Justin Bieber is dismissing reports that he is training to become a fabric man.
The “Holy” singer went to social media on Monday to refute claims that he had entered the ministry of the controversial Hillsong Church, whose famous pastor Carl Lentz was recently deposed after revelations of alleged adultery.
“I AM NOT STUDYING TO BE A MINISTER OR ANYTHING NEAR THIS,” he wrote, in capital letters, in his “Stories” on Instagram, over a screenshot of a Page Six headline last week. “DON’T WISH THIS TO BE FAKE.”
The story cited a source who told OK! magazine, “He wants to be a full-fledged minister next year.”
In his denial, the 26-year-old pop star continued: “AND BTW HILLSONG IS NOT MY CHURCH .. FOR CLARITY I AM PART OF THE CHURCH” – naming a West Coast-based non-denominational ministry that preaches remote fellowship among its congregating celebrities, who are known to attend services in Hillsong while on the East Coast, according to a 2019 report by Marie Claire.
He went on to explain his faith better, adding: “The church is not a place” and saying that he “does not need a building to connect with God”.
“God is with us wherever we are,” he wrote.
In November, Hillsong’s superiors confirmed that church leader Carl Lentz, a former close friend of Bieber, stepped down after alleging that he had been involved in an extramarital relationship with a Brooklyn stylist.
The Manhattan campus of the global Hillsong Church is now under investigation by church officials, who have since discovered possible evidence of embezzlement by other local leaders. A former Hillsong “service pastor” in Los Angeles also recently told the Post that the house of worship has become a “cult” and reportedly requires “slave labor” from its patrons.
This is perhaps the only time Bieber has publicly addressed Hillsong since the fall, apart from reports that his wife Hailey Baldwin had stopped following former pastor Lentz on Instagram.
