Lakewood Church<\/a>, Osteen, 49, leads America\u2019s largest congregation. He preaches to more than 38,000 attendees each weekend at the church his father founded in 1959. That number swells to more than 7 million when you add his worldwide television audience. Osteen\u2019s popularity and positive messages have made him both beloved and reviled among evangelical Christians. But Osteen and his wife, Victoria, respond to praise and criticism with signature smiles and encouraging words.\nI had an opportunity to interview Osteen, who will come to Jackson for his first time Jan. 4 for \u201cA Night of Hope,\u201d a two-hour event that inspires with song.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s been the impact of your dad\u2019s life, witness and ministry on yours?<\/b><\/p>\n
The whole foundation of what I try to teach and inspire people with today. He was a man of integrity (and) was always for people. He wasn\u2019t for pushing people down, but he was always for lifting people up. I saw my dad caring for the underdog, caring for the sick and caring for the people\u2014whether they were rich or poor.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s talk about that word \u201cintegrity.\u201d We\u2019ve seen lots of leadership scandals, and we know media love a good scandal. Do you have a preventative word for leaders for before they fall?<\/b><\/p>\n
Integrity is the foundation of God\u2019s blessing upon your life. You\u2019re right to say we\u2019ve seen a lot of scandals with well-known (leaders), not to be critical. But having gifts and talents doesn\u2019t pan out where there\u2019s a lack of character. Integrity should be something we all strive for, to take the high road, and accept no compromise when it comes to our integrity. I realize there are a lot of skeptical people out there now because they\u2019ve seen ministers they trusted in at one time and who didn\u2019t pan out. I\u2019m inspired to walk the walk and not just talk the talk because it affects many people. When you\u2019re a pastor like you and I, you\u2019re influencing more than just your family. What I learned from other\u2019s mistakes is you can come down a lot quicker than you went up. The first half hour of my day, I\u2019m searching my heart asking God if I\u2019m on the right path. Searching your own heart; that\u2019s the important thing.<\/p>\n
Some people may misconstrue your message and think that you\u2019re always preaching blessings without integrity. But you just stated that God\u2019s blessings are contingent upon our obedience. Do you think you\u2019ve been misrepresented?<\/b><\/p>\n
I think that\u2019s true. When I hear someone criticize me, I think that\u2019s someone who hasn\u2019t actually listened to our message. That\u2019s someone listening to a sound byte or reading out of context. I believe God wants you to be blessed and excel \u2026 and have good relationships but, as you said, the foundation is integrity; it\u2019s obedience. Are you growing? Are you dealing with the issues God is talking to you about? I talk about that a lot as well. But some people misconstrue it. They\u2019ll say, \u201cJoel says everything\u2019s gonna be good!\u201d Half of my messages are about overcoming difficulty, being faithful in the midst of trials. God says count it all joy while we\u2019re in the trial.<\/p>\n
That last point relates to what you said about your dad and lifting up the underdog. Of course, you may know that Mississippi is often seen as the poster child for everything that\u2019s negative. When you come here in January, what message of hope do you have not only for Jackson but for our entire state, sort of the nation\u2019s underdog?<\/b><\/p>\n
Well, my message is going to be that God has amazing things in 2013. He does reward people who are faithful. \u2026 And a lot of times God judges us differently than how people judge us. God looks at the heart. God uses the least likely people in some instances. God used David who, as you know, was an underdog. Some may come from bad families, but our message will be: You\u2019re not who the world says you are, but you\u2019re who God says you are.<\/p>\n
Absolutely. Our governor has made it his mission to curb the number of teen pregnancies and births. One can rightly argue that numerous socioeconomic issues contribute to this epidemic, but also a sense of hopelessness. How do we\u2014politicians or pastors\u2014speak to the latter?<\/b><\/p>\n
You know it\u2019s difficult. You have to do one person at a time. \u2026 You have to let them know God can get them through this. If they take steps of faith, be the best where they are, God can open up doors and bring people out. If you don\u2019t have hope, you can\u2019t have faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. You have to believe you are a person of destiny. God has equipped you, and no person, circumstance or poverty can keep you from your destiny if you keep moving forward.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s excellent. But what about those out there who\u2019ll say that hope and faith God-talk sounds great, but it doesn\u2019t address the racism, sexism and generational issues people face?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s easy. I just have to come back to the scripture that says, when you believe, all things are possible. You can get bitter and negative, and I can almost guarantee you nothing\u2019s going to go well. It\u2019s going to help you. So faith is choosing to believe God and his plan for my life even though it doesn\u2019t make any sense. You\u2019ve got to be determined to persevere and be all that God created you to be. I believe our days can end in victory, but we have to do our part.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve been doing A Night of Hope for eight years. President Obama\u2019s rallying cry has been hope and change. Is our nation becoming more hopeful or fearful?<\/b><\/p>\n
Well, I\u2019m always an optimist. Some people don\u2019t, but I do believe there are good things in store for us. Now we\u2019re dealing with this fiscal cliff, and I\u2019m not thrilled with the divisiveness of politics, but I believe God has America in the palm of his hand, and good things are in store for us. Yes, we\u2019ll face difficult and tough times, but I yet believe America is going to see better days.<\/p>\n
Follow C.J. on Twitter @RevRhodes<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by C.J. RhodesR3 Contributor *First published at the C J Rhodes Blog\u00a0 **Originally published in the Jackson Free Press as \u201cAmerica\u2019s Favorite Preacher,\u201d the following is an interview I did with Joel Osteen in December of 2012 prior to his first-time visit to Jackson, MS. I wanted to share it with you, again. Joel Osteen\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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