Defending Joel Osteen in Light of Incipient, Evangelical Prosperity Theology

As many people know, Pastor Joel Osteen was pilloried in the media recently when he was wrongly accused of heartlessness with regards to the plight of the people suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The accusations against him were completely unfounded and EASILY disproved, but – once again – people ignorantly piled on in a complete rush to judgment. As Ed Stetzer wrote, “The response from many people spreading false information shows their character, not Osteen’s. The irony for some in this moment is clear: they hate Osteen because they believe he distorts the truth—and then they do the same when they critique him with false information.”

Now I’ve heard people hate on Joel Osteen since I was at seminary. It seems like people love to do so. Why? Basically, I think this is because he is a well-known, popular pastor who preaches sermons with prosperity gospel theology. I’ve never jumped on this hate train, though I certainly don’t mind honest critique of his so-called theology. I have lightly kidded him in the past but all in good fun. Now why haven’t I felt the need to attack Joel Osteen? Three reasons:

First, the Word of Faith movement, with which Osteen belongs, is not within my sphere of influence. I tend to fall within mainstream evangelical Protestantism (Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc). I don’t touch upon Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Word of Faith and others much unless, maybe, the Pope makes some grandiose pronouncement that he intends for us all to follow (snicker). For the most part then, I follow the principle of Luke 9:50 (“Leave him alone. For whoever is not against you is for you”) and John 21:22 (“What is that to you?”). I call this the Biblical doctrine of minding your own business.

Second, Joel Osteen seems like a nice, humble guy. I’ve never gotten the idea or heard any rumor that he acts inappropriately behind the scenes. I once saw video of a preacher being interviewed behind the scenes at a Christian speakers’ conference. At the back of the shot, in the distance, was Joel Osteen in a candid moment, not realizing he was on camera. He was thanking the various people who were working behind the scenes at the conference (the “little people”). Granted, that was only a snapshot, but even his demeanor suggested to me that he wasn’t walking around thinking he was a big shot. Believe me, there are far too many preachers and pastors out there who are jerks, bullies, and egotists. The Bully Pastor is a far bigger problem with which the Church in America has to deal. It’s refreshing to see a minister not behave in such a manner.

Finally, and this gets to the heart of the matter, in terms of Osteen’s poor theology, well, let’s face it: half the pastors in this country preach sermons with poor theology. And that half estimate is probably being generous! Granted, much evangelical theology is bad and most people, including most pastors, just accept what they hear without considering whether or not it’s true. But even by that standard, the sermons being preached out there are cheap. These preachers just aren’t studying. Granted, God is still using these preachers for evangelism and discipleship, but only just enough that the Kingdom of God chugs along. God still works through weakness. So when I hear various preachers condemn the theology of Joel Osteen I think, “Take the plank out of your own eye first.” But let me be more specific at the hypocrisy.

Osteen is known for advocating Prosperity Theology. Here is a good definition: “Prosperity Theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, or the gospel of success) is a religious belief among some Christians, who hold that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one's material wealth.”

Naturally, I think the Prosperity Theology is wrong. It’s unscriptural and relies on a poor hermeneutic for understanding what the Bible does say about blessings. Many other Christians and theologians have explained why it’s bad, so I have no desire to explain why that is the case. Most mainstream evangelical preachers and pastors will state clearly that they are against the whole “health and wealth” theology. In fact, they will state unequivocally they are against the Prosperity Gospel and will denounce it in no uncertain terms. But then …

But then a preacher will want to do a Bible study series on Bruce Wilkinson’s book, The Prayer of Jabez, and do a sermon on 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 using Wilkinson’s interpretation: “bless me and enlarge my territory!” Of course, since that book came out in 2000, the criticisms of its theology have become well-known. It has been called an evangelical health-and-wealth, name-it-and-claim it type of doctrine. Wilkinson says that “I want to teach you how to pray a daring prayer that God always answers” and “I believe it contains the key to a life of extraordinary favor with God.” The book suggest that this passage in 1 Chronicles is some kind of secret key that unlocks all the blessings God has in store for believers. Indeed, it treats Jabez’s prayer as a mantra to be recited word for word and portrays divine blessings in terms of miracles, material blessings, and mundane popularity. As one person wrote, “For Wilkinson, the prayer has become the secret to success in every endeavor. God is viewed as a butler who responds in a mechanical manner when certain words are recited.” To say that reciting someone else’s prayer gets God to give you what you want like some magic words (“Accio Moolah!”) is ludicrous. As I’ve said before, “Pray the Prayer of Jabez and God will expand your territory; pray the Prayer of Jonah and you will be vomited up onto a beach.” This understanding of the Prayer of Jabez is not just a poor interpretation of Scripture or simply spiritual immature; it’s plain prosperity theology. Yet many preachers who denounce Osteen’s theology will preach 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 in a like manner.

Now you may be thinking to yourself, “Well, my pastor doesn’t preach the Prayer of Jabez in such a manner.” Good. I should hope not. But how does he preach Malachi 3:10? “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.’”

As I’ve written before, this verse, as it is commonly preached, has been taken severely and unnecessarily out of its context. While the Bible does talk about giving for ministry, the tithe itself does not apply to Christians. Malachi 3:10, as a reading of the whole chapter makes clear, concerns the ongoing faithlessness of Israel to meet its covenantal obligations, particularly the requirements of the Torah, which includes the tithe. The purpose of the covenant was to solve the problem of evil and through Israel be a blessing to the world (Genesis 15, 17, 18, 22; Malachi 3:12). Faithfulness to the covenant brought blessings, but faithlessness brought a curse (Deuteronomy 28). Malachi is warning the people that they are cursed for their disobedience (3:9). Yet, the prophet does so within the context of the prediction of the coming Messenger (3:1) who will enable the people to fulfill the covenant and the purpose of the Law (see Deuteronomy 30). The early Christians saw this prediction fulfilled with the appearance of Jesus (Mark 1:2). This verse (3:10), this chapter, is about how God is saving the world; yet we’ve reduced it to “Give money to the local church so God will give even more money to you.” That is how this verse is regularly preached. What is the nature of such an interpretation other than prosperity theology? At best, you can apply Malachi 3:10 by saying “Give to ministries not in order that God will bless you, but so God will use it to bless the world through you.”

So, in light of this incipient Prosperity Gospel, of whom do you think I should be more critical? Osteen who preaches health and wealth according to his Word of Faith theology or the preachers who criticize Osteen but teach similarly health and wealth sermons contrary to their own stated theology? I prefer to focus my energies on furthering the Kingdom of God within my own sphere of influence.