America’s Plastic Pastor

As the music fades, and the high energy worship bands sings the last words, a pumped up crowd applauds and cheers as Joel Osteen, smiling and waving, steps onto the stage with his wife, Victoria. His message was a message of hope that he was bringing to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His purpose: to reach the unreached, and tell the untold.

Joel Osteen, 45, is an American best-selling author and senior pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. His Christian ministry reaches over 7 million broadcast media viewers weekly in the United States and untold millions more in over 100 nations around the world. Joel Osteen’s first book, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential, was released in October 2004. In December 2006, he was named one of the year’s “Ten Most Fascinating People” by Barbara Walters. Presidential candidate John McCain has described Osteen as “inspirational”. Tonight, after passing out tracts to the hundreds going in to see him speak, I, along with two others, acquired free tickets. Interested to see what he had to say, we went in.

Osteen’s tour has been named “A Night of Hope.” The evening began with a worship band perfomingseveral energetic songs, while 3 huge screens in the background projected swirling images and smiling faces and positive phrases such is “Friend of God.” When the music faded, the two jumbo screens on each side of the stage showed Osteen and his wife walking out towards the cheering crowd. “If it fits you, take it.” Osteen said as he plunged into an inspirational speech of how God wants the best for us, and the reason we aren’t receiving His blessings is because we are allowing negative energy to influence us. “Look inside of you… Just look inside. See who you want to be, have faith, and God will make you into that person.” Then, as the next song was beginning, Victoria with passion, told the crowd “You all are the best looking crowd I’ve ever seen… Did ya’ll realize how great you look?”

Soft piano played in the background as Osteen continued to speak of God’s love, how “God is bigger then any mistake you’ve made….” and that “God is not mad at you, He’s madly in love with you.” The crowd broke out into applause and hundreds shouted in approval.

Between two songs, he offered to pray for the crowd “God, we know that right now you’re smiling down on us. Father, we need to make good decisions.” He prayed, as the music began to build. The drums got more powerful, and finally as he ended with a loud “Amen!” the music came in full force and people clapped and cheered and Osteen smiled down at them all.

Sadly, however, the crowd was peppered with lesbians, homosexuals and other such people dealing with major sin. But Osteen, as the most famous pastor in America, didn’t feel the need to address sin. On Larry King Live, he responded to a question about Jesus and people being sent to Hell by saying that he doesn’t judge people. Only God knows people’s hearts, so it’s not his place to say whether or not Jesus is the only way, or who God will send to Hell.
When he shared his testimony to the awe struck crowd, there was no mention of sin, or repentance. It was all about how he got to where he was today. The closest he got to confronting sin was his statement on God being bigger then our mistakes.

After about an hour of his mushy motivational speech, we had enough and we went out. We got to witness to a guard at the door about how Osteen shies away from confronting sin and speaking about anything more than how God wants to bless you, and how you just need to think good thoughts and God will make that true for you.
Unfortunately, so many people follow after him. Getting a watered down message of what cannot even be called the Gospel of Jesus. The evil thing is, what he’s saying isn’t all that bad, but he’s leaving out the important stuff. The core of Jesus’ message. Yes, God loves us. But he wants us to stop sinning and live for Him. And this is where Osteen fails.