Joel Osteen: Millionaire televangelist tells Texas flood victims not to have ‘poor me’ attitude

The Lakewood megachurch pastor was criticised when its doors were initially closed to victims of the storm

Joel Osteen, the pastor of Lakewood Church, conducts a service at his church as Houston starts the process of rebuilding (Getty Images )

The millionaire televangelist at a Texas megachurch which was criticised for closing its doors to Hurricane Harvey victims has said that those caught up in the disaster should refrain from having a “poor me” attitude, “because that’s just going to bring you down”.

Joel Osteen told his followers: "God is the one that gives you strength to get through the difficult times. We’re not going to understand everything that happens but having a ‘poor old me’ mentality or ‘look what I lost’ or ‘why did this happen’, that’s just going to pull you down."

His Lakewood megachurch, had previously come under fire for temporarily closing its doors during Hurricane Harvey.

Housed in a former stadium, it seats 16,000 people, but It remained shut over the weekend the hurricane hit Houston, only opening the following Tuesday to become a donation centre to help displaced people after dealing with its own flooding, the severity of which had been questioned by social media users.

Reverend Osteen told his followers that following the disaster, “you’ve just got to turn it over and say ‘God, you’re still on the throne’.”

The service at the megachurch was filled with talk of the deadly storm and its aftermath.

After a live band played at the church, accompanied by a light show, Mr Osteen also addressed the future for Houston and its residents during his sermon, saying: “Harvey came, but it didn’t take us out. We are going to come out of this stronger than before.”

The televangelist urged those at the service and watching online: “Don’t run away from your faith, run to your faith. Joy comes in the morning.”

Around 40 inches of water swamped Houston in the space of five days after the hurricane made landfall. It left over a million people displaced and at least 60 people have died.

It is the most powerful hurricane to have hit Texas in 50 years and left a path of destruction stretching for more than 300 miles.

The damage caused by Harvey is estimated to be as high as $180 billion (£138.2m).

Additional reporting by agencies