Posted on 06/03/2014 10:11:38 AM PDT by Gamecock
Pastor Joel Osteen opposes gay marriage, but he doesn’t want his Christian ministry defined by his stance on the contentious social issue.
When asked by HuffPost Live host Marc Lamont Hill whether gay marriage is “against the rules,” Osteen, pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, said he believes it is.
But the famed preacher offered an important caveat.
“It would be … but I don’t really focus on a lot of those things,” Osteen said. “I try to stay in my lane of what I feel called to do. [The topic] does come up in interviews and things … that’s not my core message.”
Osteen explained that his core message is helping people let go of their pasts, reach their dreams, have a healthy self-image and raise good children. While homosexuality is part of addressing life issues, the pastor said he doesn’t want to be defined by his views on the issue.
“Everybody’s welcome, but my take on it is, you know, it’s easy to make one issue — to become known for that or to let it side track your message,” he said. “If you look at our congregation .. we all have issues, everybody’s on a journey.”
Olsten preaches what I like to refer to as “Squishtianity.” He preaches a contentless, touchy-feeling “Gospel” with a lot of pop psycho-babble and tear-jerking illustrations designed for church-goers who are addicted to American Idol and daytime tv.
None of his core message has anything to do with salvation.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
A diet of cotton candy will kill you eventually. You need a steady diet of meat, spuds, gravy, and veggies to be well nourished. Olsten and his ilk might as well preach using pull quotes from Parade magazine as texts. They use little enough of it, and oft misuse Scripture when they do.
Lilly-livered coward. He has denied Christ in front of the world. He may be enjoying his rich life here on earth, but nothing in the world is worth your eternity!
I agree except the spuds. Apparently an ice cream sundae has more nutritional value than a potato.
I will say though that a spud has more nutritional value than Osteen and those types of false teachers.
and yet there is a FReeper that has a Joel Osteen Word of the Day daily thread here... As far as I am concerned, this guy is a charlatan and a phony. One of the worst kinds of televangelist hustlers out there today.
Which is another way of saying ANYTHING GOES. The world it turning into a modern day Sodam and Gomorrah but the church instead of rebuking it, is embracing all of the sin of the people within it.
me too, he is a no BS man of God. He is someone most pastors should strive to be more like.
So does Osteen truly believe he is doing God’s work or is he knowingly trying to deceive people? I think he is truly evil behind that phony facade of a smiley touchy feely guy.
Who said the antichrist’s message has to be overtly evil?
“Joel, why don’t you grow up and act like a real Christian.”
Joel, just emulate your daddy, he really was a pastor. And he preached the good news of Jesus Christ.
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