There was a mixed reaction when Simone Biles suddenly pulled out of the Olympics, citing mental health issues. Biles has been a star performer on America’s gymnastic team for several years.
In an Instagram post on Mother’s Day (May 9, 2021), international pop star, Justin Bieber, wished his mom, Pattie Mallette, a “Happy Mother’s Day.” But instead of focusing on his mother’s sacrifice to his 171 million followers, Justin shared the important role his mother played in Justin’s faith: “Happy Mother’s Day Madre ! I could talk about all of the sacrifices that you made to take care of me but the most incredible thing you could have done was share with me the love of Jesus!” Justin’s climb to international stardom started through videos that his mother initially posted on YouTube for family and friends. But as others found the videos and saw his talent, Justin’s popularity began to grow, until he was noticed by those in the music industry. But as the fame took over his life, he was increasingly being caught up in the negativity that often comes with it. For a few years, all we were reading about were Justin’s run-ins with the law and the latest scandal that overtook his life: …
In many ways, Pop Star Justin Bieber, 27, summed up what ails the North American Church when he warned against “celebrity pastor worship” in a recent interview with CQ Magazine. It happens when we look to powerful men and women anointed by God for the latest word or miracle because of their special access to God. Justin said part of this stems from leaders who put themselves on a pedestal: “I think so many pastors put themselves on this pedestal, And 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.” Unfortunately, this celebrity worship often leads to disappointment, because fame is a difficult thing to handle. It is so easy for a person to be manipulated by their celebrity status. And Justin witnessed its failings first hand as he used …
In a recent post to his over 160 million followers on Instagram, international pop star, Justin Bieber, shared a photo of an incident that took place seven years ago as the police led the pop star away in handcuffs. He had just been arrested in Florida on Jan 23, 2014, for driving under the influence and with an invalid license. In his post, Bieber simply shared how far God has brought him since those early days when he was constantly having run-ins with the law. Bieber wrote: “7 years ago today I got was arrested, not my finest hour. “Not proud of where I was at in my life. I was hurting, unhappy, confused, angry, mislead, misunderstood and angry at God. “I also wore too much leather for someone in Miami. “All this to say God has brought me a long way. From then til now I do realize something.. God was as close to me then as he is right now. “My encouragement to you is to ‘let your past be a reminder of …
Several secular media outlets have reported on how pop superstar Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey, the daughter of Stephen Baldwin, were baptized together in an Idaho lake in July. The baptisms were performed by Judah Smith who pastors Churchome in Seattle, Washington. Several family members and at least one celebrity, E! host Jason Kennedy, were present at the baptism. Jason described it as “one of the top moments of my life doing this with you.” Justin shared the experience with his 143 million followers on Instagram writing: “The moment @haileybieber my wife and I got baptized together! This was one of [the] most special moments of my life. Confessing our love and trust in Jesus publicly with our friends and family.” The pop star received nearly 4.5 million likes for the post. Justin was previously baptized in 2014 by New York Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz. When Lentz was unable to find a swimming pool for the water baptism, they approached seven-foot NBA star Tyson Chandler and were able to use his extra-large sized bathtub. …
Justin Bieber has nearly 133 million followers on Instagram and because of his remarkable conversion to Christ, the pop star is having an incredible influence for the Gospel. Over Easter he posted posted the following message to his Instagram followers encouraging them to receive Jesus’s free gift of salvation: It read in part: We don’t have to earn gods love, we just get to accept the free forgiveness that only Jesus offers! It’s that simple! Accept and receive !! not earn and deserve! I AM GRATEFUL THIS EASTER THAT JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD SO THAT I NO LONGER HAVE TO DIE AND BE UNCERTAIN OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT BUT I KNOW I WILL GRADUATE TO A PLACE WHERE THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PAIN!! View this post on Instagram REMINDER! God who created the sun, trees, grass, birds, mountains, lakes, oceans, LOVES YOU! He loves you so much that he came to earth in human form, lived a perfect sinless life, To make the ultimate sacrifice! He would die on the …
Mega pop star Justin Bieber invited his 131 million followers on Instagram to listen to a five minute Gospel presentation by Rich Wilkerson. Pastor Craig Groeschel of Life Church expects by this weekend over 110,000 people will have made a commitment to Christ through Life Church’s online platform since the crisis began.
