Latest news with #Hillsong
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Christian pastor from Andrew O'Keefe rehab arrested over alleged fake drug records
A Christian pastor who founded a controversial drug rehabilitation centre for men accused of serious crimes – which once treated former game show host Andrew O'Keefe – has been arrested and charged with faking reports about patients' drug use. Ross Pene, 68, who claims links to Hillsong and C3 pentecostal churches, was arrested by officers from Strike Force Toopuntul on the site of the now-defunct Connect Global centre in Port Stephens on Wednesday, and faces five charges relating to perverting the course of justice. 'It was uncovered an employee of the facility was allegedly issuing fraudulent reports about patients' drug use who were required to be at the facility drug-free as part of their bail undertaking,' police alleged in a statement. The charges relate to five patients. Sources with knowledge of the investigation say detectives working with the taskforce, part of the anti-gang squad Raptor, were looking into allegations of doctored urinalysis tests. Rehabs usually require participants to remain off drugs, and use urinalysis to enforce the rule. In December, a Herald investigation revealed concerns about lax security the Mid North Coast facility, which had become a popular alternative to prison remand for men accused of serious offences such as drug trafficking, violence, and firearms charges. If its clients were convicted, time spent at the centre – a former tourist resort with a pool and tennis court – could count towards their sentences. Addiction-ravaged O'Keefe became a client after being accused of holding a sex worker by the throat (the charges were dropped). So was real estate high-flyer turned Dover Heights stabber Matthew Ramsay, before he was sent back to jail for wandering off and getting high while on bail. A parade of alleged high-level drug dealers has also cycled through the 'Oyster Barn' common room.
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
Christian pastor from Andrew O'Keefe rehab arrested over alleged fake drug records
A Christian pastor who founded a controversial drug rehabilitation centre for men accused of serious crimes – which once treated former game show host Andrew O'Keefe – has been arrested and charged with faking reports about patients' drug use. Ross Pene, 68, who claims links to Hillsong and C3 pentecostal churches, was arrested by officers from Strike Force Toopuntul on the site of the now-defunct Connect Global centre in Port Stephens on Wednesday, and faces five charges relating to perverting the course of justice. 'It was uncovered an employee of the facility was allegedly issuing fraudulent reports about patients' drug use who were required to be at the facility drug-free as part of their bail undertaking,' police alleged in a statement. The charges relate to five patients. Sources with knowledge of the investigation say detectives working with the taskforce, part of the anti-gang squad Raptor, were looking into allegations of doctored urinalysis tests. Rehabs usually require participants to remain off drugs, and use urinalysis to enforce the rule. In December, a Herald investigation revealed concerns about lax security the Mid North Coast facility, which had become a popular alternative to prison remand for men accused of serious offences such as drug trafficking, violence, and firearms charges. If its clients were convicted, time spent at the centre – a former tourist resort with a pool and tennis court – could count towards their sentences. Addiction-ravaged O'Keefe became a client after being accused of holding a sex worker by the throat (the charges were dropped). So was real estate high-flyer turned Dover Heights stabber Matthew Ramsay, before he was sent back to jail for wandering off and getting high while on bail. A parade of alleged high-level drug dealers has also cycled through the 'Oyster Barn' common room.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fans Have Serious Questions About Justin Bieber's Pal-Turned-Spiritual Guru As He Faces 'Cult' Accusations
It was only a matter of time before Churchome — the buzzy, Beverly Hills-based church led by Justin Bieber's longtime spiritual advisor, Pastor Judah Smith — landed back in the headlines. On May 2, Smith found himself ambushed by paparazzi after stepping out of his car, a moment he later recounted in an Instagram-posted sermon. 'I got out of my car and was immediately surrounded by paparazzi — that's a first for me,' Smith quipped in a clip from an Instagram-posted sermon. When a 'nice lady' whipped out her camera and asked point-blank, 'So is this a cult or not?' he deadpanned, 'Oh my word, I wasn't expecting that question,' before joking, 'If we're a cult, we are the worst cult in the history of all cults. We meet once a month, guys.' More from SheKnows Hailey Bieber Shares Snuggly Easter Photo With Son Jack & He's Getting So Big Sure, it's a punchline — but the cult allegations circling Churchome aren't exactly new. Founded in 1992 by Smith's parents in Seattle and later rebranded and relocated to L.A., Churchome has become a go-to for the pray and slay crowd. With its slick app, trendy branding, and celeb-heavy front rows (think Kourtney Kardashian, Ciara, Russell Wilson, and Selena Gomez), Churchome looks less like a house of worship and more like a spiritual Soho House — minus the cocktails. At the center of it all is Smith, whose relationship with Bieber goes back to 2010. The pastor's youthful sermons and casual style helped shape Bieber's post-teen-idol spiritual identity, with Smith even telling E! News in 2013 that the two 'share Scriptures on a regular basis.' That connection was back on display in April, when Bieber posted a vulnerable message