Joel Osteen brought his show to Indianapolis recently.
The popular televangelist and his wife and co-pastor, Victoria, hosted “A Night of Hope” on August 2nd. 10 in the country house of bankers life.
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the osteens reach millions of viewers through weekly televised services at houston’s lakewood church, which has at least 40,000 members, as well as houston’s best-selling books, worship events and radio show. joel.
They preach a positive Christian message, based on prosperity, based on hope and emphasizing the love and generosity of God that attracts many. however, controversy has followed in its footsteps.
This is what we know:
how joel osteen started
joel osteen is one of six children of john osteen, a former southern baptist pastor, who founded the lakewood church in a converted grocery store in 1959 and led it until his death in 1999. john osteen noted the charisma of His son from the start, but Joel resisted his father’s urges to step into the pulpit before relenting and preaching his first sermon on the Khan. 17, 1999.
six days later, john osteen died of a heart attack, and soon after joel began preaching regularly. Within a year, he took over as Senior Pastor of the Lakewood Church, which has since grown from 5,000 to more than 40,000 members. He has risen to worldwide fame, including being named by Barbara Walters as one of her 10 Most Fascinating People of 2006.
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how big is lakewood church?
the lakewood church is now the largest church in the united states with more than 50,000 members, according to christianpost.com. The 600,000-square-foot, 16,000-seat church is located in the old Compaq Center, where the NBA Rockets once played.
Joel Osteen’s net worth and what he says about his wealth
joel osteen, who has a reported net worth of more than $50 million, is no longer accepting the $200,000 salary to which he is entitled as senior pastor of the lakewood church. Instead, he earns his money with lucrative speaking engagements in the US. uu. and the sales of his 14 books, many of which have sold millions of copies and made it to the New York Times bestseller list. His first book, “Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living to Your Full Potential,” quickly rose to No. 1, remained on the self-help bestseller list for more than two years and has sold more than 8 million copies.
The preacher with the megawatt smile also takes in an estimated $43 million a year in collections at his church, according to the Orlando Sentinel, and viewers send millions more in the mail even though he doesn’t ask for money during his broadcasts.
The Christian Post interviewed Osteen in 2013 and asked him why he wouldn’t take a salary.
“Not everyone can do that, it’s not practical,” Osteen said. “But for us, it was important to me because I don’t need it. And I think it’s important because being in the public eye, there’s a lot of scrutiny and people think, well, he’s just doing it for the money.” This way I can say that I don’t do any of this for money. God has blessed us in other ways. it’s really part of my message in that, you honor god and stay true, you don’t know where god will go. I will take you. I don’t tell people that God will make them rich. but you don’t know how God is going to bless you.”
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osteen also discussed his wealth and televangelists’ sometimes negative image of oprah winfrey in a 2012 interview at his home with a grand piano in the background.
“I’m not asking for money on television. I’m not trying to be sneaky, I’m just trying to be honest. I’m just trying to be who we are. You know it’s a battle we have to fight . . . we just feel like these are the god bless. we are big givers. we live what we preach. we have given millions of dollars. i don’t think there is anything wrong with having a nice place to live and being blessed.”
How much is Joel Osteen’s house worth?
The Osteens bought a $10.5 million home in 2010 in a wealthy Houston suburb called River Oaks. The 17,000-square-foot home set on nearly two acres is reported to have six bedrooms and bathrooms, five fireplaces, three elevators, a guest house, and an outdoor pool and pool house.
what is the prosperity gospel and why is joel osteen criticized?
The prosperity gospel does not focus on hell or the negative effects of sin, but instead promotes a more lighthearted message, choosing instead to preach that God will reward his devoted and generous followers with a healthy and financially healthy life. prosperous he often links tithing, the practice of regularly giving part of one’s earnings to the church, with a promise of prosperity.
According to his website, joelosteen.com, he believes that “as children of God, we are overcomers and more than overcomers, and God intends for each of us to experience the abundant life he has in store for us.”
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Televangelism has been accused of ensnaring the poor and powerless, who can least afford to give their meager resources to the church, and has faced criticism for linking faith to material compensation. Strongly associated with disgraced 1980s televangelists such as Jimmy Swaggart and Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, the prosperity gospel has been called “aberrant theology” by today’s Christianity.
A liberal Christian magazine, The Christian Century, also accused Osteen of neutralizing the Bible into “digestible categories of self-help and self-improvement.” But Osteen’s mother, Dodie Osteen, responded to the criticism by saying, “We don’t preach the gospel with sadness, we preach it with joy.”
mitch albom:god is telling this preacher to get a $54 million private jet. this is not faith. this is a scam.
why do people like joel osteen?
osteen’s charisma and message attract a lot of people, including celebrities. he and his wife, victoria, draw tens of thousands of fans to stadiums across the country with their “a night of hope” events, like the one in indianapolis. in television interviews and broadcasts of church services he comes off as a seemingly genuine friend, occasionally serious and always enthusiastic, even if at times he seems more like a motivational speaker than a preacher. his church celebrates a diverse congregation from a variety of socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Every week, more than 7 million viewers watch his religious service.
What did Joel Osteen’s church do during Hurricane Harvey?
in late august 2017, osteen came under fire on social media after it was said his church turned away people seeking shelter from hurricane harvey, a devastating storm that killed 89 people, caused 126.3 billion dollars and displaced more than 30,000 people.
Following a church Facebook post saying it was “inaccessible due to severe flooding,” the church shortly thereafter announced plans to act as a collection site for houston-area shelters. “We know the need is great. That much is clear,” a church statement said. “We still don’t know all the ways we can help.” he then announced that he was receiving people and distributing supplies to those in need.
“How this notion that we’re not a shelter and that we don’t accept people came about is a false narrative,” Osteen said in an emotional video he posted during the controversy. “We always wanted to welcome people. Our doors were open. The church has always been open.”
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what is joel osteen’s position on homosexuality?
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joel osteen has generally tried to avoid making public statements about gay marriage or homosexuality.
However, during an interview on “Larry King Now” in January 2014, King asked Osteen for his views on homosexuality.
osteen replied: “the same as they have been. I think the scriptures say it’s a sin, but I always keep saying, you know what, we’re not against anyone.”
But King pressed Osteen for further explanation of his position, asking, “If you call it a sin, how could it be a sin if we don’t know what causes it? You don’t know why you’re straight.”
“There’s a lot of things, larry, that I don’t understand, so I don’t want to preach about it, preach about it. it only comes up during interviews,” osteen said.
king then asked, “does gay marriage bother you?”
osteen replied, “it doesn’t bother me. From a scriptural standpoint, I don’t think it’s, you know, what my faith would teach, but it doesn’t bother me.”
How did Joel and Victoria Osteen meet?
victoria osteen worked at her mother’s jewelry store while she was in college and in 1985, she is said to have met joel when she went into the store to buy a new watch battery, according to a story about victoria and her book ” love your life” at houston lifestyles & Casas married in 1987 and has two children, Jonathan and Alexandra, who work alongside their parents in ministry at Lakewood Church.
where were they educated?
osteen graduated in 1981 from humble high school in humble, texas, a suburb of houston. He then went on to study broadcast communications at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., founded by his namesake, one of the first televangelists. however, osteen did not graduate and does not have a theology degree.
Victoria (Iloff) Osteen was born in Huntsville, Ala., where her father, Donald Iloff, was a mathematician for General Electric and worked on the GE Saturn rocket project team, led by German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun. She moved with her family to Houston at the age of two, where her mother, George Iloff, taught Sunday school and her father was a deacon at Christ Church. victoria studied psychology at the university of houston, but did not graduate.
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