Posted on 02/21/2014 6:03:50 PM PST by Gamecock
Full Title: Joel Osteen's $10.5 Million Mansion, Cross-Less Church and Other Surprising Facts About the Mega-Pastor
Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, and the bestselling author of books like Your Best Life Now and I Declare: 31 Promises to Speak Over Your Life, has been dubbed "the smiling preacher" due to his toothy smile and upbeat attitude. Here are a few facts about Pastor Osteen and his ministry you might not know.
1. Joel Osteen Met Victoria Osteen in a Jewelry Store
Pastor Osteen and his wife Victoria Osteen met in 1985 when he went to a jewelry store to buy a new battery for his watch. Osteen has shared the story about how he met his wife with the Lakewood Church family.
2. Joel Osteen Takes No Salary From Lakewood Church
People magazine reported in a 2007 feature on Pastor Osteen and his family that the megachurch pastor stopped taking a salary from his Houston church in 2005, as his book deals have proven to be lucrative. The same article reported that Osteen was paid an advance of $13 million for one book.
3. The Osteens Live in a Mansion
Houston CultureMap reported in 2010 that the Osteens moved into a home in the River Oaks area of Houston, Texas, that was valued at $10.5 million. The same article reported that the Osteens had kept a former residence valued at $2.9 million while listing a vacant lot near their former home for $1.1. million.
4. Lakewood Church Has No Cross
Pastor Osteen acquired Lakewood Church's new home at the former Compaq Center in 2005. The 16,000-seat arena is home to the nation's largest congregation (43,000 members) and underwent $95 million in renovations, according to a 2005 New York Times article. "Like many new evangelical churches, the building has no cross, no stained glass, no other religious iconography. Instead, it has a cafe with wireless Internet access, 32 video game kiosks and a vault to store the offering," the paper reported.
5. Joel Osteen Was an Extremely Nervous Public Speaker
Pastor Osteen told Esquire magazine earlier this year that he used to be an extremely nervous public speaker, although he does not show it nowadays manning the Lakewood Church pulpit. He overcame his fear and nervousness by pretending that his audience members were old basketball buddies from the local YMCA.
#20.
We need to get smarter commenting on the closed Osteen threads, so that they don’t get deleted, but those who understand will. A challenge.
To me, he’s more like one of those motivational speakers.
Osteen and his ostentatious life style is what turns people off to Christianity.
I believe the Gospels record Jesus saying it both ways.
‘Could’a told ya.
Didn’t Jesus say whomever isn’t against me is for me?
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+9:38-41
One Sunday afternoon a woman came into my wife’s place of work with her ten year old daughter. They had driven from Austin to see Osteen. She was giddy that her daughter got to shake his hand. There are lots of people who look at these frauds as their gods. The Shook brothers are also frauds.
Both Shooks and Osteen took over from their fathers. However, they all left the official faith of their fathers so they could make more money.
“Here is one of his funniest bits”
Thanks for posting that link. That is indeed THE funniest Sam Kinison bit ever, and one of the funniest standup bits ever too. My absolute favorite!
I so wish he had had a few more years to make us laugh. Nobody like him before and nobody like him since.
BINGO! We have a winner!
It is the prosperity gospel that really, really do turn people off to to the good news of Jesus.
But he is NOT helping people's lives because he is focusing their attention away from the Savior, and to man centered "betterness". In the end, that is very much hurting their lives.
Didn’t Jesus say whomever isn’t against me is for me?
Just because he uses the label Jesus does not mean that he is for Jesus. He isn't. He teaches a different God than that in scripture.
Joel is a motivational speaker and NOTHING more!
I have always wondered why we can't start daily threads with the same material and don't label them as devotionals, but maybe something like Daily Osteen debunking exercises.
LOL I so want to comment there
Joel has always given me the craps
A very worldly building, but can it be called a church?
There’s “worship” happening in the house. I don’t know who or what Osteen is worshipping but I’m sure it’s not the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Actually I already was forced to tithe to him when our homo mayor gave him a sweetheart deal on a taxpayer funded stadium ($7.5 million while we are building such palaces for $300 million).
"anyone who claims to be in the lightMessage - Call To Unity
but hates his brother is still in the dark;"
That's all he is. It is deceitful for him to advertise otherwise. My mother thinks the world of him (she has issues though) and she seems happier listening to him BUT it's a poor substitute for The Word. Some people are so hungry for the Word they'll accept anything in its place.
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