Pastor Joel Osteen is open about his disapproval of gay marriage, but he does not want his opinion to define his whole ministry. During a talk with Osteen and his wife Victoria, HuffPost Live’s Marc Lamont Hill asked him if gay marriage goes against the rules of Christianity.

Osteen told Hill, “It would be, but I don’t really focus on a lot of those things, I try to stay in my lane of what I feel called to do. [Gay marriage] does come up in interviews and things, but that’s not my core message.”

The pastor said that his message for his congregation involves letting go of the past, how to raise their children to be good, and how they can attain their goals. However, he did admit that the sexuality of gays and lesbians often comes up as an issue for some members of his church.

The tenth anniversary of Osteen’s “A Night of Hope” is fast approaching, and will be held on June 7^th at Yankee stadium in New York. Hill pointed out that at least a handful of the 45,000 people expected to attend will be gay.

Osteen added, “Everybody’s welcome, but my take on it is it’s easy to make one issue — to become known for that or to let it sidetrack your message, if you look at our congregation … including myself, we all have issues. Everybody’s on a journey.”

Osteen once called being gay as “not God’s best work” and he still remains strongly against gay marriage, which is currently legal in 19 states in the US, including the District of Columbia.

Joel Osteen on gay marriage

Osteen is the senior pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas — the largest church in the United States. Osteen is also a televangelist and an author, and will soon have his own show on SiriusXM radio.

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