Posted on 12/23/2005 4:39:24 AM PST by truthandlife
Victoria Osteen, the wife of Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen, said an incident that delayed a Continental Airlines flight for two hours earlier this week was "a minor misunderstanding."
Osteen posted a "Letter from Victoria" on the church's official Web site Wednesday, saying the Monday incident resulted from her choice "to remove myself from the situation."
Osteen left the plane, Continental Flight 1602, with her husband and their two children. The family took another flight to Vail, Colo., where they are taking a ski vacation.
A church spokesman said the family left the plane voluntarily.
However, FBI Special Agent Luz Garcia has said that the Osteens were asked to leave the jetliner after "an altercation."
Garcia also said that Victoria Osteen "failed to comply" with instructions from a flight attendant.
The FBI said the airline contacted the agency about the incident. The agency decided not to investigate.
Continental Airlines spokeswoman Julie King declined any further comment about the incident Thursday.
"There have been various accounts of an incident that occurred on one of our flights, and I have issued earlier statements about that," King said. "We can confirm that there are no remaining issues between Continental and those passengers. ... Both parties feel no further comment is necessary."
King declined to comment on Victoria Osteen's explanation of the incident.
In her letter, which can be read at at www.lakewood.cc, Osteen stated:
"Regardless of how some have portrayed the situation, please know that it was truly a minor misunderstanding and did not escalate into what you saw or read in the news. Contrary to those reports, it was my choice to remove myself from the situation. Nonetheless, it was a most unfortunate event and I truly regret that it happened."
Osteen's letter continued, "The last thing I would ever want to do is let any of you down. And I promise you that I did not act in any way that would cast a bad light on you, my family, Lakewood Church or our Lord Jesus Christ. I value the position that God has placed me in and I can assure you that I will always walk in love and integrity. While I am not perfect, I will always seek to be a peacemaker and seek the high road."
The incident apparently stemmed from a spilled liquid on Osteen's seat in the first class section of the airplane. A church spokesman said the spill was not cleaned up to Osteen's satisfaction, and the family left the plane voluntarily.
Joel Osteen is a nationally known author of self-help books, including the best-selling Your Best Life Now. He became pastor of Lakewood Church in 1999. The church, in the former Compaq Center, is one of the nation's largest with more than 30,000 weekly participants in church services.
Can't you get Bible's free? If it is good enough for the good book it should be good enough for his book. LOL
Abraham did not get his wealth by preaching. Ditto Solomon.
bump
So anyone who writes a book about Jesus should be condemned? By your standard, Christian bookstores should be condemned. People who print Bibles and make a profit should be condemned....
agreed
His books are sold in Walmart, Books A Million, Walden's, Sams, Amazon and just about anywhere that sells the top selling books. Lakewood is big but not big enough to make the New York Times Best Seller list. He's number 5 this week right behind Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. ;)
You don't know why people go to Lakewood any more than why people go to your church if you go to church. Where people decide to worship is usually a personal decision.
Where do you get that buying a specific preacher's book means that they are buying their way into heaven? I don't agree with everything Joel Osteen preaches but I do know that he preaches the gospel.
That statement would fit right in there too.
Good questions.
If you consider his messages preaching. I haven't heard him say to anyone repent of your sins or you're going to hell.
should we? 8^)
your link is dead...
I love the Salvation Army. It saved my brother's life. But there is plenty of politics and BS with the SA also, unfortunately.
So do I ... I am impressed that the Osteens did not turn this into a media circus / publicity stunt as many notable persons would have done.
I am not a member of his church, but Joel Osteen seems to be sincere, and practices what he preaches ... he has a good message ... makes a nice presentation. God Bless the Osteens.
You would think anyone would be just a little bit upset if their seat was wet on a thousand mile flight. Question is, how did the seat get wet? Was some airline employee expressing themselves?
I just looked it up with a Google search. Todd Bassett, CEO of the Salvation Army gets $13,000 per year plus housing.
I would believe her LONG before I believed anything the MSM ever said.
Even if they said the sun was shining in Arizona at high noon.
The only preachers who claim Christ descended into hell after His death on the cross are those who have departed from the Truth. If "most preachers are saying" what Joel Osteen says, you are listening to a group of deceivers. That it's a popular lie doesn't make it true.
You can read more about Osteen and his ilk at these links:
http://christianunplugged.com/judgingabook.htm
http://www.ccwonline.org/osteen1.html
http://www.apprising.org/archives/2005/10/the_truth_turne.html
And you can read my view on similar topics here
http://brogdensmuse.menofhonorministry.org/Apologetics.htm
The bottom line - let the Word of God (not the words of man) richly dwell in your mind.
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