How a hip megachurch got caught up in a scandal

Known in the 2010s for its hipster trappings, celebrity congregants and wildly popular worship music, the global megachurch Hillsong has been more closely associated with a series of scandals in recent years, including the firing of its charismatic celebrity pastor, Carl Lentz, for “moral failures”. ‘.

A four-part documentary series, “The Secrets of Hillsong,” premieres Friday on FX and delves into the turmoil. Based on a 2021 article in Vanity Fair magazine, the series features the first interview with Mr. Lentz since he was fired in 2020.

Here’s how the problems unfolded.

Why was Hillsong so popular?

Brian Houston and his wife, Bobbie, founded Hillsong in Australia in 1983 and opened the first US branch in New York in 2010. The church was a member of the Australian branch of the Pentecostal Church, the Assemblies of God, before forming its own denomination in 2018.

Hillsong’s expansion into the United States built on its huge success in presenting worship music. The services attracted young people in major cities, where services were held in concert halls, such as Irving Plaza and New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The congregants were fashionable and included celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Kevin Durant and Vanessa Hudgens.

Mr. Lentz, the chief pastor of the New York branch in Hillsong, also became a celebrity.

This hip veneer suggested that Hillsong supported a more progressive form of evangelicalism, but the church was criticized for its stance on LGBTQ rights. In a blog post from August 2015the church’s founder, Mr. Houston, said that gays were welcome in Hillsong, but that it “did not affirm a gay lifestyle.”

Carl Lentz: “Hype Priest”

Mr. Lentz used to hang out with celebrities, including Mr. Bieber, with whom he dipped in the bathtub of an NBA player’s home. In 2017, GQ magazine called Mr. Lentz a “hyperpriest‘ to display his trendy wardrobe, which includes aviator sunglasses, skinny jeans and designer sneakers. He often spoke about racial inequality and in 2016 expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

It all came to a halt when he was fired from Hillsong in November 2020. Church said his resignation followed discussions of “leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures”. Mr Lentz said on Instagram shortly afterwards that he had been “unfaithful in my marriage, the most important relationship in my life.” His wife, Laura Lentz, also pastored Hillsong.

He has since stayed out of the limelight. Last week he said in an Instagram post that his wife and children had been his “sole priority” for the past three years.

“Part of the healing of that heartache led us to the decision to be part of a documentary that we have no control over, that we have no say in and that we haven’t even seen yet,” he said.

What happened after Carl Lentz left?

More unrest. Hillsong founder Mr. Houston resigned in March 2022 after the church said an internal investigation found he behaved inappropriately towards two women, violating the church’s code of conduct.

He had already resigned from his duties at the Department in January 2022 to fight a criminal charge accusing him of covering up child sexual abuse by his late father, Frank Houston. Brian Houston has denied the allegations. The case is still in court This is reported by the Australian Associated Press.

In MarchMr. Houston said he had been charged with drunk driving in the United States in February 2022. Mr. Houston said at the time “it looked like all hell had broken loose at Hillsong church.”

Mr. Houston did not respond to a request for comment. In a video posted to his social media accounts in Novemberhe criticized Hillsong’s leadership for how it had handled allegations of misconduct against him.

“I didn’t resign because of my mistakes,” he said. “I resigned because of the statements and statements made.”

How is Hillsong today?

In March 2022, nine of the 16 Hillsong churches in the United States severed ties with the organization, abruptly reducing the church’s American presence. Hillsong’s website says it has seven churches in the United States, as well as locations in more than two dozen other countries.

The website also says about 150,000 people worldwide attend services each week, but that’s an estimate the church has been using since before the pandemic. Hillsong did not respond to questions about current visitor numbers.

The documentary, which premieres Friday, features interviews with congregants and examines the history of the church’s relationship with money, sex and God.