Posted on 12/07/2007 12:06:38 PM PST by Alex Murphy
It would seem that penning a Christian best-seller can't compete with a flap about how an actress looks in a bikini.
Except in Texas.
Readers of People magazine in Texas will find a big picture of Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen and his wife, Victoria, on the cover of the Dec. 17 issue that lands at the nearest grocery store checkout line today.
The rest of the country gets a photo of Jennifer Love Hewitt creating a stir about whether she looks chubby on the beach. Osteen's photo will have a smaller spot on the national cover.
It is clear Osteen is a household name beyond Houston because of his television ministry and books, said People's managing editor Larry Hackett. But body image, weight-loss and television stardom remain People's bread and butter, he said.
Placing Osteen — author of Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day, which was released in October with a printing of 2.5 million — on the cover in Texas was a chance to reach beyond the movie star or crime scene cover story.
"It is a real change," Hackett said. "It is a way to see if we can find new subjects for the cover that are not part of this Hollywood celebrity group of people."
Sharing a cover with a woman in bikini also was a change of pace, even for a pastor interested in preaching beyond the choir, said Lakewood spokesman Don Iloff.
"This is a first for us," he said.
The good news for her career is that she’s on the cover. The bad news is they used an exploitive photo of someone who has engaged in no criminal or immoral activity with the intent to jeer her.
As they say, there is no such thing as bad exposure.
America’s Smiling Cheshire Cat Preacher.
The rest of the country gets a photo of Jennifer Love Hewitt creating a stir about whether she looks chubby on the beach.
Jennifer L. H.? Last I remember, she could stand to put on some extra poundage.
Yeah, I'm sick of seeing Joel Osteen.
Wow! People Magazine. “Youve come a long way, baby”
I heard the actress was complaining about that bikini pix. Maybe I’m just out of it but I don’t think it’s that bad of a picture.
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