Carl Lentz

Former celebrity pastor Carl Lentz was born Stephen Carl Lentz on November 6, 1978 in Williamsburg, Virginia. After attending North Carolina State University for two years, he moved to Sydney, Australia and attended the Hillsong International Leadership College as a member of the Hillsong Megachurch of Australia. While there, he got to know Joel Houston, the son of Hillsong Church's founders Brian and Bobbie Houston. The two teamed up and opened Hillsong NYC in 2010. The young pastors drew enormous crowds to their concert-like services which featured well-known musicians and high end production value.

The success of the New York church gave Lentz celebrity status. He was interviewed on a variety of talk shows including "Good Morning America" (ABC, 1975- ), "The View" (ABC, 1997- ), and "The Daily Show" (Comedy Central, 1996- ). Notably, Lentz baptized Justin Bieber and his wife in 2020. On November 4, 2020 Carl Lentz was fired from Hillsong Church when it was revealed he had an extramarital affair.