Leaked probe into Hillsong megachurch reveals a shocking culture of abuse and sexual misconduct
An investigation into the Manhattan site of the global megachurch Hillsong suggests there was a culture of abuse and sexual misconduct that went beyond the New York church’s former pastor Carl Lentz, The Christian Post reports.
The report, titled “Internal Investigation Report Regarding Carl Lentz and Other Matters,” which was leaked to The Christian Post, was an internal investigation conducted by the New York City law firm Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman.
Founded in the 1980s, Hillsong has grown from its Australian roots into a global megachurch, which claims an average weekly attendance of 150,000 people. The church is known for its rock concert-style services that feature pop music and high-profile special guests, including Justin Bieber and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Hillsong co-founder Brian Houston resigned in March after complaints of impropriety were made against him by two women.
"When Houston was looking to expand into America, charismatic young pastor Lentz, now 43, came to his attention in 2010," the New York Post explained. "Lentz became Hillsong’s shining star, skyrocketing to such fame that he rubbed elbows with the likes of Bieber and Oprah Winfrey."
The leaked 51-page report alleges "a mishandling of the spiritual care of a vulnerable parishioner with an eating disorder who eventually died, and multiple incidents of consensual or non-consensual sexual interaction between church leaders and congregants, staff, volunteers, or non-churchgoers. It presents an unflattering view of Lentz as a lying, massage-loving, adulterer who presided over a congregation in which he did as he pleased in a hierarchy where he seemingly answered to no one," The Post's report stated.
“Lentz’s ability to lead so poorly was itself the result of insufficient supervision and accountability applied to Lentz himself. Indeed, it appears that effective management and accountability of Lentz was nonexistent,” investigators said in the report. “What is more, multiple witnesses described Lentz as repeatedly reinforcing the idea that New York was separate and apart from Australia. Although Lentz denies it, multiple staff in New York recall Lentz saying that ‘Australia is dead to us’ and other comments to similar effect.”
“As with much of his testimony regarding non-sexual matters, Lentz was not credible when defending his demands for cultural isolationism from the Australian parent church. The Australian mother ship appears also to bear some responsibility here, since it never established effective oversight and accountability for the New York Lead Pastor,” investigators said. “This lack of oversight permitted Carl Lentz to assume the role of final arbiter of what was proper behavior for everyone in New York, himself included. With the benefit of hindsight, given Lentz’s personal limitations, this was a recipe for trouble.”
“It was not uncommon for volunteers and staff who had frequent interaction with Carl Lentz to report that such interaction had ‘caused’ them to suffer from mental illness,” investigators wrote.
With additional reporting by AFP
Watch the report below:
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