Carl Lentz, a popular pastor at the high profile Hillsong Church‘s branch in New York City, has been fired from his position due in part to a “recent revelation of past moral failures.”
Lentz is well-known in some A-list celebrity circles thanks to his famous friends and followers. In the past, that list of advisees has included Justin Bieber, who had been known to seek guidance from the him before an alleged falling-out several years ago.
Related: Miley Cyrus & Hailey Bieber Get Real About Their Relationships With Religion
It’s unclear what specifically led to Lentz’s departure from the extremely popular mega-church. All that we do know comes from a statement the church’s founder Brian Houston posted on their official website on Wednesday evening.
The statement read in part (below):
“Today Hillsong Church East Coast advised our congregation that we have terminated the employment of Pastor Carl Lentz. This action was not taken lightly and was done in the best interests of everyone, including Pastor Carl. … 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. … Hillsong Church will not be making further public comments on this matter.”
Very cryptic! Something feels fishy here, doesn’t it?!
As Houston himself notes in another part of the statement, he and his wife have known and worked in ministry with Lentz and his wife for decades — so whatever happened to get to this point must have been something truly significant. Wow…
The pastor, as we noted above, was particularly close with Bieber more so than most of his celebrity charges. The embattled 41-year-old even baptized Bieber years ago when the pop star was new to his Christian faith. Lentz also was said to have previously counseled the Biebs through some rough patches of his relationship with Selena Gomez, as well.
Related: Justin Isn’t The Only Celeb Linked To Hillsong Church In LA!
According to TMZ, the two men “had a falling out” at some point in 2018, though, and more or less went their separate ways. We know his religion has continued to be of greater importance in the Canadian pop star’s life, but it’s unclear if he’s tried to meaningfully reconnect with Lentz in the recent past.
As of Thursday morning, the Biebs had not commented on the pastor’s firing on social media channels or through the press. Lentz’s own accounts have long been dark, as well; he hasn’t posted on Instagram since mid-September and hasn’t tweeted since back in May.
No point in speculating about specifics here, of course, but something suspicious is definitely going on. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Thoughts about this church and its now-disgraced pastor??
Maybe Post Malone could have been right about this church after all?!?!