Joel Osteen
Joel Osteen
Joel Scott Osteen is an American preacher and televangelist. He is the Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church, the largest Protestant church in the United States, in Houston, Texas. Osteen's televised sermons are seen by over 7 million viewers weekly and over 20 million monthly in over 100 countries. His sermons also broadcast 24 hours a day on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, Channel 128. Osteen has written seven New York Times Bestselling books. He has been widely nicknamed "The Smiling Preacher"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionClergyman
Date of Birth5 March 1963
CountryUnited States of America
So many people talk about themselves: "I'm unattractive, my mind's so slow, and I can't do this." And you know what I tell them? "God didn't make a mistake when He made you. You need to see yourself as God sees you."
There's a lot of negative things trying to pull people down, and I think people respond when you tell them that hey, there are good things up ahead.
God is a good God, and that he's on our side, and that he has great things in store and I believe that as we receive the forgiveness that Christ came and was born and died to give us, then we can live a great life.
I see people - they won't be negative toward other people, but inside they're negative toward themselves, and I think that holds us back.
I'm not beating people over the head, and I'm saying that there are good things in store - you can make it in life. Most of the stuff that I minister [is] not real complicated deep things.
Back in Bible days, there were these famous schools of the prophets, but some of the ones Jesus chose didn't come through that route - and not to say that they weren't good, but I'm comfortable.
I think that Bible principles will help anybody.
If prosperity means God wants us to be blessed and healthy and have good relationships then yes, I'm a prosperity teacher. But if it's about money, no, I never preach about money. I probably stay away from it more than normal because televangelists get a bad name. People put me in that category because I do believe that God does want us to be happy, healthy, and whole.
I think the people already know what they're doing wrong, and I certainly believe in Hell. But to me, when I see thousands of people before me, it just doesn't come out of me to say, 'You guys are terrible, and you're going to Hell.' I'd rather say that God is a God of mercy. You've got to live an obedient life, but for every mistake you've made, there's mercy there, and I believe we can do better.
You know what? I'm not going to beat myself up. I did the best I can do, and so I'm going to believe that - I'm going to believe good things about myself.
There are a lot of decisions we pass up on because we think, "You know what? That's just going to build - you know, maybe that's going to build me and not build the ministry and what I'm trying to do." So we pass up on a lot of opportunities.
I feel like when I stay focused on encouraging people, and giving them hope, and helping them live their everyday life, I think that's where I can have the most impact.
I'm trying to teach people how to live their everyday lives, and so I do focus on it, probably not as much as some people would like.
Don't get stuck where you are, keep growing. It's a decision you have to make because it is easy to get stuck. Make a decision to develop better habits, to have better relationships and just to keep the enthusiasm for life.