Is Joel Osteen Too Positive?: Reflections from Personal Experience

On His Book Release, Message Deliverance Strategies, and More

Recently Joel Osteen has released his book "Become A Better You", which has received national attention and was second in pre-sales, only to "Harry Potter".

Because of this attention, and also because his church is so popular, many things are being said about Joel Osteen. Some say he is being too positive or giving people a false sense of hope. He is said to preach the "prosperity gospel", which "leads everyone to believe that everything is good all the time". Some have also said that Joel may be "in this for the money".

As a member of Pastor Joel Osteen's church, I also felt the need to talk about this man. Not only have we watched him on television for some time, but once we moved to Houston, our family decided to become members of his church.

As for the money thing, I have personally heard Joel mention that he takes no salary from the church offerings. His money comes from his book sales. Personally, I think that is a very noble act on a pastor's part not to take a salary from the offerings, especially in a church as large as Joel's. He has the largest church in America. Not only that, but I have seen and felt Joel's feelings shine through as he delivers his message.

He truly enjoys what he is doing and I have seen him cry for the people listening to his messages more than once. They are real tears. Osteen really cares for the people of this world and he wants to help them find their way to God. This is his calling and he is doing an excellent job with it. There is no way to calculate the multitudes of lives Joel has touched. However, I can honestly say that he has touched the lives of our entire family.

As for his message deliverance, from experience, I say that while Pastor Osteen does give hope, he does not "sugar-coat life", as some have said. In fact, he readily admits that bad things do happen. It is my experience that Joel gives his listeners, viewers, and members the push of hope and faith in God that they need to overcome any obstacles life may bring; big or small.