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Osteens and Lakewood Church


Tom Geiger
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Does anyone know of the Osteens? I saw this news article pop-up and I have no knowledge of these guys, although it seems they are well known:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080806/ap_on_..._s_wife_lawsuit

Don't have any personal experience with or about them, but watched a 60 Minutes report on Mr. Osteen not that long ago.

My understanding is that he preaches the gospel of prosperity... not my cup of tea.

My sense is that the incident at the root of the lawsuit was overblown and that various things could have been done by both sides to de-escalate the tension. That said, given that it was on a US airline, it's probably reasonable to view Mrs. Osteen's conduct, at minimum, as incredibly arrogant.

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God bless Joel Osteen, who took over his father's ministry without any real training (seminary, etc.) and built a mega-church on his preaching. As the RocketMan has said, he preaches a health-and-wealth gospel. It's really not the Word, but he doesn't know it. It is a feel-good "gospel" that is more Dale Carnegie than New Testament. But there is something there that is genuine and pure. It's a shame that it's not all black and white, isn't it?

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God bless Joel Osteen, who took over his father's ministry without any real training (seminary, etc.) and built a mega-church on his preaching. As the RocketMan has said, he preaches a health-and-wealth gospel. It's really not the Word, but he doesn't know it. It is a feel-good "gospel" that is more Dale Carnegie than New Testament. But there is something there that is genuine and pure. It's a shame that it's not all black and white, isn't it?

I can agree with that assessment...

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And while this discussion of Osteen is going on, ...

Hiya Tom Geiger! :wave: Long time, no see, dude!

Pull up a chair and enjoy the New and Improved Greasespot. Have some pastries and coffee.

121703pastry.jpgcup-of-coffee.jpg

Edited by GarthP2000
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Their big@$$ church is about five minutes from where I work. They took the old basketball arena and converted it into a church. I'm thinking it's the largest church in the U.S. or something like that.

As to their doctrine, it is just wishy-washy feel good stuff, but it seems to draw a lot of people, so this atheist views it as being as good as any other church. The Olsteens do have a fame for liking the good life though.

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I have watch him on TV several times and after a while you start wondering if he even has ever read the bible. I have never heard him quote scripture. He always talks about God without ever mentioning Jesus. Don't need your Bible here.

I have heard him refered to as the "Church of the Feel Good".

Please note that he belongs to no denomination. He owns the church. Old Doc Vic never even got close to how much money this guy has.

Seems there was some stain on the first class seat in the airplane and she complained. The flight attendant is sueing for 10% of her wealth. This is just a get rich quick skeem.

Basicly lowlife going after rich lowlife. But that is just my opinion.

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Thanks for the welcome GarthP. Pastry and coffee are my top two food groups! It has been awhile since I participated on the forums. I did take a few looks now and then :)

My take was also that the lawsuit was a bit over the top, but, if the facts are true about Mrs. Olsteen's conduct, the behavior of the defendant was also over the top.

Anyway, I had no idea who they were and read some things online, but thought I would tap into the resources here to see if the information was true.

Thanks for everyone's input!

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The fact that the woman who is suing has also had trouble being "attacked in the past" is highly suspect to me also:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/07/osteen.wi...l.ap/index.html

Brown had previously said she was attacked in another incident by an airport employee, according to a deposition she gave in the case.

But, the woman does sound like a first class biotch as well, and certainly not very smart or kind. One would think that if one held celebrity status like that, as well as being as rich as that, that she would be kind to people even if she didn't like them.

But then again, what color is her hair? :biglaugh:

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My wife watches Joel Osteen and likes him. I suspect he does more good than harm, which sets him above most churches.

As to the flight attendant, I'm a little confused. In my state and in most, workers compensation is the sole remedy for workplace injuries.

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Im with Hiway in that the guy gives me the creeps...as do just about all of those mega church guys, or anyone who goes into ministry for fame and fortune

Who knows what happened on the plane?

--but if they were so upset about a stain on a seat that they had to be removed from the plane and delay the flight 2 1/2 hours -then to me they just might have their christian priorities slightly askew <_< --but I already surmised that

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What I think is hysterical is the complainant's suing for the megamillions based on "Loss of faith"! :rolleyes:

What a wonderfully unquantifiable metric! Obviously, there was no way physical, or even emotional abuse would warrant such a suit. I wonder if the dear lady will have to prove how much "faith" she had, and how much she lost. If increase in greed can be considered as evidence of loss of faith, she might have a case! :biglaugh:

George

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Here's a snippet from the article linked in the first post on this thread:

"Brown's suit claims the flight attendants asked to have Victoria Osteen removed from the plane. Hardin says Victoria Osteen and her family left voluntarily. The incident delayed the flight about 2 1/2 hours.

