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Unconventional pastor leads booming NYC megachurch

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Author Topic: Unconventional pastor leads booming NYC megachurch  (Read 1223 times)
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« on: July 18, 2013, 07:06:40 am »

Unconventional pastor leads booming NYC megachurch
http://news.yahoo.com/unconventional-pastor-leads-booming-nyc-megachurch-064437395.html
7/18/13

NEW YORK (AP) — Carl Lentz is not your typical pastor.

Along with his half shaved head and slicked back Mohawk, he's dressed in his usual Sunday attire: black jeans and an unbuttoned denim shirt with a tank top underneath. His tattooed arms, including one with two guns crossed, peek out from under his rolled-up sleeves.

His Hillsong Church NYC holds at least six sermons every Sunday in a ballroom-style concert venue that has hosted such bands as U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. People squeeze into whatever space they can find and take notes on iPhones as Lentz marches across the stage, peppering his sermon with Bible verses, jokes, pop music lines and street slang.

"If you're new to our church, we love you," says the 34-year-old Lentz. "Don't be alarmed by the craziness you see. One time somebody said, 'Y'all are crazy in your church,' and I said, 'You ever seen you dance drunk? Don't be judging us up in church.'"

New York has become a magnet for startup evangelical churches in recent years. There are currently more than 200 in Manhattan alone, according to Tony Carnes of the research project, A Journey Through NYC Religions, and Hillsong is one of the fastest-growing.

After a little more than two years, Hillsong estimates it draws 5,500 people to Sunday services each week. Crowds lining up are a regular weekly scene at Irving Plaza near Manhattan's Union Square. Hillsong often has to add additional evening sessions, which could last well into the night.

"I've gotten used to seeing bar stools and club stuff in the place that we have church," Lentz said, adding "that's church to me now."

Steve Dagrossa, a 31-year-old who says he is a recovering heroin addict, attended all six sermons on a recent Sunday, for a total of 12 hours. He has even styled his hair his hair like Lentz.

"It's unconventional but we're not a conventional city," Dagrossa said. "This isn't the Bible Belt. This is New York."

Meredith Anderson, a 27-year-old church member who also works as an assistant to Lentz, said she "went from being a drug addict party animal to becoming a Christian living a full, healthy life."

"If it was a church that was all buttoned up, you know, what everybody thinks about when they think about church ... that's not necessarily something that would speak to me," she said. "But because it's young people, because there are young people there, I feel more comfortable."

The church is a branch of the popular Australian-based Hillsong Church, the Pentecostal church which draws more than 21,000 weekly to its services. Hillsong is best known for its concert-type settings where they play Christian rock and praise music, which often appeals to a younger demographic of churchgoers.

Much of Hillsong NYC's success can be attributed to its unorthodox leader. Lentz is a hyperactive, self-proclaimed insomniac who would rather stand than sit. His gift for gab lends itself to creating hype for the church. He loves hip hop music and often calls getting the word of God out "a hustle.[/color]"

At one service, he broke out Coolio lyrics. At another he called the biblical Saul the "LeBron James of Judaism." He is an avid basketball fan and player, and is a fixture at New York Knicks games.

Lentz has established himself as his own brand. He has more than 67,000 followers on Twitter and 59,000 on Instagram, where you can find pictures of him standing next to Jay-Z and NBA star Kevin Durant. Justin Bieber posted a picture of himself eating lunch with Lentz, "talking 'bout our savior Jesus Christ."

Hillsong is far from the first church to attempt to win over a young demographic, but few have been able to pull it off as successfully as Hillsong, according to Carnes.

Still, Hillsong is just as susceptible to the downfalls of any modern progressive church, and there is always the danger that the trendy concert culture could overshadow the message, Carnes said.

"This church is always only about Jesus. ... It's always, it's only about Jesus." Lentz said in a recent sermon.

Lentz declined to discuss same-sex marriage, a polarizing issue that young evangelicals have said in repeated surveys that they do not want to be a focus of church. Many evangelical pastors starting churches in New York avoid addressing the topic from the pulpit, a decision that has drawn criticism from evangelical leaders who consider the issue one of the most important for traditional Bible-believers.

Lentz said he enjoys having critics.

"They give me fuel for the fire," he said.
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« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2013, 06:48:16 am »

Pastor Carl Lentz Will Not Preach on Sexuality From Pulpit; Refuses to 'Ostracize People'

Hillsong NYC Lead Pastor on Homosexuality: Not His Job to Be People's 'Judge and Jury'


Hillsong NYC Pastor Carl Lentz has made it clear that he will not take a public stance on social issues like homosexuality because, as he said during media appearances this week, that is not the example Jesus Christ models in the Bible.

