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Carl Lentz fired from Hillsong due to 'leadership issues, moral failures'
By Charity Gibson, CP Contributor
Thursday, November 05, 2020
Carl Lentz speaks at Hillsong Church NYC in this photo dated January 2020. | Facebook/Hillsong Church NYC
Hillsong founding pastor Brian Houston sent out an email to church staff and members of Hillsong East Coast on Wednesday afternoon, announcing the termination of Hillsong NYC’s lead pastor, Carl Lentz.
In a statement, which was sent to The Christian Post by Hillsong, Houston revealed that Lentz’s termination was due to “leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures.”
Apparently, the 'moral failure' was having an adulterous affair. Lentz said he is committed to rebuilding his relationship with his wife and children.
Members of the Hillsong NY staff revealed to CP that they were currently “processing” the news.
“I know this will come as a shock to you, but please know that this action was not taken lightly and was done in the best interests of everyone, including Pastor Carl,” Houston, whose church has locations worldwide, wrote in the email.
“Please understand that it would not be appropriate for us to go into detail about the events that led to this decision. However, you can be assured that this decision was made in order to honor God and pastorally care for you, our East Coast family, Pastor Carl and his family.”
Pop singer Justin Bieber, 23 (L) and Hillsong NYC pastor, Carl Lentz. | (Photo: Instagram/JustinBieber)
Lentz, who was responsible for all Hillsong campuses on the east coast, was often pegged a celebrity pastor in mainstream media because a number of his friends and congregants included A-list stars such as Justin and Hailey Bieber, Kevin Durant, Selena Gomez, Kylie Jenner and others.
Lentz is also credited for baptizing Justin Bieber in the bathtub of former New York Knicks player, Tyson Chandler.
Hillsong church was founded by Houston and his wife, Bobbie, in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, in 1983. It has now grown from a single church to an international ministry that extends to cities on five continents, including London, Paris, Sao Paulo, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro and Phoenix.
In the United States, Hillsong is recognized for its thriving congregations in New York, which up until Wednesday, was led by Lentz, and Los Angeles. Combined, the ministry reaches over 100,000 people weekly.
Lentz served alongside Houston’s son, Joel, who served as a worship leader of Hillsong NYC during its foundational years, starting in 2010. The edgy pastor and the Hillsong name drew thousands of people to the church, which was held at Irving Plaza in Manhattan at the time and was a church by day and club by night.
Lentz’s rise to fame came after he became the lead pastor of Hillsong NYC due to his fashion choices, tattoo-covered arms and celebrity congregants.
In a past interview with the New York Post, the Virginia native admitted that previously he was “doing my own thing, being my own god” before he moved to Los Angeles to attend seminary. Following his time on the west coast, he moved to Australia to partake in Hillsong’s training program at its college, where he met his wife, Laura.
The couple eventually moved back to the states to launch Hillsong’s first U.S. location. A decade later, his season with Hillsong has officially ended.
In his statement, Houston expressed gratitude for the impact Lentz has had through his years of ministry.
"We thank Pastors Carl and Laura for the way they have served faithfully and sacrificially since the start of Hillsong NYC and for contributing so significantly to the countless lives that have been transformed for Jesus Christ through this ministry," Houston stated. "They 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."
“While I have no doubt in my heart that this is the right course of action, I must mention Bobbie’s and my personal sadness, as we have known Laura her entire life and Carl for well over 20 years,” he added.
Hillsong said it will not be making further public comments on this matter. Lentz has not been active on social media since September.
Hillsong East Coast services will "proceed as usual."
Brian Houston is acquainted with moral failure thanks to his father: Muck-Raker's Pathetic Attack on Hillsong Church
Man admits shooting priest in France for having ‘affair with his wife’
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Shooting came days after 3 people were killed in a knife attack at a church in Nice
Published: November 08, 2020 15:27
Police secure a street after a Greek Orthodox priest was shot and injured at a church in the centre of Lyon,
France. Image Credit: Reuters
Lyon, France: A suspect has admitted to shooting a Greek Orthodox priest in Lyon last month, in what appears to be revenge for a love affair, the prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
The 40-year-old man who is originally from Georgia according to the daily Le Parisien, “turns out to be the husband of a woman who was having an affair with the victim,” a statement issued by the office said.
The suspect was taken into custody on Friday following his arrest at home in the central French city, the newspaper added.
Nikolaos Kakavelakis, 52, was shot twice in the chest at point-blank range on October 31 but emerged from a coma on Wednesday and was able to tell investigators who had fired.
The priest had announced his resignation a month earlier.
He was shot two days after a terror attack at a church in Nice, southern France, briefly raising fears he had been the victim of another such attack, before investigators said they were treating the case as a criminal affair.
Nova Scotian sues U.S. missionaries over alleged 'torture' at orphanage
Alex Chisholm Guibault says he and others were abused at the
American-run Casa Aleluya in Guatemala
Jon Tattrie · CBC News ·
Posted: Nov 12, 2020 6:00 AM AT
Alex and his mother, Leceta Chisholm Guibault, have returned to Guatemala several times to help kids.
(Submitted by Leceta Chisholm Guibault)
A Nova Scotia man has launched a lawsuit against a U.S.-based organization that runs a Guatemalan orphanage where he says he and others were violently abused for years.
Alex Chisholm Guibault has taken legal action against Casa Aleluya, an orphanage run by Build Your House on the Rock, a Louisiana-based Christian group.
