*Hurricane Harvey Update* Joel Osteen Explains Why His Megachurch Doors Were Closed To Evacuees

In the wake of the massive hurricane destruction in Houston, Joel Osteen’s very large Lakewood Church was not immediately made available to the millions of citizens who were displaced by the flooding.

Osteen was severely castigated by the media & public at large for closing his doors on the needy, when his clear mission as a Christian is to provide for those in need.

In an effort to quell the criticism, Joel took to social media, claiming that his church was preparing to take in the displaced denizens, saying,

We were ready to receive people, once we could get the waters down & staff in here, we really kicked into gear. 

It’s not like we don’t wanna do it, we just gotta make sure people are safe, & you know, & let people be able to come here & not be flooded themselves. 

So, his claim is, the church was experiencing flooding early in the process, & they were making sure the water had receded to accept the evacuees.

This sounds like a reasonable argument, until we found out that people were walking right up to the church doors on Monday, & the whole place was LOCKED UP!
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Watch This Video Of The Lakewood Church Sealed Up To The Public:

When his interviewer refuted his dubious claim by citing the videos exposing the truth & asked him if he had a specific timeline for opening, Osteen replied,

Well, the plans were fluid. It was a crazy time. We never know it was gonna be this much, so, you know… Our goal is to never turn anybody away. If somebody did, I haven’t seen the video, they should not have. 

Anybody is welcome to come, & anybody should have been welcome to come. And if they were turned away, it was a security company or something, but…

Understand too, we didn’t have all the staff here, & our people work & live here as well. So, it’s kind of difficult all the way.

Watch Osteen’s Interview Here:

(Courtesy TMZ)

Inadequate Excuse?

I will not judge this pastor on his motives, but I WILL critique his leadership skills in this crisis.

If Joel Osteen did not have the managerial understanding to be ready from the start, he deserves the criticism.

According to evidence, it was very clear that his facility was above the water line, & could have accepted people. So, why would he talk about waiting out the flood recession?

THEN, he blames a security company for keeping folks out.

It seems to me, if he is the leader of that ministry, he should have been in control of all operations in & around that building, INCLUDING SECURITY.

After all of this, he finally opened the church for all who need shelter. Better late than never… Thanks, Joel.