Joel Osteen Answers His Critics

Tells Byron Pitts "We're Not Perfect"

(CBS)  This segment was originally broadcast on Oct. 14, 2007. It was updated on June 5, 2008.

Every once in a while, a preacher breaks through and catches the attention of the public on a national level. Joel Osteen has done that, as Byron Pitts first reported back in October.

He is the most popular preacher in the country, his services seen by over seven million viewers on TV every week.

Nine years ago Osteen was virtually unknown even in his own church in Houston. A college drop-out, he worked behind the scenes producing his father, Pastor John Osteen's, television ministry. When his father died, he stepped out in front of the camera and started to catch on. So why are so many people flocking to Joel Osteen?

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Osteen's service is an uninhibited celebration that's part rock concert, part spectacular. There are no crosses, no religious symbols whatsoever. It's all taped and broadcast around the world. His service is seen in 100 foreign countries and is the most watched religious broadcast in America.

"You get ten or fifteen thousand people that are excited about God. They’re from every race and every denomination and every background. They wanna be here, they weren't drug to come to church. And so there's something about that. It creates an attitude of expectancy. And we cheer and we shout and there's joy. And I try to leave them better off than they were before," Osteen tells Pitts.

They come by the thousands to nondenominational Lakewood Church, a former basketball arena in Houston, Texas, filling it to the rafters. They come hungry to hear first hand Joel Osteen's message of empowerment and inspiration.

"My message is a message of hope that God is a good God, and that no matter what we’ve done, where we’ve been, God has a great plan for our lives. And when we walk in his ways they can take us places we’ve never dreamed of," Osteen explains.

Osteen preaches his own version of what is known as the "prosperity gospel" -- that God is a loving, forgiving God who will reward believers with health, wealth and happiness. It's the centerpiece of every sermon.

"I want you to get a bigger vision. There are exciting things in your future. Your future is filled with marked moments of blessing, increase, promotion. God has already ordained before the foundation of the world, the right people, the right opportunity. Time and chance are coming together for you. Why don’t you get your hopes up?" Osteen tells his audience. "Why don't you start believing that no matter what you have or haven't done, that your best days are still out in front of you."

It's an appealing, comforting message, and he follows it up with advice.

"If you’re not making as much progress as you would like, here's the key: don't lose any ground. Keep a good attitude and do the right thing even when it's hard. When you do that you are passing the test. And God promises you your marked moments are on their way," Osteen says.

"You said 'I like to see myself as a life coach, a motivator to help them experience the life of God that God has for them. People don’t like to be beat down and told 'You’ve done wrong.' What do you mean?" Pitts asks.

"Well, I think that most people already know what they’re doing wrong. And for me to get in here and just beat ‘em down and talk down to ‘em, I just don’t think that inspires anybody to rise higher. But I want to motivate. I wanna motivate every person to leave here to be a better father, a better husband, to break addictions to come up higher in their walk with the Lord," Osteen says.

"I mean is that being a pastor or is that being Dr. Phil or Oprah?" Pitts asks.

"No, I think we use God’s word. I think the principles that you hear Dr. Phil and some of those others talk about many times are right out of the Bible," Osteen says.

"Do you ever fear with this message of optimism you may be misleading some people? That some people think, 'Well, gee if I just think positive things about my life will turn around.' And for some people that never happens," Pitts asks.

"Yeah, I don't fear it because we don't just teach that. Cause I teach that even in the tough times you have to embrace where you are. Know that God’s giving you the strength to overcome. You can even be positive in a negative situation and it will help you stay filled with hope," Osteen tells Pitts.

[opinion48]

Jesus said: Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lamp stand from its place--unless you repent. Revelation

[opinion48]

Yes,Joel is a good man and nice man a friendly man, but the Gospel message is not about how good you are, or how nice you are. How good you are is not going to save you. It's about repenting, accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior and living a godly life. Yes, a lot of people have changed their lives who are not Christians because they made a decision to change. Becoming a Christian is about repenting of your sins, receiving Jesus and transforming your life according to the word of God.

[opinion48]

AutumnDaze77 it's about balance. The Gospel message is about repenting, accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, lives being transformed and yes about love and forgiveness. Jesus came as a Savior, but He is coming back as a Judge to judge everybody, even the Christians. There are righteous judgments and there is unrighteous judgments. We are to judge by the "word". And the word says "repent of your sins".

[opinion48]

Joel keeps many people from repenting of their sins because he preaches a "feel good message". There are people in his congregation who call themselves Christians who are living like the devil and I know some of them. These people I know who go to his church are hateful, spiteful, liars, committ adultery, fornication, they steal, cheat, need I say more? And that is the truth. Without conviction there is no repentance.

