When Osteen woke up this morning, he had no idea what the day would bring.
"Did Joel resign? I thought, 'What is that all about?'" he said.
He was at the gym, and his phone began ringing off the hook. It was all part of hoax on the Internet, including YouTube and Twitter.
"I still have my faith. Nothing has changed," Osteen said. "The building was full on Sunday."
The hoaxter claims Osteen resigned from the mega church he's led the last 14 years -- a move reportedly prompted by his decision to leave the Christian faith due to his own "lack of faith."
It was all an Internet hoax that went beyond a fake church website. It also reported the news on bogus websites and a bogus Twitter page.
Osteen's assistant says they took more than 500 calls from around the world.
"I'm not angry. I don't feel like a victim," Osteen said. "I think a lot of it is my personality, and I feel too blessed that life is too short to let things like this get you down."
While Osteen isn't sure if you'll hear about this incident in an upcoming sermon, he is using this time to teach.
"It's a part of our whole message. People can't stop you from your destiny," he said. "A bad break, someone doing you wrong; If you move forward in faith, God will turn it around and use it to your advantage."
Lakewood says their legal department is looking into the hoax and will decide on further action.
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