Carl Lentz has been hired by an Oklahoma mega church to help them with their strategy and vision. Mother's hide your babysitters!

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As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. - Romans 11:28-32 (ESV)

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Everyone loves a good comeback story. Everyone loves the forgiving nature of the God we serve. We love these things so intrinsically, that we forget there are still rules to be adhered to. What should always be foremost in our thinking should be the benefit of the sheep. The health of the flock. I remember when the apostate church celebrated the restoration of Perry Noble or Tullian Tchividjian. I wondered why we weren't equally concerned about the restoration of lives they ruined? Shouldn't Brian Houston's victims be more important that Brian Houston? Not in American churchianity where the restoration of the wolves is always more important then a few sheep lost here or there. I say this as a backdrop to the story reported today that Carl Lentz is back.

Everyone remembers the Lentz saga from lo those many years ago. When was it again? The 90's? No. It was just over two years ago. Carl Lentz held NYC in the palm of his celebrity pastor hand. He was considered the pastor to the stars with Justin Bieber and Kevin Durant frequenters of Hillsong NYC. Something always seemed awry though as the pastor to celebrities embraced becoming one himself. Lentz was the prototype for the millennial pastor. Tattooed, skinny jeaned, androgenous sunglasses and regular stops on secular shows such as Oprah where he would wax philosophically about how everything, including sin, was just a conversation to be had. The more he developed this new bad boy Evangelical persona, after it was abandoned by disgraced Mars Hill Church pastor Mark Driscoll, the more at home he seemed. Rumors about arrogant treatment of staff began to surface but what no one knew behind the scenes was that Lentz had seduced his babysitter over the years and had been engaging in adultery with her in the bed he shared with his wife. That was not what brought him down however as it was the ensuing affair with a NYC based fashion designer he had happened to meet. It turned out Carl was having multiple affairs while running Hillsong NYC and eventually Brian Houston fired him. How bad is your behavior that Brian Houston says it is too immoral? Anyway, Lentz slinked off into the night never to be heard from again until two years later when now he has been employed by Transformation Church in Oklahoma. Yet should he be back? This is the question many forgiving Christians get hung up on. Let us reason through this article linked above from Charisma, who of course is celebrating it. That alone should give you enough insight to see what side God and His word will fall on this subject.

In his first staff position at a church since his removal as lead pastor at Hillsong New York, Carl Lentz is joining Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Transformation Church is a massive nondenominational church in a city filled with them, and makes an even bigger impact on the community around it. According to Transformation Church's Executive Pastor Tammy McQuarters, the church leadership believes Lentz and his family have gone through a season of restoration following his highly publicized fall from leadership. McQuarters said Transformation Church is happy to have Lentz on board and aim to have him "help others experience restoration" who are weary from the storms of life.

Would you recommend your sheep to babysit for them? Seriously, this little blurb reveals so much wrong with this thinking. The issue is not what the Lentz family has gone through but what the sheep he left bleeding behind him have endured. Restoration should be regarding his walk and his sin, not his job. According to the bible he is now disqualified from ministry. What is the absurd inference McQuarters making here? That Lentz slept with his babysitter because he was weary from the storms of life? And why is this considered good at all? Lentz has now gone from one apostate mega-church to another. Transformation Church has admitted they will use Lentz in terms of strategy and vision! You can't make this stuff up.

"We gladly welcome Carl Lentz to our Transformation Church staff, helping TC with strategy as we continue to move forward in our vast vision," McQuarters told Religion News Service via email. RNS also reported that a source close to the Lentz family confirmed that they had moved to the Tulsa area and were attending Transformation Church. This move from the fame, temptation and spiritual darkness of New York City may be exactly what the Lentz family needs as they continue their healing process. It is no secret that Lentz made grievous errors of judgment while at Hillsong East Coast in New York City. The world flocked to read about what he had done and who was involved. For Christians, the focus should not be on his indiscretions but on his restoration and bringing him, and his family, back into the fold of grace instead of pushing him away.