When asked during an interview with Katie Couric on her self-titled daytime show if he felt that he had a moral imperative to speak publicly about "some of these more controversial issues," Lentz said, "No, because we try to be like Jesus."

He explained, "Very rarely did Jesus ever talk about morality or social issues. He was about the deeper things of the heart. Often people want to talk about behavior modification, and our church isn't about that. … We're about soul transformation. You start talking about some of the symptomatic stuff, that's not what we're about. We're about talking to people about their heart and the condition of their soul, and some of that stuff out-works itself. But we're not trying to change anybody because we can't."

Lentz's pre-recorded appearance on "Katie" aired Thursday, the same day the Hillsong NYC pastor visited HuffPost Live and was asked similar questions about the same issue.

Host Ahmed Shihab-Eldin asked Lentz, 35, if same-sex couples were welcomed to attend the popular megachurch, which prompted the Pentecostal pastor to speak out against critics who insist that he needs to make a public stance on homosexuality and other social issues.

"Some media wants us to use our pulpit to have a soapbox for social issues," said Lentz. "I don't believe that's our job."

Pointing to Jesus as his example for ministry, Lentz added, "You go look at what Jesus did, he was always talking about the heart of an individual and the soul of a person, not these symptomatic societal problems. People hate that, because a lot of churches are about what they're against. We're about what we're for.

"When it comes to people's sexuality, I don't want to use a public forum to talk about private things. Because how in the world could you have a dialogue? How in the world can I hear your story? How in the world can someone have a question?"

If he stood in the pulpit at Irving Plaza, the Manhattan concert venue that serves as a sanctuary on Sundays for Hillsong's six worship services, and "just start(ed) railing at something or (made) a statement in a newspaper about something, I believe it's insensitive to the journey that people are walking on, and our church is going to protect people."

He added, "No matter where you're from, no matter what you carry, no matter what orientation you feel is your lane of life to run in, I want to have a conversation about it. We have a stance on love, and we have a conversation on everything else."

Asked if he was "in a position to support homosexual couples," the married father said, it was not his job to be a judge and jury for others.

"If I sat down with a homosexual couple and they ask me what I thought about their relationship, I would tell them, and it would be at their table and it would be our business. But their situation is different than the next situation," Lentz explained.

"Often people get these two words mixed up: acceptance and approval. If someone comes to my church, I don't have to approve of every single thing in their life, because that's not my job. I'm not God. My job is to accept you as I have been accepted. With everything in my life, God accepted me. So acceptance and approval, we draw a really cool line in there…"

Lentz, who leads with Hillsong United frontman Joel Houston, son of church founder Pastor Brian C. Houston, said there were plenty of people who have visited the church and did not find it to their liking.

"There are a lot of people who will come into our church, leave and go, 'No thanks. I don't want to change. I don't want to believe that.' And I say, 'Good for you, that's your job. You have to answer to God for your life, not me.' So why is this on me?" said Lentz.

The Christian minister said that he had gay friends and people whom he loves who are "right in the thick of that debate," which he will not be participating in publicly, at least not from the Hillsong NYC pulpit.

"I refuse to ostracize people any longer, I hate it. I think that there's been so much hate, and so much bigotry and so much insensitivity, I'm done with that," said Lentz.

Before The Huffington Post Live interview came to a close, the preacher made sure to add the two things he believes Jesus said to do.

"He said love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind." explained Lentz. "He said, number two, love your neighbor — with the inference being, if you love your neighbor, there's so much room to talk about stuff. But people want to yell with no love."

Hillsong NYC, founded in late 2010, welcomes more than 5,000 worshippers every Sunday and is the first U.S. plant of the main Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/pastor-carl-lentz-will-not-preach-on-sexuality-from-pulpit-refuses-to-ostracize-people-111211/
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« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2013, 06:58:08 am »

Quote
"When it comes to people's sexuality, I don't want to use a public forum to talk about private things. Because how in the world could you have a dialogue? How in the world can I hear your story? How in the world can someone have a question?"

Quote
"If I sat down with a homosexual couple and they ask me what I thought about their relationship, I would tell them, and it would be at their table and it would be our business. But their situation is different than the next situation," Lentz explained.

wooops, theres a little hypocritical thinking there.

Jam 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Quote
Asked if he was "in a position to support homosexual couples," the married father said, it was not his job to be a judge and jury for others.

