# 1: 5 BOLD CHRISTIANS WHO ARE NOT SCARED OF WORKING WITH SECULAR CELEBRITIES - 2016 LIST

Recently, there have been waves of Christian interest and involvement with secular entertainment scene. I use the word ‘scared’ because the church has a way of scaring away secular celebrities (too holy to allow the sinners come in) and has a way of ostracizing Christians who accept to work with secular celebrities, many people in the church believe that having anything to do with an unbeliever is sin, but many of them don’t understand the mind of God in this. We push the world away and hope to influence them. 

Thank God for this few who don’t believe in the sacred-secular divide, because we are asked to go into the All the world to preach the good news. We are not expected to build a community and back out the sinners to die in their ignorance but to wisely and lovingly engage them until the truth breaks on them. This is a list I am proud of and am such God is too, these are people who love God and love people.

#1.  JUSTIN BEIBER’S PASTORS - JUDAH SMITH AND CARL LENTZ

Pastor Judah Smith speaking at the Catalyst West Coast conference (Image: Black Christian News)

Pastor Judah Smith of The City Church in Seattle, Washington, recently said in an interview that although many see him as the celebrity pastor to popular young stars, he considers himself a preacher to all people.

Smith, who has been linked as the pastor to pop artist Justin Bieber, recently told Complex magazine that he sees Bieber and other high profile names as being the same as all other people in the eyes of God.

Also Read: Justin Bieber Moved More by God’s ‘Purpose’ Than Record Sales During Album Release Prayer

"My passion is to help everyone," Smith told the magazine in a recent interview. "And if that includes people in the limelight, then so be it. The pressure and the expectation and the scrutiny and the challenges [celebrity attendees] face are unique. They do need someone in their corner who wants nothing, and expects nothing, but who's just there to give, and love, and protect."

"Someone recently told me, 'Hey, I really want to reach celebrities like you have,'" Smith continued. "They meant well and that's fine, but I chuckled to myself. I never thought to myself 'I would like to pastor celebrities.' It was never a concept to me. I just wanted to help people."

Smith said in a previous interview with Fox 411 that the issues faced by celebrities, like Bieber, are not that different than issues faced by the general population.

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"I'm very proud of Justin. What's amazing about Justin and many young men today [is] it's not easy to be a man of faith. It's not easy to make good decisions," Smith told the media outlet, adding, "I think people would be surprised to discover that their challenges and struggles are not too dissimilar to us, average ordinary people. We're all looking for essentially the same thing and I think that's faith and hope and love and meaning and of course satisfaction, peace, joy."

Hillsong church pastor Carl Lentz is seen with recording artist and friend Justin Bieber in a photo shared by pastor Judah Smith on Instagram

Along with Smith, Bieber is also close to New York City-based Pastor Carl Lentz, who heads Hillsong Church.

Also Read: Carl Lentz Baptized Justin Bieber in Ex-Knicks Player's Tub.

The well-known pop star, who has faced some negative media attention in the past few years, has been open about his pursuit of the Christian faith.

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"I'm not religious nor do i think I have ANYTHING figured out that's why I call out on God to help me through what I can't do on my own," Bieber shared earlier this year on Instagram. 

Also Read: Justin Bieber Says He Wants to "Live Like Jesus"

"Developing my relationship with God has been the coolest thing I've experienced, to know that I'm not alone and I don't have to live in fear. Never feel like I'm pushing anything on u [sic] but sharing the good news I've felt in my own life."

According to Complex magazine, Bieber credits Smith and Lentz for being supportive friends during previous struggles in his life. Some music critics have even suggested that recent public appearances made by Bieber have carried a spiritual theme.

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Carl Lentz Baptized Justin Bieber in Ex-Knicks Player's Tub.

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. 

Source: Rapzilla