Sam Collier, once the lead pastor of Hillsong Church Atlanta, has weathered a series of public storms, from the global implosion of the Hillsong brand to a difficult and widely publicized divorce, in which he was accused of infidelity.
Now, in what he describes as a “miraculous” new chapter, Collier is back in the pulpit as the lead pastor of Christian Cultural Center (CCC) Atlanta, an extension of the influential Brooklyn-based ministry founded by the Rev. A.R. Bernard.
In a candid conversation with Faithfully Mag, Collier opens up about the road that led him here. He discusses being just days away from quitting ministry altogether, the painful decision to leave Hillsong, and how he’s navigating co-parenting and his own accountability. What follows is a frank discussion about failure, faith, and the pursuit of redemption.
This excerpted Q&A has been edited for clarity and brevity.
FM: You’re the lead pastor of Christian Cultural Center (CCC) Atlanta. Tell us about the new partnership with Dr. A.R. Bernard and how this transition came about.
Collier: Yes, it has certainly been miraculous. I’ve been a fan of Dr. Bernard for many years… I was the lead pastor of Hillsong Atlanta, transitioned that church to Story Church… went through a little bit of challenges in my own life in terms of a divorce and kind of in that season of church-building and churchgoing, I was looking for a family to be a part of and honestly was on the brink after so many different moves and ups and downs of even leaving ministry.
Maybe about four days before I was getting ready to announce shutting down [Story Church], moving on to another career… Dr. A.R. Bernard’s son called me, from a friend who randomly called me out of the blue that week four days before. Two days later, he was in the city meeting with me—Jamaal Bernard—and asking me what it was going to take to continue to do ministry because they were looking to plant a location in the city of Atlanta.
Continue reading at