Tag: hillsong

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Charismatic Nonsense Evangelical Stuff Money Grubbing Heretics Scandal

Disgraced ‘Sex-Addict’ Hillsong Pastor Launches New Ministry

No, silly, not THAT disgraced Hillsong Pastor – another one. Ex-Hillsong Pastor Pat Mesiti, who taught at Hillsong in Austalia for over 20 years, co-founded Hillsong Music and Hillsong College, and describes himself as an “influential father figure” to Darlene Zschech, Christine Caine, and Carl Lentz, has joined a long pedigree of biblically illiterate preachers who restored themselves back to ministry after being kicked out of the church.

In Mesiti’s case, not content to the usual boring “extra-marital affair,” he was given the left dropkick of fellowship after being an admitted sex-addict who was picking up hookers at an unprecedented rate – that’s when he wasn’t pleading guilty to beating up his wife, whom he later divorced.

Naturally, this makes him a prime candidate for getting back on that ministry horse. With spurs in tow, Mesiti launched Reborn Ministries with his new wife, Catherine, and it’s about as bad as one could expect. According to their Mission Statement:

Our vision and mission is to share God’s greatest messages.

Reborn is about helping apply God’s wisdom to their every day life so anyone can attract everything they want in life, effortlessly.

Reborn is to give an opportunity for people to receive a fresh encounter with God so people can put all the broken pieces of their life back together.

Sounds like something a wrinklier and more decrepit Brian Houston would say.

On the ministry “about page” Mesiti describes himself as:

One of the world’s most celebrated speakers. He is a highly effective communicator. His passion is to EQUIP and EMPOWER individuals to reach their fullest potential. His expertise is to SHIFT MINDSETS AND TO BUILD BIGGER PEOPLE to produce results. Pat has spoken globally to some of the largest events, and his books and materials have sold over 2 million copies.” [Editorial side note: One of those he wrote was called Staying Together Without Falling Apart. He describes it as ‘the definitive guide to helping men and women “thrive together in a modern-day relationship.”‘]

As far as what this ministry actually does, Mesiti travels the world teaching people about prosperity and “how to attract it.” One of the endorsements on the site says that he has “dedicated his life to unlocking the potential inside of people, and opening up their minds to a more rewarding, fulfilling, and prosperous future.”

From the looks of things, if the success of his Youtube Channel is any indication, where he has a little over 200 subscribers and his videos average between 10 and 30 views each, if he doesn’t change his ways and repent of his heresy, the only thing he is likely to have success at is going to hell.

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Church Evangelical Stuff Featured Money Grubbing Heretics Scandal

Lentz Hires Famous PR Firm To Navigate Swift Restoration to Ministry

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.

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Charismatic Nonsense Evangelical Stuff Money Grubbing Heretics News

Hillsong Hires Law Firm To Investigate “Cultural Issues’ at Carl Lentz Former Church

Hillsong Church has elaborated on head honcho Brian Houston’s announcement that an investigating is being launched into the inner workings at Hillsong NYC after Senior Pastor Cal Lentz was fired for having a 5-month cheatfest with another woman.

We reported earlier that the leadership of the Australian prosperity-preaching megachurch was launching an “independent investigation” into the “inner workings” of their East Coast church plant in light of revelations that fired celebrity senior pastor Carl Lentz was engaging in at least one adulterous affair.

Houston said that the church needed “a solid foundation for a fresh start and new beginning” leading many to believe that there is more than just a wayward pastor and a heap of bad theology at their New York location, but rather the whole foundation is rotten.


Houston has since elaborated on what that would look like and why. Speaking via livestream to some of Hillsong NY’s congregants, he said:

“It’s a time when I’m so grateful for the team we have there, we’ve got such strong, committed and deeply loyal people who are part of the team. And I must say that not only [are] our key leaders in New York supportive of the decisions that have been made, but they have in fact been part of the process. And in a season of transition they’re looking over the things and making sure that all is in place, that people are pointed forward.”

He also said in a statement to the Daily Mail.

“Since last week’s announcement of a leadership change at Hillsong East Coast, we have heard from a number of people about their experiences and concerns. It is important that we establish the truth and then do everything we can to ensure our church is both a safe place and one that seeks to glorify God in all that we say and do.”

“For this reason we have decided to appoint a New York based legal firm that is not associated or affiliated with Hillsong to conduct an in-depth review and investigation into all concerns and any wider cultural issues. We are taking this extremely seriously and on the basis of this report, we will be better positioned to take whatever actions are deemed necessary to right the wrongs and see Hillsong East Coast move forward in a way that enables many more people to find hope in Jesus.”