The lawsuit was filed in Louisiana by lawyers working for Guibault. It seeks unspecified damages. He got news the civil action had been filed in late October, on his 28th birthday.
"I feel like this is the best birthday gift," he said. "Finally, justice is going to be served. I would say I've been waiting for this pretty much my whole life."
Guibault had a rough early childhood and was on the streets of San Bartolomé Milpas Altas at age five or six when a police officer picked him up and turned him over to the orphanage. The lawsuit names several people connected to Build Your House on the Rock, including Michael Clark, the president, and Dorothy Clark, the vice-president.
The lawsuit alleges Guibault was abused for 12 years at the orphanage and that the Clarks knew about the "vile, violent and horrendous acts," but did not stop them.
It alleges that two days after the child arrived at the orphanage "he was thrown to the ground and severely beaten with a tree branch by Mike Clark" because he was late for church.
"They can call it Christian discipline or punishment, but the reality is it's torture," Guibault said.
That is not Christian discipline!
By the time Guibault was 19, he had tried to end his life several times. He knows many other kids from the orphanage who ended up taking their own lives, or disappearing into the streets of Guatemala.
But Guibault's life changed that year when he met Leceta Chisholm Guibault when she visited the country. He was hired as her translator and they quickly bonded.
Later, she and her husband adopted Alex and he moved to Nova Scotia. He is applying to become a Canadian citizen.
"What I've been able to watch with Alex over the years since I met him was this transformation from becoming this teenager that was considered an orphan," his mother said. "And seeing him transform into a son, becoming a Canadian, and understanding what his human rights are."
Casa Aleluya's website says Mike and Dottie Clark founded it in 1989 and that 6,000 children have been in its care since then. (Casaaleluya.org)
New Orleans lawyer Justin Chopin and his father, Dick, represent Alex. Justin Chopin said the orphanage is owned and run by a group based in Louisiana, so his law firm has jurisdiction to act.
"What we hope to achieve is justice for Alex," he said last week. "But not even just Alex — all of the children that are in the orphanage still to this day, some of which may have been subject to physical abuse, sexual abuse and, in Alex's case, torture."
The lawsuit alleges Guibault was often denied food, locked in a cell — including one six-month stint — and forced to use a bucket for a bathroom.
It also alleges that Guibault and other children were forced to stand naked in front of Mike Clark and others, and that Clark sexually abused them.
The lawsuit also alleges Guibault and others were regularly beaten at random, in addition to scheduled beatings on Saturdays. The lawsuit says Clark would not let Guibault be adopted and told him he was "too stupid and ugly" to find a new family.
Clark allegedly broke the boy's nose about 20 times. Older children in the orphanage were allowed to abuse younger ones, according to the lawsuit. It includes signed statements from licensed mental-health practitioners who have spoken to Guibault that they believe he was sexually and physically abused by the group.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
Alex Guibault was called by a different name and under the care of Casa Aleluya when this photo was taken. (Submitted by Alex Guibault)
Casa Aleluya's website says Mike and Dottie (Dorothy) Clark founded it in 1989 and that 6,000 children have been in its care since then. It presents a positive image of a Christian-inspired couple helping children "with the worst abusive experiences and catastrophic health conditions" at the orphanage.
CBC News left a voicemail, and sent emails and social media messages to Casa Aleluya and Build Your House on the Rock, but did not get a response. The Clarks have not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.
Alex Guibault last visited the orphanage in 2012.
This photo shows children at the orphanage around 2012. (Submitted by Alex Guibault)
"When you see another kid who has been abused, you recognize that right away because you were one of them," he said. "That was my case. I cannot tell you how happy they looked, because they were not happy.
"They all had struggles, as I did. So when I went in — it's not the place that's causing the abuse, it's the people that don't parent. The Americans, the missionaries who were there, they were the ones who were making the abuse."
The case could take years to resolve.
Alex Guibault now lives with his adopted family in Nova Scotia. (Submitted by Alex Guibault)
Former Queens teacher faces a dozen sexual abuse lawsuits
By Melissa Klein, New York Post
August 22, 2020 | 6:11pm
A former teacher and administrator at a church-run school is facing 12 lawsuits alleging he sexually abused young boys beginning in the 1970s and continuing for more than a decade.
Svrcek, 74, was a gym teacher, coach and later vice principal of the school. He was also a Boy Scout leader.
The NYPD and the Queens DA’s office said they could not comment on any pending probes.
Lambros Lambrou, a lawyer representing six of the victims, said he believed there would be more cases.
Neither Svrcek, who lives on Long Island, nor his lawyer returned requests for comment.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which is also named as a defendant in the suits, would not comment on specific allegations other than to say “we abhor the sexual abuse of children and take allegations of such conduct very seriously.”
Malawi church security guard arrested for child sexual abuse
Nov 14, 2020
Russell Kondowe, Malawi24.com
Police in Blantyre have arrested a 31-year-old security guard at St. Michaels and All Angels CCAP (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian) Church for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl within the church compound.
The guard has been identified as Clement Selenje.
According to Blantyre Police Public Relations Officer, Augustus Nkhwazi, the suspect sexually abused the girl within the establishment of the church, on Wednesday at around 21:45 pm in one of the toilets located at the compound.
The child is a daughter to one of the cleaners at the church.
Nkhwazi said Selenje will be charged with defilement and will appear in court once investigations are finalised.
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