on Instagram: 'They treat me like ass out here, but I remember that I am flawed and God forgave me.' He added, 'When I'm really honest, I can be mean and hurtful too.' But it's not just Bieber's honesty that's raising eyebrows. '1000000000% a creep. That whole church is creepy. Very sinister energy from what I can tell,' one fan commented on a video of Smith saying Bieber 'is literally like family to me.' Even Bieber's wife, Hailey Bieber, has been cryptically commenting on religion, writing 'posters and preaches really love to just put words together with the same letter and act like it's HITTING so crazy… 'There's blessing in the brokenness,' 'there's grace in gratitude,' s*** drives me bananas,' on her Ingram stories back in March. In 2023, whistleblower docs revealed Churchome was shelling out up to $100,000 a year in 'membership fees' to stay part of Hillsong's elite Family network — the same Hillsong plagued by scandal, cover-ups, and Carl Lentz's infamous fall from grace. Oh, and did we mention Churchome reportedly raked in $17 million in tithes in 2017 alone? That's a lot of Venmo-for-Jesus. Churchome cut ties with Hillsong in 2022, but the similarities linger: the velvet ropes, the glossy branding, the proximity to celebrity, and yes — the accusations of being 'cult-like.' Critics say it walks and talks like a cult, just with better lighting and verified followers. We're not saying it's a cult. But when a megachurch markets itself like a VIP experience, pays six figures to join a scandal-scarred network, and seems to prioritize fame over faith — like another ostensibly religiously affiliated organization that happens to be very big in Hollywood — fans absolutely have of SheKnows The Very Best Looks at the Met Gala of All Time 13 Things to Know About Beyoncé & Jay-Z's Oldest Daughter Blue Ivy Carter Heidi Klum, Amanda Seyfried, & More Celebrities Who Gracefully Handled Wardrobe Malfunctions
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Justin Beiber's Pastor, Judah Smith, Addresses Claims He's Running A Church Cult
Justin Bieber's pastor, Judah Smith, doesn't seem bothered by the rumors surrounding his church, Churchhome. In fact, during a sermon, Smith, who's a celebrity pastor with over 700,000 Instagram followers and several best-selling books, addressed the claims that he's running a cult, which Justin Bieber's former pal, Ryan Good, hinted he was part of. In an Instagram video of what appeared to be a recorded sermon, Smith told his congregation he recently had an encounter unlike anything he's been a part of before. Smith recalled getting out of his car and being swarmed by paparazzi before telling them his "friend" wasn't with him. Then, a "nice lady" with a camera reportedly asked the "Jesus Is" author if his church, Churchhome, which Selena Gomez and the Kardashians have attended, was a cult. "I was like, 'Oh my word, I wasn't expecting that question,'" he said before jokingly asking his staff to bring the snakes and blood on stage to begin a ritual process. Smith later quipped that he probably shouldn't have made such a statement before noting definitively that his church was not a cult. "If we're a cult, we're the worst cult in [the history] of all cults," he said. Smith's statements during his latest Bible teaching arrived a week after Bieber's former associate, Good, stepped down from the former's clothing brand, Drew House. The Blast reported on the news, and according to sources close to the "Baby" singer, Good didn't agree with the decision to place Smith on the fashion company's executive board. They went on to say that the move to place Smith on the board felt "weird," considering he's a pastor more than a businessman. Insiders also claimed that Good left the company because he believed Smith's Churchhome was a cult, and Bieber's growing relationship with the church's frontman didn't help calm his concerns. The concerns surrounding Smith and his church aren't the first time a spiritual leader close to Bieber has made headlines. In 2020, Carl Lentz, former pastor of the East Coast division of Hillsong Church, which also had a celebrity following, was fired from the institution for "breaches of trust" and a "revelation of moral failures." Shortly after his departure announcement, Lentz opened up about the news in a lengthy Instagram post, admitting he was "unfaithful in my marriage," which he described as "the most important relationship in my life." "This failure is on me, and me alone, and I take full responsibility for my actions," he continued. Although Hillsong cut ties with Lentz, they did seem to defend his honor, adding, "God will use Carl in another way outside of Hillsong church. In terminating his tenure, we in no way want to diminish the good work he did here." During a previous interview, Bieber seemingly addressed the news about his former spiritual advisor, Lentz, who also baptized him and his wife, Hailey Bieber. Although the "Peaches" singer didn't say his name explicitly, he touched on pastors who let fame get to their heads, which many criticized Lentz for after his affair broke the internet. 'I think so many pastors put themselves on this pedestal,' he said. '[It's] basically, church can be surrounded around the man, the pastor, the guy, and it's like, 'This guy has this ultimate relationship with God that we all want but we can't get because we're not this guy.' That's not the reality, though. The reality is, every human being has the same access to God.' He also discussed his close relationship with Smith, saying he values the pastor because he "put our relationship first." 'It was something I always dreamed of because my family was broken,' Bieber said. 'My whole life, I had a broken family. And so I was just attracted to a family that eats dinners together, laughs together, talks together.'
