Stephen Carl Lentz (born November 6, 1978) is an American former pastor, notable for being a celebrity pastor, spiritual advisor to celebrities such as

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

, Kendall Jenner, and

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

and categorized as a hype-priest by '' GQ''. He was the lead pastor of

Hillsong NYC Hillsong NYC or Hillsong Church NYC is a Manhattan-based Christian church that is part of Hillsong Church based in Australia. History It was officially launched on October 17, 2010. It started meeting at Irving Plaza near Union Square. Joel Ho ...

until November 4, 2020, when he was fired by Hillsong Global Pastor

Brian Houston Brian Charles Houston ( ; born 17 February 1954) is a New Zealand-Australian former pastor and evangelist. He was the founder and senior pastor at Hillsong Church, based in Sydney with locations around the world. He was the national president ...

for "leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures." On May 31, 2021, the former nanny of Lentz's children accused him of bullying, abuse of power, and sexual abuse.

Early life and education

Carl Lentz was born in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

. 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. As an adult, he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

to study at The King's College and Seminary. He then went on to study at

Hillsong International Leadership College Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a global charismatic Christian megachurch based in Australia. The original church was established in 1983 as Hills Christian Life Centre, in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, by Brian Houston and ...

of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. It was during his studies, at the age of 20, that he and

Joel Houston Joel Timothy Houston (born 19 September 1979) is an Australian musician, songwriter, pastor, and leader in the Sydney-based band Hillsong United, a worship band of Hillsong Church. He was co-pastor at Hillsong NYC between 2010 and 2017. He i ...

, Hillsong founder

's son, had the idea to plant a campus of Hillsong Church in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He graduated in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in 2003 and returned to Virginia Beach. He then became a youth pastor after being ordained.

Ministry

In 2010, Lentz co-founded

and radically changed and impacted church and ministries especially amongst the unchurched age group - millennials. Lentz even started the fashion and branding trend amongst younger pastors such as tattoos, hair style, clothing and footwear. Lentz baptized

, was present at the baptism of

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for t ...

, and has befriended various other well-known people. On October 30, 2017, while on '' The View'', Lentz was asked if he believed

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

was a sin; he did not answer the question directly, instead saying that "the cultural, religious norm right now is that if you and I disagree, we're done. I don't believe that's the case." Eight days later, Lentz released a statement via Twitter saying "I do believe abortion is sinful." In January 2019 he called the passage of the Reproductive Health Act in the State of New York, which allows abortion after 24 weeks when a fetus is unviable or the pregnancy poses a risk to the mother's health, "evil, shameful and demonic". Lentz appeared on Oprah's SuperSoul Sunday which caused controversy with Christians due to the question asked of can one have a relationship with God outside of Jesus.

Scandals

Affair and dismissal

On November 4, 2020,

, Global Senior Pastor of Hillsong announced through a church newsletter that he had fired Lentz. The reason for Lentz's removal was cited as "leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures." Lentz acknowledged that he had engaged in an adulterous affair. His wife's employment with the church was also terminated despite her own conduct not being an issue.Carl Lentz and the Trouble at Hillsong
''Vanity Fair'', ALEX FRENCH and DAN ADLER, FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Sexual assault allegation

On May 31, 2021, Leona Kimes accused Carl of "manipulation, control, bullying, abuse of power, and sexual abuse" toward her. Kimes worked as the Lentz family nanny and alleges that the assaults happened from 2011 to 2017.

Published works

* ''Own the Moment'' (Simon & Schuster, 2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lentz, Carl 1978 births American Pentecostal pastors American Christian writers American evangelicals American expatriates in Australia Hillsong Church Living people NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players American men's basketball players