Canadian mega pop star, Justin Bieber, has just released his first album in five years. Called Changes, the music is filled with references to God and faith revealing the dramatic changes that have taken place in Justin’s life over the past few years. In his title song, he sings, “People change, circumstances change, but God always stays the same” and in another he says: “Thank you Jesus for your forgiveness.” Along with the release of a new album, Justin is planning a 45 city tour in 2020. In 2017, Justin’s fans were shocked when Bieber cancelled the last portion of his Purpose tour. He realized he needed to get out of the limelight, so he could grow in his faith in God and straighten out his life. During this sabbatical, we have read about Justin being water baptized and leading worship at a Hillsong church in Los Angeles. He also married Christian model Haily Baldwin, daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin. Yet despite pulling back from public appearances, Justin is still the number one ranked streaming …
Pattie Mallette may not be a familiar name to most of us, but her pop star son, Justin Bieber, is a household name in many parts of the world. In earlier articles, I have written about the remarkable spiritual transformation taking place in Justin’s life. Dale Hurd writing for Christ for All Nations tells the story about Pattie’s spiritual journey. Incredibly, it started at the Toronto revival, also called the Toronto Blessing, that broke out in a Vineyard Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in January 1994. The church originally called Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship has since been renamed Catch the Fire Toronto and is pastored by John and Carol Arnott. Pattie shared her journey to faith at the 2018 Light the Fire Again conference held at the same building, the Attwell Center, where the Toronto revival broke out. In the early 1990s, Pattie became a Christian in a hospital room shortly after a failed suicide attempt. She was led to the Lord and mentored by a couple who attended the Vineyard church where the revival …
It has been an interesting April on the celebrity front. On Easter Sunday, pop star Katy Perry posted the following message to her 69 million Instagram followers: “My brokenness + God’s Divinity = My wholeness.” Then earlier this week, Monday, April 9, 2018, Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber spontaneously sang a Christian worship song for his 98 million Instagram followers. It was a song called “Reckless Love” written by Bethel music leader Corey Asbury: “Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending reckless love of God. Oh, it chases me down, fights till I’m found” At the latest count, Justin has 98.5 million Instagram followers putting him on the list of the ten most followed people on the popular social media site. Leading the pack is another celebrity believer, Selena Gomez, with 133 million followers. And when I visited Justin’s Instagram page, there was a message to check out this song on YouTube: But recent reports are suggesting that Justin is planning to become even more vocal about how Jesus transformed the pop star’s life. The British newspaper The …
Canadian pop star Justin Bieber has 95-million followers on Instagram and recently he shared a message with them on his personal faith in Christ. The 23-year-old pop star took a photo of a white erase board on which he wrote a message with a black marker: “Do you feel you have exausted all options? Do you feel like you’re never good enough? What if I told you that there is a god that’s willing to meet you WHEREVER you’re at! What if I told you that he could take away your pain, shame, guit, and fears #Jesus.” The photo caption read simply “Jesus is changing me from the inside out every day! AND I MISSPELLED GUILT and exhausted.” Despite the typos and as someone pointed out maybe “god” should be capitalized, it was a heartfelt message. I loved the way it was hand written including even the typos because this showed it was real. Over 2.2 million, mostly young people, liked the post and 52 thousand commented. Not all the comments were positive, but the majority …
For many they are household names. All three have fame and money in movies, singing and TV respectively. Chris Pratt, 38, is a movie star with leading roles in Guardians of the Galaxy and one of my favorites Jurassic World that earned $1.6 billion world wide. He is also starring in the soon to be released Avengers: Infinity War Canadian born Justin Bieber, 23, is one of the most popular pop singers in the world. He has 102 million followers on Twitter, nearly 92 million followers on Instagram. and his Facebook page has close to 79 million likes. TV reality star Kourteny Kardashian, 38, stars in Keeping Up with the Kardashians — one of the longest running reality shows in the US. She and her sisters have also started successful clothing and perfume lines. And though fame is certainly one common denominator, according to the Daily Mail, they have one more thing in common, all three were recently seen attending the same church service at Hillsong in Los Angeles. Originating in Australia, Hillsong is renown …
According to a report in the English newspaper, The Sun, Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber is preaching the gospel as part of his “Purpose” concert tour. Sources told the paper, that Justin is holding Bible studies back stage and encouraging those in his entourage, including opening acts, to become Christians. The unnamed source said: “Backstage on his Purpose tour, Justin has been sitting down with his opening acts and encouraging them to put Christ before anything. His aim is to convert the people he loves and warn others against the evils of the industry.” The source added that since Justin became a born-again believer, his life has changed for the better and he is making “better decisions.” I previously reported on how Justin sang a popular worship song — “I could sing of your love forever” — at a concert in Paris on September 20, 2016 as part of this tour. Overall the Purpose tour has received favorable reviews. The tour started in Seattle on March 9, 2016 and Seattle Times reviewer Owen Smith wrote, …
There is a story in 2 Kings about Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-19), a general in the Aramean army. The Bible describes him as “a great man” (v 1) suggesting he was a national hero in Aram. But though a celebrity, he also had leprosy — a dreaded, disfiguring disease in that culture. Since leprosy was incurable, people were considered the living dead. But one day his servant girl, an Israelite captured during one of Naaman’s many raids, told her master about an Israeli prophet capable of curing a person of leprosy. When he tracked down the prophet, Elisha told Naaman he would be healed if he dunked himself seven times in the Jordan River. After kicking up a bit of a fuss, Naaman did as he was told and was instantly healed. Naaman offered Elisha gold and wealth for the healing, but the the prophet refused the generous gift. So instead Naaman asked Elisha for a gift. He wanted two mule loads of Israeli dirt so he could build an altar to the Lord back …
