What is the Mosaic Church? Bethany Joy Lenz reveals she was part of a cult for 10 years

Actress and singer-songwriter Bethany Joy Lenz recently revealed she was part of an undisclosed cult. Now a former member, she spoke about how she was an integral part of the cult for nearly a decade.

She shared her experiences on an episode of the podcast Drama Queens, which she co-hosts with her One Tree Hill co-stars Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton.

She began by saying how she was mentally preparing for days to come out in public and speak about her cult experiences. She further added that she plans to write a book about it and said that most of her memories were negative, which is why she took another decade just to recover.

“I was in a cult for 10 years. That would be a really valuable experience to write about, and the recovery – 10 years of recovery after that. So, there’s a lot to tell,” she said.

While Bethany Joy Lenz didn’t reveal the name of the cult in the podcast, back in 2021, she slammed Mosaic Church on Instagram for the alleged harsh treatment of the members and even said she was part of it.

Mosaic Church is an LA-based church founded by iconoclast Erwin McManus. However, it isn’t clear whether the cult she referred to in her latest podcast is the Mosaic Church.

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Mosaic Church, which was criticized by Bethany Joy Lenz, operates even outside the USA

As per its official website, Mosaic Church is based out of Los Angeles and was founded in October 1991 by iconoclast and futurist Erwin McManus, who is also its lead pastor. It promotes itself as “one of America’s most influential and innovative churches.”

According to its bio, the Mosaic Church lets people belong before they believe and allow them a space to declare the name of Christ in whichever way they please.

This multi-campus non-denominational church also serves to build homes for the homeless. Aside from the LA campus, it is also spread across seven cities, including Seattle and Mexico City, Mexico. As for its mission, it strives to live by faith, know by love and voice hope to the world.

The core values of the Mosaic Church include: mission is why the church exists, love is the context for all missions, structure must always submit to spirit, relevance to culture is not optional, and creativity is the natural result of spirituality.

It considers its founder and lead pastor Erwin McManus as an artist and cultural thought leader whose vision includes the integration of creativity and spirituality. The church offers baptism services on Sundays throughout the year.

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Bethany Joy Lenz writes about her cult experiences in private

During the Drama Queens podcast’s latest episode with her former co-actors Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton, Bethany Joy Lenz stated how she is not yet ready to name the cult she was part of. She also added how she regularly writes about her experiences privately as part of her healing process.

When the guest host Michaela McManus (also an actress who starred in One Tree Hill alongside Bethany Joy Lenz and the other two hosts) asked her whether she intends to be an author for the masses in the coming days, Bethany replied, “For sure!” However, she added:

“The pressure of getting it right and everything having to be exactly real and all the people that are involved. Also, I don’t know how much I can say because there are still people and legal things in place that make it more complicated for the timing of that. But I do write. I write all the time.”

While she has never publicly named the cult, earlier in 2021, she called out the Mosaic Church for being potentially problematic. She had taken to Instagram to post:

“So many people are being misled in the name of a God I love and cherish, I feel I have a responsibility to speak up for anyone willing to hear it. The hierarchy in this “church,” the level of abuse that I’ve consistently heard goes on behind the scenes and how everything centers around the Leader is textbook 101 of cults. And usually, unless you’re in the inner circle, it’s much harder to spot.”

Later, she also admitted to attending it for two years and being its only on-and-off member. Bethany Joy Lenz even added that the level of control executed by the leader Erwin McManus was disturbing for her and to many others who left the church for the same reason.

Interestingly, this is not the first time Bethany Joy Lenz has admitted to being part of a cult. Previously, in 2016, when NXIVM’s leader Allison Mack, who was recently released from prison (for racketeering women to her cult) invited Bethany Joy Lenz to be a part of it, she had written, “Sorry love, was already in a cult once.”

Bethany Joy Lenz is now 42 years old. Apart from playing the role of Haley James Scott on One Tree Hill, she also starred in CBS’s daytime soap opera Guiding Light from 1998 to 2000.

Apart from being an actor, she is also a solo musician and also part of the folk band named Everly. Since 2021, she has been co-hosting the Drama Queens podcast.