Have you ever put oil and water in a jar and given it a good shake? The two liquids just don’t want to blend and mix with each other. In fact they repel each other, but given some time, the oil begins to form small drops that gradually rejoin the larger masses of oil. Human beings can be a lot like oil and water. When it comes to religion we tend to divide, choose up sides, and be over-critical of each other’s beliefs while fracturing off into small groups.
Last week, I interviewed Joel Osteen, best selling Christian author and Pastor of the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. After the interview, I had the opportunity to witness his presentation in person at the Lakewood Church’s presentation of a “Night Of Hope” at the San Diego Sports Arena. His preaching style and delivery were very personal, insightful, entertaining, and packed full of encouraging words and interesting anecdotes. At one point in the program his mother, a cancer survivor with over 30 years of being cancer free, told her story of how she fell on her face at the foot of her bed and cried out to God to be healed from her afflictions. Throughout the entire program, Pastor Joel was very careful to include many scripture references as he skillfully boiled down many of our most favorite Bible stories into shorter, condensed versions that all could enjoy, understand and apply to their own life situations.
So where does the oil and water come into this article you might ask? As the whole of Christendom over the last two thousand years we have become divided and fragmented when it comes to Bible doctrine, service presentation, and worship style. So much so, that it would require thousands of printed pages just to list them all. Simply put, many people won’t support Joel’s ministry because they don’t believe in or care for his style of presentation. Many feel because he does not teach in the exact same way that they do, he is coming up short somehow and misleading people.
One area of criticism of Joel (for some) would be the apparent lack of teaching on sin (missing God’s mark or falling short of it) and on our redemption or atonement (purchase price or covering) which was accomplished through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on a Roman cross some nineteen hundred years ago. Being a pastor myself, I know how important it is to preach the whole truth and we are warned not to add to or take anything away from the gospel (good news). Unless we have personally attended Lakewood church’s weekly home-fellowships, Bible studies and church services we can’t really discern the truth about what is taught during the course of any given week. Jesus, while He was here on earth, gave us just two commandments: that we are to first love God and second, love our neighbors as ourselves. Pastor Joel Osteen is definitely teaching both of these great commandments of God!
At the end of the worship service, Joel invited anyone in attendance to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. This concept, by the way, can be found in the Bible within a section of scripture located in the book of Romans chapter 10 verses 9-13. We are all on the one-and-only path of life that leads to eternity. Where at death, the path forks, splitting in only two directions: one leads you into the presence of God and the other terminates in a place where you are permanently separated from Him. It’s your choice, but you must choose now while you are still in the land of the living.
So why is there a dichotomy in Pastor Joel’s popularity? Mother Teresa , a woman who modeled for us how Jesus might have lived and treated others once penned this on a sign hanging on the wall of the Shishu Bhavan children’s home in Calcutta, India. Here is a short excerpt from that sign “People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered…Love Them Anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives…Do Good Anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies…Succeed Anyway.
You see, oil and water in this universe will never mix completely. So let us stop judging and being so critical of each other and begin to obey Jesus as He commanded us to love each other. You need to understand that our media organizations are not concerned about reporting the entire truth but rather short, edited sound bites promoting controversies and scandals. They edit interviews usually out of context in ways that are misleading. Their end product provides an instant, often blurred picture of a person’s beliefs. Don’t be too quick to judge your neighbor but give them the benefit of the doubt. Always believe in people, look for the best in them and continue to hope and pray for the best in every situation.
Last week, I interviewed Joel Osteen, best selling Christian author and Pastor of the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. After the interview, I had the opportunity to witness his presentation in person at the Lakewood Church’s presentation of a “Night Of Hope” at the San Diego Sports Arena. His preaching style and delivery were very personal, insightful, entertaining, and packed full of encouraging words and interesting anecdotes. At one point in the program his mother, a cancer survivor with over 30 years of being cancer free, told her story of how she fell on her face at the foot of her bed and cried out to God to be healed from her afflictions. Throughout the entire program, Pastor Joel was very careful to include many scripture references as he skillfully boiled down many of our most favorite Bible stories into shorter, condensed versions that all could enjoy, understand and apply to their own life situations.
So where does the oil and water come into this article you might ask? As the whole of Christendom over the last two thousand years we have become divided and fragmented when it comes to Bible doctrine, service presentation, and worship style. So much so, that it would require thousands of printed pages just to list them all. Simply put, many people won’t support Joel’s ministry because they don’t believe in or care for his style of presentation. Many feel because he does not teach in the exact same way that they do, he is coming up short somehow and misleading people.
One area of criticism of Joel (for some) would be the apparent lack of teaching on sin (missing God’s mark or falling short of it) and on our redemption or atonement (purchase price or covering) which was accomplished through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on a Roman cross some nineteen hundred years ago. Being a pastor myself, I know how important it is to preach the whole truth and we are warned not to add to or take anything away from the gospel (good news). Unless we have personally attended Lakewood church’s weekly home-fellowships, Bible studies and church services we can’t really discern the truth about what is taught during the course of any given week. Jesus, while He was here on earth, gave us just two commandments: that we are to first love God and second, love our neighbors as ourselves. Pastor Joel Osteen is definitely teaching both of these great commandments of God!
At the end of the worship service, Joel invited anyone in attendance to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. This concept, by the way, can be found in the Bible within a section of scripture located in the book of Romans chapter 10 verses 9-13. We are all on the one-and-only path of life that leads to eternity. Where at death, the path forks, splitting in only two directions: one leads you into the presence of God and the other terminates in a place where you are permanently separated from Him. It’s your choice, but you must choose now while you are still in the land of the living.
So why is there a dichotomy in Pastor Joel’s popularity? Mother Teresa , a woman who modeled for us how Jesus might have lived and treated others once penned this on a sign hanging on the wall of the Shishu Bhavan children’s home in Calcutta, India. Here is a short excerpt from that sign “People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered…Love Them Anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives…Do Good Anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies…Succeed Anyway.
You see, oil and water in this universe will never mix completely. So let us stop judging and being so critical of each other and begin to obey Jesus as He commanded us to love each other. You need to understand that our media organizations are not concerned about reporting the entire truth but rather short, edited sound bites promoting controversies and scandals. They edit interviews usually out of context in ways that are misleading. Their end product provides an instant, often blurred picture of a person’s beliefs. Don’t be too quick to judge your neighbor but give them the benefit of the doubt. Always believe in people, look for the best in them and continue to hope and pray for the best in every situation.
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