False Teacher of the Day #63: Carl Lentz
Carl Lentz was once the poster boy of hip, celebrity-driven Christianity – the tattooed, trendsetting lead pastor of Hillsong NYC who mingled with pop stars and athletes. With his fashionably slick image and crowd-attracting charisma, Lentz presented himself as a cool, relatable pastor for the Instagram generation.
But beneath the designer clothing and charming delivery lay a ministry built on compromise and deception. He offered a feel-good, culture-pleasing message in place of true repentance and sound doctrine, and his personal life eventually mirrored the corruption of his theology.
From watered-down teachings to moral scandal, Carl Lentz stands as a sobering example of a false teacher whose worldly allure conceals deadly spiritual danger.
Background
Carl Lentz rose to prominence in 2010 as co-founder of Hillsong’s New York City campus, quickly gathering thousands of predominantly young, trendy followers(disntr.com). He cultivated an atmosphere of concert-style worship and self-help pep talks rather than serious exposition of Scripture. Lentz became known as the “celebrity pastor” par excellence – a personal friend and spiritual mentor to stars like Justin Bieber, with whom he was even spotted partying shirtless in a bar (disntr.com).
Sporting expensive fashion, tattoos, and edgy hairstyles, he embodied the Hillsong brand of seeker-sensitive “cool Christianity.” By avoiding anything that might make unbelievers uncomfortable – even avoiding the word “religion” because “it’s hard to get people excited about religion, religion is dead… I couldn’t help you” (disntr.com) – Lentz made Hillsong NYC a magnet for the fame-hungry and biblically illiterate.
Yet even as his profile grew, discerning Christians sounded alarms. Lentz openly boasted that his church was “not anti-LGBT” and that “everyone is welcome, including unrepentant sinners,” framing blatant, unrepentant sin as no barrier to fellowship at Hillsong (disntr.com).
He appeared on television interviews and talk shows, but instead of boldly proclaiming Christ, he routinely dodged or distorted the gospel. Tragically, Hillsong’s leadership failed to hold him accountable to biblical standards. For ten years Lentz preached a watered-down gospel to massive crowds, never confronting their sin (disntr.com).
It all came crashing down in 2020 when Lentz was fired in disgrace after admitting to adultery and a lifestyle of gross hypocrisy. The man once exalted as a cutting-edge pastor was revealed as just another “scandal-plagued” charlatan, unfit for ministry.