According to court documents, Brown claims that she suffers from anxiety and hemorrhoids because of the incident and said her faith was affected. She is also suing Osteen for medical expenses for counseling."

Oh puh-leeze, she got hit in the breast and that caused hemorrhoids???? I don't believe that for a minute. I think she had hemorrhoids before the incident and probably because of dietary issues or straining on the toilet, like most people get them from.

I would like to think that as a preacher's wife tV. Olsteen would behave better than it sounds like she did, but good grief, I don't believe the "assault" caused any hemorrhoids. I think she'll feel mighty embarrassed if this goes to trial and the Olsteen's attorney delves into that part of the case.

I don't believe she can win the claim that her faith suffered as a result of a lady acting like that on the plane.

I don't believe it's fair to ask for a percentage of the preacher's wife income - if anything at all, maybe she should pay for a session or two of counseling and for a physical examination and if a medical doctor sees a connection, then to pay for treatment of that specific issue, but come on, asking for a percentage of someone's income? If it were me that lost my cool and assaulted her, she'd get next to nothing if she got that same percentage from me right now.

Sounds like a frivolous case and a waste of time to me.

How embarrassing for all involved.

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Maria Johnson, another one of the flight attendants on the Dec. 2005 flight, took the stand and told the jury that Brown was professional and courteous toward Osteen after she complained of a spill on her first-class seat. Johnson described the spill as being the size of a 50-cent piece, the AP reported.

"She was demanding that attention be given to her immediately," Johnson said. She also said that Osteen kept saying: "This is ridiculous. I'm a first-class passenger."

Brown had previously claimed she was attacked in another incident by an airport employee, according to a deposition she gave in the case, the AP reported.

A jury of seven men and five women was picked Wednesday.

Brown is seeking 10 percent of Victoria Osteen's net worth, as well as medical and counseling expenses. Osteen's husband, Joel, is not named in the suit but was on the flight that day.

Both Osteen and his wife are expected to take the stand.

Hardin says the whole incident has been blown out of proportion, noting that Victoria Osteen volunteered to leave the flight after the incident, and that she subsequently paid a $3,000 FAA fine for interfering with a flight crew.

He scoffs at the claim Brown was traumatized by the encounter.

If V. Olsteen volunteered to leave - that tells me something got out of control. The fact that she was fined says a bit more.

Regardless of the outcome, I feel strongly that no employee should be subjected to insults while they are working. Ten percent of her net worth is a lot more than necessary - but perhaps this is to send a message that you can't treat the "hired help" like crap. While I may not like the amount, I hate the diva syndrome more.

The attitude of "YOU don't know who I am!' needs to be dialed back. Ultimately we are all people. As a first class passenger have some class and show some manners.

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Hey everybody. Both CNN and FOXNews ran this story this morning: Osteen Trial Update

On Thursday, another flight attendant on the plane, Maria Johnson, testified that Victoria Osteen demanded special attention to clean up a half-dollar-sized spill on her armrest...

Victoria Osteen said that when she first told a flight attendant about the spill, she was handed some napkins. She said she responded, " 'It's not my job.' I didn't say it in an ugly tone of voice."

Wasn't that something we were told to never say in twi? See, our training came in handy for something.

I'll bet in future she will happily clean up 50 cent-sized spills herself!

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Their big@$$ church is about five minutes from where I work. They took the old basketball arena and converted it into a church. I'm thinking it's the largest church in the U.S. or something like that.

As to their doctrine, it is just wishy-washy feel good stuff, but it seems to draw a lot of people, so this atheist views it as being as good as any other church. The Olsteens do have a fame for liking the good life though.

Hey Mister P-Mosh let's go whoop it up with the Olsteens maybe we can get some dumb chicks there?

LOL!

Seth

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I dunno, I think he's a good guy. As far as his wife goes, I'm waiting for other passengers in 1st class to testify, or at least give written statements. So far it's only been flight crew thats against her, I don't know. I really just skimmed the story. So someone correct me If I'm wrong. If they care enough.

He's not my type of preacher, because the guy just hasn't gone through the normal crap a lot of people have gone through. He was born into a strong loving Christian home, I used to watch his dad in fact, I even remember him from years ago. As I recall I even remember when Joel took over his dad's church, I was didn't trust him at first, thinking he was riding his dad's coat-tails. But he proved his salt I think.

If I'm in the mood for a tely-preacher I prefer the likes of Joyce Meyer and such.

But hey, my brother, who I thought was a total athiest, he is very jaded towards preachers, blew me away when he mentioned he enjoyed the guy. So to each their own.

As far as that goes, there are probably certain apostles I would have liked better than others. That's why God needs so many different types to get His Word across.

Just MHO.

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