Steven Furtick NOT Leaving Elevation Church to Join Joel Osteen; Story Was Satirical, Pastor Explains

Babylon Bee, a popular satirical blog, took aim at prophet-pastor Steven Furtick and included a quote that was obviously meant to be a joke but went over some reader’s heads: “I wish Elevation the best of luck in the seasons to come, and hope they can find someone as ripped and godly as me.” So Pastor Steven took to social media to inform his fans that they have no worries; he has no plans to leave his megachurch to form a “super preaching team” with another megachurch pastor. Michael Gybroski of Christian Post, a “Christian” site we’ve made clear that we don’t endorse, has the story:

Elevation Church Pastor Steven Furtick will not be leaving his Charlotte, North Carolina, megachurch to join Pastor Joel Osteen at Lakewood Church.

Furtick took to social media on Sunday to clarify that a widely read satire piece claiming that he was going to the Texas-based megachurch was untrue.

In a video posted to his official Facebook page that as of Tuesday has gotten over 480,000 views, Furtick explained that people need to “consider the source.”

“They were making it look like I was leaving Elevation Church to go to another church like an NBA free agent for a big contract,” said Furtick.

“Of course none of that is true. I’m not leaving Elevation Church. The thing was meant to be a joke. Whether it’s funny or right for them to post that, that’s up to you to decide.”

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