Yesterday, Reformation Charlotte reported that popular Hillsong NYC pastor, Carl Lentz was terminated for what was reported in an email from Hillsong’s CEO, Brian Houston to church staff as “moral failures.” In the letter, Houston said that it would be “inappropriate” to share the details of these “moral failures.”

Today, Carl Lentz admitted that he cheated on his wife as the reason for his termination. Citing a reluctance to reach out for help, Lentz stated that “when you lead out of an empty place, you make choices that have real and painful consequences.”

“Laura and I and our amazing children have given all that we have to serve and build this church,” Lentz said on Instagram, “and over the years I did not do an adequate job of protecting my own spirit, refilling my own soul and reaching out for the readily available help that is available.”

He continued, “When you lead out of an empty place, you make choices that have real and painful consequences. I was unfaithful in my marriage, the most important relationship in my life and held accountable for that.”

“This failure is on me, and me alone and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Lentz stated as he promised to start “rebuilding trust” with his wife and family.

Reformation Charlotte also reported that Lentz was caught in a bar in New Zealand in 2017 with his good friend, Justin Bieber, removing their clothes and taking shots of liquor. Perhaps, if churches would screen their pastors for their commitment to Christ and their ability to rightly handle the text rather than on their ability to attract an crowd of goats, we wouldn’t see so many worldly pastors and leaders at churches like Hillsong dropping like dead flies.