One of those drawn to its fame was Lentz, a man who had been married for 17 years to another Hillsong pastor, Laura. It became famous during lockdown as the only park to draw white chalk circles on its astroturf so people would know how far apart they should sit. The two met at Domino Park, which borders the East River on the Brooklyn side. Was it his winsome attitude or his Maroon 5‑esque V‑neck and aviators that endeared him to Ranin Karim? Karim, a 34-year-old fashion designer, is the woman with whom Lentz reportedly had a six month affair from May to November this year. By Kardashian-Jenner extension, its spiritual network and marketing strategy has seemingly indirectly inspired Kanye West’s Sunday Service. Its celebrity contingent is like a Hollywood spiderweb: Justin and Hailey Bieber are at its centre, with silk threads extending out to Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Chris Pratt, Selena Gomez, Nick Jonas and Kourtney Kardashian. The word of God is spread via inhouse “worship band” Hillsong UNITED, in tunes like Oceans (Where Feet May Fail), So Will I (100 Billion X) and Lead Me to the Cross. Hillsong has its own record label that’s sold at least 16 million albums of Christian music, generating over $100 million in sales. Founded in Australia in the 1980s, it’s been described by Tom Wagner, author of The Hillsong Movement Examined, as a “confluence of sophisticated marketing techniques and popular music”.Īfter it came to the US in 2010, its pious jingles and achingly hip reading of the scriptures attracted regular crowds – 100,000 each week – to sing along and wave their hands at its services. Hillsong is an evangelical Christian megachurch with an unusually large congregation spread across several countries. If you have somehow avoided Hillsong until now – meaning, until its star pastor Carl Lentz recently admitted to an adulterous relationship and was subsequently fired from his position – then let me explain.
Their faith had been wavering, or non-existent, until a recent religious scandal involving a “hypepriest”, a New York fashion designer and the Biebers renewed their collective trust in how God provides when you least expect it. They mumble along to rote creeds and doting hymns with the same amount of faith reserved for clicking Captcha squares to confirm that they’re human.
They fill up church pews only at Easter and Christmas. And then there are other people who are valuable assets, or even shining stars, and they end up getting buried," says Vanity Fair reporter Alex French of allegations of hypocrisy surround the Houston family coverup as compared to Carl's firing.Many of my friends are, like myself, what I like to call “religious tourists”. "There are some people at Hillsong Church who face scandals, and those scandals are swept under the rug.
#Hillsong pastor carl lentz ranin karim code
Some believe Carl's firing from Hillsong was retaliatory, and accuse Brian Houston of hypocrisy.Ĭurrently still on trial for covering up allegations of child sexual abuse against his father, Brian Houston himself resigned from his post at Hillsong in March 2022, after it was found that he "breached the Hillsong Pastor’s Code of Conduct" in two separate occasions involving inappropriate behavior toward women. Leona declined to comment on her allegations in the series. "I am responsible for that power dynamic and the management of it and the wisdom that goes with it. "It's an issue, because I'm a boss and this was an employee," he adds.
There were mutual adult decisions made by two people who lied profusely. "Any notion of abuse is categorically false. "I am responsible for allowing an inappropriate relationship to develop in my house, with someone that worked for us," he says in the doc. And, in this case, my boss was also my pastor."įor his part, Carl maintains the affair was consensual. I never dreamed I would have to guard myself from my boss. "I was physically violated by his unwanted and repeated touching of my intimate areas," she wrote. Six months after news of the affair came out, Leona Kimes penned a personal essay alleging she was a victim of sexual abuse by Carl. Laura explains that Leona stayed on as their nanny, but they never addressed the situation again - saying she felt "tormented mentally" and gaslit by the pair. Something came over me, and I was angry, and I definitely freaked out." I ran into the room and shoved Carl, hit him, and then I jumped on top of her and I punched her. I know I'm seeing something that is not right. "One night, I found them in a compromising position. "You've got someone in your house all the time, and I would sometimes get these little feelings," Laura recounts.
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