Hillsong New York City is a popular Pentacostal congregation, which meets each week in nightclubs, theaters, and other venues across New York City. Trendy concert-like music, strobe lights, and Lentz’s unconventional messages draw thousands of attendees every Sunday.
Lentz, who sports tattoos, leather jackets, body piercings, and even a mohawk hairdo, says his weekly assembly is “awesome.”
“Our church is awesome; I love it,” he told CBN News. “It’s extremely imperfect and that’s why everybody fits in.”
In an interview last year with the Daily Mail, Lentz proudly described the “craziness” which unfolds at Hillsong NYC each weekend.
“Don’t be alarmed by the craziness you see,” he said. “One time somebody said, ‘Y’all are crazy in your church,’ and I said, ‘You ever seen you dance drunk? Don’t be judging us up in church.’”
Could you speak English, instead of some sort of Millennial hipster / Ebonics mash-up? Sheesh!
“I’ve gotten used to seeing bar stools and club stuff in the place that we have church,” Lentz noted. “That’s church to me now.”
Well, it is another Sunday morning nightclub…
One where no-one need worry they might be challenged to live righteously:
Hillsong NYC Pastor Carl Lentz has made it clear that he will not take a public stance on social issues like homosexuality because, as he said during media appearances this week, that is not the example Jesus Christ models in the Bible.
When asked during an interview with Katie Couric on her self-titled daytime show if he felt that he had a moral imperative to speak publicly about “some of these more controversial issues,” Lentz said, “No, because we try to be like Jesus.”
He explained, “Very rarely did Jesus ever talk about morality or social issues. He was about the deeper things of the heart. Often people want to talk about behavior modification, and our church isn’t about that. … We’re about soul transformation. You start talking about some of the symptomatic stuff, that’s not what we’re about. We’re about talking to people about their heart and the condition of their soul, and some of that stuff out-works itself. But we’re not trying to change anybody because we can’t.”
No wonder Justin Bieber and other celebrities like it; they won’t have to worry about ever being challenged…
Patriactionary 
James and the Giant Peach
June 10, 2014 at 6:43 pm
“But we’re not trying to change anybody because we can’t.”
At least he is honest about it. Whatever word he is teaching has no power.
He almost gets it, but it slips by so fast. He is right, it is changing the heart of a person. But to put all the other stuff as “all that symptomatic stuff”.
There is a reason why Jesus thousand men sermons always dwindled down only to dozens (or one dozen). When Jesus came and taught the hard stuff, the bitter stuff, everyone left. This pastor knows he isn’t teaching the bitter stuff, if he did, his congregation would dwindle overnight. As it should, the word isn’t about getting thousands of people who don’t know what they are doing.
Of course the whole “not even a hint of sexual immorality” part of the Bible. Or do not get drunk on wine, but instead on the Holy Spirit.
But enough about the negative, that shouldn’t be on my mind. I read about a ministry that evangelized drunk people. Not like this church. But they set up hamburger stands outside of party houses in order to give free burgers and talk to them about Christ. Then they got their contact information and tried to get the people into church or bible studies when they were sober the following week. Gave some people purpose on a college campus where drinking and partying is seen as the thing you must do.
Yes we have to evangelize the adulterers, prostitutes, tax collectors, etc. but not at the cost of going and enabling them and giving them a moral cover to do the things that they do.
Will S.
June 10, 2014 at 6:50 pm
I remember reading about Christians who gave out chilled bottled water to marchers in a gay pride parade.
Their justification was, it was hot out, and they were preventing dehydration, and thus heat stroke, etc.
What do you think of that?
I reject it, myself.
Nobody made the marchers be there; and further, nothing stopped them from buying their own water, and carrying it with them.
James and the Giant Peach
June 10, 2014 at 7:05 pm
The burger people in my instance also made sure to talk to them about Christ and get them in a church to start teaching them: including the fact that drinking to get drunk is bad. If the water bottle hander outers are preaching Christ and inviting them to church and in that church pointing out homosexuality as a sin that needs to be repented of, then I am a bit OK with that.
But then again maybe not. Gay pride parades are a political spectacle meant to send a political message that the gospel contradicts. But there is some merit in feeding your enemies. It can heap coals of shame upon their head.
Will S.
June 10, 2014 at 7:13 pm
Mmm, yeah…
Some people have no shame left…
I doubt the water-bottle-givers were bothering to evangelize, but I could be wrong.
Eric
June 10, 2014 at 9:53 pm
“often people want to talk about behavior modification. Our church isn’t about that…we are about soul transformation.”
Ummm….this may seem like a naïve question, but isn’t transforming one’s soul usually reflected in transforming behaviors? It seems like simple classical logic: the thought is the father of the action.
And aren’t the Radical Left and the Gay Mafia the ones who are continually preaching about how the rest of us should behave?
Will S.
June 10, 2014 at 10:02 pm
Your question is spot-on, Eric. And you’re right – unlike that idiot ‘pastor’…