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What I’m Talking About Here is Context
June 5, 2023
In my ongoing immersion in documentaries about the rash of mega church implosions aimed at delving into the roots of my spiritual abuse in order to work towards restoration, I’ve been watching The Secrets of Hillsong.
I expected continued evidence and affirmation of the mindfuck I experienced at the hands of fundamentalist Christians, and there’s plenty of that. Plenty. A plethora. However, what is hitting me most profoundly is what Hillsong New York celebrity pastor Carl Lentz has to say about his infidelity.
In my experience, and I will admit I’ve not always paid a whole lot of attention to celebrities who are taken down by sex scandals since it’s so common… But in my experience, it is rare for a celebrity pastor to take any responsibility for their destructive sexual behaviors.
Most churches, particularly fundamentalist churches, chastise congregations for judging pastors, give a lot of lip service to forgiveness, and assert satanic forces are out to take down the organization. Hillsong took a marked departure from those twisted positions, but I’m not so sure the path they took was any better. (More on that in a future post.)
Lentz indeed appears to take some responsibility for the ways in which he betrayed those closest to him, as well as tens of thousands of…