Tag: joel osteen

Millionaire televangelist Joel Osteen is roasted over tweet to his followers about the ‘simple things’ in life

The internet is reacting to an especially out-of-touch tweet from millionaire televangelist Joel Osteen – one that insisted people should enjoy the ‘simple things’ in life even if they don’t ‘have a lot of resources.’

The 61-year-old televangelist boasts a net worth of at least $50million, and own two homes in Texas valued at $10.5 million and $2.9 million. The $10.5million manse, found in Houston, comes complete with a pool, pool house, and three elevators.

Onlookers were quick to point out the apparent hypocrisy, along with his profile- status at his Lakewood megachurch where he works as senior pastor. 

The church  receives millions in donations from churchgoers who heed Osteen’s demands for donations during sermons, and operates on an annual budget of around $70million.

On Wednesday, Osteen declared ‘It’s the simple things in life that bring us the most joy,’ and that those who ‘may not have a lot of resources’ are ‘blessed’ as long as they have their health. If you’re able to ‘look at the stars at night’, you’re blessed, he said.

The internet proceeded to roast him relentlessly.

‘If you can look up at those stars from the balcony of your mansion, you’re Joel Osteen,’ one person sarcastically sniped.

‘How anyone could send a dime to this morally bankrupt conman is beyond comprehension,’ someone else said.

‘“You may not have a lot of resources..” multiple mansions, a yacht and sports cars were all purchased off the backs of the suckers he’s referring to,’ the commenter went on.

‘Religion is the greatest con on the planet.’

Another person honed in on how Osteen’s church made headlines a few years ago refusing to open its doors to victims during Hurricane Harvey. 

Only after intense backlash did the preacher finally give way, opening the facility that has a capacity of 16,000 people.

‘Saw Joel Osteen trending and thought he had locked his church doors during a hurricane again,’ that person said.

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Shooter at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church Stopped by Good Guy with Gun

A shooter at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, was reportedly stopped by a Harris County Sheriff’s deputy working security at the church Sunday morning.

Update: Around 4 p.m. Central Time ABC News reported that Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez “corrected an earlier statement claiming it was a sheriff’s deputy that fired the shot.” Gonzalez now says the shooter was stopped when “other agencies fired.”

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez responded to news of the shooting with an X post saying, “It is believed that a possible shooter is down, shot by one of our deputy’s on-scene. I’m enroute to the scene.”

Click2Houston reported the shooter allegedly opened fire in the church lobby. The outlet noted that witnesses indicated “the shooter was possibly a female.”

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THE TROUBLED HISTORY OF JOEL OSTEEN

Churches have always been tasked with bringing the word of God to the masses. Megachurches are the logical endpoint of that line of thought, and there are few churches more mega than Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church. As the Indianapolis Star tells us, Osteen is a charismatic televangelist who took over the non-denominational Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, from his father, John. Young Joel was initially reluctant to join the family business, but his Southern Baptist dad managed to persuade him to give preaching a go in 1999 … and passed away just six days later, leaving Osteen in charge. 

And take charge he did. By 2003, Lakewood Church moved its operations to the Compaq Center, the former home of Houston Rockets. The massive arena church started hosting televised services, through which Osteen reaches millions of viewers on a weekly basis. These days, Lakewood Church boasts over 40,000 members. Osteen also tours the nation with his “A Night of Hope” worship events, and has written several best-selling books.

Now, the world has seen more than its share of televangelists who have been anything but holy. Compared to some of them, Osteen has managed to keep himself relatively free of scandals and suspicious antics. However, this doesn’t mean that everyone considers him to be squeaky clean. Osteen certainly has plenty of critics, who have been quick to point out that the powerful preacher man is not without his controversies. Today, we’ll take a look at the troubled history of Joel Osteen.

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Joel Osteen’s Church Received $4.4 Million In PPP Stimulus Payments

Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church received a $4.4 million loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, as part of the federal CARES Act that was intended to be a stimulus to keep businesses and employees afloat while the pandemic kept everyone at home.

Churches were also eligible for the money, and some of the most prestigious churches in the country took advantage of the opportunity.

Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church was not on the initial list of recipients and claimed that they did not apply to receive any money. However, the church later applied and was granted $4.4 million, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Osteen himself is estimated to have a net worth of over $50 million, with his church taking in $43 million a year in collections.

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