Why Justin Bieber makes me love Jesus more.

In these last few months my family has been attending church at HillsongNYC. As a Worship Pastor, I have led so many songs over the years from this influential community of believers. As a songwriter, the argument could be made that a little bit of Hillsong can be heard in every worship song penned in the last two decades. So, before attending, I honestly wondered if I would be able to focus on worshipping Jesus rather than Hillsong. Then...it happened!

Just a few weeks into our time at the church (sitting up close of course), my two teenage girls leaned over to me before the service started with a visible sense of wonder on their faces. They could hardly get it out, but I finally heard..."Dad, Justin Bieber is on the front row"! Now, if you know my girls, they don't much care about the Biebs (maybe Emily does a bit). At any rate, it's still pretty cool for a teenage girl to see Justin Bieber that close without a swarm of people around him. Heck, it was pretty cool for me! Of course, right then, my mind begins to think of everything that I thought I knew about Justin. I had heard that Pastor Carl Lentz was his Pastor. I had heard that his poor decisions sent him packing back to Canada. I had heard, basically what the media had told me. But here we were, worshipping our Savior in the same room with arguably one of the most famous persons on the planet. Not only that, but he appears to be worshipping as well. Not accepting praise, but giving it. My head is spinning! And here's the shocker, from the very first time I saw him worshipping at a service, I found myself crying. Yeah, I felt like a teenage girl at a Beatles concert. What was going on? The normal intensity that I feel during worship was amped up...way up! But it wasn't directed at Justin. For some reason, him being there was helping my worship be more laser focused on my creator and Savior.

Needless to say, after that first sighting, my family & I had a lot to talk about. Why was he there? Is he a Christian? What about his suggestive song lyrics? Why...what...how...where! Then it dawned on us. All of these questions (such important questions) are between him & God. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit starstruck. It was then that I was reminded of that famous verse in the book of John...

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16 

This verse has been so engrained in the heads of us churched folks that sometimes we forget what it really means. God didn't send his son to die just for me. It says "whoever believes". Yes, he died for EVERYONE, even Justin Bieber! So, in that moment of corporate worship, I was suddenly...we were suddenly on the same level as Justin Bieber. I don't mean this to say that my "natural" mind was now feeling the celebrity of the Biebs. NO...I was feeling the magnificent heaviness of coming together as one Body, worshipping the King of kings and Lord of lords! I was reminded of the vision of worshipping around His throne...

"the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

'You are worthy, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.' " - Revelation 4:10-11

Together, we were acknowledging His worth, while setting ours aside. Sunday after Sunday, I see thousands of people come together to lay down our crowns before the one true King Jesus Christ. Yes, even Justin Bieber, for this moment in time, comes down off the stage, lays down his crowns, and worships. 

And that makes me love Jesus more!

"...he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." - 2 corinthians 5:15