Megachurch With Ferrari-Driving Pastor Gives Back $4.4M Pandemic Loan

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

A Houston megachurch, whose celebrity pastor is reportedly worth $50 million, has repaid the federal government $4.4 million in pandemic loans after going viral for the outrageous handout.

Lakewood Church, which is tax-exempt like most religious institutions, took $4.4 million in taxpayer-funded Paycheck Protection Program loans at the height of the COVID pandemic last year—all while senior pastor Joel Osteen flaunted his insane wealth. It caused “Osteen” and “Ferrari” to trend on social media as observers questioned the institution’s need for such a huge payout.

Osteen reportedly owns a $300,000 Ferrari and a $10.5 million mansion, and has been photographed traveling in style on a luxury jet. Meanwhile, he has made appearances on the Today Show, urging people to not “focus on what [they] have or don’t have.”

Lakewood, believed to be the biggest church in the U.S. with an average weekly attendance of 45,000, shut down in-person services last year and told the Houston Business Journal they had to go months without the “ability to collect substantial donations.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/megachurch-ferrari-driving-pastor-repays-205357541.html

Asshole

[Skittles]

1. sickening that people give so much money to that grifter