Justin Bieber's Ex-Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz's New Church Accused Of Throwing 'Demonic' Easter Service
April 21 2023, Published 7:45 p.m. ET
In a truly bizarre turn of events, Justin Bieber's ex-Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz's new church has been accused of hosting a "demonic" Easter service, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Bieber's one-time pastor was hired as a strategist by Oklahoma-based Transformation Church after he was fired from Hillsong over a sex scandal.
Under his direction, Transformation Church came under fire when fellow Christians and conservative critics branded the congregation's twerk-filled musical rendition of the resurrection of Christ for Easter weekend as "blasphemous."
Transformation Church Pastor Mike Todd paid no attention to critics — and he supported Lentz's revamped Easter service, which he branded as a transformative experience for attendees.
Todd claimed that around 500 churchgoers "gave their lives to Christ" after witnessing the controversial play, Ransom.
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Carl Lentz
Ransom was far from what many would expect to see during an Easter church program.
Performers twerking on stage quickly found themselves in a similar category as pop star Sam Smith, who has also been accused by evangelicals of promoting a "demonic" agenda.
Transformation Church, however, saw their rendition of the resurrection of Christ in a far different light. The Tulsa church said that while it strayed from tradition, the play portrayed "God's love conquered sin, death and the grave."
A noticeable difference in Lentz's church's program was a female Jesus that was seen nailed to a cross. Another aspect of the show that received backlash was the choice of attire for performers, who were dressed in tight-fitted skimpy outfits.
In a video uploaded to YouTube, one performer was even seen wearing dancing across the stage in a pair of $1,500 Mschf Big Red Boots.
"Pastor Mike Todd never ceases to amaze me! Mike Todd's Easter service was nothing short of blasphemous and it was a complete mockery of the resurrection of Jesus Christ," Pastor Frederick Clement commented on the service.
"It is entirely inappropriate. You have women basically twerking on stage but hey, it's twerking for the kingdom. We're twerking for the Lord out here," said Allie Beth Stuckey of Blast TV.
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Despite being called out for the outrageous performance, Pastor Todd defended the church's decision to share the production. Todd claimed that his church has "never preached an Easter message," and decided to switch it up and "come up with a play."
As for Lentz, it was the latest controversy connected to the ex-Hillsong pastor, who was at the center of a sex scandal before leaving the celeb-favorite church.
