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Today, Wednesday, Glenn Beck again defending Joel Osteen, saying Lakewood Church doesn't have the resources to help those seeking a dry refuge.
Glenn said that he is glad that there are "
those of us who know what's in Osteen's heart."
No Glenn, no one is pretending to know what is in Osteen's heart. What is happening is the reaction from people who, for the life of them, could not believe the initial reporting of Lakewood Church being closed, and the claim that it was unreachable due to flooded roads around the church which turned out to be an inaccurate claim.
Glenn - stop it. If, for whatever reason, you chose to be on the "other side" of this issue, we'd be listening to 3-hours of your verbal pining of
"...how could someone of faith not open their facilities to people in need?
"How can a man, the leader of one of the largest and most prosperous religious organizations, say their building is unreachable?"
Glenn's voice would raise an octave, and he'd ramble on with an endless, wordy monologue about "
what has happened to humanity? Where is the goodness of people who have so much money, and a building (the church
) with so much space, and who could provide so much room for those who have nowhere else to turn? And who claims their church is unreachable because the roads around it are flooded when we can see that's not the case?"
Lakewood Church doesn't have the resources? There have been many reports of people taking others into their homes because those people had nowhere to turn. Do you think these people who are housing others just happened to have, on-hans, enough extra food, room, sleeping facilities, band-aides or other minor medical supplies? Or, do you think that in doing this, everyone under that roof is making some degree of sacrifice to make-do with a little less than usual so that they can SHARE what they have?
Tell us Glenn, who has more resources? The leader of a MegaChurch and who is personally worth MILLIONS of dollars; or someone with a 3 or 4 bedroom home who decides to do what Christ would do and provide food and shelter for those in need?
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| Glenn Beck. Image: Independent Sentinel |
Bill Gates:
"I believe that with great wealth comes great responsibility, a responsibility to give back to society and a responsibility to see that those resources are put to work in the best possible way to help those most in need."
Joel Osteen failed the above. At least initially. And you know what? I fail too. A lot. In many areas. I'm not judging Osteen or Beck. It's commentary. We all fail; we all fall short because we are human. And this is why we seek forgiveness from Christ - for our
human faults.
Maybe social media, including me, reacted too hastily on the whole Osteen/Church story. Then again, Osteen did not do himself any favors by
responding too late and with too little substance.
Although I know of much smaller places of worship - smaller in membership and in square footage - that have a kitchen and seating area that can hold a couple hundred people for wedding and funeral receptions. But, in all fairness, despite its size and capacity,
it appears this is not the case with Lakewood. From their site:
Wedding Options at Lakewood
Chapel Wedding
There is a Chapel available on the third floor for Lakewood Church members, seating up to 600 people. Dressing areas are available for the bride, groom, and attendants. The Church has available, at no extra charge: ten aisle candelabras with material, two sets of candelabras for the altar, one unity candle stand and one kneeler.
Office Wedding
We offer Office Weddings for those who prefer a simple, inexpensive wedding ceremony. Services are performed in our New Beginnings room. A maximum of 20 guests can be accomodated [sic]. Decorations are not permitted for Office Weddings.
I don't know why Lakewood wouldn't have included in its design a larger-scale meal prep area and reception area. One would think Lakewood would be a sought-after venue to rent for providing services for a wedding or funeral.
If every person in social media, and those involved with the initial and conflicting reports from
those speaking for Lakewood Church, all walk away from this with a heightened awareness of our own needs for atonement, then maybe we've taken a step forward in our future reactions and decisions.
