Justin Bieber hasn't been to church in 3 months as pastor Judah Smith hints at drama in rambling sermon
JUSTIN Bieber hasn't been to his long-time church for at least three months amid drama with his pastor and accusations of a cult-like atmosphere at the institution, insiders have claimed.
The pop star, 31, had previously been pictured attending Churchome, a nondenominational church in Beverly Hills, with his wife, Hailey Bieber, but he's been missing in action since March.
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He is said to be close to Smith, 46, who has been his spiritual advisor for years.
However, their relationship has reportedly caused a rift between Bieber and his best friend, Ryan Good.
Sources previously told TMZ that Bieber hasn't spoken to Good, who was the best man at his wedding, for a year amid the fallout.
Good, who co-founded the star's fashion brand Drew House in 2018, left the church due to its supposed "cult-like culture" and has been worried about Bieber, according to the outlet.
He has not returned calls for comment on the situation.
The tension is also said to have escalated when the star added Smith to the Drew House board, despite Good's reported concerns and the pastor's lack of business experience.
Bieber has now distanced himself from the brand, telling fans not to buy clothing from Drew House.
The U.S. Sun can reveal the singer has not been seen at Churchome's monthly in-person services for three months, while Smith hinted at the troubles in a rambling sermon this week.
He has left fans worried with his bizarre behavior and comments about Hailey, including when she featured on the cover of Vogue, admitting in an Instagram post he told he she'd never be on the front of the fashion bible during an argument.
Bieber was also filmed having a public meltdown ranting to paparazzi while at the beach with his family.
Solemn Hailey Bieber seen WITHOUT her wedding ring on separate outings in NYC amid Justin divorce rumors
His rep has also denied allegations of drug abuse, while followers on social media have been concerned with his weed smoking after becoming a new dad to his son, Jack Blues.
EMOTIONAL SERMON
On Wednesday evening, around 250 people shuffled into the iconic Saban Theater for the so-called Christhome Experience, and Smith apologized as he was late to the stage.
While Bieber was nowhere to be seen, Smith name-dropped his close friend, former E! News host Jason Kennedy, who was sitting in the audience, and admitted pals had been worried about him.
"Recently, I've had a lot of people ask me if I'm okay," Smith admitted. "Which, [at] face value, that is a wonderful thing to do, right? A text, 'Hey, you good?' 'Hey, you okay?'
"The problem is when they add up, I start to wonder … maybe this has happened to you, wait, am I okay?
"So Jason and I went to Miami this past weekend. It was a great time. And I ran into so many old friends I hadn't seen in a while.
"And I was kind of taken aback because one person said, 'Hey, are you good? You okay?' And I was like, 'Yeah, yeah, no, I'm good.' I'm kind of like, what have you heard?
"Then another person, 'Hey man, are you good? Are you okay?' Should I not be? Yeah, I'm still married to Chelsea. We're having sex pretty regularly. My kids are 20, 18, 16, I don't, uh, yeah.
'And then another person, 'Hey, you good? You've been on my mind.' Um, thank you. You ever had that? Someone's like, 'You've been on my mind.' You're like, 'I haven't thought about them in years.' You don't say that, of course. You're like, yeah, me too. I mean, it's good to see you.
He went on: "Now part of that is like, wow, what a thrill, what an honor, what a privilege. Now, some of you right now, already, I've missed you with this message because you're like, 'I wish to God somebody would ask me if I'm okay', but have you ever been asked so many times if you're okay, that you started to wonder if you're okay?
"And I'll admit in Miami recently seeing old friends, I started to say, 'no, I'm great'. And then I could hear through my own tone that my response was me also telling them, but also telling me that I'm great."
He proceeded to reference Bible scripture and stumbled through the sermon as many of his jokes failed to land with the churchgoers.
After an hour, Smith's speech took an emotional turn as he began tearing up and said, "It's [life] always been about people, but we made it about popularity and we made it about appearances."
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Smith was unavailable for comment on his relationship with Bieber after the service, and Churchome did not respond to comment calls.
Bieber's rep also failed to respond when asked for clarification about whether he is still a member of the church.
CULT ACCUSATIONS
During a previous sermon, Smith recounted how paparazzi had asked him to confirm or deny if Churchome is a cult after he stepped out of his car.
"If we're a cult, we are the worst cult in the history of all cults," he joked.
"We meet once a month, guys. I stopped doing this every Wednesday. We've got to get better at this."
Bieber and his wife are still following Smith on Instagram despite not showing up to services.
Smith officiated their 2019 wedding and baptized the couple together in 2020.
He has also provided the pair with counseling sessions and featured in the 2020 YouTube documentary series Justin Bieber: Next Chapter.
The U.S. Sun spoke to churchgoers leaving the service on Wednesday, with one admitting it's had its issues but insisted it's not a cult.
He said, "I've been coming to this church for five years. I've grown so much lot spiritually.
"Things aren't always perfect but I know pastor Judah comes from a good place. He has a good heart, he's the real deal.
"Haters are gonna hate but I think he has the right intentions.
"At the end of the day, pastors are also human, they do make mistakes, but it's up to us to help pray for them and uplift them.
"I haven't had negative experiences with Judah but I used to be in the prayer group and that didn't work out. I'll leave it at that. But that didn't discourage me [from coming].
"Every church has its issues, there's mental illness with the people that go there. No church is perfect."
On Bieber being missing from services, he said, "He's a big celebrity, he's got a busy schedule. And not to mention the health issues he's going through, everyone here is supportive.
"He's participated here, given words here, so we all love him," he added, saying they would always welcome him.
BIEBER'S CHURCH TROUBLES
It's not the first time Bieber's association with spiritual advisors has caused issues in his personal life.
He previously had to distance himself from Hillsong and disgraced pastor Carl Lentz, who was fired in November 2020 due to "leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures."
It was later revealed that these "moral failures" included affairs that rocked his marriage.
Hillsong also found itself the subject of a damning documentary that detailed historical accusations of sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s by late church leader Frank Houston.
The churchgoer who spoke to The U.S. Sun revealed he also previously attended Hillsong services but said the two organizations were "two different worlds," adding, "Carl Lentz is a completely different character."
A third churchgoer insisted, "There's no pressuring [people] or anything. I've seen Bieber here, they help him get in and out without being [mobbed], but we haven't seen him recently."
JUSTIN'S TURMOIL
Meanwhile, the star has left fans worried in recent months with his public rants and emotional Instagram posts amid alleged turmoil in his marriage with Hailey.
He also announced in April that he no longer supports Drew House and instead is focused on his clothing brand, Skylrk, although the launch has been delayed.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, he wrote, "I, Justin Bieber, am no longer involved in this brand," over a screenshot of the fashion house's Instagram account.
"Drew House doesn't represent me or my family or life. If your [sic] rocking with me the human Justin Bieber don't waste ur money on Drew House."
Justin also posted cryptic messages and private leaked texts with an unknown friend on Instagram this month.
In one worrying post, the Sorry singer shared a blurry black-and-white selfie where he looked solemn.
He wrote, "Tired of transactional relationships. If I have to do something to be loved that's not love."
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