The Preacher's
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Sunday, June 3, 2018 |HoustonChronicle.com and Chron.com |Vol. 117, No. 233|$4.00 HHH Chance of storms: High 96, Low 74 Letter THE PREACHER’S SON House asserts JOEL OSTEEN AND THE MAKING mulls Trump OF A MEGACHURCH Agent power Orange Lawyers contend aid bill he’s protected Excluded since from subpoena by ’02, offshore vets special counsel would be covered NEW YORK TIMES By Bill Lambrecht WA SHINGTON — WA SHINGTON — Navy President Donald veterans who served off- Trump’s lawyers for shore during the Vietnam months have quietly War appear close to win- waged a campaign to keep ning a final battle as Con- the special counsel from gress prepares to force the trying to force him to an- Department of Veterans Af- swer questions in the in- fairs to restore benefits to vestigation into whether thousands of sailors who he obstructed justice, as- claim exposure to Agent serting that he cannot be Orange. compelled to testify and The $1 billion-plus price arguing in a confidential tag —to be borne by veter- letter that he could not ans themselves through possibly have committed fees onVA loans—is anoth- obstruction because he er of the unanticipated costs has unfettered authority of war measured both in over all federal investiga- dollars and toxic wounds. tions. Gulf War Veterans also In a brash assertion of are pressing the VA to com- presidential power, the 20- pensate them for exposure page letter — sent to the to nerve agents and other special counsel, Robert toxins. The Government Mueller, and obtained by Accountability Office is pre- the New Yo rk Times — paring a report on allega- contends that the presi- tions of Agent Orange use dent cannot illegally ob- in Guam during the Viet- struct any aspect of the in- nam era, which could open vestigation into Russia’s the door to awards of bene- election meddling because fits to veterans stationed the Constitution empow- there. ers him to, “if he wished, With little fanfare, the terminate the inquiry, or House Veterans’ Affairs even exercise his power to Committee last month ad- pardon.” vanced legislation that re- Trump’s lawyers fear stores disability pay and that if he answers ques- care for Blue Water Navy tions, either voluntarily or Veterans continues on A13 in front of a grand jury, he risks exposing himself to accusations of lying to in- vestigators, a potential crime or impeachable of- Permian Trumpcontinues on A13 employers How did battling old box of headwinds evidence Oil field firms find hiring, retention reappear? acostly challenge By Jordan Blum By Keri Blakinger Elizabeth Conley photos /Houston Chronicle Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen leads his congregation in prayer during a recent service. Josh Garcia found him- The double-barreled self in a position familiar derringer sat waiting for to many energy workers police at Love’s Lounge, a First of three parts lashed out at her hus- when he was laid off from seedy dance hall on the band for putting work Houston’s C&J Energy outskirts of Houston. By Katherine Blunt above their marriage. Services during the recent It was 1978, and Tommy McGinty booked a oil bust. Unemployed for Brown lay dying from a he divorce room at a La Quinta on months and short on op- shot to the heart after a papers took the Southwest Freeway, tions, he went back to late-night brawl over a Vickie a few blocks from Lake- school, earned an MBA girl. McGinty by wood, and drove south and tried a different in- The gunman — known Tsurprise. for more than10 hours to dustry before finding an- as Bubba — fled in his Distraught and alone af- see Osteen in person on other opportunity in ener- Thunderbird, leaving be- ter 22 years of marriage, a balmy May Sunday. gy with a Louisiana chem- hind the weapon. she turned to friends Again, she felt a connec- ical supplier in the boom- But that morning, be- and family — and to a tion, even in an arena ing Permian Basin. fore detectives even fin- stranger with a soothing full of unfamiliar faces. The company, Centuri- ished interviewing the voice and a sunny mes- Vickie McGinty moved to Houston from Wichita, She knew she’d be back. on Technologies, offered a witnesses, Bubba re- sage. Kan., to worship at Lakewood Church. This is how Osteen six-figure salary, free turned, his face still She had discovered has become the nation’s housing for a year, and a bloody from the fight. He Joel Osteen’s sermons a most ubiquitous pastor company car. But Garcia, was arrested on the spot few months earlier. Now, heard him preach from speaking directly to her. and one of its wealthiest. 33, still hesitated, unsure and eventually sent to she set her television the stage of Houston’s “Some people, the only He has earned the alle- about moving far from the prison for manslaughter. and car radio to his Lakewood Church. thing that’s holding giance of the hopeless, state’s population centers Forty years later, the broadcasts. His voice be- “You have a backbone them back from a the doubtful and the and the diversions they of- derringer showed up on a came a constant pres- made of steel.” healthy marriage, from downtrodden with a cre- fer to young professionals. vacant floor of the flooded- ence, urging her to focus “A ll you have to do is good relationships, from do of beguiling simplici- “I knew how remote it is out courthouse. No one on a bright future in- believe.” a promotion, is their ty: Don’t dwell on the out here,” Garcia said. seems to know how it got stead of the clouded Listening to a sermon mouth,” he said. past. Think positive. Be a “There’s not another in- there, or how it ended up past. titled “Tame Yo ur The Wichita, Kan., victor, not a victim. dustry out here if things go in a box full of bloody “God is arranging Tongue,” she felt as homemaker thought of A self-described “en- south. It’s either sink or Guns continues on A6 things in your favor,” she though Osteen was all the times she had Osteencontinues on A14 Housing continues on A11 SPORTS SPECIAL SECTION HERofOES Astros fall HARVEY School to Red Sox Presented by report card AL Pitcher of the Month See what grade your Justin Verlander gets a child’s school gets as no-decision as Boston Recovering from mold we crack the books rallies for a 5-4 win. exposure, volunteer has no open to study the PAGE C1 regrets. PAGE A20 area’s schools. 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Evans Setbacks, even painful ones, said Osteen stays on the right are the Almighty’s way of bring- courager,” he rarely addresses side of the law. ing out the best in people, Os- or even acknowledges the fun- But he views Osteen’s mes- teen says. damental mysteries of Chris- sage, with its promise that God “God wouldn’t have allowed it tianity, let alone such conten- will fulfill the needs and desires if it was going to keep you from tious issues as same-sex mar- of the faithful, as misleading. your destiny,” he declared on a riage or abortion. Instead, he ex- “He’s a pitchman, selling con- recent Sunday. “Shake off a vic- horts listeners to take charge of geniality and empty promises in tim mentality and have a victor their destinies and confront the name of God,” Evans said. mentality.” whatever “enemies” they face — “A ll you get is an empty box of At the start of the service, the debt collectors, clueless bosses, hope for a better life someday.” arena’s overhead lights fade to a grim medical diagnoses, loneli- Osteen responds that build- soft glow. The choir fills the ris- ness. ing a personal fortune is not in ers flanking the stage. An in- In an era of bitter cultural and conflict with his belief that God house band rides an orchestra political divisions, he has rede- wants all who worship Him to lift to appear behind the pulpit. fined what it means to be evan- prosper. He casts Lakewood’s The music swells as the last of gelical by dispensing with the expert use of marketing and me- thousands of congregants bad news and focusing solely on dia as the contemporary equiva- choose their plush seats. Osteen the good. His vanilla creed has lent of shouting from the moun- climbs the stage, raising a fist to proved irresistible, especially to taintop. And he notes that mil- rally the congregation in wor- those down on their luck. lions of people find solace and ship. He looks straight into the Lakewood is the nation’s larg- strength in his sermons. Vickie McGinty says that now she’s “one of those people, hands camera to welcome those watch- est church, attracting as many as “I’ve outlasted the critics and up, singing loudly” during services at Lakewood Church.