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
We deal with people that are going through divorces and that are facing life-threatening illnesses, and I'm giving them hope. And to me, I don't think there's anything "lite" about that.
I'm not perfect, but I think that I've done good to stay focused on what I'm called to do.
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.
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 think that Bible principles will help anybody.
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.
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 think we should enjoy our families and everyone that we love right now, each day.
I think sometimes you just lose your focus, and I think that's easy to do when you start getting more fame, more money, more power.
I think the first thing to do is to be aware that you can choose what you're thinking about and that your life is going down the path that you're thinking.
I just think that trusting God means we're going to have unanswered questions, and God is so much bigger than us, we're never going to understand them all.
I think God gives every one of us our own will, and unfortunately, some people choose to do evil things with it.
Well I think a lot of times we're putting things off and I'm going to do it later. I'm going to break this bad habit or I'm going to pursue this dream or I'm going to treat my spouse better.