Yes, who better to cast your vision in the apostate church than a serial adulterer? Too soon? That is exactly the point! Is the point of this to figure out what Lentz needs? Isn't Transformation admitting here that Lentz might still be vulnerable to temptation if those temptations were coming in a spiritually darker setting? Do they not have babysitters in Oklahoma? Then you make it sound like you are chastising those that would read what he had done as opposed to chastising he who did it. As for the focus of Christians, McQuarters is clueless. Do not speak to me about bringing people into some fold of grace you made up in your deceitful heart. You are bringing in a known wolf into your sheepfold and putting him back into a position of authority over your sheep. Maybe if we were just dealing with accepting a repentant Lentz into the congregation this would be a different story. People can repent but McQuarters makes the same mistake most Christian leaders do in her spot. You are confusing restoration of his walk to restoration of his job.

Repentance is an obvious necessity for someone in Lentz's situation; that is undisputed, but to be given another chance to engage in ministry after going through a redemptive process will have untold positive ramifications for Lentz and his family. Being placed in the role as a strategist and not an executive-level position to start with shows Transformation Church believes in just that: Transforming people's old lives into new ones through the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.

"After two years of Carl being in his own discovery and healing process, he has shown readiness to use his God-given gifts towards the local church again," McQuarters said. "We believe in Carl, his marriage, his skill set, and his restoration."

You believe in his skill set? What the heck does that even mean? Who cares about his skill set? The fact that God has given you speechcraft as a skill does not require you to find employment or even ministry in it. Look at what Transformation Church is admitting to here! They are admitting that Lentz not serving in an executive position is just to "start with." Why not! They believe in his skill set! This is disgusting. Carl Lentz destroyed a mega church in New York City. We know of the two lives he destroyed by sleeping with them and that does not even include his own life and marriage. On top of these though, what about the church? How many people left Hillsong NYC to never go back to organized religion again? The purpose driven church model creates cult of personality pastors such as Lentz, who was positively adored by his congregation. Taking your deceitful, lying, cheating skill set to Oklahoma, but only in a strategy capacity, is not the solution.

"We pray that Carl, Laura and their family experience not only their own restoration, but help others experience restoration by using their triumphs and failures to create resources for the body of Christ at large. We believe that this is part of what it looks like for the church to be the church," she added. Yes, Lentz sinned, but if he was called by God to serve in ministry, his personal failure does not remove the Lord's will in his life. Thankfully, there is a God who so loved Lentz, his family and every person in existence, that He sent His only Son to die for all of humanity and redeem them from the curse of sin and death. Praise God there are churches like Transformation Church who still believe in that redemptive power and aim to walk in the path set before them by Jesus Christ.

God sent Jesus to die for Carl's sins, not for his employment. Redemptive power is in relation to our sin and standing before God, not that we are required to draw a salary from the body of Christ. Carl Lentz' personal SIN, not failure, removes the call he may or may not have had. The Lord's will for his life is for him to be obedient to His word, not for him to pastor a church and be friends with Justin Bieber. The key verses today are what is usually used by poor Christian leaders in times like this. The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable! Except the context reveals that God is talking about Israel's place as the chosen people. Think about how untenable Transformation Church's position is here. God called Carl to serve in ministry but Carl chose to sleep with his babysitter and then some random fashion designer. Is it really your position that the sin does not matter to God because He called them? What if Carl had killed two people? Would that have been enough for you to consider his calling revoked? What if he had abused children as Brian Houston's father has admitted to or Brian himself, accused of covering it up? When is enough enough? Can you commit any sin and atrocity and still come back to your ministry if you sound sincere enough two years later?

Let me close on the part of these stories that often goes undiscussed. Perhaps the people who sleeping with babysitters or covering up sex crimes were never really called by God to begin with. Transformation Church is giddy because they have a skill set that has generated million of dollars in the past and can again. A quick perusal of Transformation's website reveals just another in a long line of purpose driven mega churches that are feeding on sheep themselves. The highlighted sermon on the website is part three of a tithing series, conducted by the biggest tithing whore himself, Robert Morris. Remember it was Morris who facilitated Mark Driscoll's return to active ministry. Carl Lentz was never a sound preacher to begin with. He worked for Brian Houston in one of the largest false churches on the planet. God never called Carl Lentz; Brian Houston did. Now Transformation Church is calling him. Do not expect different outcomes beloved. Mark and avoid.

Reverend Anthony Wade - March 31, 2023

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.