The sex scandal comes just six months after NYC Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz was fired for cheating on his wife.has learned the married church leader stepped down after sharing explicit photos showing off his large manhood after a workout.Darnell Barrett, 32, resigned as creative director of Hillsong Church's Montclair, New Jersey chapter on Tuesday.This story originally appeared at MinistryWatch.EXCLUSIVE: Hillsong Church is rocked by yet another sex scandal as married NJ pastor, 32, resigns after sending photos of himself in VERY revealing gym tights to another woman (but calls it an honest mistake!) She writes for American City Business Journals’ BizWomen. He received two years’ probation and mandatory counseling.Īnne Stych is a freelance writer, copy editor, proofreader and content manager covering science, technology, retail, etc. In April 2021, Darnell Barrett, a pastor for the Montclair, New Jersey, Hillsong campus, resigned after sharing revealing photos of himself on Instagram stories to a group of friends that included a woman who once volunteered for him at the New Jersey church.Īnd in 2020, Hillsong staffer Jason Mays pleaded guilty to indecent assault after an American student who attended Hillsong College in Sydney said he touched her inappropriately. Later, Reed and Jess Bogard, who were lead pastors of Hillsong’s Dallas location and had served with Lentz in New York, abruptly resigned when the church said they “failed to meet the commitments and standards of Hillsong Church.” Lentz, who established Hillsong’s Manhattan church with the Houstons’ son Joel, had been fired about six months earlier for “moral failings” and had admitted to an adulterous affair. Per the trailer, she is among those who share their stories in the series. Last May, a staff member at Hillsong’s New York church came forward with allegations that former pastor Carl Lentz had subjected her to “bullying, abuse of power and sexual abuse” over the course of seven years as she worked as a nanny in his home. It was just the latest in a series of scandals about how the church has handled allegations of abuse within its ranks. Court documents allege that Houston knew of the abuse as early as 1999. Houston was charged in August 2021 with failing to disclose knowledge that his father - the late Frank Houston, also a pastor - had indecently assaulted a young male in 1970. “But there are also producers behind this documentary, and their purpose is not the healing of people but simply to hurt the church.”ĭooley and his wife, Lucinda, who together lead Hillsong Church Cape Town, stepped in as interim senior pastors of the multi-campus, global megachurch in January as Brian Houston, co-founder of Hillsong, announced he would take a leave of absence through the end of the year at the direction of the church’s global board. For those people, I say we are deeply sorry, and we pray that you’ll find healing,” he continued. “There are people who have been hurt by their experience in our church. Responding to the trailer, Dooley said in his message, titled “Year of The Lord’s Favor,” that the documentary and the “picture it paints is far removed from, I believe, the truth of who we are as a church. It also says the series will explore the “high-profile, star-studded church’s alleged exploitation, abuse and cover-ups.” Celebrities Justin Bieber and Chris Pratt are among those who have, in the past, called Hillsong their church.įounded in Australia in 1983, Hillsong has more than 100 locations in 30 countries, including 14 in the United States, and an average weekly attendance of 150,000 worshippers. The trailer’s description of the three-part docuseries says it features “interviews with Hillsong insiders, megachurch experts, and Ranin Karim, the woman whose five-month affair with celebrity senior pastor Carl Lentz led to his downfall.”
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