{"id":2175,"date":"2005-01-30T05:52:00","date_gmt":"2005-01-30T05:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/orthodixie\/2005\/01\/whatever-gets-them-to-church.html"},"modified":"2005-01-30T05:52:00","modified_gmt":"2005-01-30T05:52:00","slug":"whatever-gets-them-to-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/orthodixie\/2005\/01\/whatever-gets-them-to-church.html","title":{"rendered":"Whatever Gets Them to Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Victoria\u2019s Secret, Spiked Heeled Choir Director, Idiot-proof Hymns, Mass Humanity, and more!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

An article in today\u2019s Washington Post<\/a> fits right in with last week\u2019s running dialogue on Attractive Worship<\/a> on Touchstone\u2019s Mere Comments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The WP article is about Joel Osteen, \u201cthe smiling preacher.\u201d Notice I didn\u2019t say PASTOR<\/span><\/strong> \u2014 because if you\u2019re sick, he ain\u2019t calling; if you\u2019re dead, he ain\u2019t burying; if you need counseling, buy the books, tapes, or CDs; got a shotgun?, still no wedding.<\/p>\n

But if you want to feel better about yourself after having been jacked up<\/em>, entertained, and self-motivated at church, well \u2026 Joel\u2019s your man.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s some excerpts (read it all H E R E<\/a>):<\/p>\n

HOUSTON \u2014 The pastor once startled his own mother by exhorting the women in his congregation to shop at Victoria\u2019s Secret to improve their marriages. Last weekend, his glamorous musical director led four services in a hot pink coat and black spiky boots, stomping around the stage and singing the praises of Jesus in rousing, original rock sounds.<\/p>\n

The crowds he attracts in Houston come away inspired. \u201cHe pushes us to a level God wants us to be at,\u201d said Juli Hain, who attends regularly. \u201cHe kicks us in the rear to take steps that will take us to a higher [personal] level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoel is doing it better than most,\u201d said William Martin, a sociology professor and religion expert at Rice University. \u201cHe is purposely seeking to lower the barriers that keep people from going to church. They don\u2019t know the hymns; they don\u2019t have to learn the creed. It\u2019s all there for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is unapologetic that he lives well in a $1 million house in an upscale neighborhood and that he is pouring the church\u2019s offerings into the Compaq Center these days, not into charities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like God wants us to prosper,\u201d he said. \u201cMy dad grew up in the Depression. . . . It is not God\u2019s will for anybody to live where you can\u2019t support your family. . . . [Houston Astros pitcher] Roger Clemens just signed for $18 million \u2014 man, don\u2019t tell me I can\u2019t have a nice house and send my kids to college.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church service and the meet-and-greet are the only opportunities his followers have to get close to Osteen. Unlike his father, Osteen does not perform weddings or funerals. He avoids sickbeds and doesn\u2019t do personal counseling. For those needs, the church employs another 60 ministers. Members said that is fine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not here to meet the pastor; I\u2019m here to meet God,\u201d said Pam Hall, 47, who has been coming to Lakewood for 15 years but who acknowledged that Osteen does not know her name. \u201cHe is a great inspiration to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church is run by the Osteen family and a cadre of 4,000 volunteers, 1,200 of whom are needed for each service. It is a tightly organized Sunday operation at which ushers looking like Secret Service agents wear earpieces and microphones and manage to get 6,000 to 8,000 people to their seats quickly. Parents are able to check their infants and toddlers at the door with volunteer caregivers. They are given a numbered token, and if there is a problem with their child, the token number flashes on the big screen during the service.<\/p>\n

He knows that some people just come for the music. And that is a good thing, he said. Whatever gets them in the door.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thanks to NEWS FORUM<\/a> for the link.<\/em><\/p>\n

Someone left a comment on NF<\/a>\u2018s site: <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the risk of sounding judgmental, (okay, I am being judgmental) that just turns me off. I\u2019ll stick with my poor, tiny church.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Uh \u2026 no comment<\/a>.
<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Victoria\u2019s Secret, Spiked Heeled Choir Director, Idiot-proof Hymns, Mass Humanity, and more! An article in today\u2019s Washington Post fits right in with last week\u2019s running dialogue on Attractive Worship on Touchstone\u2019s Mere Comments. The WP article is about Joel Osteen, \u201cthe smiling preacher.\u201d Notice I didn\u2019t say PASTOR \u2014 because if you\u2019re sick, he ain\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1691,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhatever Gets Them to Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Victoria's Secret, Spiked Heeled Choir Director, Idiot-proof Hymns, Mass Humanity, and more! 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