Disgraced pastor Carl Lentz (can we stop calling him that yet?) is out at Hillsong, but that he has hired public relations firm Sunshine Sachs to do damage control on his reputation, setting the stage for a swift return to the public eye.
Lentz, who has gone radio silent since announcing the affair with NY designer Ranin Karim, hired the small but influential PR company to begin cultivating the needed narrative. No fly-by-night operation, the scrappy company boasts an impressive client list of Hollywood royalty and sports superstars, such as Mehgan Markle, Justin Timberlake, Leonardo Dicaprio, and the Jackson family. They have a reputation of using ‘bare-knuckle tactics’ when it comes to aggressively protecting and promoting their clients.
The company will have their work cut out for them, as rumors swirl that more women have come forward with allegations of more sexual impropriety- a move if true will further alienate those with a propensity to brush off his 5-month long adulterous affair as a one-time mistake. They also have to contend with the investigation the Hillsong mothership is launching at their satellite campus, to see what other dredges lie beneath the surface.
Still, if Lentz follows in the steps of the typical Christian celebrity or pastor caught in disqualifying sin, he will stay relatively out of sight and out of mind for a few months, share a few photos of his family on Instagram over Christmas, share some inspirational quotes over spring, and announce in June 2021 that he’s starting a new church. The church will have as its motto something like “an authentic church for broken people” and by this time next year will have hundreds of attendees.
We’re not continuationists by any means, but that is one prophecy you can take to the bank.
