he enrolled in a 28-day outpatient program for pastoral burnout. A few weeks later, The New York Times reported that Hillsong NYC volunteers had complained to church officials about rumors of Lentz acting inappropriately with women in 2017. That felt like a nonanswer. (A church spokesperson said, We are unaware of this situation occurring.). The case has continued to plague Hillsong. Logging onto Grindr backstage, Abreu saw a screen dotted with fellow volunteers. Then Lentz told the assembly, This idea came to us from our one and only Kane Keatinge. Carl Lentz has not publicly addressed his firing yet. Former congregants have said that, in part by instructing volunteers not to talk to or look at Lentz, Kimes helped maintain his status in the church. Chief among them was Justin Bieber, whom Lentz baptized, and whose association with the pastor became the subject of scores of tabloid stories. The churchs leaders and their families have at times seemed to operate under a more fluid set of standards. She said churchgoers were told, "You have to be together for a full year before you get your first kiss." Additionally, Carl demanded that they "don't say 'I love you' until you propose." A few years ago, Shnays company, SK Development, along with two other firms, began constructing an office building at 363 Lafayette Street in NoHo that opened in 2018. The message denied only one scandal specifically. The New York Post Claims Carl Now Lives in Florida. Those guys were dicking down! says a former Hillsong volunteer who spent time at the building. Sunday call time for volunteers is 5 a.m. A few months after Lentz was fired and the megachurchs scandals cascaded, John Termini confirmed his departure. Leona Kimes and her husband, Josh, both worked under Lentz at Hillsong NYC and are currently pastors at Hillsong Boston. Get ready to dive into the world of the Hillsong Church. The Lentzes home in the tony suburb became a hub of social activity. For several years of his Hillsong tenure, Termini was a central presence at what congregants and volunteers came to call the compound. Lentz and other Hillsong NYC pastors lived, worked, and partied at the building, a converted warehouse of luxury condos along the Williamsburg waterfront. their relationship was consensual.) Newspix via Getty Images, FILE Karim described her connection with Lentz as one that is "hard to explain in words." She said Lentz's wife found out about the alleged affair in October. On November 9, Ranin Karim, a 34-year-old jewelry designer and actor with a septum piercing and her own sleeves of tattoos, described a monthslong tequila-drenched love affair with Lentz in interviews with The Sun, the New York Post, and others. Theyre one of Hollywoods brightest starsand most troubled actors. The series provides context for the many church scandals, such as allegations of abuse and corruption. The woman confided that after the experiencewhich she said included the threat of a lawsuitshe quit her volunteer role and hadnt come back to church, ignoring emails from Lentz and Keatinge asking her to return. If you dont complain, you can climb the ladder. former Hillsong staffer, One year Joness superiors excluded her, the only Black woman leader on the worship team, from planning meetings for a Black History Monththemed tribute. She tracked down a pastor. Lance Vivar, a pediatric ICU nurse in New Jersey, says that the church is just too important for him. The ex-president is expected to enter a plea of not guilty later today, after having his fingerprints and possibly his mug shot taken. As Lentzs celebrity and the churchs profile grew, his congregants developed a tortured relationship with fame. We were growing so quickly that we didnt really have the things that are supposed to protect against situations like this, Kimes wrote in her statement. Im in the beginning stages of planning to start a church in Hawaii where my brother, his wife and baby live, Termini said, adding that Pastor Brian and I have a close relationship and he has given me his blessing. (Hillsong didnt return a request for comment, but following the publication of this story, Houston and Termini both announced Terminis departure from the church on Instagram. After graduating from high school in 2015, Anna Crenshaw moved from Philadelphia to Australia to study at Hillsong College. The church offers a version of the gospel that can cohere with the rest of your urban professional life. Crowds climbed to 1,000 per night in under a year. It was a white church with a sprinkle of other races, and here was this safe space where you could go and not be antagonized, she says. Carl left the church after admitting to . Omar Abreu was in high school when they found Hillsong. By Andrew White/The New York Times/Redux. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. EX-MEMBERS of disgraced pastor Carl Lentz's Hillsong Church have spoken out against the organization's stringent dating and sex restrictions. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. (A church spokesperson said its leadership was unaware of any inappropriate activity at the Kent Avenue address. FX has released its official trailer for The Secrets of Hillsong, which, essentially, is former Hillsong New York pastors, Carl and Laura Lentz's, side of the story.. (The New York Post first reported the letters existence. Lentzs affair with Ranin Karim led to his dismissal from the church. Lentz moved his family to the Williamsburg waterfront. This church will fail you, he remembers the pastor promising. The ex-leader and the woman, who is now his girlfriend, told V.F. Soon after, Harvest Time Church in Greenwich, Connecticut, announced that Blaze and Desiree Robertson, formerly of Hillsong Connecticut, were being considered as its new executive pastors. A 2009 Virginian-Pilot report noted that the service, Soul Central, kicked off at 8 p.m., just as happy hours wound down. Hillsong told V.F. Human Resources, whistleblower policies, or any sort of safe place to share concerns., In 2018 a group of Hillsong volunteers emailed the Lentzes and the Houstons claiming that church staffers were engaging in unchecked sexual misconduct and bullying. In his last year of school, Lentz interned for Houston, washing his car and picking up his dry cleaning. When God blesses a business person its for Gods own purposes. (A Hillsong spokesperson said financial integrity is a value of the church, that it regularly audits its financial records and expenses, and that no staff member has unrestricted access to church funds.). In the meantime, Carl Lentz and his family have moved out of their home in Montclair, New Jersey, and into a rented beach house in L.A. But in late 2020, Lentz needed a new path. Many noticed that Justin Bieber stayed silent this fall as scandal overwhelmed the church he attends,. Regardless of what words you disagree with that I used, you have to be able to hear my heart as Ive spoken and its not with any desire to attack you, she wrote. Liberally tattooed, elaborately coiffed, and often dressed like a teenage hypebeast, Lentz, 42, achieved mild mainstream fame based on his proximity and access to the millennial celebrities in his flock: Justin and Hailey Bieber, Vanessa Hudgens, Kevin Durant, Selena Gomez. Now, Leona Kimes, a pastor at Hillsong Boston, is coming forward about the abuse, bullying, and exploitation she faced while working for a Hillsong New York pastor. Images of Carl's New Home Surfaced as Well, and It's Obvious that It's Not as Nice as His Old One in Los Angeles. The church attracted A-list celebrities like Justin Bieber. 8 We need a solid foundation for a fresh start and new beginning, he said. Ad Choices. He encourages the youth to always work for the benefit of the economy. The letters authors accused a former Hillsong intern under Keatinge of multiple inappropriate sexual relationships with several female leaders and volunteers in church and said he was verbally, emotionally, and according to one woman, physically abusive in his relationships with these women. (A Hillsong spokesperson said the former intern was asked to leave the church after leadership found out about his behavior.

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