Hillsong New York City Lead Pastor, Carl Lentz recently sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an honest conversation.
And like most things involving Lentz, it was inspirational.
There couldn’t have been a better person to do the interview than Oprah. She is basically the Michael Jordan of TV presenting. This has come with years of experience – 30 to be exact – and an ability to break stereotypes while changing mind sets.
Lentz has grown in world recognition in a relatively short space of time. Despite this, with the platform that he has had, he has become an outstanding ambassador for the Gospel. In many ways, he has made me proud to call myself a Christian.
When Oprah met Carl
The interview – set in a beautiful outside studio – covers a wide range of topics.
Oprah quizzes Lentz about his childhood and growing up in a Christian home, until he had to make the decision to follow Jesus for himself.
Lentz points out that it was only after being at North Carolina State University for a year – while playing basketball, among other things – that he realised his personal need for God. Christianity stopped just being about something you do with your parents on a Sunday.
He details his journey to Hillsong College in Sydney, Australia, where he felt a connection, not only with the music but with the welcoming culture. That is when he decided, this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
Lentz shares a very cool story about baptising Justin Bieber in the early hours of the morning, in the bathtub of a good friend of his. I won’t spoil it for you – you should hear it from the horse’s mouth.
What I love about Lentz’s approach to interviews, like the one with Oprah, is that he shares the Gospel like it is meant to be – declared as good news.
Often people’s perception of what the church is – as Oprah points out – is that we exist to give people rules and regulations, often neglecting the main thing: a relationship with our maker.
But don’t take my word for it, have a look for yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfxKY4eZxrc