Carl Lentz next step on his comeback tour starts by playing word salad and denying God's word...

::::::::

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach - 1Timothy 3:2 (ESV)

Carl Lentz: 'I'm Not a Disgraced Pastor' - Charisma News

The word disgraced means to have fallen from favor or a position of power or honor; or to be discredited. If you look this word up in the dictionary there would be a picture of disgraced former pastor Carl Lentz. Mr. Lentz once held a position of great power and honor. He was the lead pastor of Hillsong NYC and was considered the pastor to the stars. He has obviously fallen from this position. He is obviously discredited. There is no doubt or question to anyone sane, that Carl Lentz is DISGRACED. Lentz however is on a personal revival tour and Charisma News is the vehicle to deliver him back to the Charismatic masses. His first stop was when he became an advisor to a mid-west mega church. Now that he has successfully accomplished this with minimal blowback, he is graduating to a Podcast and the first thing he has chosen to do is try and rehabilitate his image by declaring he is not actually disgraced. Let us reason once more through the above link beloved.

"Carl and Laura Lentz's self-imposed isolation from the public eye is now officially over, as they have launched their new podcast, "Lights On" and are starting it off talking about their journey thus far. A lot has been thrown at the couple over the last few years"some warranted, some not"but one thing that Carl Lentz addressed in their very first episode is this: he is not a disgraced pastor. "Every headline, typically would say, 'disgraced, disgraced pastor,' or 'pastor falls from grace, falls from grace, disgraced pastor,'" Lentz recalls. "What's funny about that is, God bless those people, they don't understand grace. Because you can't fall from grace. You fall into grace. "It didn't make any sense to me. And I'm not mad at the tabloids who write " 'disgraced pastor.' Disgraced? You don't understand what grace is. The opposite of grace. Grace is mercy and favor and forgiveness that you do not deserve but God gives it to you anyway. So if anything, I fell into grace. And if people could stop writing headlines like that, I would appreciate it because it's inaccurate"disgraced pastor," he adds." - Charisma News

Ok, first of all, their isolation was not "self-imposed." It was imposed because Carl Lentz seduced the family babysitter into a years' long affair in the same bed he shared with his wife. Oh, and then had another affair, which he got caught in. Aww shucks, God bless Mr. Lentz but he does not apparently understand English or the bible. He is trying to play semantical word games to avoid the obvious. When we say someone has fallen from grace, or is disgraced we think of the definition above, not the actual definition of grace in the bible which is a different conversation. That aside, let us also focus on how Lentz is mangling the bible, which is what he used to do before he fell from grace. There are no examples of biblical folks who fell from grace? Seriously? How about Esau? How about Uzzah? Want New Testament examples? How about Sapphira and Ananias? Let me be clear. Carl Lentz is a disgraced former pastor. That speaks to his profession, as a pastor - not his salvation. He is trying to bring in his personal salvation into criticisms he is properly receiving for failing as a pastor! As for his personal life, God's grace is certainly available for everyone right up until the point our life is required of us. If you do not seriously repent of your sins, you can bet that you will not be falling into grace when you stand before Christ.

'Lentz continued, showing that this was a subject very important to him, as though he is holding onto the Lord's grace with both hands and refusing to let go. Because without the forgiveness of the Lord and His great grace, we would be hopelessly condemned to eternal death separate from Him. "I'm not a disgraced former pastor. I am a human being that made huge mistakes. Mine were public, everybody got to see them," Lentz says. "And now, I'm a human being that's trying to rectify my life and make wrongs right and to live completely differently. But disgraced, I am not. I'm more filled with grace than I've ever been. Did I fall from grace? Absolutely not. I fell into it. And I'm really grateful for that."' - Charisma News

Listen beloved. If this sordid tale forced Lentz to genuinely repent then hallelujah. I am not buying it because instead of working on their lives, Lentz and his wife appear to be trying to get back into the grift game of Charismania. Having sex for years with the babysitter of your children in your wife's bed are not mere "mistakes." They are not mere "wrongs." They were sins and egregious ones. I know that Lentz spent his pastoral life minimizing sin from the pulpit to the Oprah show but continuing to do so with his own sin worries me that this may be more performative than sincere. Did he fall from grace? Absolutely. Do not be fooled.

'There are still those who hold quite strongly Lentz's past against him, believing he is completely disqualified from ministry and think he is playing semantics with his newest episode. And with as public of event that his leaving Hillsong was, there are still man eyes scrutinizing the podcast as well. "You could say what I did was disgraceful. Maybe at times, sure. But I'm not disgraced because we're forgiven," Lentz argues. "I have been able to feel God's grace more than ever, I understand the thought, but I just wanted to get it out there. That doesn't fit me. I don't identify as the disgraced former pastor. No, sir. No, ma'am."' - Charisma News

The primary person who says Lentz is disqualified, is God. Just read the key verse above. Leaders in God's church must be husbands to one wife. It does not say husbands of one wife unless they repent for awhile of their adultery and then come back. Look, this is often how disgraced former Charismatic leaders try to muddy the bible. Being disgraced, falling from grace, and being disqualified are not salvation issues. They are issues about their place in the church. They had the opportunity and they proved they were not qualified. There are no oopsies. There are no mulligans. There are no do-overs. That is all related to the JOB they had as a pastor or leader. God's grace has nothing to do with this. Grace has to do with our walk. It has to do with out relationship with God. So, we do not think Carl Lentz is playing semantics - we know he is. He knows he is. Maybe at times what he did was disgraceful? Which times Carl? How about every time you slept with your babysitter and then the two of you gaslit your wife, who suspected something was up? How about the other woman you had an affair with? What times during all of these years of infidelity while preaching do you think you are were not being disgraceful? You don't identify as a disgraced former pastor? Too bad sir because you do not get to make that call. God does and He says you most certainly are.

"The Bible, the inerrant Word of God, can summarize a person's journey of humility and reliance on God and His grace better than any other orator, and does so in 2 Corinthians 12:9: But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Paul knew firsthand the power of God's grace, leaning into it during his own times of weakness, and in doing so, becoming one of the greatest voices for the Lord in all of history." - Charisma News

Wow. What an utter butchering of God's word. It seems Lentz has not lost a heretical step. The verse in question relates to when Paul was taken up to third heaven, not when Lentz had his third affair on his wife. The Lord gave Paul a thorn in his flesh to keep him from being conceited for the surpassingly great visions He gave him while visiting the third heaven. This thorn compelled him to plead with the Lord to take it away to which God said, my grace is sufficient for you. Because of that, Paul viewed the weakness from the thorn, not his sin, to make him boast all the more in the Lord. Now, if you are wondering what a thorn being given to Paul to prevent his conceit from seeing surpassingly great visions when visiting the third heaven have to do with a disgraced former pastor and his lecherous treatment of his wife the answer would be absolutely nothing. The most serious sins of Pual's life was of course BEFORE he was saved. In typical Lentz fashion, he spews out a verse completely out of context and misapplies it to serve himself. So let us all be clear Carl, since you have no understanding of what you are saying. You are disgraced. You fell from grace. You are disqualified. Stop pretending you are a consultant for mega churches. Stop doing silly podcasts trying to portray yourself as the victim. Just go away. Work on your walk. Truly repent for the sake of your family and your eternal destination. Just go away.

Reverend Anthony Wade - June 7, 2024

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.