Carl Lentz claims the eviction was 'God’s hand' in action, suggesting divine intervention saved him from temptation by moving him away from his affair partner.
Laura Lentz’s new book reveals the Biebers wanted to scrub Lentz from their narrative entirely. The 24-hour notice wasn't just a move; it was a PR firewall to stop Justin's faith journey from being tied to the scandal.
1. Nov 2020: Carl admits infidelity on Instagram the day after termination. 2. Jan 2021: Justin posts 'HILLSONG IS NOT MY CHURCH' on IG Stories. 3. Hailey unfollows Carl on Instagram post-scandal.
The Biebers didn't just cut ties; they burned the bridge with a 24-hour eviction notice. This wasn't spiritual guidance; it was damage control.
The cozy spiritual bubble around Justin and Hailey Bieber has finally popped, and the debris is landing squarely on former Hillsong NYC pastor Carl Lentz. For years, Lentz was the architect of Justin’s public faith persona, baptizing the singer in a former NBA player’s bathtub back in 2014 and even hosting him in New Jersey during turbulent times. But as Us Weekly reports, that mentorship turned into a liability when Lentz’s own house of cards collapsed in 2020.
The friendship didn't just fade; it was severed with the kind of speed that suggests panic rather than process. The smoking gun comes from Laura Lentz’s new book, Overcoming Infidelity: 10 Conversations to Help Heal the Hurt. Laura alleges that after Carl was fired by Hillsong Global Senior Pastor Brian Houston for "moral failures," the Biebers initially offered their New York City apartment as a safe harbor, promising they could stay "as long as we needed it." But that hospitality evaporated the moment the cheating scandal hit the headlines.
According to Laura, a representative from Justin’s team called to deliver a brutal ultimatum: vacate the apartment within 24 hours. The family was forced to hastily pack their belongings into a rented U-Haul, turning a spiritual retreat into a frantic, publicized eviction. Carl Lentz tried to spin this abrupt departure as divine intervention, claiming he saw "God’s hand" in the move because the apartment was suspiciously close to the home of the woman he had an affair with.
He described the eviction as "one more kick in the ribs" while his family was "already down for the count." However, Carl also reflected on the real cost of his actions, writing that as media stories about his infidelity "unmasked me as a fraud," it dragged Justin and Hailey into a "publicity nightmare they never asked for." The trust was broken, and the Biebers were clearly done paying the price for it.
Justin’s exit from the Hillsong orbit was equally sharp. In January 2021, he took to Instagram Stories to violently deny reports that he was studying to become a pastor, writing in all caps, "HILLSONG IS NOT MY CHURCH. FOR CLARITY I AM A PART OF CHURCHOME." Hailey Bieber, meanwhile, opted for the silent treatment, unfollowing Carl on Instagram without a word. With the Lentzes now revisiting the fallout in print, it’s clear that for the Biebers, this wasn't just a friendship ending—it was a necessary amputation to save their brand.
