By Brendan Esposito/Fairfax Media/Getty Images. I personally thought it was what I was called by Jesus to do. Jones says she watched the group serve as an outlet for cronyism. Now, I love Hillsong music it's anointed, it's powerful. Reporting what happened was the issue, not what happened to me, Crenshaw says. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. The message denied only one scandal specifically. In leaving Hillsong, Termini joins a growing group of Lentz-connected pastors. When he couldnt convince Jones to stay, Lentz wept. (He later deleted the tweet and apologized for it. Austen texted, searching for answers, but received little response. I agreed to forgive your father., Yes, okay, Ill get the money to you, Houston responded. Born the youngest of four in Williamsburg, Virginia, he was raised in a Christian household but struggled to connect with the local church concept and religion in general. Amid safety concerns, and anxiety over the fate of a $200 million movie. A version of this story appears in the 2021 Hollywood issue. Lentz, the pastor from global megachurch Hillsong, who once ministered to Justin Bieber and a bevy of other . A few years ago, Shnays company, SK Development, along with two other firms, began constructing an office building at 363 Lafayette Street in NoHo that opened in 2018. In December the board of Hillsong Church Australia wrote an email to congregants dismissing the stories, some of which included allegations of exploitation and discrimination, primarily as gossip. Keatinge prompted her to tell her story. Aghajanian asked Crenshaw to repeat her statement twice more. According to a 2011 interview with Lentz in The Christian Post, as early 20-something students, Lentz and the younger Houston fantasized about someday teaming up to establish a Hillsong church in New York. I wouldnt be able to function at work without it., When asked why he didnt just find another church, Vivar recalled a sermon Lentz had once given that stuck with him. Shoebridge recalled on the Parliament floor what Brian Houston had once told an alleged victim, who had agreed to a $10,000 payment not to speak out. Crowds climbed to 1,000 per night in under a year. Back in New York, they tried going to services again; their best friends were and still are part of the church. Ex-Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz is one of the main characters in the show. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. He responded, in part, Im not sure if you realize this either: cliquism, [cronyism], overworking volunteersthese are subjective social constructs.. In September 2016, Jones emailed Lentz asking that Hillsong address some of the things that bothered her about the church: its racial disparity, cliques, cronyism, overworked volunteers. ), One of the most delicate conversations I had with a former volunteer deals with Pastor Carl, William wrote in the complaint, the existence of which The New York Times first reported in December. Critics say the church needs greater accountability for its leadership. to the churchs spokesperson. I now begin a journey of rebuilding trust with my wife, . Ive heard so much about you. A few weeks later, Jones told Lentz she arrived at the venue 90 minutes before Sunday services to ensure she got a seat. She wrote in her statement that I was physically violated by his unwanted and repeated sexual touching of my intimate areas. Lentz lives in Florida with his family and reportedly wants to start an entertainment career Days before his termination from Hillsong Church, Lentz sold his $1.5 million Montclair, New Jersey, house. I also felt so ashamed and I had been told not to say anything or tell anyone, Kimes told Religion News Service, which first reported the allegations. ), Keatinge, they wrote, was bullying and yelling at a wide breadth of volunteers and leaders. Team operations manager Mike Fabian, the letter said, regularly accused team leaders of being nonsubmissive. The letter said that one church leader and Keatinge friend had engaged in bullying behavior, and that in at least two instances this leader didnt respect physical and sexual boundaries within dating relationships with female church volunteers, including having sex with a 19-20 year old female team leader. (A Hillsong spokesperson said the leader no longer worked for the church. Lead pastor Judah Smith, whose community also includes celebrity couple Ciara and Russell Wilson, had an emotional moment on stage with the Canadian performer. When she reported that a volunteer in the vocal group sent her a sexually threatening text message late one night, the man was simply moved to a different volunteer team. His elevated status made me feel like he had all the power, and I had no voice.. reported in February, Kimes paid a former Hillsong College student $150 a week to look after her own daughter. Net worth: $3 Million Carl Lentz founded the New York City branch of Hillsong Church in 2010. NEW YORK (RNS) The streaming channel Discovery+ has announced plans for a documentary series on Hillsong Church and its disgraced former pastor, Carl Lentz . Since. 8 Lentzs reply to the letter, which V.F. Lentz's wife Laura speaks out about his affair for the first time in Vanity Fair and FX's . Regardless of what words you disagree with that I used, you have to be able to hear my heart as Ive spoken and its not with any desire to attack you, she wrote. Hillsong congregants and insiders expressed skepticism about its integrity. Every time, I froze. A legal representative for the Lentzes told RNS that the two vehemently deny the allegations and, in addition to that, have irrefutable proof the events did not happen as they are being described.. Hillsong used a nearby hotel to simulcast for overflow crowds. That afternoon, the pastor gave out a clear call: If you want to change your life and serve Jesus and Jesus alone, lift up your hand. The Lentzes loved Virginia BeachCarls parents lived there; they had a house and friends. Producers and studio execs wouldnt take his calls. Ad Choices. Theyre one of Hollywoods brightest starsand most troubled actors. I felt his arms and hands wrapped around my legs making contact with my inner thigh, butt and crotch. She tried to make her way to the door, but Mays wouldnt let go. That came to a. Houston contacted his New York pastor right away. The Lentzes and Sunshine Sachs parted ways. After the blowup over the attempted White House invitation brought Morrisons ties with Houston into the spotlight, the Australian member of Parliament David Shoebridge argued that Houston failed his fathers victims and pointed to a strong basis for prosecution. Crenshaw says the church notified Mays three months after her first report and took no action for two months after that. Church officials de-rostered her daughter from her weekly volunteer commitments. On November 9, Ranin Karim, a 34-year-old