As Jesus road into Jerusalem on a donkey on His final trip into the fabled city, thousands of Jews gathered to watch Christ’s entrance and began crying out ‘Hosanna’ (Luke 19:28-40). But there were pharisees in the crowd, and shocked by this display of affection they yelled out to Jesus to tell His disciples to shut up (v 39). There will always be those who will try to shut believers down. They will try to intimidate and cause Christians to keep quiet. Sometimes it may even work. Turning to the pharisees in the crowd that day, Jesus replied: “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” (Luke 9:40 NASV) Though I know God is quite capable of making rocks cry out Christ’s name, I suspect what Jesus was really saying is that if Christians are silenced, God will have the Gospel proclaimed in unusual, unexpected and even shocking ways. Today many are trying to quiet Christians. Atheists are using the courts to force Christians to take down crosses. They are trying …
Just a brief write-up about a few stories that caught my attention this past week: Lord’s prayer banned in England The Lord’s prayer is a regular part of services in the Church of England. This year, the church produced an ad with each line being prayed by a different person. It starts with the leader of the Anglican Church, The Right Honourable Justin Welby. Welby who is the archbishop of Canterbury is part of the evangelical wing of the Anglican church. Other participants included a police officer, weight lifter, farmer and others. However, when the church approached Digital Cinema Media (DCM) to buy time for the ad to be run in movie theaters, the company refused stating it might cause offense. DCM sells 80% of the advertisements sold on England’s 2,929 movie screens. The controversy over the refusal generated great publicity for the ad now shown on YouTube and as well a strange ally. In an interview in The Guardian, atheist Richard Dawkins said: “I still strongly object to suppressing ads on the grounds that …
LA Times concert reviewer Mikael Wood attended Justin Bieber’s recent concert held in Los Angeles on Friday, November 13th. In his review Wood wrote: “What the vaguely billed event at Staples Center felt most like was a church service.” Wood went so far as to title one of his articles on the concert: Review how Justin Bieber turned Staples Center into a megachurch. The sold out concert coincided with the release of Bieber’s latest CD “Purposes.” I recently reported on the transformation taking place in Justin’s life which he attributes to a renewed relationship with Jesus Christ. A big part of this change also involves a friendship with Judah Smith, a pastor based in Seattle. Smith was even at the concert on stage with Justin. Wood said the two sat on stools for part of the 90-minute performance where they discussed “the importance of maintaining a positive spirit and surrounding oneself with encouraging people…” Wood said during this session “Bieber …. more or less preached.” Wearing a black hoodie, Justin also took some pre-selected questions …
I have been following Canadian pop star Justin Bieber’s faith journey over the past few months. I believe Justin’s faith journey is sincere, but it is filled with foibles, like wearing a a Marilyn Manson t-shirt to Hillsong worship conference in Australia earlier this year. But it is good for the church because we need to lighten up, not on sin, but on the persona that the church and its members are without sin and that somehow we have earned the right to cast the first stone when someone doesn’t immediately meet our expectations. The latest story about the mega rock star involves Justin’s interview with a reporter from Billboard. Justin, 21, actually convinces reporter Chris Martin to join him at church. The two end up at a service at the ballroom of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California where Judah Smith was a guest speaker. Smith pastors The City Church in Seattle, Washington. Justin and the reporter sat in the front row. Though there were only about 400 people in attendance, one …
In a recent interview with Complex Magazine, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber had some interesting things to say about Jesus, Christianity and the Church. There have been reports over the past several months that Justin is making a serious attempt to straighten out his life — and a big part of it has been his return to Christianity. Justin comes from a Christian home and has a praying mom. This past spring, the mega pop star was even seen attending a music worship conference put on by Australia’s Hillsong, but it was noted he wore a controversial Marilyn Manson t-shirt one day. Though some question the sincerity of Justin’s faith, it is becoming increasingly clear that he is serious and it is changing his life. For a while it seemed he was getting in trouble with the law almost weekly from drag racing while intoxicated with an expired driver’s license in Florida to accusations of assault in Canada, but more recently Justin’s biggest controversies center on his faith in Christ. In his interview with Complex …
[by Dean Smith] Canadian pop star Justin Bieber comes from a Christian home. He has been in the news the past couple years for several altercations involving the police both in the US and Canada ranging from egging a neighbor’s house to racing down the streets of Miami. But since then Justin seems to be sincerely trying to turn his life around and has turned to several Christian pastors for help. He recently became involved with Hillsong, a Pentecostal mega church originating out of Australia with branch churches around the world. It is perhaps most famous for its worship music with songs hitting gold and platinum level sales. Justin started attending a branch church in New York city and was reportedly water baptized in a bathtub in June 2014 by New York Hillsong pastor Frank Houston. He has also become close friends with Pastor Joel Houston, grandson of the founder of Hillsong. Joel has taken on a mentor role in Justin’s life. But there have been a few bumps in the road in Justin’s journey …
At times, Justin Bieber, 19, must feel his life is spiralling out of control as he bounces from one conflict with police to another. There are hints Justin is becoming concerned and may be trying to change his life. A blog post on the New York Post’s Page Six reported Justin Bieber was recently looking to get water baptized. The unsuccessful attempt apparently took place on Saturday, February 1, 2014.