Jhn 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Buddy how can you even talk to someone about the Gospel with out judging them? Why do the need Jesus? Is it their sins? are they going to hell because of their sins? Telling a lie is the same as sodomy. If you tell a lie you will burn in the fires of hell for all eternity right along with the sodomite, UNLESS you accept Jesus and get forgivness for your sins. You have to judge someones behavior in order to share the Gospel.

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« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2013, 01:04:37 pm »

Quote
Pointing to Jesus as his example for ministry, Lentz added, "You go look at what Jesus did, he was always talking about the heart of an individual and the soul of a person, not these symptomatic societal problems. People hate that, because a lot of churches are about what they're against. We're about what we're for.

 Huh

1Cor 5:1  It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
1Co 5:2  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.


Quote
"When it comes to people's sexuality, I don't want to use a public forum to talk about private things. Because how in the world could you have a dialogue? How in the world can I hear your story? How in the world can someone have a question?"

See above passage of scripture.

Quote
If he stood in the pulpit at Irving Plaza, the Manhattan concert venue that serves as a sanctuary on Sundays for Hillsong's six worship services, and "just start(ed) railing at something or (made) a statement in a newspaper about something, I believe it's insensitive to the journey that people are walking on, and our church is going to protect people."

Well no wonder why - Hillsong is part of the heretical/charismatic CCM/"Christian" Rock movement - no wonder why the modern-day church system just has no discernment at all(as rock music, as been proven, has badly hindered people's critical thinking).

Quote
"Often people get these two words mixed up: acceptance and approval. If someone comes to my church, I don't have to approve of every single thing in their life, because that's not my job. I'm not God. My job is to accept you as I have been accepted. With everything in my life, God accepted me. So acceptance and approval, we draw a really cool line in there…"

And this has been the attitude from the modern-day "church" system nowdays - I mentioned this numerous times before, but will mention it again - a pastor wrote an article in the paper a few years ago over how we have to let rock music within the church walls b/c otherwise, we would be "discriminating" against the youth. Obviously, this "pastor" is nothing more than your typical covetous Churchianity guy who cares more about increasing membership and bringing in the $$.

What's next? They have to allow sodomy behavior within the church walls for this very reason too?
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« Reply #4 on: September 16, 2014, 10:11:51 pm »

Megachurch With a Beat Lures a Young Flock
9/9/14
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/us/hillsong-megachurch-with-a-beat-lures-a-young-flock.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=3&referrer

LOS ANGELES — A toned and sunburned 32-year-old Australian with the letters F-A-I-T-H tattooed onto his biceps strode onto the stage of a former burlesque theater here and shouted across a sea of upstretched hands and uplifted smartphones: “Let’s win this city together!”

The crowd did not need much urging. Young, diverse and devoted to Jesus, the listeners had come to the Belasco Theater from around the city, and from across the country, eager to help an Australian Pentecostal megachurch that is spreading worldwide establish its first outpost on America’s West Coast.

The church, Hillsong, has become a phenomenon, capitalizing on, and in some cases shaping, trends not only in evangelicalism but also in Christian youth culture. Its success would be rare enough at a time when religion is struggling in a secularizing Europe and North America. But Hillsong is even more remarkable because its target is young Christians in big cities, where faith seems out of fashion but where its services are packing them in.

Powered by a thriving, and lucrative, recording label that dominates Christian contemporary music, it has a vast reach — by some estimates, 100,000 people in the pews each weekend, 10 million followers on social media, 16 million albums sold, with its songs popping up in churches from Uzbekistan to Papua New Guinea.

Founded 30 years ago, Hillsong has churches in Amsterdam; Barcelona, Spain; Berlin; Cape Town; Copenhagen; Kiev, Ukraine; London; New York; Paris; and Stockholm, as well as multiple campuses in Australia and, now, an embryonic congregation in Los Angeles.

The Hillsong empire might appear to be a musical powerhouse first and a church second. It is, after all, a multimillion-dollar enterprise, drawing large crowds to arena concert performances; one of its bands, Hillsong United, is even the subject of a documentary scheduled for release by Warner Bros. next year.

Its songs, with a folk rock sound and simple, accessible lyrics, pervade the Christian charts and have transformed the Christian songbook.

“They are without a doubt the most influential producers of worship music in Christendom,” said Fred Markert, a Colorado-based leader of Youth With a Mission, a Christian organization. And Ed Stetzer, the executive director of LifeWay Research, an organization based in Nashville that studies practices in American Christianity, declared in an analysis of Hillsong, “In sensory stimulation, Hillsong’s productions rival any other contemporary form of entertainment.”