Here is the salient point, however: the message that Carl Lentz was preaching every Sunday is far more offensive and destructive than his acts of adultery. The theology that springs forth from Hillsong is more cancerous and poisonous than his marital infidelities.

We’ve covered it every which way to Sunday, as have other faithful biblical discerners. Go to Pulpit & Pen and in the search type “Hillsong.” To listen to systematic responses and assessments of full-length Hillsong sermons, visit Chris Rosebrough’s “Fighting for the Faith.” or click this link from The Messed up Church to get a cornucopia of links showing the problems with them.

The long and short of it is that Hillsong Church is a word of faith, prosperity preaching organization. Brian Houston is a heretic who routinely peddles and promotes false teaching. Everything they do is seemingly an advancement of the popularity gospel, and they are compromised on the sin of homosexuality. The foundation of this church is wicked. Wretched theology permeates every pore.

The fact that so many people, including Hillsong parishioners, are more outraged and upset that one of their pastors was sleeping around, rather than the fact that they have not been taught the word of God and instead have been fed a slow drip of spiritual strychnine this whole time, is a damning indictment against them.

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Evangelical Stuff Heresies Money Grubbing Heretics Scandal

Brian Houston Announces Investigation into ‘Inner Workings’ of Hillsong NYC after Lentz Fallout

Hillsong head honcho Brian Houston has announced that the leadership of the Australian prosperity-preaching megachurch is launching an “independent investigation” into the “inner workings” of their East Coast church plant in light of revelations that fired celebrity senior pastor Carl Lentz was engaging in at least one adulterous affair.

Houston says that the church needs “a solid foundation for a fresh start and new beginning” leading many to believe that there is more than just a wayward pastor and a heap of bad theology at their New York location, but rather the whole foundation is rotten.

Following the revelation that Lentz was breaking his marriage vows and lying to everyone close to him, other rumors of shenanigans at Hillsong NYC have started to bubble to the surface. Given that they are unverified, or at least unable to be properly verified according to our standards, they are not worth repeating. Needless to say, however, when one stone comes loose, the dam frequently bursts.

There is no indication whether or not the results of the investigation will be made public, but we will cover it if it does. We’ll cover it right here.

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Breaking Evangelical Stuff Featured News

Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz Engaged in 5-Month Long Affair with Muslim NYC Designer

A 34-year-old New York City-based designer named Ranin Karim is claiming that she had a 5 month- long affair with disgraced pastor Carl Lentz, culminating in their breakup only last week, and has the text messages and video messages to prove it.

Ranin Karim, from her Instagram


Karim, who is the owner of Wahidon NYC and who also starred in the 2009 Oscar-nominated film “Ajami, said she met Carl some 5 months ago. He claimed to be an unmarried sports agent and the two hit it off, according to the Sun, who has verified the text messages and video messages. She said he did not wear a wedding ring, and so had no reason to suppose he was lying. Karim decided to come forward after being offended that his followers and church leadership were making it seem just like he had a brief fling or a one-night stand, insisting it was far more than that.

“I wasn’t there for just sex, we both found comfort and a deep, special connection with each other. I am very hurt because we both feel the same way about each other. 

He loves me and I love him. It was a love relationship that wasn’t planned. It wasn’t just a fling or just a sexual relationship.”

She said that the two of them met in May at the Domino Park in Brooklyn, where he approached her and hit on her. She said she did not know he was a famous celebrity pastor at the time.

I have no knowledge of the Christian world, I’m Muslim.

He told me the most beautiful women come from the Middle East and we kept talking from there. We walked and talked more for a little bit and exchanged numbers. 

He told me his name was Carl but that’s it, he wouldn’t tell me his last name. And he told me that his job was as a sports agent.

Though eventually she called him out, and he confessed to being married, the two kept on their adulterous, sexual affair, with Carl giving her gifts and personal keepsakes, such as his necklace.

He said he had absolutely never strayed outside of his marriage before and was feeling guilty.  (Editor’s note: We have reason to believe this is not true.)

But he told me that when he met me, God told him to tell me that I need to know my worth and there’s something special about me…whatever, whatever.

He would tell me I was a dream to him. He told me on the first day we met that I was everything he ever wanted in a woman…

He said he had never had a deep, sexual connection like what we had. 

And he had never loved anyone outside of his marriage until me. He told me it was crazy that he lived these two lives, and he still doesn’t know how he was able to do that.

