Popular televangelist Joel Osteen, whose smile is known to millions worldwide, hits stores Monday with his second anticipated book – Become a Better You.
Following the huge success of his first published work, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at your Full Potential, the bestselling author has on shelves 3 million copies of his latest work – the highest first printing for a hardcover book in history of publishing house Simon & Schuster. Osteen is currently on a national media tour.
"I don't go in and give you a hundred scriptures in each chapter," said Osteen, answering critics about his book being another self-help book.
"[B]ut it's the principles of God's words," he added, according to Houston's ABC 13.
Like Osteen’s first book, Become a Better You is mainly taken from the megachurch pastor’s weekly sermons which are positive messages without the traditional teachings of suffering or what critics call the prosperity gospel. Osteen believes his newest work is better than his first, which sold about 5 million copies.
Osteen pastors America's largest church, Lakewood Church in Houston, with some 47,000 worshippers every weekend. He told "60 Minutes" correspondent Byron Pitts on Sunday that he talks to congregants and audiences worldwide "on the people's level," not necessarily dumbing down messages but telling people simply how to improve their lives.
"I can get up here and try to impress you with Greek words and doctrine and there are people that need that, they want to study deeper," he recently said on the CBS program. "But I know what I'm called to do is say 'I want to help you learn how to forgive today.’ ‘I want to help you to have the right thoughts today.’ Just simple things."
Those messages have received an overwhelming response with 10 million television viewers tuning in to Lakewood's Sunday services and his books now available in 25 languages. His latest book is already available in Spanish, Korean, Indonesian and other languages.
And Osteen says it rewarding to see people's lives changed.
"You know, you get people that want to criticize, ‘You’re not doing enough of this, enough of that.’ Well, we’re not perfect," he said on "60 Minutes."
"But to have, you know, hundreds of people telling you ‘You changed my life. I haven’t been in church in 30 years,’ or ‘You saved my marriage’ – Not me, but God; but they’re telling me – you just feel very rewarded. You feel very humbled," said Osteen as he was overtaken with emotion and paused to weep.
Become a Better You features "7 keys to improving your life every day." Although his first book presented steps to living "Your Best Life Now," he said, "it is important that you do not become stagnant."
"God always wants to increase us, to do more in and through us. He always wants to take us deeper into self-discovery and then wants to raise us to a higher level of living," he writes in his newest book.
Osteen is scheduled to appear on major media outlets this week including CNN's Larry King Live and his next speaking tour stop is New York City's Madison Square Garden on Oct. 19-20. Lakewood Church was ranked the largest church in the country by Outreach magazine in its 2007 issue.
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the way i look at it he is reaching people and people are getting saved
There are many members and one body. Each member has a different function. I believe God knew what he was doing when he chose Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer to become a teacher and preacher. God has placed many preachers to lead people to Christ and he uses others to motivate and encourage, others to heal and others to prophesy. Also God said "do not touch my anointed" so lets be careful how we speak of men and women of God.
Oglefam, reeceracer, jc4me, and tmoore58- good points!!!!!! You really tell it like it is.
How sad that people want to hear this garbage today. We are living in the last days- that is obvious. People claim to be Christians- but do not act like Christ did! And the likings of Osteen, Meyers, and the others like them are taking people straight to hell with their "feel good, be rich" watered- down, false gospel messages.
Worse yet is that the people who follow them obviously do not know what the Bible says, or they would realize that they are being led astray.
We need to pray for salvation for these people- starting with the preachers themselves!
God help us all!
Joel O...is just tickling peoples ears...saying Jesus isn't the only way to Heaven is not a small thing and should be examined by all Christian leaders...why no one in that church is calling him out for that or asking for a retraction it inconcievable..
JC4ME you have it right. Here is my understanding of Matthew 10:34-39 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” If I "find" my life here and "Become a better me" I will lose it in the kingdom to come. If I reject man's twisted concoctions and remain faithful to my Lord following him with no regard for my life here, losing it, I will find life eternal given to me by my Lord. As for Mr Warren from what I've read he seeks an eventual one world religion or at the least a peaceful co-existance. Jesus did not come for this. It is his way or no way. If you lined up all men ever to have lived including Jesus, called them gates instead of men, there is only ONE who is the gate to eternal life, Jesus. It is truely a narrow gate and there are few who find it.