But its critics, and there are many, deride Hillsong as hipster Christianity, suggesting that its theology is thin, its enthusiasm for celebrities (Justin Bieber is among its fans) unbecoming, its politics (opposition to abortion and a murky position on homosexuality) opaque.

It’s a prosperity movement for the millennials, in which the polyester and middle-class associations of Oral Roberts have given way to ripped jeans and sophisticated rock music,” said R. Albert Mohler Jr., the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “What has made Hillsong distinctive is a minimization of the actual content of the Gospel, and a far more diffuse presentation of spirituality.”

For young Christians in cities where Hillsong has churches, it has become a magnet, combining the production values of a rock concert, the energy of a nightclub and the community of a megachurch. Many of the worshipers say they are drawn by the music but have stayed because of the opportunity to be with other young Christians, and because they believe that the churches can help transform cities, both through prayer and through direct social services.

“I want to be part of something bigger than myself,” said Tricia Hidalgo, 29, who said that she first heard Hillsong music played in her childhood church in Ontario, Calif., and that as a young adult she gave up studying to be a teacher to move to Australia to attend Hillsong’s Bible college. Now, she is volunteering for the church in Los Angeles.

“We’re going to love the city, love the people, and, to me, I feel like love can break any walls,” she said.

Amanda-Paige Whittington, 32, recalled hearing Hillsong’s first huge hit, “Shout to the Lord,” as a girl in a Southern Baptist church in Mississippi.

“I told my mom, ‘One day I’m going to Hillsong,’ ” said Ms. Whittington, who also attended Hillsong’s Bible college in Sydney and now lives in Orange County. “The music drew me to the church.”

Hillsong Los Angeles, as well as Hillsong New York, which opened four years ago, is an example of a growing phenomenon in global Christianity: big church brands taking on big secular cities. This year, Saddleback Church, the Orange County megachurch led by Rick Warren, opened its own campus in Los Angeles, while several years ago, Willow Creek, the megachurch based in South Barrington, Ill., opened a campus in Chicago.

“There’s no question there’s a real current of evangelical enamorment with cities,” Mr. Stetzer said. “Evangelicals have been a rural people historically, and the cities were the places where sin was. But cities are also where the people are.”

Hillsong chooses cities not only because of population density, but also because of their impact on culture.

“These are tough, hard, dry towns for contemporary churches,” said Brian Houston, the Sydney-based senior pastor of the Hillsong empire. “We want to be strategic, and really impact cities of influence, so that the influence can reach far beyond.”

Hillsong has critics who monitor speakers at its conferences, and utterances by its leaders, for deviations from Christian orthodoxy (of concern to the right) or evidence of social conservatism (of concern to the left). Its finances have been scrutinized by the Australian news media; its preaching is tracked by a critical blog. This year, Mr. Houston issued a clarification after being criticized by other evangelicals for suggesting that Christians and Muslims serve the same God.

Hillsong, founded by Brian Houston and his wife, Bobbie, has been anti-abortion and has described gay sex as sinful. But recently, church leaders have moderated their tone; the pastor of Hillsong New York, Carl Lentz, passed up two opportunities this year to express a view on same-sex marriage, in interviews with Katie Couric and The Huffington Post.

In the United States, Hillsong is nondenominational; in Australia, it is associated with the Australian Christian Churches, which is an affiliate of the Assemblies of God. For a time, Mr. Houston was the head of the denomination, and in 2000, he fired his father, Frank Houston, who was serving at another church, after the elder Mr. Houston acknowledged having abused a boy decades earlier.

One of Brian Houston’s sons, Joel, is Hillsong’s creative director, performs with Hillsong United and serves as a pastor at Hillsong New York. Another son, Ben, is the pastor of Hillsong Los Angeles. Ben has the “Faith” tattoo on one arm, as well as tattoos of the characters +=♥ (Jesus Is Love) and the names of his three daughters, surrounded by images of flowers and butterflies, as well as that of a lion, “to remind me I’m a man.”

Hillsong’s worship style is charismatic, meaning there is an emphasis on the Holy Spirit and on divine healing, but there is little speaking in tongues, which is seen at more conventional Pentecostal churches.

The Houstons like to say that worship should be enjoyed, not endured. Services are often held in dimly lit concert venues: In New York, the church started at Irving Plaza and then relocated to the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center; in Los Angeles, a debut was held at 1 Oak, a West Hollywood club. There are lines to get in, and fewer seats than worshipers. Some worshipers share images and thoughts on social media during services.

