Another married Hillsong Church Pastor has resigned from the megachurch following a sex scandal.
Last year, New York Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz was fired for cheating on his wife.
Now pastor Darnell Barrett, creative director of the Montclair, New Jersey, congregation has resigned after sending lewd photos of himself to a former volunteer.
In the selfies revealed by the Daily Mail, the 32-year-old is wearing snug white tights. He initially posted the photos on his "close friends" story, which only allows people he selects to view the content. The images were intended to be part of a motivational post about his apparent battle with "depression and anxiety." However, Barrett then shared it as a direct message to a woman who used to volunteer at his church.
In messages obtained by the Daily Mail, the pastor claimed he sent her the photos accidentally.
'Hey! I think I might've added you to my close friends list by accident," Barrett wrote. "I'm so sorry. Trying to figure out how the hell to edit it."
He then followed up the message with several others apologizing.
"Seriously, sorry about that. I guess," he added in another.
"At first the woman shrugged it off, telling Barrett it was "all right" but later blocked then unblocked him.
"Darnell, I'm not going to lie, I blocked your for a second but I've decided I need to say something to you," she wrote. "First off, I'm insulted that you wouldn't understand what you're doing but I'm not f**king stupid. For you to go out of your way to make it seem like you 'accidentally' added me to your close friends ... and then, went out of your way to message me about it KNOWING that would make me go look is bulls**t."
The woman stated that Barrett "obviously" wanted her to see the photos of him shirtless.
"Your messages to bait me into seeing your 'raw s**t' are obvious," she continued. "To be honest, this whole 'fishing' scheme of yours to see if I will bite isn't what even p***ed me off."
Speaking on Tuesday with the Daily Mail, Barrett shared that he had resigned as a pastor but cited "infidelity" as the reason, adding that he and his wife are now "working through things."
"We thought it was best for me to move on. I don't want to get into the details," he said.
Commenting on the photos, Barrett admitted he had sent them to the woman but insisted he did so accidentally.
"This was something that was just an honest mistake and I informed my wife as soon as it happened," he said.
"I was not at all trying to lure her," he continued. "I get that she, within the context of what's happening with Hillsong, that she would draw those conclusions."
The ordeal comes months after Lentz was ousted from the church after a 10-year tenure in the wake of his own admission to infidelity.
"Our time at HillsongNYC has come to an end," Lentz wrote on Instagram at the time. "This is a hard ending to what has been the most amazing, impacting and special chapter of our lives."
He explained that a pastor is required to live in a way that "honors the mandate," the church, and God, but he did not honor that code when he was unfaithful to his wife, Laura.
"When that does not happen, a change needs to be made and has been made in this case to ensure that standard is upheld," he continued. "Laura and I and our amazing children have given all that we have to serve and build this church 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."
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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