» Chron: Jay Bakker, son of Tammy Faye, meets with Osteen (Claudia Feldman)

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The visit to Lakewood was part of a nationwide effort called The American Family Outing, which aims to build bridges between traditional and nontraditional church families.

In the end, Bakker said, Osteen was most gracious, had chairs reserved for the LGBT community Sunday morning and made time to meet after the 11 a.m. service.

During their chat, the two men agreed to disagree.

"I don't think homosexuality is a sin, and they do," Bakker said, "but it was very nice of Joel to introduce me to his family. I met Joel's wife and mother, and they were just great. ... I'm really grateful."

Don Iloff, Lakewood's chief of communications, agreed the visits and meetings went well.

"Dodie Osteen, Joel's mother, wanted to meet Jay," Iloff said.

I think there's a lot to be gained from having discussions on how those of us who may not necessarily agree with Bakker/Soulforce's views about how we can still be a welcoming place to people who, unfortunately, have too many good reasons to believe they aren't welcomed in God's house. The more doors that are opened, the better. The more that are closed, not so much.