Carl Lentz to Launch Podcast, Refutes Claims of Returning to Ministry

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Former Hillsong NYC pastor Carl Lentz will launch his new podcast on June 4 and told his followers he is not returning to ministry. As Crosswalk Headlines previously reported, there was much speculation about Lentz returning to ministry when he and his wife Lauren released a cryptic video that they were starting a "new chapter."

"JUNE 4, my podcast 'Lights on' is available on all platforms," Lentz wrote in the caption. "My choices, and the road toward recovery taught me how helpful it is to have people share vulnerably the impact of their bad choices," he continued, "the pain they caused, and the pain they suffered that led them to make those choices, and what they've discovered can be helpful and healing."

As reported by Church Leaders, Lentz hopes that "sharing those things from my story and asking others to share theirs...will be helpful, hopeful, and healing."

"I'm thankful for where we are today," said Lentz. "To be confident of the future, content in the present, and healed enough to speak to the past is miraculous. If we can make it, anybody can…thank you for all the love and support!"

Lentz was fired from Hillsong in 2020 for "moral failure" including being unfaithful to his wife, Lauren. When pastoring Hillsong NYC, Lentz was involved in an affair with Brooklyn, New York, designer Ranin Karim. Following his termination, news of other alleged affairs surfaced, including a Hillsong NYC staff member who also worked as Lentz's nanny. She alleged that Lentz abused her.

In 2023, Lentz briefly re-entered ministry as a strategist when he joined Pastor Mike Todd's Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

"This is going to help a lot of people," one of Lentz's followers commented.

"So good! This is so needed," another wrote. "My best friend who was a PK and striving in church leadership committed suicide, and this type of podcast probably would have saved his life. Looking forward to listening."

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.