Pastor Carl Lentz *Will Not* Set Up His Own Church After Being Fired From Hillsong

Disgraced pastor Carl Lentz is focused on his wife, Laura Lentz — not his career — following his explosive affair, which got him fired from Hillsong church. 

"He is not working and plans to take time away from the church to work on his marriage. He has no plans to open a church or seek fame at this time," a friend told PEOPLE. 

OK! previously reported that the pastor is trying to get back in his family's good graces. 

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"Carl’s taking time to work on his marriage, go through intense counseling with his wife, and spend time with his kids. He is committed to rebuilding trust and fixing his marriage," a source told Page Six earlier this month. 

At the start of the month, Lentz was let go from the church due to "ongoing discussions in relation to leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures."

"They have a heart for people and we are confident that after a time of rest and restoration, God will use Carl in another way outside of Hillsong church," a statement from founder Brian Houston read. "In terminating his tenure, we in no way want to diminish the good work he did here."

Lentz did not deny the cheating scandal and admitted his wrongdoing in a lengthy Instagram post. "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 wrote.

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"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," he continued. "This failure is on me, and me alone and I take full responsibility for my actions. I now begin a journey of rebuilding trust with my wife, Laura and my children and taking real time to work on and heal my own life and seek out the help that I need."

Despite straying from his wife, Lentz "never planned to leave his marriage nor said he would do so," the source continued. 

Since he was initially fired, Hillsong announced that they would launch an "in-depth review and investigation to all concerns and any wider cultural issues" after they heard reports from several people. 

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The pastor’s alleged mistress, Ranin Karim, said she thought he was single when they met but learned the truth when she ran a background check. Lentz "kept saying that we didn’t plan this, that this is life and we fell into it," Karim told The Post. 

He was also seen "running around like inappropriate superfans" and flirting with other women at a Super Bowl party earlier this year, despite his wife being in attendance at the same bash. 

Meanwhile, it looks like Lentz and his wife are really trying to work things out. The couple was spotted at a tanning salon on Friday, November 20, although she was not wearing her wedding ring. She reportedly only took it off to keep it safe and wore it for the rest of the weekend.