Carl Lentz Sold Family Home Days Before Cheating Scandal Broke

Celebrity pastor Carl Lentz had sold his $1.5-million home days before he was fired from megachurch Hillsong due to marital infidelity. He owned the property with his wife of 17 years, Laura Lentz.

A Halstead sales associate confirmed that the 41-year-old disgraced pastor sold his family’s Montclair, New Jersey home on Oct. 23. The property was described as a mid-century modern home with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a fireplace, and a two-car garage.

The sale came 11 days before Hillsong’s founding pastor, Brian Houston, announced that Lentz had been fired as pastor due to “moral failures” and “breach of trust.” Lentz himself confirmed the announcement the following day on his Instagram with the admission that he had cheated on his wife.

“I was unfaithful in my marriage, the most important relationship in my life and held accountable for that,” he wrote. “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,” he added.

Following his revelation, a woman named Ranin surfaced claiming she had a fiery five-month affair with Carl Lentz during the pandemic. She said she got to know the pastor earlier this year when Lentz posed as a sports agent in Brooklyn’s Domino Park.

Meanwhile, Houston took to Twitter on Thursday to reveal that Carl Lentz’s former Hillsong Church branch was under investigation. “We are launching an independent investigation into the inner workings of Hillsong NYC/East Coast,” he tweeted. “We need a solid foundation for a fresh start and new beginning. The best is yet to come,” he added.

Prior to his announcement, the Hillsong lead pastor had spoken to Hillsong’s East Coast parishioners via a livestream calling this “a season of transition.” He also went on to address Lentz’s firing and the subsequent media coverage around the scandal.

“It’s always a time when there is speculation, rumor and gossip when change is made, and especially when radical change is made. But I just want to encourage you to stay close to Jesus, keep him your focus,” he said.