Religion/ Spirituality

"If they die ... they die."

Yes, a now-infamous Louisiana pastor got all "Rocky IV" on us ... saying, if any of his church members die from the virus, they'll have done so in the name of God and freedom.

Tony Spell, leader of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, tells TMZ ... he thinks true Christians do not mind dying from COVID-19. He insists that what they fear instead is living in fear. As he puts it, "People that can prefer tyranny over freedom do not deserve freedom."

He's also not flinching at medical experts suggesting most of the nation will eventually contract the virus, even if only mildly. Spell's reaction is, "Let's get on with life."

As you've probably heard ... Spell's been defiant of Louisiana's shelter-at-home order. He opened his church last week for Palm Sunday where over 1,000 members attended. He had previously been arrested and charged for violating the state mandate.

Watch the video, Spell is sticking to his guns for Easter Sunday too. He was totally unswayed by our producer suggesting a different approach.

Joel Osteen's got famous friends in various places, but they all have a shared goal -- making his Easter Sunday service an inspirational, and virtual, one for the ages.

The Lakewood Church pastor told us how he happened to get Mariah Carey, Kanye West and Tyler Perry on board for this coming Sunday. We know Joel's partnered with Kanye before, but he told us he's also old pals with Mariah.

He says MC actually reached out to him about doing a special tribute to healthcare workers and first responders. Watch the clip, he revealed what she's got planned.

Osteen admitted he has less info on what Kanye's going to do with his famed Sunday Service choir ... except he's been told they will be socially distancing. No small feat for that choir.

As for Perry ... Joel says he's a powerful speaker and a friend of megachurch church in Houston -- so he reached out to the movie mogul to deliver a specific message.

While Rev. O's been delivering his sermons online for several weeks -- just as he will on Easter -- we asked him about other preachers who've defied CDC guidelines for mass gatherings. He didn't defend or admonish them, but gave his own reasoning. Sounds like he's listening to experts, as well as his Big Boss.

BTW, quarantine life's brought a big, somewhat amusing, change for Joel. Check out Wednesday's "TMZ Live," because we got into it with him.

Joel Osteen's still going big with his Easter service amid the coronavirus pandemic, but of course -- for safety purposes -- all the big names he's recruited will be performing remotely ... for a virtual service.

Sources close to Osteen tell TMZ ... his Lakewood Church in Houston will welcome Kanye West, Mariah Carey and Tyler Perry on Easter Sunday to deliver messages of love and support to his massive audience.

Our sources say Mariah will be part of a special tribute to medical professionals and first responders putting their lives on the line in the battle against COVID-19. We're told she's going to sing her song "Hero" via webcam.

Perry's plan is to deliver words of encouragement to the viewers during this trying time, and Kanye will be back with his choir to provide music for the service ... all while practicing proper social distancing.

Our sources say Kanye and his Sunday Service crew will be performing in L.A. and it will be broadcast over Osteen's megachurch feed.

It's unclear if all these performances will be live or prerecorded, but either way ... it will be one of the most star-studded church events ever.

The Florida pastor who got hauled in by police for hosting a megachurch service despite quarantine and stay-at-home orders has FINALLY done the right thing ... he's closing the congregation.

The Tampa-area minister, Rodney Howard-Browne, is shutting his church down and will not hold another packed Sunday service. He explained the decision on his own podcast/telecast and his reasoning is pretty interesting.

RHB says he's closing the church to protect his followers from what he says is a "tyrannical" government, NOT the rapidly spreading and dangerous coronavirus.

The pastor also says he and his congregation have been the target of death threats ... and he's blaming the media for blowing the story out of proportion, while throwing the sheriff under the bus.

COVID-19 is playing a role in RHB's decision though ... he says he doesn't want protesters showing up who might be infected with the virus.

It's an interesting decision from RHB ... Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared churches an essential function, making them exempt from the stay-at-home mandate.

RHB's lawyer, Patrick Leduc, tells TMZ ... before the governor came out with the order, RHB had already made his decision not to hold the Sunday service out of respect for the authorities. The governor's order took them both by surprise.

The Florida pastor who got hauled in by cops for hosting a megachurch service despite quarantine and stay-at-home orders is doubling down ... insisting he did NOTHING wrong.

The Tampa-area minister is Rodney Howard-Browne, and he took to his own podcast/telecast shortly after being released Monday night to explain why he did what he did -- namely, put hundreds of people's lives at risk by hosting the service.

RHB has a lot to say, but the gist is that he was simply exercising his First Amendment right -- i.e., freedom of religion and separation of church and state. His logic is bizarre. Watch.

There's more though ... Rodney goes IN on the media, sounding very Trump-like by suggesting a lot of outlets are hyping the threat of coronavirus and fear-mongering to get everyone scared and panicked. BTW ... more than 800 people in the U.S. died Tuesday.

One interesting note ... it sounds like Rodney here thinks the charges he was brought in on -- which he incorrectly calls First Amendment violations -- will be resolved shortly.

He says he's willing to do interviews, but only once his lawyers and theirs (the county/state's) have a chat and put this matter to bed. He also talks TMZ a bit. 👀

One last thing ... the guy shows ZERO remorse for his actions, insisting he had no choice. Wrong again, Rod -- but go ahead and tell us why you think that is. We're listening ...

This is the clear and present danger ... people continuing to congregate -- squeezing into close quarters like sardines -- and that's exactly what happened Sunday at a Florida Church.

