Posted on 02/13/2008 7:52:02 AM PST by Alex Murphy
Joel Osteen wants you to stand up straight. "Even many good, godly people have gotten into a bad habit of slumping and looking down," Mr. Osteen writes in his best-selling self-improvement tract Become a Better You. "[Y]ou need to put your shoulders back, hold your head up high, and communicate strength, determination, and confidence." After all, "We know we're representing Almighty God. Let's learn to walk tall."
Mr. Osteen is the pastor of Houston's Lakewood Church, a Pentecostal congregation recently named the largest in the country by Outlook magazine, hosting some 47,000 souls in the former Compaq Center, where the Houston Rockets used to play. Every Sunday, he broadcasts a running string of similar homespun nuggets of wisdom while beaming incandescently before a television audience of millions. And each of those sermons kicks off with Mr. Osteen's patented chant, with those 47,000 voices declaring, "This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I do what it says I can do," and building to an oddly colorful climax: "I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living seed of God, and I will never be the same. Never, never, never. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name. Amen."
The chant is about as close as Mr. Osteen's relentlessly upbeat preaching ever comes to a theological doctrine, and it captures many of the key themes behind his runaway appeal. There's the stark individualist ethos that lies behind the definition of Scripture as first and foremost an agent of identity change. There's the curiously infantile quality of both the act of the chant and its diction. Most of all, though, there's the vividly sexualized power ascribed to the Word of God, which serves as a sort of skeleton key
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
This man along with Joyce Meyer and Ken Copeland are preaching false doctrine and people are drinking it up all in the name of “feeling good” . Everything they say needs to be scrutinized under the light of scripture.
Wow, this guy really doesn’t like Joel Osteen.
Im far from what could be considered a devout Christian but for the life of me I cant find anything wrong with this:
“Even many good, godly people have gotten into a bad habit of slumping and looking down,” Mr. Osteen writes in his best-selling self-improvement tract Become a Better You. “[Y]ou need to put your shoulders back, hold your head up high, and communicate strength, determination, and confidence.” After all, “We know we’re representing Almighty God. Let’s learn to walk tall.”
That is not what I am talking about.
For example when asked about Romney’s religion ( this has nothing to do with politics ) he said that as far as he was concerned he felt certain that Romney was a Christian. When he was pressed about specific Mormon beliefs ( like God being a man once and Jesus and Lucifer being brothers ) he back peddled and said he had not researched it much and was not suppose to pass judgment. Utter hogwash. The judgment he needs to pass is not to validate a religion with so many differences to Christianity as equal.
Here are three other area the Word of Faith movement ( Osteen ) believe.
#1 teaching Faith as a “force” like Star Wars and man can control it with his will
#2 teaches promotes man (and Satan) to godhood and demotes Christ
#3 that Christ became “satanic” on the cross and was “born again” in Hell
Osteen should be called out and not praised.
Get used to it. There will always be a religious guru/grifter to fill _the needs_ of the emotionally and spiritualy immature. Like some children, there are those who require the bottle for quite some time. The ones who are ready for strong meat say, “I’m outta here.”
Don’t forget Benny Hinn. They are all part of this ‘prosperity gospel/seed faith’ crapola. They take in millions from duped people and are just slimy, slimy people. There is a very thin veneer of Christianity and the rest is a pep talk and their ‘opinions’. It’s more like watching a secular ‘power of positive thinking’ talk with a tiny smattering of 1 or two unconnected verses of Scripture mentioned briefly. The key behind all these people is that they are not well-trained.
Joyce Meyers grew up in what is now the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. She ditched it when she realized she’d never be a pastor there and that their doctrine was too strict. Osteen has no formal training to give him a solid foundation. It’s not that people cannot have a good understanding of Scripture or be able to explain doctrine and concepts to others, these people are examples of why good study and training is important, otherwise you can end up with bad doctrine preached and charlatans deceiving those that trust them.
***********
Careful folks... please...
Are WE not getting reeled in a little here??
The Lord clearly calls us away from judging others...
