Justin Bieber’s longtime pastor is defending his church’s purpose. Amid rumors about the nature of the “What Do You Mean” singer’s friendship with Judah Smith, who leads the nondenominational Christian church Churchome, the faith leader revealed he was recently confronted about the speculation surrounding his organization. “I got out of my car and was immediately surrounded by paparazzi-that’s a first for me,” he said in a video of him giving a recent sermon posted on his Instagram page May 2. “All of a sudden, this nice lady turns on her camera. She goes, ‘So is this a cult or not? And I was like, ‘Oh my word, I wasn’t expecting that question.'” Judah, who joked that the encounter was “not good PR,” went on to make light of the accusation. “If we’re a cult, we are the worst cult in the history of all cults,” he continued. “We meet once a month, guys. I stopped doing this every Wednesday. We’ve got to get better at this.” Judah’s bond with Justin, 31, dates back well over a decade, when they were introduced by the pop star’s mother Pattie Mallette. From there, the two quickly formed a connection over their shared devotion to their faith. “Justin and I share Scriptures on a regular basis and communicate,” the pastor told E! News in 2013. “And I think you find a lot of comfort and clarity in the Scriptures.” More recently, the “Holy” singer shared that he seeks spiritual guidance to deal with online speculation about his personal life, including his marriage to wife Hailey Bieber. “They treat me like ass out here, but I remember that I am flawed and God forgave me,” he wrote in a post on his Instagram Stories April 24. “It helps me to stop feeling better than those who are mean and hurtful because when I’m really honest, I can be mean and hurtful too.” Indeed, the Grammy winner-who shares son Jack Blues Bieber, 8 months, with Hailey-said he tries to remember his own flaws before judging the actions of others. “My instinct is to be like, ‘Damn I wouldn’t gossip and spread lies about someone on the internet,'” he went on, “but there’s other s–t I do I’m not proud of.” As for reports about Justin’s well-being, a rep for the singer told E! News in April, “These unnecessary stories and inaccurate assumptions will continue. But, they won’t deter him from staying committed to following the right path.