jewelry designer and actor with a septum piercing and her own sleeves of tattoos, described a monthslong tequila-drenched love affair with Lentz in interviews with The Sun, the New York Post, and others. Kimess allegations add to a growing portrait of Lentzs alleged misconduct as well as of Hillsongs record of abuse. Sunday call time for volunteers is 5 a.m. Watching from her seat, Jones filled with anticipation. It is also a multimedia conglomerate that produces documentaries, books, and chart-topping musical acts. Strobe lights and stage smoke filled the church lobby. Keatinge removed William from his connect group. At age twenty, he discovered his calling and enrolled in . also reported that in 2017, one volunteer at Hillsong NYC confided in another New York congregant that Lentz had been extremely flirtatious with her and made her feel extremely uncomfortable, and that Lentz had been involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with multiple women. However, controversy followed him in May 2021 when Leona Kimes, who worked as a nanny at the Lentz home for over seven years, claimedthat Carl subjected her to "bullying, abuse of power, and sexual abuse." After a few conversations where she outlined some preliminary stepsincluding leaving their role working with childrenshe proposed a longer-term path. The churchs leaders and their families have at times seemed to operate under a more fluid set of standards. The wife of former Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz is speaking out for the first time since her husband was fired from the megachurch amid a sex scandal. Around the time Carl's firing was announced, he and his family moved to Manhattan Beach, California, and stayed away from the public spotlight. The creative element, especially in New York, is incredible.. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Archive Footage: Code Orange Revival. (It's unclear whether these amounts were AUD or USD). John Termini, Lentzs successor at Hillsong NYC, told William that he needed to defend the church the way that Termini would defend his wife. (A church spokesperson said John Mays was recused from the matter due to his conflict of interest and that it was unaware of any incidents of Houston praising Mays onstage from the time Crenshaws allegations became known. Last month, Houston announced that the investigation was complete, and that while the church wouldnt release the results, its board of directors had learned that it needed to make changes at the branches Lentz had led (and, the announcement seemed to imply, only at those branches). Some have suggested that Lentz's missteps were a reflection of Houston and the culture he created . Leadership met her protests with a favorite church aphorism: We dont call the qualified; we qualify the called. Eventually, Hillsong NYC scrapped the plan to have the white woman sing. Missing the community Hillsong provided, William organized his own prayer meeting. We need a solid foundation for a fresh start and new beginning, he said. Kimes said in her statement that Lentz repeatedly physically violated her, including on two occasions, in a movie theater and while she was driving, with one or more of his children present. Human Resources, whistleblower policies, or any sort of safe place to share concerns., In 2018 a group of Hillsong volunteers emailed the Lentzes and the Houstons claiming that church staffers were engaging in unchecked sexual misconduct and bullying. But the proposed rental eventually became a purchase. One, a Nigerian student who attended Hillsong while studying at NYU, says William made her feel particularly welcome. In mid-November 2020, a crisis manager from the public relations firm Sunshine Sachs took on a new client: Carl Lentz, former head of Hillsong Church's four locations in the American Northeast.. Soon after, Harvest Time Church in Greenwich, Connecticut, announced that Blaze and Desiree Robertson, formerly of Hillsong Connecticut, were being considered as its new executive pastors. Houston and Hillsong have falsely claimed that Frank Houston, who retired with a pension, didnt preach after his son learned of the abuse. An Intimate View of a Young Queen Elizabeth II The Sacklers Launched OxyContin. He and Joel grew a joint reputation for their nightlife exploits. Hillsong founder Brian Houston speaks about Carl Lentz in TODAY exclusive. While there, Keatinge told the student that he had seen her Instagram photos from Williams prayer meeting. Hillsong College serves as a farm system for the churchs global network of pastors, who become centers of gravity wherever they land. May 18, 202100:49. Abreu crowdfunded a trip to Sydney to start at Hillsong College in 2015 around the time of Josh Canfields Survivor appearance. (Lentz declined to comment for this story.). corroborate her account. The choir revealed other fault lines too. Hes worked with the youth ministry for years, driving all over the state to pick kids up to bring them to meetings. Left, by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo; right, courtesy of Ashley Jones. (In my opinion theyre just looking for dirt on Carl, says one. In 2019 it opened new outposts in Indonesia, Brussels, Edinburgh, Milan, Dallas, Kansas City, and Monterrey, Mexico, as well as a college campus in Phoenix. Images of Carl's New Home Surfaced as Well, and It's Obvious that It's Not as Nice as His Old One in Los Angeles. So did the volunteer who confided in William. In November, celebrity preacher at the church's New York church Carl Lentz had a spectacular fall from grace, fired for "moral failings" after his infidelities were publicly revealed. They joined a pool club and hosted cookouts with plenty to drink. During workdays that could start at 7 a.m. and end at 11 p.m., she said that responsibilities included cleaning, running errands, and childcare. By Andrew White/The New York Times/Redux. They call it the Hillsong hangover, she says. ), If you complain, youll keep cleaning toilets. (Emails provided to V.F. Not a subscriber? The doctrine, popularized by American televangelists, holds that Jesus wanted health and wealth for his followers. A Lentz family insider provided People.com with updates: family nights on the beach and Thanksgiving plans. Shed get angry when Brian Houston would praise Mays on the stage. (A Hillsong spokesperson said Crenshaws complaint led to an internal investigation which did take some time to complete as there were multiple parties present at the time of the alleged behavior. Mays was stood down from his positions during the investigation.). Didn't expect this guy to get a bailout from Madea, did you? Kimes said that she twice discussed the alleged abuse with the Lentzes. As a child she was abused by a youth leader, and after the assault in Sydney, she went to a counselor to work through it all.
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