Customer Reviews

Rise Of Lakewood Church And Joel Osteen

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"God can do miracles in the unlikeliest of situations." This statement aptly summarizes this biographical overview of the ministry of Joel Osteen and his late father, John Osteen. Having seen this man preach on TV, this reviewer was fascinated by a preacher who speaks to thousands of people in his church and probably thousands more on television each Saturday evening and Sunday morning and evening. What's so fascinating? Joel Osteen preaches the positive nature of Christian living and refuses to focus on hell and damnation. Sin is described as patterns and addictions that God delights in clearing. What's behind this ministry?

Richard Young's account of Joel's father is riveting in this book - a man who intensely searches for the truth of God, never quits until he has not only found it but experienced it full scale, and then begins to share in word and deed the power, beauty, and majesty of what he has found. You can feel the struggle as well as the victory in this single-minded quest for truth. Very powerful!

Interestingly, when Young covers the ministry of Joel Osteen, the tone changes to one of acclaim for Joel's marketing prowess and his keen ability to draw together the magnificent team that makes Lakewood Church prosper and continue to grow. The charismatic quality of his father's ministry is more evident in the congregant's comments who continue to bring others to experience the grace of Joel and Victoria's ministry. Again, having heard Osteen speak, this reviewer thinks the author could have been stronger here.

One quality that the author emphasizes throughout this entire book is the Osteens' message that belief in the midst of life's challenges is so real it is palpable. "That" is why people continue to drive hundreds of miles to Lakewood Church, and that, despite some controversies about Osteen, is what Richard Young conveys so well which is sure to move readers of like mind!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on January 24, 2007

Biography: An account of a person's life written, composed, or produced by another. Hagiography: A worshipful or idealizing biography. I suppose it is not always easy to determine where biography ends and hagiography begins. But in the case of The Rise of Lakewood Church and Joel Osteen, I am quite certain Richard Young has crossed the line.

Lakewood Church was founded by John and Dodie Osteen on Mother's Day 1959. A former Southern Baptist pastor, Osteen left the Convention after adopting charismatic beliefs. A leader in the charismatic movement and author of many books, he continued to pastor this church until his death in 1999. Without a successor in place, John's son Joel decided to try his hand at preaching. And the rest, as they say, is history. Lakewood has risen to become the largest church in America with tens of thousands of people attending services every weekend. The services are broadcast around the world on television and through the Internet to millions more. Osteen's first book, Your Best Life Now became a New York Times bestseller selling millions of copies. Joel Osteen, the smiling pastor, has become one of the most recognized and recognizable faces of Christianity.

The Rise of Lakewood Church and Joel Osteen, as we can deduce from the title, traces both the rise of the church and the subsequent rise of Joel Osteen. Each of these emphases receives roughly half of the book's 240 pages. And where Young seems to be enthusiastic about John Osteen, he is enraptured with Joel. The author's bias is never in doubt. He is captivated with Osteen and seems to feel no need to display any objectivity. The book is filled with hyperbole (though, sadly, this may well be unintentional hyperbolism). "Joel Osteen is one of the great marketing geniuses in the history of the Christian world;" Lakewood Church's opening weekend in the Compaq Center was "one of the greatest weekends in American church history;" "Together, the team at Lakewood is probably the greatest ministerial team in America." These superlatives grow tiresome and are especially ridiculous when understood in the context of Joel's ministry. He succeeded his father in 1999, meaning that his ministry has not yet even spanned a decade. His ministry has seemingly only just begun.

Young dedicates a small portion of the book to discussing Osteen's critics, but he does so in a condescending way and never once interacts with the most important criticisms--those drawn from the Bible. In the introduction to this book he describes a typical Sunday at Lakewood and, when writing about the worship service, says "I couldn't help but notice a well-dressed, gray-haired gentleman. His arms were folded, his mouth tightly closed, and he seemed to be looking around, passing judgment on all around him." Later he summarizes Osteen's critics like this: "Those who criticize Joel are just people who take a different approach to this teaching [that Christianity has a temporal benefit, not merely an eternal one] and don't approve of those not like them." Never once does he interact with serious theological concerns except to affirm that Joel believes in a set of basic Christian doctrine but that he chooses to dwell on what is positive rather than what is negative. Much like in Osteen's ministry, the word "sin" is only mentioned in this book in a negative sense when describing cliched caricatures of evangelicals. Even in discussing Victoria Osteen's well-publicized tantrum on an airplane he will admit no wrong-doing, only misunderstandings and media that is set against Osteen. In discussing Osteen's infamous "media miscue" on the Larry King Show, he admits "Joel made a major mistake" but assures us this was not a mistake based on conviction, but on a desire to ensure that neither unbelievers nor critical Christians would be offended.

