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by Mack W. Payne (Author)
Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of the Lakewood Church in Houston. The church has the largest congregation in America with a weekly attendance greater than 40,000 and it broadcasts programs in more than 100 countries on TV. Osteen is a prolific writer with more than 20 books to his credit. Anyone as prominent as Joel Osteen deserves a look at his background. The aim of this book is to take a closer look at this charismatic man, his church and his books. He has a large following who are very positive about his message and believe him to be an effective church leader. On the other hand there are also many who find his message to be a little off the mark. Osteen's elevator speech can be summed up as: "Our God is a good God who desires to bless those who are obedient and faithful to Him through Jesus Christ." He proclaims his biggest aspiration is that all who hear his message choose to accept God's goodness and mercy and become all that God wants them to be. Many of his detractors come from the preaching community and believe among other things Osteen is merely a person with an ability to build a crowd but not a true church. The general consensus is that his messages do not contain a sufficient amount of thought provoking theological conviction. It is also cited he has no formal theological training. His formal education consisted of two years at Oral Roberts University studing broadcasting. It is said Osteen is like the blind leading the blind. The doubter believe the Lakewood Church has grown not due to a strong theological but rather because of the following three factors: 1) The existing mega-church platform his father had already created. 2) Osteen's own high degree of marketing competence. 3) An "errant" biblical message giving the sheep what they want as opposed to what they need. In this book you will find an examination of Joel Osteen and his background, a look at the massive church he has created and most of the books he has written. After reading this book you will be able to make an informed decision as to his authenticity as a successful pastor of the largest church in the country or that he is the light weight theologian his detractors claim him to be.
