'I pray you can forgive me': Celebrity Hillsong pastor sacked after cheating on wife

Stephen Carl Lentz with his wife, Laura. Photo / Carl Lentz / Instagram

The US pastor who baptised pop star Justin Bieber has revealed he lost his job at mega-church Hillsong because he cheated on his wife.

Carl Lentz took to Instagram to admit he "was unfaithful in his marriage", which he said was the most important relationship in his life.

"Laura and I and our amazing children have given all that we have to serve and build this church and over the years I did not do an adequate job of protecting my own spirit, refilling my own soul and reaching out for the readily available help that is available," the post read.

"When you lead out of an empty place, you make choices that have real and painful consequences.

"This failure is on me, and me alone and I take full responsibility for my actions. I now begin a journey of rebuilding trust with my wife, Laura and my children and taking real time to work on and heal my own life and seek out the help that I need.

"I am deeply sorry for breaking the trust of many people who we have loved serving."

Lentz and his Australian wife Laura were married in 2003 and have three children; Ava, 16, Charlie, 14, and Roman, 11.

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Our time at HillsongNYC has come to an end. This is a hard ending to what has been the most amazing, impacting and special chapter of our lives. Leading this church has been an honor in every sense of the word and it is impossible to articulate how much we have loved and will always love the amazing people in this church. When you accept the calling of being a pastor, you must live in such a way that it honors the mandate. That it honors the church, and that it honors God. When that does not happen, a change needs to be made and has been made in this case to ensure that standard is upheld. Laura and I and our amazing children have given all that we have to serve and build this church and over the years I did not do an adequate job of protecting my own spirit, refilling my own soul and reaching out for the readily available help that is available. When you lead out of an empty place, you make choices that have real and painful consequences. I was unfaithful in my marriage, the most important relationship in my life and held accountable for that. This failure is on me, and me alone and I take full responsibility for my actions. I now begin a journey of rebuilding trust with my wife, Laura and my children and taking real time to work on and heal my own life and seek out the help that I need. I am deeply sorry for breaking the trust of many people who we have loved serving and understand that this news can be very hard and confusing for people to hear and process. I would have liked to say this with my voice, to you, in person because you are owed that. But that opportunity I will not have. So to those people, I pray you can forgive me and that over time I can live a life where trust is earned again. To our pastors Brian and Bobbie, thank you for allowing us to lead, allowing us to thrive and giving us room to have a voice that you have never stifled or tried to silence. Thank you for your grace and kindness especially in this season, as you have done so much to protect and love us through this. We, the Lentz family, don’t know what this next chapter will look like, but we will walk into it together very hopeful and grateful for the grace of God..

A post shared by Carl Lentz (@carllentz) on Nov 5, 2020 at 12:12pm PST

She graduated from Hillsong Leadership College in Sydney and moved to New York City shortly after.

The couple first met while she was at college in 2000.

According to a since-deleted page on the Hillsong website, Laura Lentz had been passionate about building the local church her entire life.

It was revealed on Thursday that the New York pastor was fired due to a series of "moral failures".

Australian pastor and Hillsong founder Brian Houston broke the news in an email to Hillsong East Coast church members.

Lentz, centre, with pop star Justin Bieber, left. Photo / Supplied

Houston said it was not appropriate to detail the events that led to the decision.

"I am very sad to inform you that Hillsong Church has terminated the employment of Pastor Carl Lentz," he wrote.

"I know this will come a shock to you, but please know that this action was not taken lightly and was done in the best interests of everyone, including Pastor Carl."

Lentz is famous because of his close friendship with superstar Justin Bieber and was described as the singer's friend and confidant.

Hillsong was founded in Australia in 1983 but in recent years has branched into the United States and Britain.