(Matthew 7:1)
Paul sends similar thoughts to the church by the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:4ff)
I am not a follower or fan of Lakewood or its popular young pastor....
Yet we are slamming this man's ministry philosophy and raiding his tool-box with extraordinary disdain...
I would submit that he has discerned his calling... and is using his gifts and abilities just as each of us has our own God-given stuff...
While we may not agree... or perhaps we vehemently disagree...
Is it your/our/anyone's place to call an ordained minister a false prophet??....or worse?
Is that not crossing the line in our own Scripturall outlook and walk of faith??
1. Jesus has promised that in the end, the wheat and the tares would be separated and appropriately dealt with...
(Matthew 13:24ff).... and...
2. Jesue also promised that anyone who causes a little child to stumble would be severely dealt with?
(Matthew 18:5ff)....and
3. NT Scripture tells us that a railing accusation... even against our adversary... is inappropriate in God's sight?
(Jude 9)...and finally
4. That if we are offended by a brother, there remains a 3-step process that begins with private communication, and continues through the faithfulness and encouragement of reliable witnesses... BEFORE... we "tell it"... to the church or anywhere and everywhere else?
(Matthew 18:15-17)
I wonder how many of us posting here have made the effort...
Or the call.. before hammering away?
Ergo...
Their are many expressions and gifts and ministry settings that may not suit you nor I....
There are various servants, leaders and peoples, in their own callings and places, with God-given ministry gifts that give very believer a place... a home, if you will.. in the Body...
A place to live... serve... and minsiter to others... through AL of he church....
In the Spirit, compassion, and power of the Kingdom!
Soooo.. I said all that to say this...
Maybe Pastor Osteen, or Joyce Meyer, or Ken Copeland...
Don't suit you at all... none of them....
But God may be using them... at this point on their journey opf faith....
In all of their fallible humanity and all of their doctrinal imperfections...
Yet underneath all of that... their spiritual man lives and speaks and serves and blesses God through worship and the obedience of their heart through care and love of others...
Some of these mnistry gifts may not be as mature, expertly studious.., or as far along their journey as you seem to be...
But may well be eternal salvation and life-giving ministry to many that find their work in the Gospel...
...Resonating in their hearts by the worth and power of the Holy Spirit...
(Whether it be in mighty cathedrals or a small store-front!)...
Blessings to all...
It is also why all Christians should spend time reading the word so they can be prepared tell the difference between snake oil salesmen and true messengers and that applies to all Christian faiths and not just take someone’s word for it because he/she has a pulpit.
It is one reason we left the Methodist Church after many years once they started turning a blind eye to certain behavior and biblical doctrines.
Do Christians represent God?
Do Christians have a heavenly, spiritual blood line?
No and no.
We live to serve him.
We descend from God’s creation and are not divine.
We should as Christians however show others the false teachers or give them the tools themselves to expose these people so they do not lose their chances at an everlasting life.
2Cr 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
Seems to me that If Christ represents God and we represent Christ, then we also represent God to the degree that we represent Christ.
1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
1Jo 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
Hmmmmm.....if God is the father (spiritually) of the believer, then is certainly makes sense that the beliver has a spiritual bloodline to God.
How does a Christian lose their chances of eveerlasting life?
By not believing in the true Christ but instead some happy-go-lucky character that bridges the gap between what he really is and what makes them money and makes them feel good.
If you feel they are true believers then power to you.
We cannot represent God since he is holy and we are not we can only ask for forgiveness and receive grace via His Son to be his in presence for eternity.
Maybe spiritual? I do not like the phrase bloodline. We can be connected to Him spiritually via the Holy Spirit if we believe in Christ and receive His grace, if not we are then separated from God for eternity.
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
The only condition is for one to confess and believe, then that one shall (absolute tense) be saved.
It doesn’t imply that the salvation is contingent upon buying into feel good hype or not.
You don’t have any standing to judge whether or not any of those people are saved and they can’t lose their salvation by going to that church.
Looks like the Osteen group actually is closer to the Bible than you are.
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.