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Joel Osteen inspires, draws crowds |
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Written by Kim Vo, MCT
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Wednesday, 13 June 2007 |
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 Every Sunday morning, Debra Matthews flips on the television to hear what Pastor Joel Osteen is saying from his mega-church in Texas. Sometimes she gets so caught up, she's late to her own Sunday School class.
"He has a way of turning negative life events around," Matthews, 41, of San Jose, Calif., gushed. "It seems he makes everything so simple," she said, unlike others who "present it as so complex, with the thous and the thuses."
Matthews is such a fan that the schoolteacher took a day off work recently to stand in line at a California Borders bookstore for an Osteen book-signing. Clutching a CD and two books — the attendance clerk at her school wanted one signed, too — she waited with about 275 others for a chance at a 15-second meeting with the pastor of one of America's largest churches.
Since Osteen took over Lakewood Church in Houston in 1999, the non-denominational congregation has grown from about 6,000 every Sunday to 40,000. That's not counting the more than 200 million homes worldwide that can catch his sermons on television. Then there are 4 million-plus people who had bought his book "Your Best Life Now."
The Church Report, a national magazine for Christian leaders, named Osteen the country's most influential Christian. Last year, Barbara Walters tagged him as one of "the most fascinating people." Friday, a Japanese film crew was following Osteen; his books are selling well there, said producer Kiyoko Nagashiro, noting it was striking for that relatively non-religious nation.
Osteen never planned for the ministry to grow so big, he told the Mercury News before his book-signing. But his approach — hopeful messages delivered in simple prose with a slight twang and a dash of humor — happened to resonate with the country.
"I like to think we're making it more relevant," said Osteen, wearing a blue suit and his ever-present smile. "It's not just doctrine, it's how you can apply the Bible to your life.
"The churches I see are growing are the churches people where you can walk out and apply what they just heard. It's something to help them live their life."
Osteen's popularity is indicative of the 21st-century's "niche evangelism," said Randall Balmer, a religion professor at Barnard College. Unlike Billy Graham, whose popularity was universal, evangelists like Osteen, Rick Warren and Greg Laurie appeal to distinct segments of Christians.
Osteen's preaching, Balmer said, is "the kind of feel-good, up-by-the-bootstraps theology attractive to upwardly mobile, middle-class people."
Some critics dismiss Osteen as a light-weight, the theological equivalent of Muzak.
Others say he's more like self-help guru Tony Robbins than someone who grapples with the important religious issues of the day.
Although Osteen says he does like to motivate people — "to live a better life, to be better parents, to be closer to God" — he considers himself a minister. As he travels city to city, people have the same concerns: health, relationships and finances.
"To me, we're about the nitty-gritty of life," he said. "I don't call that light, because it's helping them make it through some real issues in life."
He routinely counsels people to remain upbeat and trust in God. "At every service at home, I encourage them: Start the day being grateful," he said. "You got to focus on what's right rather than what's wrong."
It's a message that has struck a deep chord. The line snaking around the second-floor of that Borders included mortgage brokers, grandparents and college students. At the front of the line was Farzana Patel, who arrived at 7 a.m. — two hours before the store opened and five hours before the signing.
The Santa Clara, Calif., woman is a Muslim, but she's been so inspired by Osteen that she's given away 20 copies of his books to friends over the years.
"I found an inner peace and joy I never found before," said a beaming Patel. "I'm smiling all the time."
Also in line was Ben Yeung, who said Osteen helped him develop a personal relationship with God. Cathy Dorow, who drove in from Petaluma, Calif., said Osteen's teachings give her encouragement as she raises three children alone.
Stacey Kruger said Osteen was a welcoming voice in a time of war.
"He gives us something to grab," the San Jose State student said. "It's nice in this time to have someone come into your home and give you hope." | Only registered users can write comments.
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