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Carl Lentz is back in the spotlight, but not back in ministry.
The former Hillsong Pastor was fired from Hillsong East Coast in 2020 after he confessed to having an extra-marital affair.
He spoke about what happened and the healing journey that followed in a docuseries in 2023.
"All I wanted was to prove to my wife and kids that I could show up for them like I had never done before," said Lentz in a statement on Facebook. "Although we have a long way to go, with a lot of work, a lot of honesty, and a lot of prayers, we have found ourselves in a beautiful, happy and deliberately honest place."
On Tuesday, Lentz took the next step and launched a podcast called 'Lights on.'
"My choices and the road toward recovery taught me how helpful it is to have people share vulnerably the impact of their bad choices, the pain they caused, and the pain they suffered that led them to make those choices, and what they’ve discovered can be helpful and healing," said Lentz in a post on Instagram. "My hope is that in sharing those things from my story and asking others to share theirs, it will be helpful, hopeful and healing."
A video promoting the podcast says 'No, I'm not back. That guy is gone.' And in the first episode, Carl is joined by his wife, Laura, as they chat about what happened.
"We spend time in these first few episodes on our experience and what we are learning in the midst of it all," said Lentz. "We have been asked questions for a long time and these answers will bring some honest clarity. We talk about my recovery steps, what you discover when you pursue the root of a problem, what happened to my friendships and how we feel about Hillsong church."
Carl hopes this podcast will allow listeners to turn on the lights and address their darkness.
"I’m hopeful it’s going to be really helpful."
Lentz is currently working as a strategist with Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with no passion to return to pastoring.