Explained: Why has disgraced Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz written a book about his infidelity?

Who is Carl Lentz?

Born in Virginia, USA, Stephen Carl Lentz was the founding pastor of Hillsong New York, the first American outpost of the Hillsong Church global network.

Lentz, now 47, became a Christian in his teens. Aged 20, he met Joel Houston, son of Hillsong founder, Brian, at the megachurch’s International Leadership College in Sydney, Australia. The pair began discussing a US church plant and in 2010, Hillsong NYC opened its doors, with Carl and his wife Laura (who he also met at leadership college) as lead pastors.

The church quickly became one of the fastest growing churches in New York, with a weekly attendance of more than 8,000 people, including many celebrities and sports stars. In 2015, GQ magazine described it as “a mega-church so reputedly, mystifyingly cool that cable-news outlets cover its services like they’re Kardashian birthday bashes.”

Two years later, GQ christened Lentz the original “hypepriest”, a new breed of designer-clad, celebrity pastors that included Churchome’s Judah Smith (long-time mentor to Justin Bieber) and Rendezvous Miami’s Rich Wilkerson Jr (who officiated at Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s wedding).

Lentz is perhaps most famous for baptising Justin Bieber in the bathtub of New York Knicks star Tyson Chandler in 2014.

Why did it all go wrong?

In November 2020, Carl Lentz was fired from Hillsong New York. In a statement, global leader, Brian Houston, said his dismissal was due to “leadership issues, breaches of trust, and a recent revelation of moral failures.” His wife Laura was also dismissed, despite no alleged wrongdoings against her.

The following day, Lentz admitted to being unfaithful in his marriage. Underneath a photo of Carl, his wife Laura and their three children he wrote an Instagram caption apologising for “breaking the trust of many people” and said he took “full responsibility” for his actions. “I now begin a journey of rebuilding trust with my wife, Laura and my children and taking real time to…seek out the help that I need,” he added.

“It’s irresponsible for us not to talk about what happened because it was so public,” Lentz said

Two weeks later, Ranin Karim, a New York jewellery designer, told Vanity Fair magazine that she had had a five-month long affair with Lentz.

The following May, Leona Kimes accused Lentz of sexually abusing her when she was working for the family as a nanny. Kimes said she had not told her husband, who was also working for Hillsong NYC at the time, because she feared for his job. While Lentz admitted to an extramarital affair with Kimes, he denies abuse.

What happened next?

The affair marked the start of a tumultuous few years for Hillsong Global, including the release of several highly critical TV documentaries. Numerous people came forward alleging a culture of abuse, volunteer mistreatment and a celebrity hierarchy within the Hillsong NYC leadership, including financial mismanagement and the use of church money to fund lavish lifestyles.

Brian Houston later announced an “independent investigation into the inner workings of Hillsong NYC/East Coast.” In a leaked audio recording, Houston (who was himself forced to resign in 2022 following allegations of sexual misconduct and failing to report historic child abuse carried out by his father) also accused Lentz of “narcissistic” and “manipulating” behaviour, and multiple instances of infidelity.

When the report was published in April 2022, it confirmed that there had been “multiple incidents of consensual or non-consensual sexual interaction between church leaders and congregants, staff, volunteers, or non-churchgoers.” This included the alleged circulation of “penis photos” and text messages from masseuses quoting Lentz for massages and sexual acts.

Carl and Laura Lentz vigorously denied the allegations and announced that they would take legal action regarding the “libellous claims that are rooted in lies and misinformation.”

Shortly afterwards, Laura Lentz posted a picture on Instagram with the words: “Enough is Enough.” In her caption, she said that while her family had remained silent to prioritise healing, it was not because they had nothing to say.

“When the time is right, we have a lot to say about what has happened as well as speaking directly to the RELENTLESS lies, accusations and hypocritical scapegoating that has sadly been so prevalent,” Lentz added.

So what did the Lentzes say?

Initially, very little.

In his November 2020 Instagram post, Lentz thanked Brian Houston and his wife Bobbie for “allowing us to lead…giving us room to have a voice that you have never stifled or tried to silence.” He went on to say that they had shown “grace and kindness” and “done so much to protect and love us through this.”

