Carl Lentz, the former pastor of Hillsong New York City who was fired in 2020 due to an extramarital affair, has joined the staff of Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The predominantly Black, nondenominational megachurch confirmed that Lentz has been hired to help with strategy as the church moves forward with its vision. Lentz has also launched a consulting and coaching business, with churches among his clients. A source close to Lentz confirmed that he and his family have relocated to Tulsa and are attending Transformation Church. Lentz, who was once labeled a « hypepriest » by GQ Magazine for his fashionable attire and ministry to NBA players and celebrities, has been mostly silent since his firing.
Transformation Church, founded in 1999 in the historically Black Greenwood District of Tulsa, now meets in the nearby suburb of Bixby at the 4,500-seat SpiritBank Event Center, which the church owns. The church has become known for its community donations, including $200,000 to each of the three living survivors of the 1921 race massacre in Tulsa, part of a $1 million donation given by the church to commemorate the tragedy at its centennial. The church’s vision to « re-present God to the lost and found for transformation in Christ » includes restoration, according to Tammy McQuarters, the church’s executive pastor of operations.
McQuarters said that Lentz’s readiness to use his God-given gifts towards the local church again after two years of his own discovery and healing process shows his restoration. Lentz was trained at Hillsong College in Sydney, Australia, before being sent by the Pentecostal powerhouse to plant a Hillsong outpost in Manhattan in 2010. The NYC branch and Hillsong Global have been embroiled in parallel scandals since Lentz’s firing, with revelations of indiscretions with women resulting in the resignation of Hillsong’s founding pastor Brian Houston last year, as well as ongoing allegations of financial misconduct by the church.
Keywords: Carl Lentz, Hillsong New York City, Transformation Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma, extramarital affair, consulting, coaching, megachurch, restoration, community donations, race massacre, Hillsong Global, scandals, financial misconduct.