Seems like the big question for a pastor might be, How is the flock? Is the flock alright? Is it all together or has anyone strayed from the flock and gotten lost across the road to the next hill in the next town? At the embattled Hillsong, the flock seems to be dispersing. Or at least one big sheep has reportedly dispersed: Selena Gomez.
Hillsong, the evangelical church that courted celebrities with its welcoming message aimed at the young and incredibly wealthy, underwent a P.R. disaster over the past several weeks. The church unceremoniously dropped Carl Lentz, its most recognizable pastor, under murky circumstances that at least includes one act of infidelity. He apologized on Instagram for cheating on his wife and, as of last week, was reportedly being treated for “pastoral burnout.”
But with one pastor down, the flock is rumored to be following him out the door. “At one stage [Gomez] adored Carl,” a source told the Australian Daily Telegraph. “She, [Hillsong cofounder] Brian [Houston], his daughter Laura, and Justin [Bieber] were a team, really close. Now she doesn’t want anything to do with Hillsong anymore.”
Gomez is indicative of the type of celebrity that found refuge in Hillsong—a part of the pop pack in Hollywood who have had incredible wealth since an early age. She and her peers were welcomed into a church that helped them navigate the mental pitfalls of fame and fortune. Her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber has long been one of the church’s biggest associated celebrity names, though he and his wife Hailey Bieber reportedly unfollowed Lentz on Instagram last month. But the flock is not all lost. The Sun reported earlier this month that Tyler Perry covered six months of Lentz’s $16,000-per-month Manhattan Beach rent. Perhaps that’s a different kind of tithing.
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