However, this later changed.

In August 2023, Carl and Laura Lentz gave their first interview, as part of the Hulu docuseries The Secrets of Hillsong. Lentz revealed that he had been sexually abused as a child, which led to anxiety, depression, and a pattern of secretive behaviour that eventually ended in an addiction to prescription drugs and infidelity.

In May 2024, these in-depth revelations went one step further. Lentz announced a new podcast Lights on with Carl Lentz, with the aim of using “everything we’ve been through to hopefully bring some new life and some new hope to people”.

“It’s irresponsible for us not to talk about what happened because it was so public,” Lentz added.

But as well as sharing their experience of rehab, restoring their marriage and rebuilding trust in their family, the pair also wanted to “share our side” of what happened at Hillsong NYC, including “the culture of cover up” that they say allowed other pastors to get away with similar behaviours.

In one episode, Laura reveals a text she sent to Bobbie Houston: “I just said…I don’t know why you didn’t protect us here. Why are people lying? You had these people, you let them, whilst on staff, say things about me and my husband that aren’t true and you know aren’t true…I never heard from her again.”

The pair are frustratingly opaque about what those lies are, but it is clear they feel they were thrown to the wolves by the Hillsong machine, even suggesting that it was “better for the church to make me [Carl] look even worse than I made myself look…I think the logic was the more we put on him, the less it’s going to come our way.”

What else does the podcast cover?

One of the most controversial episodes sees the couple’s three children (Ava, who was 16 at the time of her dad’s infidelity, Charlie, who was 14 and Roman, who was 11) speak about how the past few years have affected them.

Both the Hulu documentary and the podcast reveal intimate details about the children’s mental health and feature searingly honest conversations that make for difficult listening.

Some will feel that inviting teenagers to bear their souls on a podcast is both unwise and gratuitous. In his review of The Secrets of Hillsong for Premier Christianity, Sam Hailes questioned why this was necessary: “Did we really need to see the couple’s teenagers talking about how Carl’s affair affected their own faith? Is nothing private anymore?”

What is their new book about?

Now, two years after the launch of their podcast, Carl and Laura have written a book. Overcoming Infidelity: 10 conversations to help you heal the hurt (Simon & Schuster) is “a raw and unflinching road map to relational restoration for couples struggling to survive the tumultuous journey of infidelity and betrayal”, according to the blurb.

Celebrity friends, such as Tyler Perry, have been quick out of the blocks to praise the Lentzes for being so “raw and honest and open” in sharing their story, and Carl in particular for taking responsibility “for the pain and hurt he caused while at the same time battling to save his wife and family.”

Others have been less enamoured, even accusing Lentz of “monetising sin”. Writing for The Roys Report, journalist Daniel Silliman suggested that the book should have been titled “Overcoming Responsibility”, adding that it dodged the hard questions “about what happened before Carl Lentz’s misconduct came to light” and the wider issues surrounding the leadership culture at Hillsong NYC.

He is also critical about the advice and experiences recounted by the couple, including the obvious - telling his wife where he was, what he was doing and when he was coming home - to the more “ridiculous”, such as going to the gym without glasses or contacts so that he could not look at women while working out.

“The Lentzes did not have to write this book,” notes Silliman. But having chosen to do so, telling “the whole truth” would have been a good place to start, he says.

So is Carl Lentz returning to church leadership now?

For the past three years, Lentz has been employed at Transformation Church in Oklahoma, alongside his podcasting and book writing.

Announcing his appointment to the congregation in 2023, megachurch leader Mike Todd said Lentz would be “helping TC with strategy”, although it is unclear exactly what this means. Lentz later clarified that he was “not preaching, not overseeing people” but simply seeking to “give perspective and oversight.”

In 2024, Lentz told his podcast listeners that he had no plans to return to church leadership. But that doesn’t mean he believes that he cannot. Some Christians believe that adultery permanently disqualifies a pastor from church leadership, while others argue that repentance and restoration can make a return to ministry possible. However in a recent interview with ChurchLeaders.com, Lentz said: “I don’t believe anybody’s permanently disqualified.”

“I’m completely qualified to do whatever God calls me to do,” he added. “Is it wise? And that’s my tension forever.”