Justin Beiber's Pastor, Judah Smith, Addresses Claims He's Running A Church Cult
Justin Bieber's pastor, Judah Smith, doesn't seem bothered by the rumors surrounding his church, Churchhome.
In fact, during a sermon, Smith, who's a celebrity pastor with over 700,000 Instagram followers and several best-selling books, addressed the claims that he's running a cult, which Justin Bieber's former pal, Ryan Good, hinted he was part of.
In an Instagram video of what appeared to be a recorded sermon, Smith told his congregation he recently had an encounter unlike anything he's been a part of before.
Smith recalled getting out of his car and being swarmed by paparazzi before telling them his "friend" wasn't with him.
Then, a "nice lady" with a camera reportedly asked the "Jesus Is" author if his church, Churchhome, which Selena Gomez and the Kardashians have attended, was a cult.
"I was like, 'Oh my word, I wasn't expecting that question,'" he said before jokingly asking his staff to bring the snakes and blood on stage to begin a ritual process.
Smith later quipped that he probably shouldn't have made such a statement before noting definitively that his church was not a cult.
"If we're a cult, we're the worst cult in [the history] of all cults," he said.
Smith's statements during his latest Bible teaching arrived a week after Bieber's former associate, Good, stepped down from the former's clothing brand, Drew House.
The Blast reported on the news, and according to sources close to the "Baby" singer, Good didn't agree with the decision to place Smith on the fashion company's executive board.
They went on to say that the move to place Smith on the board felt "weird," considering he's a pastor more than a businessman.
Insiders also claimed that Good left the company because he believed Smith's Churchhome was a cult, and Bieber's growing relationship with the church's frontman didn't help calm his concerns.
The concerns surrounding Smith and his church aren't the first time a spiritual leader close to Bieber has made headlines.
In 2020, Carl Lentz, former pastor of the East Coast division of Hillsong Church, which also had a celebrity following, was fired from the institution for "breaches of trust" and a "revelation of moral failures."
Shortly after his departure announcement, Lentz opened up about the news in a lengthy Instagram post, admitting he was "unfaithful in my marriage," which he described as "the most important relationship in my life."
"This failure is on me, and me alone, and I take full responsibility for my actions," he continued.
Although Hillsong cut ties with Lentz, they did seem to defend his honor, adding, "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."
During a previous interview, Bieber seemingly addressed the news about his former spiritual advisor, Lentz, who also baptized him and his wife, Hailey Bieber.
Although the "Peaches" singer didn't say his name explicitly, he touched on pastors who let fame get to their heads, which many criticized Lentz for after his affair broke the internet.
'I think so many pastors put themselves on this pedestal,' he said. '[It's] basically, church can be surrounded around the man, the pastor, the guy, and it's like, 'This guy has this ultimate relationship with God that we all want but we can't get because we're not this guy.' That's not the reality, though. The reality is, every human being has the same access to God.'
He also discussed his close relationship with Smith, saying he values the pastor because he "put our relationship first."
'It was something I always dreamed of because my family was broken,' Bieber said. 'My whole life, I had a broken family. And so I was just attracted to a family that eats dinners together, laughs together, talks together.'
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