Joel Osteen

This past weekend my roommates and I went to Lakewood Church, or the Church of Joel Osteen. For those of you who have never heard of Joel, he’s a TV evangelist in Houston. He has billboards all over the city and every Sunday he’s on TV all day. He’s written two books on how to become a better person and he and his wife, Victoria, are mini celebrities around town. We were a little curious why Joel is so popular, so we decided to attend one of his services.

Lakewood Church is a converted basketball arena. The whole thing is a little ridiculous. We entered the church and there was a help desk and bookstore (actually there were bookstores on every floor). We were standing in the front entrance gawking at the larger than life sized poster of Joel when an usher asked if he could help us. We said we were visitors and didn’t know where to go. The usher told us to follow him. We did, and the whole time I felt like I was going to a concert or Broadway show. There were programs and number aisles and ushers in suits with walkie-talkies and flashlights. The usher brought us all the way to the VIP section. He pulled back the red velvet rope so that we could make our way to the third row. Since Joel is all over TV I’m sure we got some airtime since we were so close to the action.

As we waited for the service to start two jumbo-trons flashed ads for Joel’s newest book and CDs. The service began with the choir rising out of the fog as the diva lead singer strutted around the stage. Everyone in the audience was jumping around and dancing. The first hour of the service was basically a Christian concert. People were waving their arms and crying. This made me really uncomfortable since I’m used to just singing a few hymns out of a hymnal and then sitting, standing, and kneeling on cue. When Joel came out it was like a super star had just entered the room. People were cheering and screaming. Cameras were flashing. The whole thing was such a production.

Joel’s speech was a feel good message of keep praying and keep filling yourself with the Holy Spirit and good things will happen to you and you will gain all kinds of wealth. There was no mention of others. It was all about the individual and how to get ahead in life. The saddest thing is that people are buying this message. People want a religion that comforts them and makes them feel good. They see God as some kind of Santa Claus type figure who if you ask for it he gives it to you. Needless to say, Joel did not provide me with any spiritual insight, but he does score a few points for putting on a great show.



Paz,
Stephanie