Practicing Humility
June 26, 2005 Posted by Roger Overton
Joel Olsteen’s generated a lot of heat over his
prosperity/self-esteem gospel. So much heat that I don’t recall ever hearing
anything good about him. I doubt emergent people care for him much either since
he preaches to a congregation of 30,000 and hundreds of thousands more through
television. That’s a mega-church if there’s ever been one. Then, of course,
there’s also a best-selling book to top off his popularity.
Regardless of all the problems we might have with this man
and/or his ministry, I think he deserves props. Last Monday he was interviewed on
Larry King Live and, apparently, dropped the ball when it came to articulating
the Gospel. In response, his ministry received some significant amount of mail
concerning the interview. There is now a letter of apology on Joel Olsteen’s
website:
It was never my desire or intention to leave any doubt as to
what I believe and Whom I serve. I believe with all my heart that it is
only through Christ that we have hope in eternal life. I regret and
sincerely apologize that I was unclear on the very thing in which I have
dedicated my life.
Jesus declared in John 14; I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.
I believe that Jesus Christ alone is the only way to salvation. However,
it wasn’t until I had the opportunity to review the transcript of the interview
that I realize I had not clearly stated that having a personal relationship
with Jesus is the only way to heaven. It’s about the individual’s
choice to follow Him.
diverse audience. In my desire not to alienate the people that Jesus came
to save, I did not clearly communicate the convictions that I hold so precious.
Last week Dennis Prager talked about the must
fundamental element of an apology- saying what you did wrong. Joel Olsteen has
clearly stated what he did wrong, while also affirming the exclusivity of
Christ, and he has posted this publicly on the front page of his website. I can
only hope that if I were ever to be in such a circumstance I would be able to
react with such humility that Mr. Olsteen has shown here.
(HT: Justin Taylor)
Related posts:
- Practicing the Bible is a Crime in Finland
- Books I Can't Wait to Read
- The Phantom Links
- The Scriptural Basis of My Salvation
- When the Church is No Longer the Church
- The Purpose of Church Part II: What is it for?
Posted in Main Page, Religion (General), Roger's Posts
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June 26th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
Now if his whole congregation would just read the web site so they too can hear/see a presentation of the gospel. I appreciate his apology, and believe it to be sincere, but that doesn't change my concerns about his ministry.
Big Chris
Because I said so
June 26th, 2005 at 4:22 pm
“In my desire not to alienate the people that Jesus came to save, I did not clearly communicate the convictions that I hold so precious.”
That quote could be the subject of an entire blog post. I think this is one of the biggest temptations of our time, and we Christians need to be very careful not to fall into it!