Free Republic

The 23rd Psalm rolled off the Rev. Jason Strand's tongue with soothing familiarity, the way it had since he memorized it as a boy. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters ..." But up on the 16-by-24-foot screens flanking Strand, the PowerPoint version displayed the updated words "quiet waters" instead of the "still waters" of Strand's memory. Amy Anderson noticed the problem instantly. She began scribbling notes in her three-ring binder, then flipped to a new page to catch up with what...

Lakewood Church in Houston has been named the largest and fastest-growing church in America, according to the 2004 Church Growth Today Study/Outreach magazine report published exclusively in the May/June issue of Outreach. Lakewood Church, founded by the late John Osteen in a feed store in 1959, is pastored by his son Joel Osteen. The congregation recently purchased and is renovating the Compaq Center, former home of the NBA's Houston Rockets, to house its services. However, Lakewood is only one of 100 churches, which made each of the two lists: The 100 Largest Churches in America and The 100 Fastest-Growing U.S....