Qualified Again?
Exhibit AKey Evidence
- In 2020, GMA aired Ranin Karim's account of what it called an alleged affair with Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz.
- Hillsong fired him, citing "moral failures," and Lentz admitted online he had been unfaithful in his marriage.
- Now Lentz says: "I don't believe anybody's permanently disqualified" and "I'm completely qualified to do whatever God calls me to do," though "I don't believe that time is now."
- On Transformation Church's stage, Mike Todd says Lentz "has never preached on this stage... But he will!"
Exhibit BFrom the Word
“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;”
Sources: GMA / ABC News · LongforTruth1
GMA / ABC News, "Woman speaks out about alleged affair with Hillsong pastor" (November 20, 2020).
"Carl Lentz Is Making a Comeback... And Mike Todd Is Helping Him!", LongforTruth1 (October 25, 2026), with a Transformation Church clip and Lentz's interview on the ChurchLeaders podcast.
ClassifiedFull Briefing
QUALIFIED AGAIN? | 1 Timothy 3:2
In 2020, GMA aired Ranin Karim's account of what it called an alleged affair with Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz. Hillsong fired him, citing "moral failures," and Lentz admitted online he had been unfaithful in his marriage.
Now Lentz says: "I don't believe anybody's permanently disqualified" and "I'm completely qualified to do whatever God calls me to do," though "I don't believe that time is now." On Transformation Church's stage, Mike Todd says Lentz "has never preached on this stage... But he will!" Weigh it against the Word:
"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;" 1 Timothy 3:2 (NKJV)
Sources:
GMA / ABC News, "Woman speaks out about alleged affair with Hillsong pastor" (Nov 20, 2020): youtube.com/watch?v=g9hjrmPLado
Carl Lentz on the ChurchLeaders podcast, as played in LongforTruth1's "Carl Lentz Is Making a Comeback... And Mike Todd Is Helping Him!": youtube.com/watch?v=IZ1Hj0CKOCA