Joel Osteen FINALLY opens the doors to his 17,000-seat Houston megachurch after furious Twitter users demanded to know why the multi-millionaire pastor was not sheltering victims
An official Facebook post said Osteen’s church was closed Monday after floods
He faced a backlash online, as other churches welcomed in the displaced
But on Tuesday a spokesman said they were keeping their doors open
Donald Iloff said it’s now a ‘distribution center for those in need’
But he said it will only accept people when other places of refuge are full
Osteen himself then contradicted that, tweeting it would ‘receive anyone’
Iloff also released photos showing flooding in the church that has now receded
The floods have left roughly 30,000 displaced to temporary shelters
By James Wilkinson and Michelle Ganney
DailyMail.com
29 August 2017
The megachurch run by multimillionaire televangelist Joel Osteen has said it will open its doors to flood-stricken Texans, despite claims he made to the contrary yesterday.
As Hurricane Harvey has dumped feet of rain on southeast Texas Monday, claims emerged that his Lakewood church – which can house as many as 17,000 people – was staying shut to the displaced residents.
That led to fury online as people complained that Osteen – whose net worth is estimated to be $56.5 million – was being un-Christian.
But on Tuesday Osteen tweeted that the church was open to help those affected by the flooding – despite a spokesperson earlier in he day claiming that it would only accept people once other refuges were full.
On Tuesday, Osteen tweeted: ‘Victoria and I care deeply about our fellow Houstonians. Lakewood’s doors are open and we are receiving anyone who needs shelter.’
And earlier in the day church spokesman and Osteen’s father-in-law, Donald Iloff, told CNN: ‘We have never closed our doors. We will continue to be a distribution center for those in need.’
However, he said that the church would not be taking in people seeking shelter until other places were full up.
‘We are prepared to shelter people once the cities and county shelters reach capacity,’ Iloff said.
‘Lakewood will be a value to the community in the aftermath of this storm in helping our fellow citizens rebuild their lives.’
The Rest…HERE
