An Observation

Joel Osteen's new digs in Houston.  No offense to anyone in particular here folks, but this looks a lot more like a rock show than a Church.  It looks to me like someone is being glorified but I don't think it is Jesus.  Looks a whole lot like: lights, camera, action. Combine this picture with the fact that Joel will bring in approximately $10,000,000 a year in ticket sales plus the income from his books and journals, etc., and I think we have a little deception going on here.  Joel claims that he doesn't like to charge $10 per seat to attend one of his tour date events, but he has too and blames it all on Madison Square Garden. Billy Graham held services at the Gardens and no one made him pay a seat fee.  All Joel had to do was pay the rental on the Gardens and then take a free will offering to make up the deficit.  But, if that were truly the case and the Gardens did for some reason make him charge a seat fee, then why does he charge the same seat fee at every one of his tour date events.  By the way, Joel himself on his website calls them tour dates.  Most all the preachers, evangelist or speakers of the Gospel, call their events, crusades not tours. By calling them "Tour Dates", this gives the impression of pride.  A rock star would call his events, tour dates and a book seller would call his events tour dates maybe, but not a Preacher of the Gospel.  This leads me to believe that this charging and all isn't a fluke but a well planned out strategy.  I do pray that I am wrong.  You know there is a sitcom on television that investigates murders and such and their famous line is something like this.  "The evidence doesn't lie".  Think about it.  By the way, as I was working, putting this page together, my soon to be 4 year old son walked up and when seeing the picture below, said with distaste, Daddy, is that a beer place?  He has seen the commercials on TV with all the lights and such and just naturally associated this picture with those commercials.  That is sad isn't it when the inside of a supposed church building looks like a beer place to a small child.

Planning to be in Houston between the holidays?  Lakewood Church will host the Houston
Symphony and Chorus on December 8th at 8:00 pm.  Pastor Joel and Victoria Osteen will narrate the evening's event and Lakewood's own Cindy Ratcliff and Marcos Witt will sing with the symphony. 

Tickets are on sale now.  You can purchase your tickets online or at any Ticketmaster outlet.  Tickets are $10 plus Ticketmaster service charges.  Childcare will not be provided.  (bold added for emphasis-mine)