What Happened to Justin Bieber's Pastor? Carl Lentz Fired By Church
By Gary Trock on November 5, 2020 at 8:24 AM EST
Justin Bieber / Instagram
Justin Bieber has made a huge turnaround in the past few years and has chalked it up to his relationship with God and investment of time into religion. One of the men responsible for his spiritual awakening, however, was just hit with some pretty serious criticism by the celebrity church he once ran and now has been given the boot after a string of alleged "moral failures."
Pastor Carl Lentz has been terminated from the famed Hillsong Church and a statement has been issued explaining why he was let go.
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The East Coast division of Hillsong Church, which is frequented by stars including Justin and Hailey Bieber, Chris Pratt and Kourtney Kardashian, released a statement explaining that they had terminated well-known religious leader Carl Lentz.
Hillsong stressed that, "This action was not taken lightly and was done in the best interests of everyone, including Pastor Carl."
As for why Lentz was cast out of the church, officials explain, "following ongoing discussions in relation to leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures."
Carl Lentz / Instagram
Lentz, who performed a baptism on Justin and Hailey Bieber back in August, is also married, but the church did not go into what his "moral failures" were, only adding that, "It would not be appropriate for us to go into detail about the events that led to this decision. Our focus at this time is to honor God and pastorally care for our East Coast church community as well as the Lentz family."
While Lentz lived a flashy life around celebrities and beautiful social media influencers, it does beg the question as to what exactly went down in the pastor's private life.
Carl Lentz / Instagram
In these sensitive times, the church is jumping in front of damage control and trying to make it clear that whatever Pastor Carl did, it did not damage the religious work he did at Hillsong with any of the parishioners.
"God will use Carl in another way outside of Hillsong church. In terminating his tenure, we in no way want to diminish the good work he did here," Hillsong wrote while adding that he will be taking some time for "rest and restoration."
Carl Lentz / Instagram
Justin Bieber has not yet commented on the termination of Pastor Carl Lentz, but the singer has been a friend of the man for many years now. Lentz regularly features Bieber on his social media and has expressed how proud he is of the pop star for his transformation both mentally and spiritually.
"[You] are a loyal friend, a kind hearted human being, a musical genius and continue to grow into a fantastic HUSBAND!" Lentz wrote in a congratulatory message to the Biebs after his marriage.