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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Can someone explain if they think Joel Osteen is a false preacher or not? I think he teaches the bible from what I've seen but I know a lot of people don't like him for whatever reason.[/quote]

I used to listen to him until he refused to allow people in after the devastating hurricane in Houston.  [/quote]

In an interview on TODAY Wednesday, Houston pastor Joel Osteen disputed that his megachurch turned away evacuees from Hurricane Harvey and countered a wave of criticism by saying city officials initially didn't ask him to use it as a shelter.

"(The city) didn’t need us as shelter then,'' Osteen said. "If we needed to be a shelter, we certainly would’ve been a shelter right when they first asked.

"Once they filled up, they never dreamed that we'd have this many displaced people, (and) they asked us to become a shelter. I think this notion that somehow we would turn people away or we weren't here for the city is about as false as can be."

Osteen received heavy criticism on social media starting on Saturday, with people writing that he had not offered the church as a sanctuary for those affected by the cataclysmic storm, which could dump up to 50 inches of rain in some areas.

"Our church doors have always been open,'' Osteen said. "We took people in right when waters started to recede, which was a day or two after the storm hit."

The church had also flooded before and there were safety issues, so they were initially being precautious by not immediately opening the doors to refugees from the storm over the weekend, Osteen said.

"The fact is that I don't know that we would've opened any sooner because again there were safety issues,'' Osteen revealed. "I think some somehow social media can be very powerful and they can create this false narrative.

"It's easy to say, 'There's that big building, and they're not using it,' but we don't have volunteers and we don't have staff that could get here.' If they would've asked us to be a shelter early on, we would've prepared for it all."

"Think of the story if we had housed a whole bunch of evacuees and the building flooded, that wouldn't have been a good story."

On Tuesday, Osteen tweeted that his megachurch, which can hold more than 16,000 people, is providing shelter for hurricane victims.

Hundreds of volunteers soon arrived to help collect donations from local residents.

"In 2001, Lakewood housed 3,000 people during tropical storm Allison, so we're all about helping people,'' Osteen said. "We'll be here five years from now helping these people, so we feel good about who we are and what we're doing."

https://www.today.com/today/amp/tdna11568

Osteen and his church did let people in. They could not during the initial storm. After flood receded and it was safe for volunteers to travel, they did. Even first responders won’t go out during a hurricane, yet Osteen and his volunteers were supposed to?

The claim: Joel Osteen closed his Lakewood Church to those suffering from cold weather and power outages in Texas

Famed Pastor Joel Osteen is facing criticism on social media for purportedly closing the doors of his Lakewood Church in Houston and not offering shelter to those who are dealing with freezing temperatures and rolling blackouts.

In a Feb. 16 Facebook post, a user wrote, "In Houston, megapastor Joel Osteen not opening his 18,000 seat arena to the freezing homeless."

In a similar version of the claim, which has over 400 shares, a user alleged that Osteen received $4.4 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans but did not open his church in Texas to "shelter people freezing to death at his door." Accompanying the post is an image of Osteen's Lakewood Church, which seats thousands of worshippers.

Some users pointed to Hurricane Harvey in 2017, when Osteen was similarly accused of refusing to immediately accept evacuees at his church.

"While Texans need heat, food, and shelter, Joel Osteen's church remains closed...just like it did during and after Hurricane Harvey," reads a text post.

Lakewood Church is open

Osteen did not close the doors of his Lakewood Church; it has remained open to assist those without power and shelter, according to local media reports.

Lakewood Church has had as many as 300 people coming in and out of the building, including those who are homeless and families who are looking to escape the cold, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Church staff are screening attendees for COVID-19 symptoms, as well as requiring masks and maintaining proper social distancing.

Lakewood Church is providing beds, blankets and other needed supplies, and church officials said no one will be turned away, Click2Houston reported.

"If you need a warm place to stay, Lakewood is open. Hundreds arrived last night & more today due to power outages. Staff & volunteers are on site ready to help," Osteen tweeted on Feb. 16. "We have beds, blankets, a hot meal and supplies for those in need. Stay safe, continue to pray for Texas."

Hurricane Harvey

This is not the first time social media users have criticized the pastor for allegedly keeping his church shut.

In 2017, Osteen came under fire when the church posted a notice saying the building was closed due to "severe flooding" following Hurricane Harvey, USA TODAY reported.

Osteen refuted the claims that he turned away flooding victims and said that "the church has always been open" and that "we received shelter victims in the first day or two." He added that the church initially flooded and could not immediately open its doors.

Fact check: No, Joel Osteen’s megachurch isn’t charging for online prayer requests

Our rating: False

The claim that megachurch pastor Joel Osteen is not allowing Texans without heat and power to shelter in his Lakewood Church in Houston is FALSE, based on our research. Tweets from Osteen, the church and the city of Houston all confirm that the church is open to those needing shelter. Numerous local outlets have also reported on Lakewood opening its doors to residents in Texas.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/02/19/fact-check-joel-osteens-lakewood-church-open-texas-winter-storm/4503362001/[/quote]

And this is dynamite. [/quote]

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