Of the top ten, it looks like five excellent choices and five that are not so good.
I think this sums up the ridiculous nature of this article pretty well:
Is Joel Osteen more influential than George Bush? As much as Bush pisses me off lately, I think he's more influential than Joel Osteen.
Unless they mean "most influential on Christianity." But then, how is the Pope ranked below Sean Hannity? Because the Pope isn't in America? Then why is he ranked at all.
My only conclusion is that what the article REALLY means is:
"Quick, name a Christian!"... and the magazine has a very, very atypical selection of readers.
I mean, T.D. Jakes??? Here's what Wikipedia says:
"He currently is the pastor of The Potters House, a primarily African-American Pentecostal megachurch in Dallas, Texas, which has often been accused of Oneness Pentecostal doctrines. His church services and evangelistic sermons are broadcast on The Potters Touch, which airs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Other aspects of Jakes' ministry include an annual revival called "MegaFest", an annual women's conference called "Woman Thou Art Loosed", and gospel music recordings."
Um, my pastor told me to star away from loose women. :^D
They call him the black Billy Graham. Sounds much more like the black Jimmy Swaggart.
That list is a little scary to me!!!! Yikes!