Lest one think that Carl confessed on his own, he did not.

Karim states that a week before the announcement on Wednesday, Carl’s wife, Laura, saw all of their messages which were connected to a work computer, including sexting pictures which the couple had sent each other. There were other staff members near the computer when Laura saw it for the first time, and they all were witnesses as well.

After the implosion, Lentz allegedly came over to “say goodbye in person” and the couple was intimate again. Lentz told Karim he will always love her and was sorry for the pain he has caused her, but had to go back to his wife.

After having his whole sinful world blow up and the relationship come to an end, she says she told Lentz:

 “I told him that he’s living a lie and he will always be a liar. I told him he’s a selfish human being and a narcissist.”

We couldn’t agree more. Given the nature of liars and adulterers, expect more women to come forward.





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Breaking Charismatic Nonsense Evangelical Stuff News Scandal

Breaking: Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz Fired For Cheating on his Wife

In an Instagram update posted hours ago, Carl Lentz informed his congregation members, fans and friends that he was fired from Hillsong NYC for sexual immorality, explaining that he “unfaithful in his marriage” and cheated on his wife. He writes:

Our time at HillsongNYC has come to an end. This is a hard ending to what has been the most amazing, impacting and special chapter of our lives. Leading this church has been an honor in every sense of the word and it is impossible to articulate how much we have loved and will always love the amazing people in this church.

When you accept the calling of being a pastor, you must live in such a way that it honors the mandate. That it honors the church, and that it honors God. When that does not happen, a change needs to be made and has been made in this case to ensure that standard is upheld. Laura and I and our amazing children have given all that we have to serve and build this church and over the years I did not do an adequate job of protecting my own spirit, refilling my own soul and reaching out for the readily available help that is available.

When you lead out of an empty place, you make choices that have real and painful consequences. I was unfaithful in my marriage, the most important relationship in my life and held accountable for that. This failure is on me, and me alone and I take full responsibility for my actions. I now begin a journey of rebuilding trust with my wife, Laura and my children and taking real time to work on and heal my own life and seek out the help that I need.

I am deeply sorry for breaking the trust of many people who we have loved serving and understand that this news can be very hard and confusing for people to hear and process. I would have liked to say this with my voice, to you, in person because you are owed that. But that opportunity I will not have.

So to those people, I pray you can forgive me and that over time I can live a life where trust is earned again. To our pastors Brian and Bobbie, thank you for allowing us to lead, allowing us to thrive and giving us room to have a voice that you have never stifled or tried to silence. Thank you for your grace and kindness especially in this season, as you have done so much to protect and love us through this. We, the Lentz family, don’t know what this next chapter will look like, but we will walk into it together very hopeful and grateful for the grace of God..

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Breaking Charismatic Nonsense Evangelical Stuff Featured

Breaking: Hillsong Kicks out Senior Pastor Carl Lentz for ‘Moral Failures’

Senior Pastor Carl Lentz has been terminated from his position at Hillsong Church, NY, and disqualified from the ministry, with he and his wife Laura leaving the Church.

Founding pastor Brian Houston informed staff and members in an email earlier this afternoon, announcing that Lentz was disqualified from leading the Church and let go for “leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures.”

The email reads:

To our Hillsong East Coast Family

I am very sad to inform you that Hillsong Church has terminated the employment of Pastor Carl Lentz.

I know this will come as a shock to you, but please know that this action was not taken lightly and was done in the best interests of everyone, including Pastor Carl.

This action has been taken following ongoing discussions in relation to leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures.

Please understand that it would not be appropriate for us to go into detail about the events that led to this decision. However you can be assured that this decision was made in order to honor God and pastorally care for you, our East Coast family, Pastor Carl, and his family.

While I have no doubt in my heart this is the right course of action, I must mention Bobbie’s and my personal sadness, as we have known Laura her entire life and Carl for well over 20 years.

I know that this announcement may not answer all your questions, and if you feel you need someone to talk to in our leadership team, please contact us by emailing teamrelations@hillsong.com.

But as sudden as this feels to us, we must remember that it’s not a shock to God, who birthed Hillsong NYC and already has planned for this time. He will continue to open new doors for us and do new things, as long as we continue to honour Him.

Carl and Laura have a heart for people and we are confident that after a time of rest and restoration, God will use Carl in another way outside of Hillsong Church. However, you can be assured that this decision was made in order to honour God and pastorally care for you, our East Coast family, Pastor Carl, and his family.”

