After Karim discovered Lentz was married, Lentz said that he and Karim found each other because they were “both broken.” Karim said that she felt a strong connection with him and the two began a relationship that lasted about five months. In retrospect, Karim said that she felt used and emotionally manipulated by Lentz. On multiple occasions, Karim said that she “pulled away” from the relationship. But each time, Lentz responded by pursuing her harder. She called the relationship “the most toxic thing I’ve ever had to deal with.”
According to Karim, when Lentz’ wife Laura found out about the affair, Lentz announced his departure from Hillsong in November 2020. Though Lentz “paid a lot of money” to “bury” Karim’s name from reporters, Karim decided to come forward and tell her story, appearing on Good Morning America.
In his public confession of the affair, Lentz described it as the result of burnout. In Brian Houston’s media appearances, he described it as the result of narcissism.
Protecting the Brand
The documentary characterized Houston’s actions following Lentz’s firing as an attempt to craft a narrative that wouldn’t hurt the Hillsong brand.
In leaked audio of a conversation regarding the decision to fire Lentz, Houston said he was completely unaware of Lentz’s affair before it became public. Other former staff members contradicted that claim, saying that they had told Houston about troubling behavior from Lentz. Further, they believe that someone within Hillsong’s leadership leaked the audio of Houston’s words to make him look innocent in the matter.
One former volunteer claimed that Lentz was planning on leaving Hillsong to start another church and that Houston exposed and fired him so that he wouldn’t pull people and resources away from Hillsong. Those claims have not been substantiated and neither Lentz or Houston responded to requests for comment from the documentary’s producers.
The documentary further suggested that denouncing Carl Lentz was a way for Hillsong to draw attention away from more systemic issues in the church’s culture, implying that Houston used Lentz as a tool to build the Hillsong brand and let him take the fall once he became a liability.
The documentary further claimed that Houston and Hillsong are entirely focused on building and protecting their brand, even if it means covering up the immorality of its own leaders and abuse that has occurred in its institutions.
In this light, the documentary paints Lentz as a product of the Hillsong culture, even a victim of sorts, rather than someone who broke with Hillsong’s leadership culture by his personal conduct.
Scandals at Hillsong College
Anna Crenshaw, who is a former Hillsong College student, told her story of being sexually assaulted by Jason Mays, a Hillsong staff administrator, while attending the school. At a social gathering, Mays forcefully groped and kissed Crenshaw before she managed to pull herself away and leave.
Because Mays’ family was so well connected to Hillsong leadership, she feared coming forward and didn’t report the assault until over a year later. After reporting the assault, Crenshaw said she felt interrogated, as she was called in multiple times to recount the experience and face questioning.
No action was taken against Mays until Crenshaw’s father got involved. Hillsong later accused Crenshaw of spreading false information about Hillsong’s response to her reporting of the assault.
