Volume 23, Number 4
What’s the Point?
I have a confession to make. I once attended Joel Osteen’s church.
Okay, twice. I went twice. My wife and I lived in Houston, TX for a
year, and we went to Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church twice. I can
tell you firsthand that much of what you hear about Osteen and
his messages is true. In the first sermon, Osteen didn’t mention
God a single time. In the second, Osteen brazenly twisted Scripture
to support his prosperity gospel. Don’t do that! Don’t preach
like Joel Osteen.
But I have another confession to make. It’s been nine years since
I heard them, but I can still remember each of those two sermons
almost word for word. The first had the theme, “Who’s Packing
Your Parachute?” Osteen told the story of a U.S. Navy pilot in
Vietnam whose plane was shot out of the sky. He ejected from his
plane and was saved by his parachute. Years later, he unexpectedly
met the man who had packed his parachute on that fateful
morning. Like him, we can be eternally grateful for all the people
behind the scenes who are packing our parachutes.