I also have to add that for the brother who thinks that we should not judge Joel Osteen, I think that you are missing the whole point. When someone who professes to be reaching people for Christ, is trying to teach motivational speaking, a better your life here on earth, etc, it goes contrary to the whole of the Bible. We are not to have our eyes fixed only on this life, and while yes, we will have moments of happiness in this life, we will experience persecution, trouble, and anguish. We live in a fallen world, and it is Christ Jesus we should be living for. Our treasure is in Heaven, not on earth where moth and dust corrupts, and were tieves break in and steal. If more of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached in today's churches, maybe, just maybe, we would see true revival in this country and around the world. Be not deceived, the Bereans studied the Word diligently to see if Paul the Apostle was telling them the truth. We shoud be like the Bereans that diligently search out the Scriptures daily, and not try to make up a whole doctrine on one verse without taking into contrext the whole of the Bible. People need to know the Christ of the Bible, the Son of the Living God. If they choose to deny this, and they are looking for a self-help social gospel, with a toucy feely sese to it, or a name it and claim it, blab it and grab it mentality, it will only lead to more confusion; these are not the true Gospel at all. Pray that we would be used by the Living God as examples for Him, and that the Holy Spirit would use us not only in lifestyle evangelism, but also in Speaking the truth in Love (this will sometimes require us with discernment to tell people in love something which they may or may not find offensive.). We ahve not been called to be ear ticklers, but ambassadors of God on this earth. We are called to let other's know that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man can come unto the Father (God) except thru Him! John 14:6. There will come a time when people will not accept this as an absolute truth. I have a hunch that we are liveing in such a time as this, and if not, we are rapidly approaching it.
To those who think Rick Warren is right on, do a little research on the "emergent church" of deceit with promoters like Brian Mclaren, Doug Pagitt, and Rob Bell; Rick Warren is not too far behind with his seeker-sensitive gospel. Be warned, the Gospel of Christ will not tickle our ears and tell us what we want to hear. The Post modern Emergent/Seeker Friendly/COEXIST movement as well as well know Rick Warren, and his Global P.E.A.C.E Plan are behind the scenes with apostate Rome trying to provide people with a touchy-feely psychobable. They deny the Lordship of Christ, while pretending to bring peace on earth. Apart from the Jesus Christ of the Bible, you cannot have true, lasting peace. Humanism, along with the other New Age ism's will never coexist with Biblical Christianity. They compromise the faith by creating the impression that "all roads lead to God". This is a false doctrine, and Christ, as well as the apostles warned us this would come. What the world needs is to repent, turn to God, ask Christ to be their Lord and Savior, and then deny themselves, pick up their cross and follow Him. If the Roman Catholic Church was not a compromising church, then why do they allow such heresy as Marianity (the worship and deification of Mary as co-redemptrix with Christ)? Why is their focus on the mystic feeling and the experiential, without solid Biblical Truth to back it up? One should study Roman Catholic Church History and see that most monks were mystics. Why do they forbid their priests to marry? Why don't they teach the Word of God Line by Line Precept upon Precept as the Book of the Prophet Isaiah teaches in the Old Testament (Old Covenant)? Why is the Vatican trying to create a bridge to "mother Rome" to "unite" their lost Protestant brethren, and while their at it promoting Eucharistic christ which is not the Christ of the Bible, but a false christ. They are trying to unite all the world's religeions (Islam in this instance) as if all have common ground with the true God of the Bible?? Do not be deceived. Read the Holy Scriptures - God's infallible Truth, and discover these apostacies for yourselves. I am not saying there are no born again catholics, but they are few and far between the ones that are being taught these false doctrines, and taught to follow after man's traditions rather than the Truth of the Word of God. They are folowing this lie of the Devil hook line and sinker this ecumenical movement is trying to unite us all, even those who don't share Christ as the Only Way to the Father God. People, do not be deceived. Open your eyes, and your ears. the time is short, and Christ will rapture His church prior to God's wrath being poured out on the enemy's of the cross. Repent, and turn from your sins, give your Life to the Christ of the Bible, and then you will find true peace, true freedom, and true change.
