Disgraced pastor and wife speak out in interview on The Secrets of Hillsong

Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz and his wife have broken their silence over his affair in a new docuseries exposing the megachurch. Listen to the podcast

Disgraced Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz and his wife have broken their silence over his scandalous affair in a new investigative docuseries exposing the megachurch.

The trailer for The Secrets of Hillsong has been released ahead of its debut next month which will also feature Australian senator David Shoebridge.

A global megachurch that counted Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez among its followers at the peak of its cultural power, the investigation is based on Vanity Fair’s exposé of the controversial church.

Justin Bieber and Carl Lentz at a basketball game. Picture: Getty Images

“You do not want to be in this chair,” Carl Lentz tells director Stacey Lee in the new trailer for Vanity Fair and FX. “I cannot stress it enough.”

Lentz brought the Hillsong megachurch to the US from Australia and led a charmed life as lead pastor of New York City before his world came crashing down.

Carl Lentz and his wife Laura. Picture: Vanity Fair/FX

Carl Lentz, former Hillsong pastor breaks his silence for the first time. Picture: Vanity Fair/FX

The father-of-three - who was the New York pastor and face of Hillsong - came to a halt in 2020 when his extramarital affairs came to light and the church’s image was thrown into disarray.

He was then fired from the church after his five-month affair with Brooklyn-based jewellery designer Ranin Karim emerged.

Social media images of Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz with wife Laura Lentz. , From source:https://www.instagram.com/p/CHONe5ODr9z/

The documentary will also look at the megachurch’s meteoric rise and scandals which include sexual abuse allegations, moral failures and the alleged misuse of church funds.

Hillsong founder and Lentz’s mentor Brian Houston is currently fighting accusations he concealed his late father’s child sexual abuse and has pleaded not guilty to a charge of concealing the crime until his father’s death in 2004.

Brian Houston in the new docuseries, The Secrets of Hillsong. Picture: Vanity Fair/FX

The case remains before the courts, with hearings to resume in June.

Former leaders, victims and experts are interviewed including ex-worship pastor Geoff Bullock, author Tanya Levin, David Cowdrey a victim of Houston‘s father Frank and one-time Hillsong NYC choir director Josh Canfield.

The four-episode docuseries — which will debut May 19 — comes after the hugely-successful Faith on Trial podcast by reporter Stephen Drill.

The grounding-breaking eight-part investigation looked at the international pentecostal powerhouse, exposing disturbing claims of worker exploitation, complicated consensual sexual relationships and a culture where women are allegedly told to physically submit to their husbands.

Originally published as Disgraced pastor and wife speak out in interview on The Secrets of Hillsong