Former megachurch pastor Rob Bell told TV host Oprah Winfrey that he believes Christian churches will become even more irrelevant if they fail to embrace gay relationships and that he sees the Christian umbrella becoming more favorable of homosexuality in the very near future.

When Winfrey asked when the church will come on board with same-sex relationships, Bell, the former pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan, said that he believes that the time is "close" and that "we're just moments away from the church accepting it," according to the Christian Post.

"I think culture is already there and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense, when you have in front of you flesh-and-blood people who are your brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles, and co-workers and neighbors, and they love each other and just want to go through life with someone," Bell said on OWN's "Super Soul Sunday."

Winfrey, who seemed somewhat surprised by this response, indicated that she has spoken with pastors who hold a very different view.

"You sound really progressive to me," she said, with Bell's wife, Kristen, chiming in to note that, while some churches are moving forward to embrace same-sex relationships, others are "regressing" and digging their heels in.

Watch the dialogue at the 29:00 mark below:

Bell and his wife appeared on the show to discuss their new book, "The ZimZum of Love: A New Way of Understanding Marriage." The former preacher has a history of stirring theological controversy.

(H/T: Christian Post)