Okay, Justin Bieber, let’s talk about this for a minute. Justin Bieber returned to Christianity after a very public period of, can we call it, rebellion? It’s worth noting for a couple of reasons.
In case this is your first encounter with me, I need to explain that you will not find anyone on Earth more prone to jaded cynicism than myself. I think everyone is working an angle. My prejudices make me especially dismissive of celebrities. Reflexively, I reject whatever comes out of the mouth of famous people. It is in my DNA to doubt the sincerity of people who live in the public eye. I am not impressed by celebrity testimony.
Justin Bieber’s testimony is amazing.
Honestly, this blows my mind. I don’t have words to describe what’s happening inside me when I hear Justin Bieber (JUSTIN BIEBER!!!) explain the Christian faith. It’s miraculous.
First – Nobody is out of God’s reach. I hate saying this because it’s a trite platitude that is overused by Christians. We dismiss sinfulness by reciting this phrase (told you I’m cynical). But Justin doesn’t dismiss sin. He flat out says, “…there’s no faith without obedience.” JUSTIN BIEBER said that!
So, much as I hate saying it, there’s no other way to describe it. Nobody is out of God’s reach. Genuine conviction happens. People (even celebrities!) experience changed hearts.
Second – There seems to be a trend. For me, it started with Donald Trump. My jaded cynicism kicked into overdrive when Trump declared his Christianity. Then, Kanye West started singing about Jesus. Now, Justin Bieber (JUSTIN BIEBER!!!!!) is talking about salvation being a free gift from God through Christ.
At some point, a rational person has to acknowledge the pattern. I’m a rational person. There’s got to be an explanation for why three famous apostates decided to embrace the faith that has fallen out of vogue in America. Christianity doesn’t make you popular. Christianity will cost you your bakery and your pizza joint. The only rational explanation for a celebrity to embrace Christianity is…
…I’m almost too afraid to say it because I know there’s gonna be a backlash…
…these celebrities believe Christianity is true. In other words, this isn’t a publicity stunt. It’s the result of genuine convictions. This flies in the cynical jaded face of my cynical jaded self.
So I’m humbly admitting I was wrong. I misjudged people. My cynicism is sin and I’m asking God to remind me of Justin Bieber (and Kanye and Trump) when the next celebrity expresses faith…no matter what that faith may be. Even if the professed faith is wacky and differs greatly from Christianity, I must be patient and recognize that coming to faith is a journey. Sometimes redemption occurs in the midst of rebellion.
Because nobody is out of God’s reach.
10 Responses
Wow! I hear him preaching a more Biblical Gospel message of turning from sin that some even some people from the pulpit. I get it though John, I have a tendency to think “Let’s wait 5 years (or even 5 months) and see if this celebrity’s faith is still genuine.” However he is doing more to reach people with the message of the Gospel than most have a platform to do so. I guess I would prefer to call it ‘hopeful realism’, but as long as the fruit of the Spirit is evident in his life, I have no place to judge.
It’s unfortunate for Bieber because his faith will inevitably be raised above the faith of others because he is a talented singer. In reality Christians really need to sit back and let him figure himself out before they christen him a church leader.
Absolutely. Church leadership requires a mature faith.
If anything it will cause him to not mature in his faith. If you’re immediately thrust into leadership you must feel like you’re doing well and don’t need to improve.
In the case of these mere humans, I’ll use some over used phrases that come me: seeing is believing and actions speak louder than words.
I’m gonna need to see some evidence.
Such as:
JB gives $150M to various children’s organizations.
KW to build mental health clinics and donate $200M (his wife makes more money) to the healthcare and awareness to the multitude suffering.
DT gives $2B towards medical research in many deathly diseases and the development of affordable prosthetics to all.
They all go on mission trips to build wells and safe living quarters. To places where they are just like everyone else helping. No media, no recognition, no luxury hotel stays.
If there is no media and no recognition, how do you know they did these things?
I think the cynicism comes from the fact that so many people have mixed motives in promoting this sort of news. A celebrity conversion should make you feel relieved for the celebrity not excited for the growth projections of the church.
I agree completely.
At the same time, I’m not sure how a celebrity can offer any testimony or faith statement and avoid whipping the idolaters into a frenzy.
idk if you have instagram but he often posts prayers and videos of worship crevices at the church he attended. Also he and his wife told a news outlet they were waiting until marriage to consummate their relationship. idk if the last one is necessarily true but it’s very counterculture so it caught my attention.
I will give Justin and Kanye but my jury is still out on Trump.