In the January 2016 issue of GQ Magazine, pop star Justin Bieber's rebirth in life is a big story. Bieber, who has had insane popularity and run-ins with the law over pet monkeys, reckless driving, and other issues, was feeling quite lost in life, according to GQ writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner. A pastor named Carl Lentz, who is the lead pastor with his wife Laura for Hillsong NYC, was with Bieber during this troubling time.
At one point after a lot of prayer and discussion between the two, it was decided Bieber was going to be baptized. They were going all over Manhattan, trying to find a quiet place that didn't have photographers everywhere so they could do the baptism in peace. After having to vacate a couple of places due to crowds, Lentz apparently called up Tyson Chandler and the former New York Knicks center ended up providing his bathtub as the setting for Bieber's baptism.
The two traveled to a Manhattan hotel where Hillsong rents pools for baptisms, but by that time the paparazzi had found out and there was already a crowd of hundreds. Pastor Carl called a friend who had a pool, but by the time they arrived there was a crowd there, too. So, finally, Pastor Carl called his boy.
Carl has many boys, but in this case his boy was Tyson Chandler, who was then on the New York Knicks. It was 2 a.m. by now. The Knicks had beaten the Miami Heat earlier that night.
Tyson Chandler—who now plays for the Phoenix Suns—offered his building's pool for JB's baptism, but the pool was closed. Out of options, Chandler decided to offer up his tub, which was surely large enough since the former All-Star is listed at 7'1".
The now-Phoenix Suns center had more than adequate room in the tub for Bieber to be baptized. Since then, we've seen an image makeover with Bieber, for the most part, including a Comedy Central roast in which the final part of it was Bieber basically reading a prepared statement from a PR agency (or that's how it came off) saying he was sorry for his issues in the past and wanted to be taken more seriously now.
Lentz's "About" section on the Hillsong website mentions a passion for basketball, and that you can find him at Knicks games.
Carl pastors Hillsong NYC, a church in the heart of Manhattan that has a passion to serve the city and make an impact worldwide. If you can’t find Carl at Hillsong NYC, you can find him at MSG watching the Knicks as he attempts an NBA comeback.
Between that and faith, it's not a surprise there was a connection between him and Chandler. Lentz is the leader of a mega-church that has a lot of celebrity followers, including Kevin Durant according to the Complex article.
