Justin Bieber’s Houston Church Visit Revives Questions About His Former Pastor

Justin Bieber’s surprise appearance at Houston’s Lakewood Church has brought renewed attention to the singer’s past ties to celebrity pastors. He visited the megachurch on Monday alongside Judah Smith, his longtime pastor, according to the report. Church spokesperson Don Iloff told the Houston Chronicle that Smith was at Lakewood to record an interview with pastor Joel Osteen for an upcoming Netflix series. Church officials had not been told Bieber would come along. The singer reportedly took photos with a small number of fans inside the otherwise empty auditorium. Smith also officiated Bieber’s 2019 wedding to Hailey Bieber. The visit recalled Bieber’s earlier connection to Carl Lentz, the former Hillsong pastor. In 2014, Lentz said he had baptized Bieber in a friend’s bathtub after a week of Bible study. Bieber later became closely associated with Lentz and Hillsong, whose services drew high-profile attendees. That relationship changed after Hillsong dismissed Lentz amid revelations about infidelity and other controversies. Lentz later acknowledged affairs with multiple women; he and his wife, Laura, subsequently reconciled. The couple have discussed their experience in a recently released book about overcoming infidelity. The report says the Lentzes were staying in Bieber’s New York apartment when the scandal broke. They recalled that someone from the singer’s team contacted them and told them to leave within 24 hours. Bieber also publicly distanced himself from Lentz afterward. His latest church visit, by contrast, was with Smith, a longtime figure in his religious life.