Carl Lentz, who brought the popular Hillsong megachurch to the U.S., announced he was fired after posting to Instagram that he cheated on his wife.
“When you accept the calling of being a pastor, you must live in such a way that it honors the mandate,” Lentz wrote in an Instagram post. “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 endure that standard is upheld.”
“When you lead out of an empty place, you make choices that have real and painful consequences,” Lentz wrote. “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.”
Brian Houston, founder of Hillsong, told the church’s East Coast congregants said Wednesday that Lentz was fired “following ongoing discussions in relationship to leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures.”(RELATED: Megachurch Pastor Refuses To Condemn Abortion)
“[Carl and Laura] 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 first met his wife, Laura, while students at Hillsong’s training college in Sydney, according to the Associated Press (AP). They married in 2003 and share three children.
The pair came to New York in 2010 to spread the church’s mass gatherings.
Lentz quickly gained fame, once ministering Justin Bieber. Bieber lived with Lentz for a short period of time after struggling with personal issues, per the same report.
