Joel Osteen
Joel Osteen is just one more meely-mouthed false teacher who has abandoned sound doctrine to tickle the ears of his sycophantic devotees (2 Tim. 4.3). At the moment he is one of the top ear-ticklers in America along with Rick Warren, Chuck Smith, Pat Robertson, Jack Hybels, Benny Hinn, and the entire TBN Gang. He is fleecing his flock of deaf, dumb and blind sheep -- making millions of unethical dollars. The fad to gather unto themselves fancy-mouthed preachers is a fulfillment of prophecy (2 Timothy 4.1-4). This is a powerful evidence that we are living in the last days of the last days.
Joel brags about not preaching on Hell, judgment, sin or anything controversial. He rarely uses Scripture and gives a feel-good message every Sunday. The very few devotees of Joel who are truly born from above will not grow under his teaching. His devotees who are not saved will remain dead in their sins. Joel will have a great deal of explaining come judgment day. It's hard to imagine what he is thinking. He is either extremely evil and demonically lusting after fame, fortune and power OR he is an ignorant fool who knows virtually nothing about the Bible. Either way he will suffer great loss come judgment day.
Articles about Joel
It's an out-of-balance problem for most of the seeker sensitive movement to some degree or another, but it's perhaps the most exaggerated in the TV preacher and pastor of the country's largest church, Joel Osteen. In numerous TV interviews, Joel Osteen has declared his ministry as being a 'positive' one. He considers himself a specialist of sorts, in this area of positivity, leaving the negatives for other ministries.
But in this quote from "Heresies", by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the necessity of the 'negatives' (along with the positives) is declared: "People say, 'Do not be negative; let us be positive; let us just preach the simple gospel'. But the Bible is full of negatives, full of warnings, ever showing us these terrible possibilities. If you find in yourself a dislike of the warnings of the Scripture and of this negative teaching, it is obvious that you have been duped by the wiles of the devil. You have not realized the situation in which you are placed.” [Ed. Note: If Joel had a dynamic program of discipleship, Bible classes, soul-winning, prayer meetings led by real pastors I wouldn’t criticize him. Until he does I will write the truth. (2 Tim. 4.3,4)]
Pastors who preach only the positives, end up declaring only half of the truth. And a half-truth presented as though it were a whole truth, is an untruth. Nowhere in the bible do we find grounds for pastors who preach only partial truth, whether it's "hell-fire preaching" exclusively, or Osteen positive preaching on the other end of the spectrum.
Preaching the positives-only is an effective way to fill your church, but it's not truthful or biblical. (SLICE OF LAODICEA - Posted by Jim Bublitz - July 18, 2006) http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/archives/2006/07/i_only_preach_t.php