There were reports that Joel Osteen closed his doors to hurricane evacuees. As promised we are following up on the story. Now, Joel Osteen responds.
"We have never closed our doors," Senior Pastor Joel Osteen said in a statement quoted by ABC and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We will continue to be a distribution center to those in need. We are prepared to house people once shelters reach capacity. Lakewood will be a value to the community in the aftermath of this storm."
Joel Osteen appeared on the TODAY show to address the issue.
Here is a Facebook post from the Lakewood Church where Osteen is a senior pastor.
The post goes on to point people in the direction of help and other shelters in the area.
How did this get started? Well, there was a tweet that went viral and it showed the church in pristine condition.
Houston's @indivisible_usa is acquainted with @JoelOsteen's Lakewood Church. They took these pics about an hour ago w/ commentary. pic.twitter.com/YTWrD9UG1z
— Charlotte Clymer ?️? (@cmclymer) August 28, 2017
Many people from Houston did not buy what Osteen said and pointed the finger at him for not helping people in and around his city.
Shame on Joel Osteen. Jesus would open the doors and care for the needy. What a disgrace to #houston and #LakewoodChurch!
— Runek (@RuneK_15) August 29, 2017
Members of the Lakewood Church were quick to respond and defend their pastor. Blogger Lynne Gabriel even tweeted photos of the church.
Seriously quite sickening when people spread negative news without knowing the situation. This is the situation of our church @lakewoodch pic.twitter.com/0KKBmu6hW8
— Lynne G. Caine (@heyitslynneg) August 28, 2017
You can understand why the people of Houston were hopeful that Lakewood would provide some assistance. They host 52,000 attendees for their weekly services.
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