This weekend Joel Osteen, pastor of the mammoth Lakewood Church in Houston, will bring his gospel of hope, happiness and spiritual healing to an anticipated 50,000 tri-state residents at the recently unveiled Yankee Stadium.
Author of New York Times bestseller Your Best Life Now, Osteen is more known for his pearly white grin than the prosperity gospel that he inherited from his father, prominent Word of Faith preacher and Lakewood’s founding pastor John Osteen.
This is because in contrast to other Word of Faith televangelists, Osteen has tempered his father’s message by focusing more on having an upbeat attitude and developing positive relationships than acquiring material possessions or dogmatic Biblicism. The Houston pastor also steers clear of controversial political debates that may tarnish his brand. His typical response to the question of gay marriage involves a reaffirmation to “the traditional family unit, male and female” while often adding, “but I’m not knocking anybody else.” And when asked about any political leader or issue he simply provides his cheeky smile and a canned response of how he offers up his prayers.
Some have questioned how Osteen’s remix of positive thinking theology might fair during these trying economic times. And, of course, persons from the progressive and conservative spectrums have accused him of preaching “Christianity Light” at best and being a moral coward at worst?
One might surmise that Pastor Osteen is just well aware that the twin engines of anxiety and evidence propel persons toward his message. This is to say, the kind of economic anxiety that job loss, a tanking 401k and declining home equity creates, are the very realities that would impel persons to try his recipe of Protestant karma. What do folks have to lose? If there is anything people believe they can control it is their attitudes and treatment of others. And if things turn around, whether it is the national economy or someone’s personal fortune, than Pastor Osteen can say, “I told you. Look at the evidence. God is good.”
So as Pastor Osteen heads to Yankee stadium next week, it seems to me that he has placed himself in a win-win situation in the proverbial batter’s box. He may not have an acute structural analysis of the underlying social problems in America and abroad. Nor does he have an interest in taking a political (read: moral) stand that may divide his incredibly diverse audience. But he sure seems to have his finger on what people want. And he may have even discovered a little bit of what people need.
Whatcha think? Religious Con man? Moral coward? Or personal motivator?
Tags: osteen, prosperity preachers, televangelists
I've seen Joel when flipping through channels and I pass through the religious section. He always just struck me as kinda vapid, but I can also see the motivational speaker stuff as well with the suit and pearly whites. As far as "religious con man", well, that goes without saying.
Well, you can’t argue success. Or, can you? Scripture is full of warnings against those who preach what people want to hear, offering easy fixes and simplistic bromides. So, what of Joel Osteen?
I would not begrudge him or anyone else their positive attitudes. Jonathan White’s column suggests that Rev. Osteen’s message is not the most complex or thoughtful. Okay. White then adds, in a positive vein, “But he sure seems to have his finger on what people want.” Yup, and therein may lie the deep problem. What do I mean?
Wall Street seemed to give us what we wanted for the last eight years and more. As it turns out (and let’s be honest, we had a sense of this long ago) it was based on very little (real) truth. Instead, a lot of untested assumptions were propped up by manufactured smoke and mirrors (sometimes aided by willful lack of oversight). If there is a game in which the stakes are higher than Wall Street, it’s that of preacher!
It is not the role of one who would sell himself and his books as God’s simply to offer people what they want. In a recent interview (interestingly, and perhaps tellingly) with the Wall Street Journal, Rev. Osteen warns against tying God’s hands (!) by failing to have a positive attitude. A positive attitude about what? Well, that’s left unexplored by Osteen. Of course we all (or the vast majority of us, anyway) want “success” and many have and will pay good money for self-help books or courses or any other resource that promises to provide the “attitude” that will reap success.
Yet, from that profound chapter of 1 Samuel 8, which draws to a close with the prophets words, “And in that day you will cry out because of your king,” to Isaiah’s and Jesus’ proclamations about oppression and freedom (Isaiah 58 and 64; Luke), God’s word has always challenged deeply held assumptions about success and successful attitudes. God’s message is premised on, and engages, deep want and need—from physical matters of food, shelter, and love to theological and philosophical wisdom, insight and—there’s that word again--love. God’s word is concerned with truth with a little “t” and Truth with a big “T” and all that comes in, with, and between those.
My simple and profound hope and prayer for Rev. Osteen and those who would follow him is that whatever he writes or says would not block anyone from the profundity of God’s word and would not define or categorize such based on limited and unexplored notions of attitudes for success. God’s message of “life and life abundant” variously knocks down, affirms, criticizes, and engages the assumptions that we bring to it. It offers hope for all that we, as individuals and as a collective, are. That’s why the most profound prayer that can be offered is “thy,” not my, “will be done.” Amen.
Rev. Dr. Frederick W. Weidmann
Director of the Center for Church Life and
Professor of Biblical Studies
Auburn Theological Seminary
Comments closed
The comments for this story have been closed. Thank you to everyone who participated.