Washington Post
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
In final season, 'The Righteous Gemstones' embraces depravity even as it appeals to Christians
LOS ANGELES — For a show about a Christian megachurch pastor and his nepo baby children — between the sex, violence and full-frontal nudity courtesy of Walton Goggins — the final season of 'The Righteous Gemstones' is rife with its trademark depravity. But Danny McBride, who stars in and created the HBO series, has always hoped it would speak to people of faith, even as he acknowledged his crude sense of humor might not be for everyone. 'My hope honestly with creating the show was that people who were religious would watch it. That, ultimately, they would understand that this isn't making fun of them, but it's probably making fun of people that they identify and are annoyed by,' he told The Associated Press ahead of the fourth and final season's finale on Sunday. 'A lot of people who come up to me, honestly, their first thing will be like, 'I go to church and I think it's funny.'' McBride grew up in a devout Christian household in the South. His mom even led a puppet ministry when he was a kid. At some point, though, the 48-year-old decided churchgoing wasn't for him. But his interest remained, particularly as he began to learn more about megachurches after moving to Charleston, South Carolina. 'I felt like it kind of was reflective of America in a way that everything is sort of turned into a money game,' he said. 'The idea that like we could take something like religion and ultimately turn it into a corporation.' McBride's series follows widowed patriarch Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) and his three adult children, the eldest of whom is played by McBride. Although the series is steeped in modern evangelical culture, McBride said, in general, people of faith were not meant to be the target of his satire. 'It was more about hypocrites and people who were saying one thing and living another,' he said. Celebrity preachers like Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes have been fixtures of evangelical culture since the early aughts thanks to their massive congregations and strategic media presence, not to mention the Billy Grahams, Jerry Fallwells and Jim Bakkers that preceded them. But a new generation of Instagram-savvy preachers has made its way into pop culture, like Hillsong's now-disgraced Carl Lentz and Justin Bieber's pastor, Judah Smith. With that fame comes scrutiny and the charge that their celebrity and wealth stand in contrast to the message of Jesus. But that disaffection with religious leaders that McBride exploits isn't new, says Kathryn Lofton, a professor of religious studies and American studies at Yale University. 'There's not a lot of very positive depictions of evangelists in American media in the last 50 years,' Lofton said. The Christianity of the Gemstone empire is anything but austere. The second episode of this season, for example, closes with Eli's kids hosting their extravagant annual give-a-thon in honor of their late mother's birthday. 'If the line's busy, call back. Somebody's gonna pick up. It might just be God,' implores Uncle Baby Billy (Goggins). And what's a church service without a choir, dancing and, of course, jet packs? For Deon Gibson, a graphic artist who used to work for pastor Paula White before she became the head of Donald Trump's White House Faith Office, the show is right on the nose. 'I knew those characters while I worked in the megachurches,' he said. 'Aside from the Hollywood theatrics, it is spot on. The conversations they have, the switching around of power and positions.' McBride did admit it was a difficult subject to satirize considering the viral videos that often surface showing similarly extravagant stunts and rock concerts being performed at church. One comment on the show's subreddit shares a video clip of James River Church's annual Stronger Men's Conference in Missouri. 'Thought this was a scene from the show at first,' the commenter says of the massive pyrotechnics, monster trucks and acrobats descending from the ceiling. 'My biggest fear would be that we would put stuff in the show and then like months later before the show comes out you would like see a church actually doing something we were doing,' McBride said. 'You're like, 'I just hope people don't think we're ripping them off.'' Adam Devine said he thinks making satire in general is a challenge right now. 'Some of the headlines in the news, you're like, well, that wouldn't even work because people would be like, 'That's too crazy,'' Devine said. For all its critique and humor though, the series also infuses moments of tenderness and poignancy. One storyline that culminates in the series finale is Kelvin's struggle with his queer identity and his relationship with his partner. 'I hope that some kids who feel like hopeless and they're battling over whether they're gay or not, that this gives them a sense of hope that you can come out and be accepted by your family, by people within your church,' Devine said. 'Not everyone is going to turn their backs on you.' But Gibson, who still identifies as a believer but is no longer part of a congregation, thinks the show's depictions of the megachurch world might be a tough hurdle for some people to get over. 'I think it would offend some people, the honesty of some of the characters. But I like the show because I saw both sides. I saw that side of the ministry corruption, but at the end of the day, they were people,' he said. 'They were regular people who just got caught up in the fame and the money.'
