Story highlights Pastor takes fire after apparently not opening church up to flood victimsChurch disputes online criticism, will open at noon Tuesday(CNN) Pastor Joel Osteen's Houston megachurch says it's opening its doors Tuesday to residents displaced by flooding. Lakewood Church, which was founded by Osteen's father in the 1950s, posted on social media Monday that the venue was "inaccessible due to severe flooding" following Hurricane Harvey, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm. The message included the National Guard rescue hotline, along with a list of shelters that displaced Texans could go to. Many on social media criticized the church for not taking people in, but the church disputed the backlash. We will continue to be a distribution center for those in need," church spokesman and Osteen's father-in-law Donald Iloff said.

Source: CNN August 29, 2017 10:46 UTC