Justin Bieber may be training to become a minister at Hillsong Church

Hallelujah! Hillsong — the celeb-stacked church of choice for stars like Kim Kardashian, Chris Pratt, Selena Gomez, and Justin Bieber — might have found itself a new spiritual leader. Following the exit of disgraced pastor Carl Lentz, reports are saying that it’s Bieber himself who might take on the role. Suddenly, the term ‘Belieber’ has a whole new meaning. 

Justin, who will perform at his very own New Year’s Eve event tonight (rumoured to be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel if the soundcheck noise complaints from locals are to be believed), is said to be studying the Good Book and following a new spiritual path. OK! magazine says that the “Holy” singer wants to minister over the flock at Hillsong. “Justin doesn’t plan to give up his music career, but he feels there’s a bigger calling out there for him,” said OK!’s source. “He wants to be a full-fledged minister next year.”

Lentz was removed from his position of power earlier in 2020 when it was revealed that the pastor wasn’t exactly practicing what he preached. Lentz, who counsels couples through infidelity, himself stands accused of indulging in a series of extramarital affairs. Far more serious accusations followed, including abuse of church members, inappropriate sexual relationships, and hateful, homophobic messaging. Former members have even likened the organization to a cult. 

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“Justin believes he can take a leadership position in restoring order,” reports OK! But it sounds as though the cleanup job will be a big one. Though there's been no public confirmation from Bieber about whether he's been called to minister, he has long been vocal about his beliefs, sounding off on social media and adorning his concert stages with Christian imagery like crosses. His music, too, has become tinged with his Christianity, a belief system that he and wife Hailey Baldwin share (the two are also rumoured to frequent LA’s Churchdome, where Bieber has already taken to the pulpit to lead the mega-church’s congregation in worship).  

Still, the spiritually inclined singer doesn’t consider himself “religious.” Last year, he and Baldwin sat down with Vogue for an interview in which he explained, “I don’t believe in all the religious elitism and pretentiousness, like people are better than you because they come to church, like you have to go to church and dress a certain way. I get sensitive when religion comes up because it’s been so hurtful to a lot of people. I don’t want to be thought of as someone who stands for any of the injustice that religion has done and does do.” Could it be that Hillsong is in better hands? We’re guessing that in the very least, the church’s sound system is about to get a major upgrade.  

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