[AutumnDaze77]

Joel is a good man and he speaks from his heart. I'm not a bible reader and I NEVER liked going to church because the message was so often negative and always came from a place of lack. It never pretained to me except to say how wrong life is and how bad a person you are. Who needs that? When I listen to Joel's message about God's love and mercy, my heart is lifted and I am motivated and inspired to want more from my life. Isn't that the way life should be lived, in peace and gratatidue? A lot of so called "Christians" are the biggest hiypocrites and are very jugemental. All the comments posted are just that --comments. (As is mine). Love your neighbor as you love yourself...you don't need a college degree or religious education to learn and practice this teaching. Joel's message is a good one and more ministers need to adapt these teachings and focus on the positive. They may even find more folks showing up to church and garnering more parishioners who want to hear the "Good Word".

Peace and blessings everyone. :)

[mirrecles]

hi everyone tell joel threw god he has helped bringme back where i am sopose to be, it seems like its times when i become hopeless i turn on tv and wow there he is with a message just for me. its like the first time you go to the candy store the taste the smell never leaves you , you always want to go back because it feels so good and comforting. thank you so much for all you give threw your graceful father, who has never let me down . hope fully some day i will get to meet you and your wonderful family. my pray for my son greg, please pra for him with me god bless you all marilyn from lebanon new hampshire.

[elyse3]

opinion48, You've hit the nail right on the head so to speak, but truth be told God/Jesus are not looking at how 'good' we think we are, nor is God a 'gimme, gimme' one either. Why is it considered 'hate' when we ask why Joel seems to refuse to preach the 'whole Word of God', when the Bible says itself that's what we're supposed to be doing? God never ever said we'd have 'the best' or even a 'good life' while we live on this earth, mainly because this earth 'isn't our home'. Lifting people's spirits when they're down is a good thing, but the Word of God is much more than that. Where is the message about what Christ gave up for ALL of us, if he loves those people as much as he says he does, what's the harm in saying we need to repent of the sins in our lives, ask Christ to wipe them away by turning from those sins and relying on Him to help us to that? Stargazer_77, do 'you' know for certain that satan is at the heart of 'all' the comments that side with the Word of God? What would you do if when you had to stand before a Holy, Righteous, and 'Just' God who said to you "it's not what Joel had to say to you, but what did I and my Word say to you"? Meaning well but doing what's right via the Bible are two totally different things. Newsreader 07, that's the 'whole point here', because my Archbishop says the same thing, "whatever that minister is saying to you, if it doesn't follow the scriptures, you're being dangerously lead down the wrong path, and if he/she doesn't change their position via the Word, then you ought to find a church that does preach the whole Gospel". Call people who follow Christ and want the best for their leaders anything you choose, but I'd rather follow Jesus then be lead to hell by someone who doesn't follow Christ as well. I hope that Joel will get to know the "real Christ of the Bible, and not the one that he's made for himself". I will keep him, his family, and those who go to Lake Wood in my prayers.

[d880640]

"I don?t know what can be so dangerous about giving people hope," Osteen says.

I had to laugh at this because the people that "hate" Joel Osteen are really saying: Lets
not give people "hope" lets tearing them down. Jesus held people spellbound for 3 days
were they did not even think about food and I don't think he was tearing them down.
Paul writes:
Philippians 1:15-18 "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice."

[opinion48]

The whole point here is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If people aren't told about the consequences of sin, how do they know what to repent from? We Christians have to preach and teach a balanced Gospel. There are people in this world who are nice and who have a good life, a good job, who go to church or to a motivational seminar. And people say "oh they are so nice and they have it all together. Yet, some of these people have "murdered, stolen from others, abused children, cheated, gotten in trouble with the law", etc. Then the people who said how nice they were now say "but they were so nice, so together, I can't believe they could do such a thing". Get my point?

[Lusaalira]

Thanks for your comment, but i wonder what kind of bible we Christians read.the bible clearly states that we ware given gifts of the Holy Spirit, some being Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, Evangelists and others Pastors. So talking of a balanced Gospel, Pastor Joel can not do it alone. That s why they invite other preachers to come and share their gifts so that the Church is well equipped. The gift Pastor Joel has is different from the preacher at your community church.

You have talked about bad people who attend his church and leave unchanged, Pastor Joel does not change anyone and no one on Earth can change anyone except JESUS CHRIST. its their decision to change. Even the FREE gift of SALVATION, one has to take a decision in order to receive it. For God so loved the world..............,whosoever believes in Him............., one has to believe in order to get saved. if he refuses to, you cant force him.

[reply60min]

the perversion of moral teachings is at the heart of all the crooks emanating from texas and the bible belt. teaching a permutation of "greed is good" gives the healthsouth''s, dynergy''s, enron''s of the world the "blessing" to screw california out of 30B (to which they will be indebted for the next 20 years). or, is it that olstein''s change from the overly pessimistic "the meek shall inherit the earth" or too much self sacrifice, to one of necessity to compete with other religion preaching greed and superiority?

