HOUSTON (AP) — Televangelist Joel Osteen says his Houston megachurch has “never” closed its doors to people seeking shelter as Harvey swamps the city.
Osteen has faced criticism for not opening his massive Lakewood Church as a storm shelter. In a statement to ABC News, Osteen says the church “will continue to be a distribution center for those in need” and is “prepared to house people once shelters reach capacity.”
Houston's Joel Osteen has a net worth over $50m and a church that holds 16,800 but this is all he's offering. pic.twitter.com/rmhdWK6ZAO
— Mark Elliott (@markmobility) August 28, 2017
3 different Houston mosques & 100+ members of @MuslimYouthUSA are out & serving Houstonians while Joel Osteen's $50M megachurch sits closed. pic.twitter.com/QmZqo91rB0
— Qasim Rashid for Congress (@QasimRashid) August 28, 2017
The 16,000-seat former arena served as the home of the NBA’s Houston Rockets from 1975 to 2003.
Osteen’s comment stands in contrast to a church Facebook post and a since-deleted Instagram remark by Lakewood associate pastor John Gray, who said flooded highways had made the church inaccessible. A claim that’s been contested with photos from a vigilante twitter user.
@cmclymer Looking pretty passable to me from this side, stay tuned for further exploration pic.twitter.com/dlrYGeLgBj
— Allie (@AlleyCat_Allie) August 28, 2017
And finally…..
Lakewood Church apparently bought countless air mattresses and are prepping to open their doors. Took a while but good news.#JoelOsteen pic.twitter.com/MYXf1HqAbF
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) August 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/AnastasiaElyseW/status/902347847139418112
But some wondered why it took public shaming for Osteen to change course.
https://twitter.com/iSlimfit/status/902471680035094528
https://twitter.com/jchaltiwanger/status/902348896168488962
A spokeswoman for Osteen didn’t immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.
