Posted on 01/30/2005 11:57:09 AM PST by Zack Nguyen
HOUSTON -- The pastor once startled his own mother by exhorting the women in his congregation to shop at Victoria's Secret to improve their marriages. Last weekend, his glamorous musical director led four services in a hot pink coat and black spiky boots, stomping around the stage and singing the praises of Jesus in rousing, original rock sounds.
No one needed to know the words. The lyrics scrolled high above, across three gigantic screens, as a dynamic 10-piece orchestra and 100-person choir shook the church. The captivated flock of 8,000 stood singing for 30 minutes.
And then, not unlike in a Las Vegas production, the stars of this show bounded up to the pulpit of Lakewood Church. Pastor Joel Osteen and his wife, Victoria, were greeted like royalty.
Osteen is called "the Smiling Preacher," and he is perhaps the hottest commodity in the world of multimedia religion these days. His is the new face of Christianity, upbeat and contemporary, media-smart with a heightened sense of entertainment and general appeal.
The charismatic, nondenominational church he inherited from his late father six years ago has quadrupled in size, and today is the largest and fastest-growing in the country, welcoming upward of 30,000 visitors a week, according to Church Growth Today, a research center that follows church trends. Osteen's television broadcast is shown in every U.S. market, reaching 95 percent of the nation's households, and in 150 countries.
This summer, he will move his church into Houston's 16,000-seat Compaq Center, former home of pro basketball's Houston Rockets. The $92 million renovation is, Osteen says, "a leap of faith" that if he builds it, they will come.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
So what was his sermon about, did he quote scripture?
He opened with forgiveness, and not being consumed by bitterness, etc. That often it is the act of faith in God and his command to forgive that we are able to forgive. The message was mostly on doing the will of God. Doing what God wants you to do... some are teachers, preachers, etc. It was about entering into God's rest and peace by being in His will.
My southern baptist church preaches simple Scripture-based motivational messages, notably devoid of politics and hot-button policy issues. The assumptions the Washington Post makes of red America are absolutely stunning.
As for Joel Osteen, he does quote scripture and is Biblically based. Every time I've seen him he has mentioned the need to believe in Christ as one's personal savior or face the consequences. For a long time, I thought he was Pentacostal.
New Age philosophies often borrow Christian lingo, biblical ideas and teachings, and even parts of the Bible itself. And most New Agers don’t deny the existence of Jesus Christ or that He’s God’s Son. On top of that, New Age ideas appeal to a hunger for spiritual experience and the yearning for a better tomorrow. These are valid desires and worthy goals. But there’s one gigantic problem for Christians: This whole movement rejects the real God of the Bible.
http://www.family.org/teenguys/breakmag/features/a0004462.html
I agree completely. Every time I have seen him on TV (and I got to meet them both recently), he has ALWAYS given the LORD the praise and credit and encouraged us to do the same. Besides emphasizing that Jesus is THE LORD and Saviour, Joel's overall message is "Give THANKS [to the LORD] in ALL circumstances..." (1 Thes 5:18).
Osteen consistently tells people to get into a bible based church and to read the bible.
The link was from Focus on the Family. I find it hard to believe that they are referring to Osteen.
I don't know - I could use a good laugh! (Pay the preacher ! )
I love to listen to Joel Osteen. I just read his new book, Your Best Life Now, and I strongly recommend it.
I would love to find a church like this one in Omaha.
I agree with you, the New Age accusation is a crock.
That being said, his sermons are hardly theologically meaty, and he's being paid WAY too much money.
Also, the gospel is about salvation. NOT about reaching one's goals, acheiving success, or financial prosperity...things he 'preaches' about WAY too frequently.
Yes, I caught that too. It's a key point in understanding the way the left thinks. The mainstream press always seems surprised when an evangelical minister doesn't talk about politics from the pulpit. The fact is that the local church is not, and has never been, the center of evangelical political activity. (The Civil Rights movement may be an exception.)
I have been intimately involved in this sort of thing, and I can tell you that the 2004 election was the first time I heard stories of large numbers of churches doing voter registration and reminding their people to vote.
The fact is that the press believes evangelicalism to be a primarily political phenomenon. That couldn't be further from the truth. THe press thinks this way because they are secular liberals, and to them everything is political. It's hardly worth reporting on if it isn't political. Leftists see politics as the Way, Truth and Life.
The truth is that Christianity is a spiritual phenomenon with political implications. But we'll be around whether we have any impact on politics or not.
I think the article says that Osteen spent a year at Oral Roberts and then left.
As far as I understand it, there is no real educational requirement in the Pentecostal/charismatic church. Perhaps Assembly of God has seminaries, I don't know. But I've never heard of a Pentecostal/charismatic seminary, other than Oral Roberts maybe.
Lakewood, while nondenominational, is definitely charismatic.
What is "New Age" about Osteen? Just because he has a contemporary service (I don't care for that kind of worship), it doesn't mean that he isn't Biblically based. If the WashPost used that term, I think it is merely a lack of understanding on the Post's part. If you used it, I'd like to know why.
The Washington Post says he attended Oral Roberts University, but did not graduate. He was ordained at Lakewood Church.
Thanks
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