{"id":5363,"date":"2023-10-30T14:44:47","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T14:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/?p=5363"},"modified":"2023-11-30T21:10:38","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T21:10:38","slug":"carl-lentz-thanks-his-wife-for-staying-with-him-in-birthday-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2023\/10\/carl-lentz-thanks-his-wife-for-staying-with-him-in-birthday-post.html","title":{"rendered":"Carl Lentz Thanks His Wife For Staying With Him in Birthday Post"},"content":{"rendered":"
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@carllentz\/Instagram.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former Hillsong NYC Pastor Carl Lentz recently took to social media to express gratitude for his wife\u2019s decision to stay with him despite his adultery, honoring her during her birthday week. Lentz took to Instagram to wish his wife, Laura, a happy \u201cbirthday week\u201d and thank her for sticking by him. The post, captioned with a heart, included a black and white photo of Laura and a lengthy statement across four different photos.<\/p>\n

He wrote, \u201cHappy 45th birthday WEEK Laura Lentz. To watch my wife weather these storms of life in the past few years has been inspiring. It would have been so easy and understandable for her to have walked out and ended our marriage. Yet she chose the harder road. The one that has included so much pain as she has had to endure the consequences of my decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lentz didn\u2019t explicitly identify the \u201cdecisions\u201d mentioned, but he repeatedly referenced \u201caddictive patterns and sin\u201d in the post. Three years ago, Lentz announced after being fired from Hillsong that he was unfaithful in his marriage. After his announcement, a Muslim New York City designer named Ranin Karim publicly stated that she had an affair with the megachurch pastor. A former nanny also accused Lentz of sexual misconduct. Lentz defended his wife\u2019s character in his birthday week post, pushing back on allegations that she was \u201ccomplicit\u201d in his behavior and lamenting that \u201csome even fabricated lies about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding to those assertations, Lentz said, \u201cThat answer is emphatically no.\u201d He praised Laura\u2019s decision to \u201chold on to her faith,\u201d saying that \u201ceven in the aftermath of so much disaster, her strength has not wavered.\u201d Noting that the couple has lost friends over the years, he said that his wife has \u201ccourageously endured a lot of this road on her own.\u201d He added, \u201cSomehow, she still loves people. I\u2019ve watched her make new friendships.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Carl Lentz (@carllentz)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n