Chip and Joanna Gaines' pastor has spoken out after the "Fixer Upper" stars came under fire for attending an evangelical church opposed to same-sex marriage.
In what has been dubbed a "witch hunt" against the Christian HGTV couple, Buzzfeed last week ran an article focused in on the views of the Gaines' pastor at Antioch Community Church, Jimmy Seibert, who in a sermon called homosexuality a "sin".
The controversial article focuses on the fact that Pastor Seibert, "takes a hard line against same-sex marriage and promotes converting LGBT people into being straight," but admits "whether the 'Fixer Upper' couple agrees is unclear."
In an interview with Fox News contributor Todd Starnes, Pastor Seibert said he will not back down regarding the truth of the Gospel - no matter how much criticism he receives from the radical left.
"Our definition is not the definition we made up," he said. "It's straight from the Scripture. One man, one woman for life. That's how God created us. That's what he has for us."
Seibert added, "Do we believe that God and his word is right and enough? As a believer, I need to do what's right and trust God with what's wrong. So when I have a biblical conviction about my lifestyle choices or how I should run my business or how I should run my home, we should be free to do that - to lovingly express our views to the world around us."
The pastor explained that while his church believes homosexuality is a sin - Antioch's webpage on "beliefs" reads, "Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime" - his congregation is by no means "anti-gay."
"We are pro-helping people in their journey to find out who God is and who He has made them to be," he said.
The pastor, who has referred to the Gaines as "dear friends", told Starnes he has exchanged texts with the "Fixer Upper" couple following the controversy, but wouldn't reveal their contents.
"People don't know what the Bible says anymore on issues of sexuality," says Seibert. "People don't know what God says on homosexuality or any other issue. I felt the need to say we are all a mess - but the fixed points were set by God - not us."
BuzzFeed has received significant criticism for its post from a number of conservative leaders, including Samaritan's Purse president Franklin Graham, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins and the Benham brothers.
"Chip and Joanna are a wonderful family, and Chip and Joanna are believers in Jesus Christ," said David Benham, who, along with his brother Jason lost his HGTV show over his pro-life and pro-marriage beliefs. "They're not anti-anything. They're pro-God. They're pro-Bible. They're pro-people. They're pro-Jesus...what's happening right now is a witch hunt."
In turn, while the Gaines have not addressed the outrage or spoken publicly about their views regarding same-sex marriage, Chip on Friday tweeted Ephesians 2:8, writing: "Its by grace u have been saved, through faith, & this is not from yourselves, its the gift of God. Not by works, so that no one can boast."