Mathew 7:15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves"
I feel sorry for this man. He has had plenty of opportunities to tell the world about salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ; to tell them to ask God to forgive them of their sins and to become born-again Christians- and he has blown it every time! I would not want to be in his shoes on judgment day. Let's pray that he gets saved!
I haven't read his books or watched him on television. My question is simply: if I read his book or transcripts of his sermons, could I tell the difference between them and a book or transcripts of Oprah or Dr. Phil? Would an archaeologist lokking at his works 1,000 years from now be presented with the full Gospel or only tidbits? If the answer is yes, God bless him. If it is no, God will hold him accountable.
I think one of the most liberating truths of Rick Warren's 'Purpose Driven Life' was "It's not about me!" This is the kernel of the disciple's voyage of discovery.
As the Master Himself tells us, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." For the Christian, true happiness is a by-product of the cross.
When we surrender our identity in Him, we find His in us. Enough self-infatuation and 'naval gazing', let's look upwards and outwards ... and leave it to others to see the good in us. It's not about me.
If anyone out there is trying to find fulfilment by feeling good about themselves, they're in for a long term disappointment. Paul advocated replacement, not better-ment: "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me ..."
I love the way people are so quick to criticize, all great people in and out of the Limelight have their critics!!! But if you really analyze most great people they are deaf to this. People can talk all they want, but attitudes will continue to adjust, paradigms will continue to shift and lives will continue to be changed!!!! Just ask the guy who change his thinking after hearing a few positive messages not just from this man!!!! People can talk all they want !!!! To all the great minds and people out there continue to do what you do !!!!!!!!!!!!!
As you look at all the great people and minds in history, you will see that they all had their critics. This is just the world we live in, there will always the other side or the other opinion and while you all judge this or any other person in the limelight, lives continue to be changed,attitudes continue to adjust, lives continue to become enriched. To Joel osteen and all the other great people in the Limelight , the critics will keep talking and even shouting!!! Let them talk all they want, bottom line is people are being taught and lives are being changed. People are so quick to criticize without getting to the core of any issue. Do some research and see what this man, and this church are really about!!!
I watched Joel Osteen on Larry King and I think this guy is an opportunist of the worst type. He says God wants us to have it all...even going so far as to say ( in so many words) if we find a convenient parking spot at the local Walmart, it was because God wanted us to have it. I suppose God is so busy granting us over-fed Americans convenient parking spots, he has no time to grant food for the world's starving people.' Give me a break...
Here's my spin: I was raised a Christian, with the incorrect understanding that yes, God forgives my sins and loves me, but He still wants me to "perform" like a Christian. So I followed all the rules and based my opinion of myself on whether God was pleased or dissapointed in me, related to my performance. I grew into a habit of relying on myself to become "holy", putting an enormous amount of pressure on myself, and even those around me to be a "good Christian." Just recently through an extremely painful situation, I have come to realize it's not about following the rules! And it's not always about ME! God has enough grace to love me ALL the time. It's the Holy Spirit's job to change me from within, and out of my love for God and acceptance of His forgiveness, I am worthy! What a miserable existence I had before understanding this concept! Now I feel free to love God and do His work without the pressure of being perfect, and without being so focused on MYSELF and my performance.
So in relation to Joel's message of self-improvement, can you imagine the Christians out there who are under an enormous amount of pressure like I was to live up to Joel's lists? Here's my message: realize what God is offering you with His grace and forgiveness. Do something for someone else instead of living YOUR best life. Live God's best life that He created for you! He knows better than we do what lies ahead and He has a purpose for each of us...so get out of the way with your "to-do" lists. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all of these things will be added unto you." Matthew 6:33