Just yesterday, it was announced that Justin Bieber canceled the rest of his “Purpose” world tour due to “unforeseen circumstances,” which is about as vague as an explanation can get. However, Australian TV host Richard Wilkins thinks he knows the real reason why Bieber abandoned his global trek months before it was scheduled to wrap up: To “reconnect with his faith” and potentially start his own church.
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: An inside source revealed @JustinBieber cancelled his world tour to focus on his faith and start his own church. #9Today pic.twitter.com/BzZw1cnihC
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) July 25, 2017
Citing a source at the annual Hillsong Church Conference in Sydney, Wilkins said (via NME):
“I am led to believe that the real reason he has come off the road is because he wants to reconnect with his faith and he may be even planning to start his own church. We know that he was in the country a few weeks ago having meetings and attending the big Hillsong convention that they had here. [He’s] very close to a lot of the Hillsong people. Whether he’s looking at teaming up with them in something of a more permanent situation or doing some sort of religious activity on his own — starting his own church — we’re not quite sure, but that’s the word from an inside source.”
This big claim may be a bit suspect, yes, but it’s not as if faith has never been a big part of the pop star’s life, which is why this speculation even carries the little weight that it does. In 2010, Bieber said:
“I pray all the time. I pray two to three times a day. When I wake up I thank him for my blessings. I thank him for putting me in this position. And at the end of the day I get out my Bible. At home-school my tutor is Christian, so we go over Bible verses. It’s something that keeps me grounded.”
He also spoke in a backstage interview at this year’s conference just last month and said, “I just think my faith grows every day. My faith is stronger than two years ago, better, stronger, wiser.”
It Bieber leaving his post as one of pop culture’s greatest global superstars to start a church? Probably not, but never say never. At the very least, there could definitely be some truth to the “reconnecting with his faith” part of the rumor.
