Posted on 04/17/2012 9:54:52 AM PDT by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
Joel Osteen was in the Nation’s Capital last night. The popular pastor of Houston’s Lakewood Church threw out the first pitch at a baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the visiting Houston Astros.
Osteen, who boasts the nation’s largest congregation, running more than 43,000 worshippers through his megachurch every weekend, will return to D.C. at the end of the April when he holds his fourth annual “Night of Hope” at National’s Park.
Not since evangelist Billy Graham has an American pastor so regularly filled arenas and stadia throughout the country.
Osteen finds the ballpark an ideal backdrop for a spirit-filled evening of “hope, worship and encouragement.” After all, he said, “Baseball’s about perseverance and letting go of the night before when it didn’t work out.”
Moreover, he said, America’s Favorite Pastime is “about family and spending time together.”
Of course, Pastor Osteen, blessed with a successful television ministry, highly-favored with several best-selling books, could not have risen to such prominence as a faith leader without attracting his share of haters.
In fact, more than a few of those actually hail from the faith community.
Like Michael Horton, a professor at Westminster SeminaryCalifornia, who accused Osteen of “heresy” on “60 Minutes” because of the way the Christian pastor teaches the Gospel.
Like Robert Liichow, founder of Discernment Ministry International, who disparaged Osteen’s uplifting sermons as “spiritual twinkies” that will “rot (believers) from the inside out.”
When I hear and read criticisms of Osteen by theologian types like Horton and Liichow, I am reminded of the Pharisees whom, the Gospels tell us, were critical of Jesus, who referred to them as a “brood of vipers.”
Osteen, who I met several years ago, did not go to seminary school, did not receive a Ph.D in theology. But he was trained up by his late father, John, who foundedLakewoodChurchback in 1959, who grew it into a congregation of 6,000, who launched its television ministry.
In 1999, John Osteen went to be with the Lord. And son Joel took over the ministry his father had started up 40 years earlier.
Joel Osteen doesn’t preach fire and brimstone, doesn’t preach hell and damnation like his daddy used to. And that’s why detractors, like Horton, like Liichow, think him spiritually soft.
It doesn’t bother Osteen. “I tell people all the time,” he said, “you can’t have faith if you don’t have hope.” Yes, he said, “People sometimes criticize me, (saying) ‘you are too positive.’ But you’ve gotta have hope. Even if it doesn’t happen today, I am one day closer to seeing it happen.”
I am persuaded that Joel Osteen has been anointed by the Lord to preach the Good News in our time. I believe his simple message of hope, worship and encouragement has a power that his detractors cannot fathom.
And I am convinced that the success Pastor Osteen has enjoyed – with his church, his television ministry, his books and his stadium events – are a testament that the Holy Spirit is with him.
Here they come .....
hey Joel Osteen is great... if you like sermons that make you feel good about yourself... if you like to hear about how rich God wants to make you... if you don’t want to hear about any of that sin stuff... if you want to chant about your bible before the sermon but NEVER OPEN IT DURING THE SERMON...
...
If a building was on fire a NORMAL person would do anything he could to help those inside.
Joel would just yell up “hey everything’s fine!”
Here’s why Joel is wrong: The Bible is a book of positives AND negatives. If you don’t teach the WHOLE TRUTH then you aren’t teaching the truth at all.
People need to know that their sin is keeping them from God! How can we say we love people if we neglect to share that fact???
Tony Robbins with a little scripture thrown in. A wolf with a politician’s smile and sincerity.
ROTFLMAOPIMP!
CHRISTIAN DIARIST
Since Mar 8, 2012
CHRISTIAN DIARIST hasn’t created an about page.
I smell OZONE!
How can a person carry out the Great Commission if he can’t even give a quick, firm reply as to whether Jesus is the only way to heaven?
Joel Osteen will fit right in with those folks in DC. His version of the gospel is much like the democrats’ version of the US Constitution.
JP is a lay Christian. He has more than a quarter-century of media experience.
His writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Washington Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune, among other newspapers.
He has appeared on a number of network news programs including ABC’s “Good Morning America,” CBS’s “The Early Show,” ABC’s “This Week,” PBS’s “NewsHour,” CNN, C-SPAN, CNBC and MSNBC.
And he doesn’t do ozone.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.