Selena Gomez is no longer a member of Hillsong Church ... as pastor Carl Lentz grapples with sex scandal
Selena Gomez has parted ways with the Hillsong Church amid pastor Carl Lentz's cheating scandal, as 'she doesn’t want anything to do with Hillsong anymore.'
The 28-year-old singer, insiders The Daily Telegraph, had become 'bitterly disillusioned' with the Pentecostal institution after Lentz's affair with designer Ranin Karim came to light.
Also contributing to her severance with the megachurch was her 2018 split with member Justin Bieber, and a withered relationship with church founders Brian Houston, who let go of Lentz and his wife Laura in November amid the scandal.
The latest: Selena Gomez, 28, has parted ways with the Hillsong Church amid 42-year-old pastor Carl Lentz's cheating scandal, as 'she doesn’t want anything to do with Hillsong anymore'
'At one stage she adored Carl ... she, Brian, his daughter Laura and Justin were a team, really close, she used to hang out with Brian’s daughter-in-law Esther, now she doesn’t want anything to do with Hillsong anymore,' a source told the outlet.
The source told the publication that 'Selena considers herself a Christian' and 'she says she has a close relationship with God, and she believes this is not how God wants us to operate, she’s disillusioned.'
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The Texas native 'doesn’t identify with Hillsong any longer,' the source noted.
Lentz last week entered an outpatient facility for treatment for 'depression, anxiety, and pastoral burnout,' a source told People last week.
No longer: Selena was snapped in November of 2017 heading to services at Hillsong in LA
Focused: The starlet was snapped in February in LA, about a month before the lockdown
'He wants to be better for his family and is dedicated to doing the work,' the source told the outlet. 'His family is supporting him and hopes their privacy will be respected on this journey.'
The source noted that Lentz harbors 'has no ill will towards the church and recognizes that they needed to take some course of action to address his missteps.'
Houston said in a statement that Lentz had broke ties with the church amid 'ongoing discussions in relation to leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures.'
'They have a heart for people and we are confident that after a time of rest and restoration, God will use Carl in another way outside of Hillsong church,' he said in the statement. 'In terminating his tenure, we in no way want to diminish the good work he did here.'
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