Carl Lentz gushes over 'solid, faithful' friendships with Justin Bieber, Rich Wilkerson Jr.
Hillsong NYC Pastor Carl Lentz took to social media on Tuesday to proclaim how valuable his friendships are with pop superstar Justin Bieber and Vous Church Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr.
The three pals were recently together at the 2019 Vous Conference in Miami, Florida.
"The power of the right 'they'... was asked recently how I navigate life when a lot of people have opinions on your choices. 'They said this about you.' I said it just depends on who 'they' is!" Lentz wrote on Instagram along with a photo he took of Bieber and Wilkerson Jr. sitting together.
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The transformation of Bieber from troubled bad boy to newlywed-believer has been widely associated with the mentoring he's received from Lentz and Wilkerson Jr. The pastors have a longtime bond and are often seen out and about pastoring celebrities.
"The people that I love, trust, am lovingly challenged by, respect are 'my they.' And if they don't say or think it, I’m not gonna let it bring me down…' Swayed by they' is a shaky way to live!" Lentz continued in his post.
"These two right here, special people, faithful friends, solid 'they'... if you have a good they in your life let them know you appreciate them!" He added.
The Hillsong NYC pastor has previously spoken of the time he's invested in Bieber throughout the years and watching him grow in his walk with God. The well-known minister is credited with bringing Bieber back to his faith and baptizing him.
During an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's "Super Soul Sunday" in 2016, Lentz spoke about his friendship with the crooner. Lentz revealed that he met Bieber after his friend, fellow Pastor Judah Smith, contacted him and said he was "working" with Bieber and wanted the two of them to connect.
"Through Judah, I was able to become a friend of Justin. To make a long story short, his baptism was a moment where he was going through it and he was pulling himself up," Lentz said.
Oprah then questioned whether it was true Bieber said he wanted "to know" Jesus.
"He's serious," Lentz said of Bieber. "People say, 'What does it mean to be a serious Christian?' Look at Justin, he's a work in progress. He's never said he's perfect, he's never said he is the representation of Christianity. But I'm proud of him for admitting he's a Christian in the middle of and knowing he's going to have more problems. I love that about Justin."
In July of 2017, Bieber spoke of his love for Jesus during an interview with Wilkerson Jr., Lentz, and Chad Veach at Hillsong's "Closer" conference in Australia.
"I just enjoyed watching people worship, praising God," Bieber told Wilkerson of his takeaway from the conference. As the others shared their thoughts, Bieber oddly began brushing his teeth on camera during the discussion.
When Wilkerson asked Veach what the theme "closer" meant to him, he expressed that it's brought him closer to God. Wilkerson then asked Bieber the same question.
"Same-sies," he replied while brushing his teeth. He then laid his head on Lentz's shoulder and said, "I just want to love people more. I just want to love Carl more."
Lentz often gets flack for associating with mainstream stars such as Bieber, but to the minister who loves to push the envelope, he is just simply answering the call.
