Justin Bieber has begun studying to become a minister at the Hillsong megachurch, according to a Wednesday report.
Bieber has been a member of Hillsong since 2014, when he was reportedly baptized by former Hillsong lead pastor Carl Lentz in the bathtub of then-New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler. The pop star’s wife, Hailey Baldwin, is also a prominent Hillsong member.
Bieber wants to play a leading role in the church as it moves forward without Lentz, a source told OK! magazine. “He [feels he] owes it to the church. Justin believes he can take a leadership position in restoring order,” the source continued. (RELATED: Megachurch Pastor Refuses To Condemn Abortion)
Bieber sings in the church choir and is open about how Christianity impacts his life. “My faith has brought me to a whole other level. I love talking about my faith,” Bieber once told Complex magazine.
Lentz was fired from Hillsong on Nov. 4 after admitting in an Instagram post to cheating on his wife Laura.
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He subsequently entered rehab for “depression, anxiety, and pastoral burnout,” according to People magazine.
Hillsong started in Australia and boasts numerous other celebrity members, including Chris Pratt, Kylie Jenner and Bieber ex Selena Gomez. Pratt in particular has come under fire for his membership at Hillsong.
Elliot Page, then known as Ellen Page, criticized a 2019 Late Show interview of Pratt by Stephen Colbert for not mentioning that Hillsong is “infamously anti lgbtq.”