[bww5195]

Secondly, I am quite proud of how Rev. Osteen handled himself for the interview. Watching it I perceived a critical tone from the interviewer, and no wonder. The past couple of decades have had their infamous ministers in the spotlight as well as other happenings from Christianity that have not reflected well on our Lord and Savior. However, there is a breed of people who are living life correctly in order to further the cause of Christ. I sincerely believe that Joel Osteen and his wife are such people.

When Rev. Osteen was asked about money I had to applaud his open and truthful reply. No matter where people go to church, it costs money to keep the lights on, roof from leaking, and the children''s programs running.

I have been in and around church most of my life. Yet sometimes you need to hear an uplifting word of encouragement from places you didn''t think possible, like a ''tv preacher''. I was just scanning the channels a year or so ago and came across Joel Osteen''s telecast. %u201CI don%u2019t watch tv preachers%u201D I told myself, but I had heard from my pastor that Rev. Osteen was pretty good. The message that Rev. Osteen delivered that day helped me regain the right perspective on life at that time.

Thank you, Joel, for letting the Lord use you touch someone as far away as Clinton, Indiana.

[bww5195]

Some say Joel Osteen doesn''t preach the whole message, but inspires people to live better for God. Mother Teresa simply helped the dying in Calcutta. Billy Graham preaches about salvation, but isn''t really known for much else. Perhaps God uses some people to do the part that He has gifted them for. Ephesians 4:11-12 (KJV), "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:"

To denounce people for using their God-given gift is to denounce the God that equipped them with the gift. When will Chritianity stop picking on others in their ranks whom God uses because they are used differently?
There will be different gifts, different ways those gifts are used, but it is all for one purpose. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (KJV) says, "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all."

The Apostle Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 9:22 (KJV), "...I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."

So there you have it. God gives different gifts to people, and they may use them in different ways but all for God''s purposes. Joel Osteen''s gift seems to be to uplift people and help them.

[newsreader07]

There is nothing wrong with having goals or working on self-improvement. We just have to understand that this is not what the Bible teaches us.

A Biblical message that preaches only "God wants you to be a better you" will certainly be attractive to the masses, but it does not follow scripture.

Jesus said "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Read your Bibles. Study them. Compare what God''s word says against what anyone says (Osteen or others), and learn to discern the truth.

Jesus spoke the truth, and the whole truth. Read the Gospels and judge the words of others against His truth.

[kimimoore]

Joel Osteen is in good company. Jesus was also ridiculed. Especially by the "religious leaders" of his day. Yeah that means you Horton.

[saintgundy]

The fact that some one is criticized "by the "religious leaders" of his day" does not, in and of itself, put them in Jesus company (meaning one who tells the truth). A lot of people are criticized, some rightly, some wrongly. The gospel of Joel Osteen (and all health and wealth, or prosperity preachers) is a different gospel (Galations 1:6-9)and needs to be exposed as such.

[texas733]

There you go again with your Christian bashing and left wing rantings. We dare you to do the same hit piece on Black Liberation Theology of which Obama has followed for 20 years!
You people at CBS have no shame.

[stargazer_77]

Despite all the negative and hateful comments, God will continue to exalt Joel Osteen, his family and ministries! God Bless you Joel, you know that Satan is at the heart of all those negative comments. Do not let anyone wilt your spirit! Your congregation is lively and even through television one can see that your services are filled with the holy spirit. If only all of the churches across the world could be like yours!

[stargazer_77]

Despite all the negative and hateful comments, God will continue to exalt Joel Osteen, his family and ministries! God Bless you Joel, you know that Satan is at the heart of all those negative comments. Do not let anyone wilt your spirit! Your congregation is lively and even through television one can see that your services are filled with the holy spirit.

[stargazer_77]

Despite all the negative and hateful comments, God will continue to exalt Joel Osteen, his family and ministries! God Bless you Joel, you know that Satan is at the heart of all those negative comments. Do not let anyone wilt your spirit! Your congregation is lively and even through television one can see that your services are filled with the holy spirit.

[kyla1129]

The only thing I need to hear on Sunday from my Pastor is how to live my life as a Christian. Osteen makes me feel I have a chance because of my God. Byron Pitts matched Horton with Osteen. Horton is an educated, narrow minded, reformist who has blatantly slandered the Roman Catholic Church, all Evangelicals, all Pentecostal and Billy Graham. Horton preaches fire, hell & brim- stone to his congestion of 96 people. Horton is a teacher/preacher/radio show host, begging for money/donation to support his ambitions. Next time 60 Minutes do more homework, and don%u2019t make me cry.

[earllnhm]

one thing we all (Christian)or not have to remember is that we will all give an account one day for our actions. whether you believe it or not. one of the many gifts God granted to all of us is a ''choice''. no matter what that choice is. but rest assure that God, and only he will have the last say so. we as Christians have only one real job to do and that is to share the good news of Jesus Christ. it is not our job to MAKE people believe it. if we want them to believe our message we are to live it as the WORD of God says so. i do not condemn any person for whom they choose to serve. my choice is my choice. let them say as they will, they have that right. when we argue with them all we do is give them power.