{"id":10818,"date":"2024-06-13T10:32:15","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T14:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=10818"},"modified":"2024-06-13T10:32:15","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T14:32:15","slug":"carl-lentz-doesnt-describe-himself-as-a-disgraced-pastor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2024\/06\/carl-lentz-doesnt-describe-himself-as-a-disgraced-pastor.html","title":{"rendered":"Carl Lentz Doesn’t Describe Himself as a ‘Disgraced Pastor’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"carl
Liberty University\/YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the first episode of their new \u201cLights On\u201d podcast, former Hillsong NYC Pastor Carl Lentz and his wife, Laura, shared how his infidelity broke their ministry and marriage and the work they\u2019ve done and continue to do to recover. Lentz was interviewed by his wife on the podcast and promised to share details about his relationship with Hillsong founder Brian Houston and the Evangelical megachurch network that fired him in upcoming episodes.<\/p>\n

However, in the first half of the show, which was just over an hour long, Lentz made it clear that he didn\u2019t like being called a \u201cdisgraced pastor\u201d\u00a0 by the media reporting on his story. He doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s an accurate reflection of who he is based on his understanding of God\u2019s grace. He said, \u201cEvery headline, typically would say, \u2018disgraced, disgraced pastor,\u2019 or \u2018pastor falls from grace, falls from grace, falls from grace, disgraced pastor.\u2019 What\u2019s funny about that is, God bless those people; they [media] don\u2019t understand grace. Because you can\u2019t fall from grace. You fall into grace. It didn\u2019t make any sense to me. And I\u2019m not mad at the tabloids who write \u2026 \u2018disgraced pastor.\u2019 Disgraced?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lentz argued, \u201cYou don\u2019t understand what grace is. The opposite of grace. Grace is mercy and favor and forgiveness that you do not deserve but God gives it to you anyway. So, if anything, I fell into grace. And if people could stop writing headlines like that, I would appreciate it because it\u2019s inaccurate \u2014 disgraced pastor.\u201d He continued, \u201cI\u2019m not a disgraced former pastor. I am a human being who made huge mistakes. Mine were public; everybody got to see them. And now, I\u2019m a human being who\u2019s trying to rectify my life and, make wrongs right and to live completely differently. But disgraced, I am not. I\u2019m more filled with grace than I\u2019ve ever been. Did I fall from grace? Absolutely not. I fell into it. And I\u2019m really grateful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n