{"id":195690,"date":"2021-03-06T00:57:43","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T21:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/hillsong-leader-apologizes-unreservedly-after-scandal\/"},"modified":"2021-03-06T00:57:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T21:57:43","slug":"hillsong-leader-apologizes-unreservedly-after-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/hillsong-leader-apologizes-unreservedly-after-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"#Hillsong leader apologizes ‘unreservedly’ after scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Hillsong leader apologizes ‘unreservedly’ after scandal<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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The leader of megachurch Hillsong has apologized \u2014 but will congregants forgive him?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Five months since the firing of adulterous NYC superstar pastor Carl Lentz \u2014 which exposed rifts across the church, fraud accusations and congregant allegations of abuse \u2014 Hillsong\u2019s senior pastor and co-founder Brian Houston has for the first time publicly said that he\u2019s sorry for it.<\/p>\n

His apology was made in conjunction with the release of changes the Australia-based institution plans to make at its East Coast branches following an independent investigation, launched after news<\/a> of Lentz\u2019s affair broke in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that Hillsong East Coast has failed to be the kind of church it should be,\u201d Houston, 67, wrote in an internal email addressed \u201cDear Church,\u201d which The Post obtained. \u201cOn behalf of the Global Board and as Global Senior Pastor, I accept responsibility for these failings and apologize unreservedly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The March email coincided with an announcement of changes to be made to \u201caddress the issues and misalignment of the culture and practices at Hillsong Church East Coast\u201d following the investigation\u2019s February conclusion, according to another email<\/a> from Houston. <\/p>\n

These changes will include improved financial accountability policies (\u201cAlthough we had comprehensive policies and procedures in place, they were not always followed,\u201d the email admits), a revised code of conduct for all staff (\u201cincluding but not limited to the inapp<\/a>ropriate use of alcohol or other substances\u201d), a \u201cstringent\u201d new sexual misconduct and harassment policy (\u201cIt is clear that our existing policies and procedures, which intend to promote a healthy environment, were actively ignored, failed to be maintained, and were not enforced effectively at a local level,\u201d the email further admits) and an improved grievance-reporting system, which will promise whistleblowers anonymity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe acknowledge that we should have addressed many of these areas earlier,\u201d the eight-point memo concludes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some former Hillsong congregants, however, are not satisfied, and many tell The Post they feel the investigating law firm should at least release a version of their findings for transparency\u2019s sake. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s hilarious. Brilliant p.r. bulls\u2013t,\u201d former Hillsong NYC member Janice Lagata told The Post of the proposed changes. \u201cBeautifully and strategically vague. It makes no specific apologies and admits to no specific problems, so all the \u2018changes\u2019 and \u2018standards\u2019 they\u2019re going to implement and\/or \u2018strengthen\u2019 can\u2019t be measured or tracked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others in the community are also disappointed but not surprised by the announced changes, and are \u201cjust kind of rolling their eyes,\u201d Lagata said. \u201cEveryone is just tired.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neither Hillsong nor the law firm that conducted the investigation returned The Post\u2019s request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lagata, a New York-based executive assistant and blogger<\/a>, attended Hillsong for seven years, during which she frequently ghost wrote pastors\u2019 sermons, a job for which she was not once paid, she claimed. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was there from the beginning, 2010, so yeah, I saw it all,\u201d said Lagata, who left in 2017. \u201cThere was never a time when we didn\u2019t have problems. There was always something going wrong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Eventually she grew sick of bearing witness to what she described as a constant cycle: leadership mistreated congregants, they grew burned out and left. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere were always more bodies for the machine,\u201d she said of the turnover, adding that the scars of bad experiences at Hillsong remain even after leaving. \u201cHowever long it takes you to leave Hillsong, it takes longer for Hillsong to leave you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since being fired, Lentz has kept a low profile. We reported he started treatment for depression and \u201cpastoral burnout\u201d<\/a> at an outpatient facility. In February, his daughters documented the Lentz family\u2019s vacation to what appears to be motivational speaker Bob Goff\u2019s elite California retreat, the Oaks. In photos the teenagers posted to their Instagrams, Carl sits smiling with his son in a grassy field and his wife, Laura, rides a horse as Goff personally entertains the family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a more unexpected appearance last month, Houston played a small part in Showtime\u2019s new docuseries<\/a> on rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine<\/a>, \u201cSupervillain.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"brian-houston-tekashi\"
Brian Houston prays with rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine on a 2018 episode of \u201cThe Breakfast Club.\u201d<\/figcaption>
The Breakfast Club\/Facebook<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The second episode of the show begins with a 2018 clip from radio show \u201cThe Breakfast Club\u201d in which Houston appeared to promote his new book<\/a>, but ended up praying for fellow guest Tekashi, asking that God \u201ckeep him well, you keep him strong, you keep him healthy, help him make wise and good decisions so that he can fulfill all of that potential that you\u2019ve given him.\u201d\u00a0\n <\/div>\n