The pastor for Christian “Fixer Upper” hosts Chip and Joanna Gaines has responded to a recent Buzzfeed article accusing his church and possibly the HGTV personalities that attend it of being anti-gay.
“Absolutely not,” Pastor Jimmy Seibert told Fox News’ Todd Starnes when asked point-blank if his church is against same-sex marriage. “We are not only not anti-gay, we are just pro-helping people in their journey to find out who God is and who He has made them to be.”
“For us — our heart has always been to love Jesus, preach the word of God and help people in their journey,” Siebart added, citing people from all walks of life attend his masses.
Buzzfeed’s Kate Aurthur posted a story earlier this week titled, “Chip And Joanna Gaines’ Church Is Firmly Against Same-Sex Marriage.” The sub-hed reads: “Their pastor considers homosexuality to be a ‘sin’ caused by abuse — whether the ‘Fixer Upper’ couple agrees is unclear.”
Aurthur and BuzzFeed attempted to get comment from HGTV and the Gaines’, but neither returned those requests.
When reached by phone, their Antioch Community Church’s communications director pointed the reporter toward the church’s website under “beliefs,” where it states, “Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime,” she wrote.
Per Aurthur’s research, Seibert, who founded the church 17 years ago, has taken and maintained a hard line in considering homosexuality a sin. He also allegedly subscribes to conversion to a heterosexual lifestyle as an option and choice.
In a statement to TheWrap, a spokesperson for HGTV said, “We don’t discriminate against members of the LGBT community in any of our shows. HGTV is proud to have a crystal clear, consistent record of including people from all walks of life in its series.”
“Fixer Upper” is one of the network’s most popular programs. In addition to their television job of remodeling old homes in the Waco, Texas area, Chip and Joanna Gaines run a successful home store and are now best-selling authors.
Several HGTV series, such as “House Hunters” and “Property Brothers,” have featured same-sex couples — “Fixer Upper” has not.