Joel Osteen Says Obama Loves the Lord, US President Could Attend Church More Frequently
In an appearance on Mike Huckabee’s Fox News show over the weekend, televangelist and pastor Joel Osteen shared briefly that he had contacted President Obama and that he believed he was a man of faith.
The host, who is a former Republican presidential candidate, brought up the subject by asking the Lakewood Church pastor what he thought of the fact that Obama had professed his Christian faith before he took up presidency, but then rarely spoke about it since, the Daily Caller shared.
Osteen recognized that this was true, and that the president has not been attending church regularly, but he said that he realized how hard it must be for him when dealing with so many other issues going on in the country all at the same time. He admitted that in an ideal world, Obama should indeed go to church more often, but he still believes that the President “loves the Lord.”
The pastor went on to share that Obama reached out to him and the two have spoken on a few brief occasions and shared some prayers. Osteen revealed that Obama was “very kind and friendly” of his ministry, and that he had invited Osteen to the White House for certain leadership events.
The Obama family declared in 2010 that they would not be attending a church on a regular basis during the presidency, saying that it was too disruptive, a decision that drew negative opinions from conservative republicans.
The televangelist on the other hand tried to stay away from declaring his support for one party over another, and he has engaged in conversation with both democratic and republican leaders.
A notable political figure Osteen has hosted at his Lakewood church was Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry, whom he spoke favorably.