Houston We Have a Problem: Osteen

The topic of Joel Osteen recently came up. I involuntarily cringed as I often do at the mention of false teachers. The person sitting across from me was an Osteen fan and questioned my reaction.

"I can't stand the guy. He is all surface preaching. All fluff. There is nothing really there." She then asked if I ever really listened to him? Of course I did. How do you think I came not to like the guy? In well over 25 hours of preaching that I listened to, Jesus was almost never mentioned, and when he was mentioned, it was in a perfunctory prayer in the last minute. Sin, the Cross, the atonement? Not there.

I was gentle (some what) but the truth is Osteen is a false teacher. Nice guy, great teeth, but a false teacher. For those of you who don't know who Osteen is or maybe you are shocked I would speak against him, here is a bit of history:

John Osteen starts Lakewood Church. Osteen is a Baptist preacher, Texas style, who’s gone Pentecostal/Charismatic. The church grows to 10,000 members. Osteen preaches the Gospel, preaches missions, and is a respected “classic” Pentecostal/Charismatic leader. He isn’t prepared for what happened next.

He died. Maybe God was trying to tell his followers something. Osteen didn’t lay the groundwork for his succession. His wife preaches for a while (not biblical) , and then his son Joel, tries out the pulpit. He’s not much of a preacher at first. He’s nervous, but the congregation is cheering for him. He’s cute, appealling and, eventually, funny. He’s got a beautiul wife. He’s charming, and tells a good story. He’s disarmingly vulnerable. He makes you feel good. He’s not like the usual ranting, angry preachers. He’s a nice guy.

Before long, Joel is comfortable in the role of pastor, and the church begins to grow. He’s preaching the usual word-faith stuff and things go well. But then Joel changes his emphasis….and things explode. In fact, in just over a decade, it triples to 30,000 and becomes the largest church in America. They buy the Compaq Center, former home of the NBA Houston Rockets. 18,000 seats. He’s on TBN, PAX and CNBC overseas.

Joel makes a remarkable shift away from his father’s style of more traditional Pentecostal/Charismatic preaching. He becomes a positive thinker- Peale and Schuller style. A preacher of “think positive and be blessed” principles. Prosperity preaching, but not with some tangled version of the Gospel at the center like so many on TBN (take Kenneth Copeland as an example.)

It’s “have a better attitude and be blessed” motivational talks that have no relation to the essentials of the Christian Gospel. You rarely hear any theology or Gospel preaching. God is good and wants to bless you. Period. That’s it. Instead, Osteen’s messages are about “God’s Favor” on marriage, finances and career. Sin is never mentioned.

Osteen preaches about positive thinking, being blessed, resurrecting dreams and taking risks. His book is called “Your Best Life Now.” Despite endorsements from at least one preacher who supposedly understands the Gospel, the message of the Cross of Jesus Christ isn’t the focus of Osteen’s message- ever. It's the message of a God who wants to bless you with a bigger house, a better job and, of course, a better attitude.

This Joel Osteen, a young man who stumbled into his father’s shoes, now is the most successful pastor in America, seen and heard around the world standing in a pulpit, preaching pragmatic positive thinking, pure and simple, out of an open Bible. That's the problem. He represents evangelicalism with his big smile and weak fell good message.

This is where evangelicalism is today. So many are really good at looking and sounding Christian but have no idea how to actully be Christian. It's not raising your hands in prasie. It's not strictly listening to Christian music. It's not memorizing scripture chapter and verse. What about the sacraments, or is that just a bit too much effort?

This is what the heirs of the Reformation have come to deem acceptable. This is what can be endorsed and marketed to evangelicals and sell millions of copies. So put your bible between your Puropose Driven Lie and Your Best Life Cow and go feel good about yourself.

As for Osteen, pass me the remote.....

4 comments:

The Unseen One said...

This is where evangelicalism is today. This is what the heirs of the Reformation have come to deem acceptable.

OH Puh-LEASE!!! That's like saying that the Catholic Church has become a bunch of pedophiles! After all that is the "face" of the Catholic church that the world sees, right???

Obviously, that isn't what the Catholic Church has become, nor is Osteen what has become of Protestantism / Evangelicalism.

My wife occasionally listens to Osteen when she needs a pick-me-up (I personally can't stand his Howdy-Doody style). However, listening to people like Osteen should be like dessert after a meal. We go to a biblically sound Baptist church. That is the meat and potatos of our faith, so to speak.

The peoeple I feel sorry for are the ones who rely on Osteen to be their sole, or even main, spiritual leader. Or any Word Faith teacher. One should not live on dessert alone.

Shaun Pierce said...

Ok, you're right. I guess that was a broad brush and unfair. However, the number of people who follow this type of teaching worries me. These are some of the largest churches in America.

I meet people all the time (who should know better) who support this stuff. Let's burn the Harry Potter books and go buy an Osteen book.

I apoligize if I offended anyone but someone needs to smack the crazy evangelicals that give the rest of you a bad name.

I'll go smack the pedophiles.:)

Anonymous said...

Good point Powerball, I think we all have skeletons in our closets, no need to bash one another.

The Unseen One said...

No worries, PB.

And yes, I smack 'em all the time on carm.org. ;)