HOUSTON -- Six members of the controversial Church of Wells from East Texas appeared in a Harris County Courtroom Thursday morning. They're accused of criminal trespass at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.
We got a rare look inside the very private group when church members used the courthouse as their preaching ground.
It was an unusual sight in the hallway: six young men singing and preaching to the folks waiting for their court dates.
"Can you say that, my dear friend? Can you say the Lord Jesus Christ loved you?" church leader Jake Gardner said to the crowd.
Security eventually told them to quiet down.
The six men are members of the Church of Wells, from Wells, Texas. They're accused of yelling and causing a disturbance inside Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church this past Sunday. They were ushered out, arrested and charged with trespassing.
"We went there to disrupt the peace of that religious service because we don't believe that it is true religion," said Gardner.
The group follows a strict fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible and called Osteen a "false prophet," claiming he focuses too much on life on earth.
"He says your best life now. Christ preached your best life hereafter, that's the message of the gospel," said Gardner.
Sunday was the seventh time this year members of the Church of Wells have been to Lakewood. A judge told them Thursday that they have to stay away from the church and not attempt to have any contact with the Osteens while the case is pending.
"Now we just stand back and let God do his work," said Osteen.
The 70-member Church of Wells is considered by many to be a cult. But on Thursday, their leader disputed that and leveled the same charge against Lakewood.
"Not thus sayeth Joel Osteen, thus sayeth the Lord. That's a true church," said Gardner.
Lakewood did not want to comment on the group's statements in the courthouse. But a Lakewood spokesman said they take the disruption of their services seriously, and that the Church of Wells is known for protesting Christian churches with whom they don't agree.
You may also remember them from a recent high profile case when a young woman, Catherine Grove, briefly left the church then returned. Her parents say she is being brainwashed and kept from them.
Related story: 6 charged with trespassing at Lakewood