The sound has evolved over the decades, but is now sometimes compared to U2’s. Tom Wagner, an ethnomusicologist at the University of Edinburgh, said Hillsong’s music was characterized by rich orchestration, but simple harmonies, and was often regarded by listeners as “spiritually anointed.”

“They’re very good at writing songs that are catchy,” Mr. Wagner said. “They know what works.”
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« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2016, 04:12:54 am »

Hillsong’s Carl Lentz Clarifies Answer to Oprah if Only Christians Can Be in Relationship With God

Hipster Hillsong NYC leader Carl Lentz recently clarified his response to talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who had asked Lentz on her “Super Soul Sunday” program if only Christians can be in relationship with God.

“Do you believe that only Christians can be in a relationship with God?” Winfrey asked in a program that aired on Oct. 16.

“No,” Lentz replied. “I believe that when Jesus said that ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’—the way I read that, Jesus said that He is the road marker, He is the map.”

“So, I think that God loves people so much that whether they accept or reject Him, He’s still gracious, and He’s still moving, and He’s still giving you massive red blinking lights, for chances to take a right turn where maybe you’d take a left,” he continued. “But I believe God loves people, and that’s what this whole gospel is based on—it’s love. You take the love out of it, we’ve got a moral book.”

But radio host, commentator and author Dr. Michael Brown reached out to Lentz following the airing of the broadcast as some were concerned that Lentz’ response began with “no.”

“When I asked him why he told Oprah that people can have a relationship with God without being a Christian, he said his intent was to say that everyone can have a relationship with God, but the question was will they, then he pointed to Jesus as the way,” Brown wrote in an article for Charisma News.

“But he was quite humble about these things, saying that he continues to learn and grow and wants to do a better and better job when he is in the public eye,” he said.

Brown outlined that Lentz told him that he believes those without Christ are lost.

“When I asked him the question, ‘Are people lost without Jesus?’ he said, ‘Without a doubt! He’s the only hope of salvation. One hundred percent,'” he explained. “And he added, ‘Without Jesus, you can have everything but have nothing. That’s why I’ve given my life for Jesus and for souls.'”

However, some remain concerned about how Lentz responded to Winfrey despite his personal beliefs.

“Carl Lentz was ambiguous in his claims regarding Jesus. He clearly gave an equivocal and palatable answer to Oprah’s question—one that he knew, and let’s understand this, he knew that Oprah would not take issue with,” wrote Jeff Maples for Pulpit and Pen. “Even if he truly believes that Jesus is the only way, he didn’t say that. Further, what Lentz may or may not believe is irrelevant. It’s what he said that’s the problem.”

“Lentz telling Oprah essentially that she could believe what she wants, and then giving her a carefully worded unoffensive version of what he believes, is exactly the kind of double-minded instability a minister of God’s word is not supposed to have,” he continued.


Maples said that Oprah is fine with Christian beliefs as long as Christians don’t think their way is the only way, and Lentz’ comments could have led her to believe that her thinking was acceptable.

“Oprah is perfectly fine if you believe that Jesus is the sacrifice, the atonement, that He is God, as long as you don’t believe that he is the ONLY sacrifice, the ONLY atonement, and the ONLY God. See, Hindus, Buddhists, New Agers–they all believe that their gods are the right way for them too, and as long as you don’t become exclusive, you’re in good company,” he wrote. “Clearly, Lentz was in good company, or at least Oprah thought so. And that is grounds for criticism.”

As previously reported, concerns had first been raised in May after Lentz posted a photograph on social media announcing his upcoming appearance Winfrey’s television broadcast.

“I really enjoyed my time with @oprah filming for her Super Soul Sunday show,” he wrote on May 18. “She is truly a special woman and a culture changer. To come from absolute poverty in Mississippi and reach the point where she became the first African American multi-billionaire takes a passion and drive that is exceptional and tireless.”

While the photo generated thousands of likes on social media, others raised concern over the Hillsong leader’s appearance with the television celebrity, who once said, “There are many ways, many paths to what you call God. … Does God care about your heart or does God care about if you call His Son Jesus?”

“Oprah is a pagan with New Age beliefs. For many years she has stated that there are ‘many paths to God.’ She denies that Jesus said the way is narrow,” one wrote.

Lentz responded to the controversy by stating that he didn’t like followers arguing on his page.

http://christiannews.net/2016/11/16/hillsongs-carl-lentz-clarifies-answer-to-oprah-if-only-christians-can-be-in-relationship-with-god/
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