Lentz is the super hip pastor who is a close friend of famous attendee Justin Bieber, and has been bringing his church to the bleeding edge of wokeness, recently telling his congregation that “churches might be one of the biggest propagators of racist ideology in our country.”

This is a developing story and we will update accordingly.

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Evangelical Stuff Featured Righteous Defiance

Hillsong’s Brian Houston Leading the Charge To Allow Church Services in Australia

As many Churches across Australia remain shutdown, forced by the government under threats of harsh fines and arrest, megachurch leader Brian Houston is leading the charge to have restrictions eased.

Houston, the prosperity-peaching pastor and serial bible-twister who leads Hillsong Church has been speaking out against Australia’s harsh and draconian shutdown laws, which have been some of the strictest in the world.

According to the Daily Mail, “Houston has been inundated with support since venting his outrage over the latest changes,” saying:

I think people are listening. Maybe the change is coming. I know the Anglican Archbishop and the Catholic Archbishop has been speaking to the government. I think that changes are coming but they need to come.

Some people wouldn’t feel ready to come back yet, wouldn’t feel safe. Other people are dying to get back there…Mental health, as we all know, and health generally, well-being is a big, big thing.  Isolation doesn’t help that at all. Church, part of what we do, is community and connection.

While restrictions have had different levels of severity depending on the region, in some places they have been absolutely monstrous, particularly in Victoria, where Premier Daniel Andrews holds court.

To get an idea of how severe things have been, even as of last week in some places you cannot travel more than 3 miles away from your house except for work and shopping for essentials, the government uses drones to patrol the skies, all people must wear facemasks outside, people cannot spend more than two hours outside one’s home each day, and only a maximum of two guests are allowed to visit once a day.

It’s in this oppressive spirit that Churches are still locked down in Victoria, with Premier Daniel Andrews being taken to task by critics for saying that churches pose a special risk to COVID spread because they are dirty and people sing in them, and for this reason should remain closed. This of course despite the fact that regional pubs can host 40 people inside.

When pressed why Churches are being treated differently than drinkers, Andrews replied:

Do they sing at a Pub? Is a church cleaned to the standard that a pub may be?  I know that there are many arrangements where it will be someone from the parish who out of the goodness of their heart will clean the church. It may not even be a paid thing….a heavily regulated environment, a licensed environment is different to one that is not. That is pretty plain…

With a population of over 25 Million people, Australia has recorded 27,430 cases and 905 deaths.

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Evangelical Stuff Featured News

Kanye West Crushes Hillsong United and Bethel Music at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards

Kanye swept almost all the Christian categories at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards on Wednesday night, winning 4 of a possible 6 and his work receiving a total of 9 nominations, the most of the night.

West, who is busy promoting his possible spoiler presidential campaign, gave glory to God for the recognition his Jesus Is King album received, saying in an uploaded video:

Thanks (to) all of my Christians that’s been praying for me, praying for the day where I would serve the kingdom. You know God just keeps showing up. Incredible increase and the favor.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1316741623682871297

Kanye took home Top Gospel Artist, Top Christian Album, Top Gospel Album and Top Gospel Songs, losing only to Lauren Daigle for Top Christian Artist and For King and Country’s “God Only Knows,” for Top Christian Song.

Artists he beat include Kirk Franklin, Bethel Music, Hillsong United, Casting Crowns and Skillet. None have yet commented on their losses.

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SBC President J.D. Greear Lauds Book Endorsement From Hillsong Pastrix

While one would think that the President of the Southern Baptist Convention would shy away from promoting the fact that a charismatic, word/ faith pastrix (because there’s no such thing as women pastors) from Hillsong endorses his book, hold-my-beer Greear holds no such compunctions.

Could Greear not find any other sound, biblically faithful leader or teacher to endorse the book that he could have retweeted? Why pick the woman who preaches the prosperity gospel? Why pick the woman who is the founder of A21 and Propel Women, the latter which is a ministry/ movement dedicated to teaching young women to step into leadership roles in the church, including into the pastorate? Her website is right in his tweet, after all.

The fact is that watching Christine Caine preach is watching a dog walk on its hind legs. They can’t do it well, but you’re mostly just surprised to see them doing it at all. She can’t be trusted to preach the scriptures faithfully, so why laud her endorsement as if that should mean anything to us?

It’s not the first time Greear has traded endorsements and niceties with Caine. Last year he promoted her other organization, leading one observer to ask “Have you considered speaking out against sex trafficking and porn without promoting a prosperity gospel/word of faith heretic? Just a thought. You are the SBC prez.”