The River Church in Tampa was packed to the gills with worshipers who clearly were looking for hope. Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne, who presides over the megachurch and has been reportedly defiant over social distancing, has claimed he'll cure coronavirus just the way he did with Zika.

He has vowed he will never close his church ... despite every doctor and scientist saying social distancing is the only thing that will prevent the disease from spreading even more.

The Pastor boasted his place was white-glove clean, saying, “We brought in 13 machines that basically kill every virus in the place, and uh, if somebody walks through the door it’s like, it kills everything on them. If they sneeze, it shoots it down at like 100 mph. It'll neutralize it in split seconds. We have the most sterile building in, I don’t know, all of America.”

Howard-Browne said on March 17, "We are not stopping anything. I've got news for you, this church will never close. The only time the church will close is when the Rapture is taking place.”

The Pastor has peddled ridiculous theories in the past, but this takes the cake.

The scariest part ... all these people showed up elbow-to-elbow. If they contract the disease, they are the ones most likely to spread it, because they are clearly not practicing or understanding social distancing.

BTW ... Pastor Joel Osteen, who presides over the Lakewood Church in Houston, is doing virtual services to protect his congregation.

Churches in New York are steadfast in keeping their doors closed amid the coronavirus pandemic to continue slowing the spread ... despite President Trump's plan for an Easter revival.

TMZ has spoken with 9 NYC church leaders, and all of them are standing firm in vowing to keep their places of worship empty on April 12 holy day.

Reverend Peggy Clarke of Community Church New York tells us ... she considers Trump's push for Americans to attend church together in a couple weeks "stunningly unethical," adding "Easter is a celebration of love and victory over death. The best symbol of that will be empty churches on Easter Sunday."

Rev. James Ross Smith of The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin says while he's incredibly sad about not opening his doors on Easter, he shares Rev. Peggy's sentiment. Smith says ... "It is our responsibility and duty to take care of each other, and one of the ways we do that is by listening to the health experts."

Another leader we spoke with, Pastor Patrick Thompson of New City Church, has been personally affected by the pandemic -- he tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday after experiencing symptoms of a fever about a week ago, and is in self-quarantine.

Thompson says ... "We are focusing on our new reality. Church isn't just about gathering, it's about sending people out. Even if we get a go-ahead from the federal government, we will not meet in person on Easter for safety purposes."

The pastor tells us he was distributing meals to homeless shelters and senior centers with members of his church just days before he began feeling symptoms of the coronavirus. Thing is ... they were wearing masks and gloves, so it highlights how dangerous it would be for church members to congregate too soon ... especially with NYC being the epicenter of the COVID-19 onslaught.

All of these churches -- along with Church of St. Francis Xavier, Grace Church, Trinity Church Wall Street, Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Church of the Incarnation and Holy Family Catholic Church -- agree that Trump's push for a public Easter celebration isn't going to affect their decision to remain closed.

They may be preaching to the choir in NYC, but in other parts of the U.S. ... the President's goal to business as usual on Easter is gaining traction.

God help us.

Pastor Joel Osteen is still firing on all cylinders, albeit remotely, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but he's not about to commit to opening up for business on Easter Sunday, unless the "authorities" say it's safe.

Osteen appeared on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and said the Lakewood Church in Houston is going through what the rest of the country is experiencing. Everything's been unrooted, and we're finding new ways to do old things.

For Joel's part, he's doing online services, and he's shattering records ... so many people want in. So, we essentially asked if this shakes peoples' belief system. His answer is interesting.

As for going back to normal, Joel says it's gonna take time and he'll listen to the authorities and won't let people back in until it's safe. As you know, Trump said his hope is to pack the pews for Easter Sunday.

Our money's on other authorities -- like doctors and scientists.

It seemed inevitable, but TMZ has learned later Tuesday Joel Osteen and Kanye West will pull the plug on their big plan to throw a massive service at Yankee Stadium ... at least for the time being.

Sources involved in the production of the event tell us ... Osteen's people were in touch with the folks at the famed stadium, and we're told the Yankees are canceling events for the next 2 months, and that puts the Osteen/West service right in the middle.

We're told there really was no option, after Governor Cuomo put the brakes on any event with more than 50 people for the time being.

Our sources say Joel and Kanye are still determined to put the show on at Yankee Stadium ... but it will have to be some time in the future.

TMZ broke the story ... Joel will do a sermon and then Kanye will bring his choir to do their thing.

Joel Osteen's megachurch services will power through the coronavirus crisis -- which has officially been classified a pandemic -- meaning close to 50,000 people will gather to worship with him this weekend.

Sources close to Osteen and his Lakewood Church in Houston tell TMZ ... its 3 scheduled upcoming services -- one Saturday night and 2 Sunday -- are still on, with expected crowds of 16,000 at each service.

We're told the staff is taking recommended precautions, such as sanitizing surfaces and bathrooms and leaving doors propped open so guests don't have to touch them.

On top of that, our sources say church members and all potential attendees are being advised to stay home if they don't feel well, have traveled to areas affected by COVID-19 or been in contact with anyone who has.

We're told Lakewood's plans could change with the developing news, but as of right now ... it's church business as usual for Osteen and his congregation.

Joel's also set to hold a service in Jackson, Mississippi Friday for roughly 7,500.

As for Osteen's "America's Night of Hope" event at Yankee Stadium in May -- which, as we first reported, will feature Kanye West -- there are no plans to cancel or postpone that either.

However, our sources reiterate ... things could change with those plans too.