Hillsong gab heute bekannt, dass Carl Lentz, der bekannte Pastor von Hillsong New York City, entlassen wird. Grund: „Vertrauensbrüche sowie wegen einer kürzlichen Enthüllung von moralischem Versagen“, berichtet am 4. November der Roys Report. Führungsfragen haben ebenfalls eine Rolle gespielt. „Die Ankündigung sei heute Nachmittag in einer E-Mail von Brian Houston, dem Gründungspastor von Hillsong, an die Mitarbeiter und die Leute von Hillsong East Coast mitgeteilt worden“, so die Journalistin.

“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,” schrieb Brian Houston.

Die Berichte im Original

Carl Lentz hat sich in der Zwischenzeit selbst über Instagram dazu geäußert:

Hier sein Statement im Wortlaut:

»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..«

Bild Zeitung!

Selbst die Bild Zeitung greift das Thema auf, was uns viel über unsere Verantwortung als Leiter sagt und auch über die Bekanntheit und den Einfluss, den Carl Lentz hat. Hier geht es zum Bericht. Weitere Berichte sind auf den Newsseiten der christlichen und säkularen Medien Amerikas zu finden. Das hier zu dokumentieren bringt den Grund, warum ich über das Thema schreibe, nicht weiter. Am Ende vom Post findet ihr das offizielle Statement der Hillsong Church.

Charakter über Charisma!

Die Bedeutung des Charakters wird auf Leitungskonferenzen oft gefordert. Charakter trumpft immer Charisma aus. Oft wird beklagt, dass es in der Praxis genau umgekehrt ist. Gerade in erfolgreichen, schillernden großen Kirchen, meinen Kritiker. Die Celebrity – Kultur im Umgang mit christlichen Leitern sei wenig hilfreich in diesem Zusammenhang! Andere halten dagegen, dass das auch in „durchschnittlichen und kleinen Gemeinden“ der Fall ist. Auf alle Fälle müssen wir in den letzten Jahren sehr schmerzlich wahrnehmen, dass etliche bekannte christliche Leiter über Charakterfragen gestolpert und gefallen sind. Ob das jetzt bei Carl Lentz, der für viele junge Leiter eine Inspiration und ein Vorbild ist, auch zutrifft, bleibt abzuwarten. Vorschnelle Be- und Verurteilungen helfen in der Regel nicht weiter. Auch wenn sich die anfänglichen Vermutungen in erschreckendem Maße später bestätigt haben. Dennoch sollte jeder für sich das WORT des Paulus jetzt beherzigen:

Die Ermahnung des Paulus …

»Darum, wer meint, er stehe, der sehe zu, dass er nicht falle! Es hat euch bisher nur menschliche Versuchung betroffen. Gott aber ist treu; er wird nicht zulassen, dass ihr über euer Vermögen versucht werdet, sondern er wird zugleich mit der Versuchung auch den Ausgang schaffen, sodass ihr sie ertragen könnt.« | 1. Korinther 10,12-13

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Statement der Hillsong Church

Es kann hier auf der Homepage eingesehen werden, ich füge es im Original hier direkt ein:

Announcement from Hillsong Church Global Senior Pastor Brian Houston. Re: Hillsong East Coast (USA) Date: 11/04/2020

»Today Hillsong Church East Coast advised our congregation that we have terminated the employment of Pastor Carl Lentz. This action was not taken lightly and was done in the best interests of everyone, including Pastor Carl. We thank Pastors Carl and Laura for the way they have served faithfully and sacrificially since the start of Hillsong NYC and for contributing so significantly to the countless lives that have been transformed for Jesus Christ through this ministry. They 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. In terminating his tenure, we in no way want to diminish the good work he did here. This action has been taken following ongoing discussions in relation to leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures. It would not be appropriate for us to go into detail about the events that led to this decision. Our focus at this time is to honor God and pastorally care for our East Coast church community as well as the Lentz family. While I have no doubt that 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. Hillsong East Coast services and all of our ministries will proceed as usual, and we will continue to be a place of hope, love and faith through the powerful and transforming message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a message our nation and the world need to hear more than ever during a time of such instability and uncertainty. I appreciate the great team of people who serve here, and as we embark on the process of selecting new leadership, we are praying that God would bring about an exciting new season for our church and this region. Hillsong Church will not be making further public comments on this matter.«

Soviel für den Moment!