Televangelism is the use of television to communicate with Christian believers. The word was derived from the word television and evangelism coined by The Time magazine. A televangelist is a Christian priest who devotes much of his service to sending religious messages through media.
Televangeliazm emerged as a fully American phenomenon, as a consequence of a largely unregulated media space where access to television networks and cable was open to anyone who could afford it, combined with the large Christian population who could provide the necessary funding. However, increasing globalization has allowed some American television broadcasters to reach a wider audience through international television stations, some of them entirely Christian in nature, such as the Trinity Broadcasting Network and The God Channel.
The domestic television program is increasingly present in other countries such as Brazil. Some states have more regulated media space with general access restrictions or specific rules regarding broadcasts on religion. In such countries, religious shows are usually produced by TV companies and not by interest groups. Some televangelists are regular pastors or priests in their parishes (often in the form of a megachurch), but most of their followers come from TV and radio audiences. Others do not have their own congregation and work exclusively through TV or radio.
One of the most famous is Joel Osteen.
Who is Joel Osteen?
He is the son of Lakewood Church founder John Osteen. He was born in Houston, Texas in 1963. He graduated from high school in Texas and then attended college in Okhaloma, where he did not graduate. In 1982, he returned to Texas to establish a TV program, where he broadcast his father’s sermons until his death in 1999. Until his father’s death, he preferred the order behind the cameras, after which he took over his father’s role and further enhanced the church’s popularity.
Personal life
With his lifestyle, Joel Osteen certainly does not deny the claim that wealth is a blessing in God. His church leased the largest hall in Houston in 2003, invested $ 100 million in its renovation, then bought it in 2010 for $ 8 million. Austin’s personal fortune is estimated at $ 60 million. With his wife (a pulpit in the same church) and two children, he lives in a 17,000-square-foot house with six bedrooms, three elevators, five fireplaces, and two other detached houses on the same property, one for guests and the other with a swimming pool. When you look at the face of this man, 56 years old, with no wrinkles and thick, wavy, black hair, it’s hard to believe that part of that huge profit was not invested in his beautification.
His impeccably white teeth glow from the front pages of his books. Officially, all his income is from the sale of books.
In 1987 he married Victoria Osteen and they have two children. She is a co-pastor and also a well-known media personality.
Divorce rumors
Like the marriage and life of all celebrities, especially celebrity couples, there are constant rumors. Lately, it has been mentioned everywhere that Joel and Victoria’s marriage is in crisis or even divorced.
But for now, it seems like they’re all fake gossip on the internet. They both never fail to mention that they are just as happy as they were at first, even though they have been married for over 30 years.
It certainly will not prevent some new rumors about their marriage in the future, as it has not prevented in the past, but they continue to live their private lives away from the public and enjoy it.
They also stopped making a statement on the subject, and their relationship and connection spoke for them.
It is even possible that the two have undergone the reconciliation process, and to learn more about how reconciliation works as well as mediation, click here
His sermons
He to begin his weekly ministry with a joke: “One man was very cheap. Before his death, he asked his wife to bury him with the 50 thousand dollars he had saved. The wife reluctantly agreed. At the funeral, just before the casket was closed, she laid a small, wooden box inside. Her friend asked, ‘Surely you didn’t put the money in?’ ‘Of course, I did. I’m a Christian. I must not lie. “A friend looked at her in amazement:” Are you saying you buried $ 50,000? “Yes. I wrote a check ‘. ”
While over 10,000 visitors to the largest church in America are still laughing in the auditorium, he utters “say as you really mean it,” and his next words are repeated aloud, in front of a raised high Bible: “This is my Bible. I am what he says I am, I have what he says I have, I can do what he says I can do. Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess: my mind is attentive, my heart is receptive, I will never be the same. In Jesus’ name, God bless you. ”
Osteen’s “theology” is a strange combination of Protestant evangelism and the well-known psychotherapeutic technique of self-esteem in order to increase self-confidence and positive thinking. Because of this, he often interrupts the sermon, raises his fist and, dramatically closing his eyes, utters such sentences: “I am blessed, I am strong. I’m talented. I’m disciplined. I’m focused. I’m successful. ”
Flood controversy
He has come under criticism for failing to open the doors of his mega-church, which normally houses 16,000 people, to victims of the floods that hit Houston and all of Texas after Hurricane Harvey.
Lakewood Church has announced it has closed due to flooding and added a list of shelters to which those in need of shelter can be referred. This only triggered an avalanche of comments on social networks where people criticize them for not accepting flood victims themselves in their non-flooded premises.
It took 4 days and hundreds of angry comments for the megachurch to change its mind and receive anyone who needs a roof over their heads.
Conclusion:
Joel Osteen will continue to be a constant presence in the media, in both positive and negative contexts. Expect new rumors of his divorce in the future, as it’s always an intriguing topic.
