Hillsong Church’s well known Pastor, Carl Lentz, was recently the subject of an in depth GQ Magazine article that explored his relationship with Justin Bieber, his genuine care and concern for people’s souls, and the torment he has over his Biblical views on same-sex relationships and abortions.
The article opens up with an incredibly “only in a movie” story about how Pastor Lentz as well as Pastor Judah Smith baptized Justin Bieber in basketball player Tyson Chandler’s bathtub sometime after 2:00 a.m.
Lentz has made it known that last year Bieber lived with him for a few months as he sorted his life out and was looking to get back on track with his faith.
“One day, according to Carl, Justin looked in the mirror and he was ravaged by feelings of loss. He got on his knees and he cried. ‘I want to know Jesus,’ Justin Bieber sobbed to Pastor Carl. And so together they prayed. Suddenly, Justin was overcome by the Gospel, and he said, ‘Baptize me’” reads an excerpt from the article.
Bieber wasn’t simply asking to be baptized. The singer wanted to do it at that moment so Lentz needed to find a solution.
Lentz and Smith got in the car to drive Bieber to a Manhattan hotel that they frequently rented for baptisms but the press was somehow tipped off as thousands of people were waiting to see the young celeb.
After being confronted with the same result wherever they went, Lentz “called his boy.” That “boy” was Tyson Chandler, who at the time was the starting center for the New York Knicks.
Apparently it was 2:00 a.m. and Chandler had a game against the Heat earlier in the night. nevertheless, he said “Done, easy” to the request of the entourage crashing at his pad to use the pool. However, it appeared as the devil was trying to thwart the singer’s ambitions as the pool was closed as well. It was then that the seven foot tall Chandler suggested they use his custom built bathtub.
The article shifted away from Bieber and mentioned that over 8,000 people attend Hillsong Church every week and it sometimes includes celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Selena Gomez, Kevin Durant, and Bono in addition to the aforementioned Bieber.
The pastor stated that the church caters to celebrities in the sense that they want to provide a safe environment to come worship and experience God. He views them as other members of God’s people.
Lentz’s popularity has opened doors for him wherever he goes. He uses these opportunities to plant a seed in every person he meets.
The interviewer attended a Knicks game with Lentz and watched as basketball player after basketball player approached the minister just to hear some words of encouragement or introduce themselves. According to GQ, almost each and every conversation wrapped up with Lentz asking the player about their walk.
Perhaps basketball is close to home for the pastor. Lentz played college ball for NC State before following his call to the ministry. He even baptized Durant at some point and seemed to be close with Knicks head coach Derek Fisher.
During the game, he showed off a text exchange with an unknown NBA player. The conversation extended over a period of several weeks with some of the more intimate talk reserved for faith.
“‘Where are you at now with your faith?’ and the guy answered, and suddenly the text exchange was about this guy and his life and his soul…’See’, Carl told me. ‘This is how it works. You take those opportunities’. This is what cool gets you. An audience with people with big audiences of their own,” the clip reads.
The article further dives into Lentz’s core Christian values and even finds the author questioning their own Jewish upbringing as they began to be impacted with all the talk of Christ’s forgiveness and the overall love instilled by Hillsong’s teachings.
The pastor discussed at length his views on abortion and homosexuality and said it is something that brings him great “torment” but nevertheless has to go by what the Word of God states.
“So make no mistake: He believes being gay, or getting an abortion, is a sin, and he believes Jesus wouldn’t disagree,” wrote GQ. “But more than any of that, he only believes those are the headlines of your life. They are not your story. Your sin is not the biggest part of you, no matter how much it might feel that way.”
To dive further into the story would only ruin the awesome dialogue and exchange of the “believer and skeptic.” Read the full story here, and let Rapzilla know what you think about Lentz’s statements about Christianity and his very Hollywood relationship with the Biebs.
