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Carl Lentz, a former Hillsong Church pastor, was instrumental in establishing the megachurch in the United States but was fired from the group's leadership ten years later.
The first Hillsong Church in the United States was officially opened in 2010 by co-founders Lentz and Joel Houston. Thereafter, they established the church, hosting thousands of congregants on Sundays and moving from small meetings in apartments to large theaters. Carl gained recognition for his famous friends, including Justin Bieber, while the church gained prominence for its high-profile celebrity members.
But after a decade of service at Hillsong, the celebrity pastor was fired from his position due to "breaches of trust" and a "revelation of moral failures." The married father-of-three was reportedly ousted from the megachurch in 2020 for having an affair with a mistress and also sharing an intimate relationship with his family's nanny.
An upcoming four-part documentary series on FX titled The Secrets of Hillsong will chronicle the scandal surrounding former Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz in its first two episodes, scheduled to air on Friday, May 19, at 10 pm ET.
The Carl Lentz scandal: Four things to know about the scandal surrounding the former Hillsong Church pastor
1) Carl's "moral failures" led to him getting fire from his position at the Hillsong Church
In November 2020, Carl Lentz was suddenly terminated from his position at Hillsong. Founder Brian Houston explained that he was fired following "breaches of trust" and a "recent revelation of moral failures." It was later reported that the pastor was involved in a five-month-long affair in 2020. He later admitted to having been "unfaithful" in his marriage and took "full responsibility" for his actions.
Within weeks, a designer named Ranin Karim came forward, claiming to be the woman Carl had an affair with. Karim said in a Vanity Fair interview that she made multiple attempts to end their five-month romance, but he continued to pursue her. Karim further told the publication that she wished she had "never met him."
2) Carl Lentz's wife found out about his intimate relationship with their family's nanny
According to People Magazine, Laura Lentz claimed she first found out about his infidelities on October 25, 2020, when the pastor told her that he had been unfaithful to her. Carl told her about his affair with the mistress, Ranin Karim, after the Hillsong leadership found "incriminating text messages" that the lovers had exchanged with each other.
Shortly after, the Hillsong board members and founder Brian Houston asked Carl about his relationship with their family's nanny, Leona Kimes, also a member of the church, over a Zoom call. Although Laura knew about the cheating, she wasn't aware of it until then, but she had suspected that something was going on between them after finding them in a "compromising position" one night.
3) The Lentz family's former nanny indirectly accused Carl of s*xual abuse
Leona Kimes, the couple's former nanny, accused Carl of s*xual and emotional abuse in May 2021, although she never explicitly mentioned his name. Kimes wrote an essay titled Writing My Voice Back, alleging how "boundaries between personal and professional blurred" during her employment, leading to an "unhealthy bond and attachment" being formed.
According to People, Kimes wrote:
"During the years I spent serving them, I was subjected to manipulation, control, bullying, abuse of power and s*xual abuse. Having told almost no one before this, I am just now able to share what I experienced in their home as the result of intense therapy."
Kimes mentioned that Carl made s*xual remarks and looked at her body "in a way that felt predatory" to her. She said that he would position himself close to her in the hot tub and graze her legs. The nanny claimed that their physical encounters escalated to intercourse, alleging that "she was physically violated by his unwanted and repeated s*xual touching," and "froze. Every time, I froze."
Laura and Carl Lentz issued an official statement via their attorney and vehemently denied any such allegations.
4) Laura and Carl Lentz remained together throughout the scandal
Ever since the scandal of Carl Lentz's affair first surfaced and the s*xual abuse allegations were made public, his wife and the mother of his three children, Laura, stood by him.
The former Hillsong pastor took full responsibility for his actions, which caused "an inappropriate relationship to develop in my house with someone that worked for us." Addressing his relationship with the family's nanny, Carl stated that "there were mutual adult decisions made by two people who lied profusely," especially to his wife.
After being fired from the megachurch, the couple publicly addressed their relationship for the first time in September 2022 and confirmed that they would be moving forward as a family. In fact, very recently, they even celebrated their 20th anniversary.
Learn more about Carl Lentz's scandal on FX's The Secrets of Hillsong this Friday at 10 pm ET.
