Pastor Larry Ragland apologizes after GOP congressman disputes UFO briefing claims: 'I want to own it'

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, May 06, 2026

A Charismatic pastor apologized Wednesday after a Republican congressman disputed his claim that he called into a private meeting with pastors about UFOs to warn that the government is planning to claim aliens created humans and invented Christianity.

Larry Ragland, who serves as senior pastor of Solid Rock Church in Birmingham, Alabama, issued a video statement clarifying that he conflated his own opinions with those of Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., in a recent viral clip.

The viral clip showed Ragland claiming a "very well-known congressman from Missouri" called in to a recent meeting with a group of pastors about UFOs to suggest that so-called extraterrestrials are part of a demonic conspiracy to deceive humanity.

"On speakerphone, this sitting, powerful member of Congress said ... They are preparing to tell us that they are from another dimension, that they are our creator, and that these beings — these aliens, whatever you want to call them — they were the ones that seeded us here, there is no such thing as God, Jesus was invented by them, the Bible was invented by them," Ragland said.

The viral clip identified the member of Congress as Burlison, a devout Christian who serves on the U.S. House Oversight subcommittee that has been investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).

Burlison, who has been at the forefront of calling for government disclosure regarding UAPs and related phenomena, responded to the clip of Ragland by clarifying in a late-night X post on Tuesday that he is unaware of what UAPs are and was simply urging Christians at the meeting to base their worldviews on what the Bible actually says.

I have had many people ask me to respond to what the internet has said about what a person has said what he says that I said. Really?!
I would remind people to listen to what I have already stated publicly. Which is basically the following:
I do NOT know what the strange objects…

— Eric Burlison (@EricBurlison) May 6, 2026

"I have had many people ask me to respond to what the internet has said about what a person has said what he says that I said. Really?! I would remind people to listen to what I have already stated publicly," Burlison wrote.

"I do NOT know what the strange objects in the skies are and I certainly do NOT know their origins. I was asked to call in by phone to a conference/meeting of theologians. I could not tell you all that was said at that meeting because I was not there and did not hear much of what was said," he continued.

"When I had a chance to speak, I expressed my views, which is that we Christians tend to get dug into our personal worldviews even if they have nothing to do with what has actually been written in the Bible."

"It would be wise for Christians to stick to what the Bible says, and not what they think it says. If, and that is a big IF, disclosure occurs of any type, then it will be all the more important for us Christians to be educated in our own Scriptures. Until that time, I will continue to seek the truth whatever it may be. Thank you for your attention to this matter," he added.

Ragland's Wednesday statement confirmed Burlison's post while apologizing to him personally, noting the congressman "called in to encourage us and to thank us pastors for the work that we're doing."

"In that moment, I began to state things that I have always said — that is my opinion ... and all it is, is my opinion — that when this disclosure comes out, it will be spun that the aliens have always been here, that they seeded us, that they created the first religion and all of that," said Ragland, whose YouTube channel is replete with videos about aliens.

Addressing the Eric Burleson video and the Pastor's meeting. Setting the record straight. My apology. pic.twitter.com/WiHojJmWCf

— Larry Ragland (@larryragland) May 6, 2026

"I should have stopped and paused and said, 'And this part is my opinion,' and in the heat of that, I didn't," he continued. "I want to make it very clear that Eric Burlison did not say those words. Those were my words, and I want to own it, and I want to apologize directly to Congressman Burlison."

The clip to which Burlison responded was one of many that have gone viral in recent days of Charismatic pastors opining about their alleged meeting regarding UFOs with U.S. officials, who reportedly warned them to prepare their churches for disclosure.

Joseph Z, a Charismatic pastor of the online-based Red Church whose books promise to "unlock spiritual insights," claimed that the meeting took place in February, shortly before President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to declassify information related to UAPs. He also alleged that six UAPs followed his airplane home following the "disclosure meeting."

Alan DiDio, another Pentecostal pastor from North Carolina whose books and ministry focus heavily on demons and his interpretation of the End Times, wrote on X Tuesday that "the news is true."

"I was brought into a private meeting with other pastors. Phones off. No recordings. We were warned: Disclosure is coming … and many will be unprepared for what follows," claimed DiDio.

During an interview with Joseph Z, DiDio noted that both he and Joseph Z were part of "a clandestine meeting in the woods" about UFOs at an undisclosed Airbnb in Tennessee, and went on to lay out his theory that "globalists have a plan" to bring humanity under a false, one-world religion.

Perry Stone, a prominent Tennessee-based Pentecostal evangelist, claimed in an April 27 YouTube video recirculating in recent days that an unnamed pastor friend told him about the UFO meeting. He placed the story within the framework of his dispensational premillennial eschatology that features belief in a pre-tribulational rapture, an Islamic Antichrist and a third Jewish temple purified by red heifers.

Stone, who suggested government authorities might attempt to cover up the rapture by blaming it on an "alien invasion," also recommended the annotated reference Bible of the late Pentecostal minister Finis Jennings Dake, whose teachings have been influential among Pentecostal and Charismatic leaders despite accusations of heresy.

The claims from the Charismatic pastors prompted skepticism from some Christians, such as Lakepointe Church senior pastor Josh Howerton and New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, who questioned why seemingly all of the pastors involved in the supposedly important Airbnb meeting in Tennessee were Pentecostal.

"Category of weird things I'd like to understand: Why someone affiliated with or pretending to be affiliated with the U.S. government decided to rent a rural Airbnb to one-shot a group of Pentecostalist pastors with a very specific theory of UFOs," Douthat wrote.

"The charismatic 'pastors' claiming they have been in touch with high-ranking government officials, telling them to get ready for a major disclosure on aliens, are already backtracking on their claims," wrote evangelist Justin Peters.

"I'm shocked — shocked I tell you — that pastors who falsely claim to hear from God and who manufacture fake miracles would also falsely claim to have been the recipients of top secret government intelligence about (ahem) aliens."

Burlison's office did not respond to The Christian Post's request for comment. His Tuesday night X post was preceded by a post from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who said the online rumors about Burlison and the pastoral meeting had gotten out of hand.

"It's really unfortunate to see people trying to spin stuff for clicks. Fear mongering, or in some cases straight up lying, never works," said Luna, who serves with Burlison on the subcommittee investigating UAPs and claimed last year that lawmakers have seen evidence of "interdimensionals."

UFOs, so-called extraterrestrials, interdimensionals and related occult phenomena have increasingly emerged as topics of discussion on influential podcasts and among prominent officials in recent months. Within the past week, both Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel have promised the imminent release of UFO-related files that Trump called "very interesting."