Also strangely absent from this book is any real assessment of what Osteen offers the wider church, unless it is merely a message that is positive. But many other pastors have shared a sin-free, positive message before Joel. The word "gospel" appears a handful of times but is never explained, never declared. Young does not discuss how Osteen has impacted the church at large and how other pastors and leaders are emulating him. And yet Young considers him the next great Christian leader. He writes "the Lord has raised a man up in each generation to be a leader and impact that generation. There is a straight line from Charles Finney to D.L. Moody to Billy Sunday to Billy Graham. Who will be that man for this generation?" According to Young it will be Osteen.

Young aptly summarizes Osteen in quoting a woman who watches his program on television. "Most preachers you hear make you feel bad about yourself and they talk about the worst part of yourself. Joel Osteen talks about the best part of yourself." Young writes, "Statements like this show that Joel is becoming a huge force in Christianity who is reaching out to people far beyond the standard Christian market." He is, indeed, reaching beyond the typical Christian audience, but this book makes it clear that he is reaching with a message that shares only part of the gospel. Osteen shares a message of God's love, but, because he will not speak of sin, does not share our desperate need for God's love and forgiveness. His message, like this book, is incomplete, sharing only half of the story.

With Osteen's meteoric rise to prominence we can be sure that he will be the subject of many biographies. This is the first, but will certainly not be the last. Surely it will not and cannot be the best. While it provides a good deal of interesting information and succeeds in providing an outline of the rise of Lakewood Church and the subsequent rise of Joel Osteen, it does so in a way that is so clearly biased, so one-sided, that it is difficult to take it seriously. It is not a book that is without value, but it is one that should be read with discernment and with a clear understanding that this is as much hagiography as it is biography.

Excellent history of Lakewood Church. Made me realize why the church is what it is. I had the opportunity of visiting Lakewood and realize now why they are so large. If I lived in Houston I would be a regular member. This book gave me more information about the history than I knew. Really interesting!

From Ron's wife : I am a huge fan, follower and believer in Joel Osteen's ministry but I did not discover him until 2007 when I was going through some tough personal times with my family and the passing of my Mom, all of which he helped me through with his inspiring messages. Having not discovered him until 2007 I never knew the complete story of how Lakewood got started and this book answered all the questions I had. Was very well written and I was very satisfied with my purchase and my experience with the seller.

A detailed understanding of what the Osteen family went through to spread the word of the Lord. If you're a Joel Osteen follower or listener it's a must read. It makes you want to listen to his teachings even more.

I have only skimmed this book to date, but I was very interested in the biographical information about Joel's parents, particularly his inspiring mom, Dodie. I also appreciated the explanation of several statements Joel made on Larry King Live which did concern me.

I couldn't think of a single controversial statement or incident which was left unaddressed by the author. Very open presentation, obviously the author is supporter of Joel, as am I.

In doing research for a project on Charismatic Christianity, I decided to read this book to gain an understanding of the history of the Lakewood Church and Joel Osteen. Instead, I was treated to a display of Joel Osteen worship. After reading the book, I started to wonder if Richard Young was Joel Osteen's pen name. The book does provide a time line of the Lakewood Church but when it comes to events that happened in the lives of John and Joel Osteen, Young writes as an advocate more than an author explaining events. If you are looking for a factual, unbias book of events concerning Osteen and the church, this is not for you.
First, the title gives away the author's perspective, "The RISE of Lakewood Church". My question to Mr. Young is, when did the church rise? I don't mean Lakewood Church, I mean Christ's Church ! Young gives the impression in the title and throughout the book that Osteen's Church is the greatest blessing that God has given this planet, 2nd only to Christ himself. The priviledged attitude that Young portrays Osteen as is exactly the attitude that Osteen himself takes in his charismatic preaching.
Along with the cocky smirk Osteen has on the cover, I think Young should have pasted a red cape with a big "S" on the back also since Richard thinks Joel is some sort of super hero. After reading this book, I think a phone call is in order to Mr. Young just to remind him of the fundamental Christian fact that NOBODY is above Jesus Christ, not even Joel Osteen. Apparently Richard didn't hear that part in Joel's sermons. Oh wait, that's not even in his sermons, my mistake.