Televangelist Joel Osteen Refuses To Be Alone With Women Who Aren’t His Wife

(Huff Post) Televangelist Joel Osteen told an evangelical Christian website that he follows the so-called “Billy Graham rule” ― suggesting that, in an attempt to protect his marriage, he won’t spend time alone with women other than his wife. In an interview with the Christian Post, Osteen, a bestselling author and pastor of Houston’s 45,000-member Lakewood Church, was asked if he followed the rule, and how else he stayed accountable at a time when

sexual assault scandals have brought down a slew of prominent pastors. “I do and I always have, and my father did too,” Osteen said about the Billy Graham rule. Osteen’s father, John Osteen, was also a writer and televangelist. The elder Osteen founded Lakewood in 1959. “I think it’s important to be honest before God every day and check the reasons why you are doing what you are doing,” Osteen said. “To me, when I stand before God having a pure heart, I can go out and be my best.” READ MORE