The Problem With Joel

On a Sunday morning before driving to church, I flipped on the television and caught the beginning of a Joel Osteen sermon. For those of you who don't know, Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, one of the largest - if not the largest - megachurches in the United States in terms of attendance. Despite his popularity, Osteen is heavily criticized in evangelical Christian circles for a message which focuses overwhelmingly on having a positive attitude and a "prosperity gospel" (a.k.a. "God loves you, and He wants you to be rich!") along with lack of Christ-centered theology, biblical exposition and clear message of sin and salvation. For many conservative Reformed Christians, opinions towards Osteen are even harsher, putting him in the league of uber-atheist Richard Dawkins. Well, I'm exaggerating now... I think.

The sermon that I caught was actually one about "Being Thankful". To paraphrase Osteen's sermon, we need to change our perspective:

One day a man walked into his pastor's office and told him that he had nothing to be thankful for. The pastor requested they do an exercise and put positive things on the left side of the piece of paper and put negatives on the right side. The man said, "I have nothing positive to put on the left column". The pastor said, "Fair enough," and then said, "I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your wife," and the man objected, "My wife isn't dead! I guess you can put that in the left column". Then the pastor continued said, "I'm sorry to hear that your house burned down," and the man objected again, "What are you talking about? My house is just fine"... etc. After the session, the man had a completely new perspective.

Do you complain about your shoes? Instead, be thankful you have feet. Do you complain about your commute? Instead, be thankful for your job. Do you complain about your church? Instead, be thankful for the freedom to worship without persecution, etc.

Instead of complaining about "having to" take care of your children, change your perspective. Instead say, "Lord, I thank you because today I "get to" take care of my children." Treat it as a privilege, not a chore. Do you know how many people wish they had children who can't? Change your perspective.

The sermon wasn't terrible in terms of it's general message. I thought it used some clever points to illustrate why we ought not to succumb to our tendency to complain and grumble. It wasn't the nightmare "Pray to God to give you millions of dollars, because our God is a God of plenty!" prosperity gospel sermon. If anything, it was a sermon about being content in all circumstances, in the spirit of Philippians 4 (although allusions to Philippians 4 or any Scripture was rare if not absent).

I don't think, as some Christians do, that Osteen is a wicked man out to willfully destroy the gospel. What I see when I see Osteen preach are missed opportunities. He mentions perspective, but never mentions just how this monumental heart shift is possible. He mentions being content without physical things, but never mentions the sufficiency of Christ and how the Word of God is the food a believer eats. He mentions the privilege of living, but never mentions the privilege of the Great Commission, and the purpose of mission. He mentions the wise counsel that certain men have given around perspective, but fails to mention that God's own son came as not a rich and powerful emperor, but rather a humble man of sorrows who was born a carpenters' son - that the the King of the Universe's circumstances included a death on a cross bearing the weight of God's wrath - all which He willingly bore.

I like preachers who are joyful in hope. I just think it's a tragedy for the thousands and thousands of people who hear this man preach never get exposed to the full and complete story and power of the gospel, akin to being fed gravy without the rest of the Thanksgiving dinner - it may taste good, but you're really missing the best and most important parts. It makes me less angry than disappointed and regretful.

Instead of joining the chorus of reformed Christians and conservative evangelicals that hammer him, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit continues His work in Joel Osteen - to progressively know Christ and the power of His resurrection and enable him to speak boldly, truthfully and lovingly to a world that needs the gospel. It's a prayer that all who call themselves Christians can use.