The media loves it when a Christian leader falls from grace.
Victoria Osteen, wife of megachurch pastor Joel Osteen, has been seen this week in a viral video saying basically that worship (and the Christian faith) isn't about God, it's about you. That's a rough paraphrase, but that's basically it.
I'm trying to figure out what everyone is so upset about.
That seems to be what many American Christians believe- in practice, if not in words.
Before I begin, I want to say that many of the Christians I know are the most dedicated, humble, wonderful, loving people I've ever seen. Their faith consistently amazes me, and their perseverance through difficulty and self-sacrifice is an example to me all the time. I have the privilege of pastoring a church with many people whose faith I admire and whose dedication to their faith is second to none.
That being said, one of the continual thorns in the flesh of American Christianity is the stubborn persistence of self-centeredness. Every church is infected with it. Every Sunday morning churches are filled with people who haven't the slightest desire to see God magnified and themselves diminished, as John the Baptist put it in John 3:30. Every Sunday morning Christian people, who call Jesus Lord and Savior and would wholeheartedly state that their faith is of paramount importance to them, choose to sleep in, attend an unimportant sports match, go to an amusement park, watch TV, or travel- not because they are unbelievers or heathens, but simply because their faith is about them, and that morning they simply didn't feel like attending.
Every church in America is filled with people whose biggest concern in the world isn't accomplishing the Great Commission but whether or not to put a pool or a jacuzzi in the back yard. Nothing wrong with a pool or a jacuzzi, but if Jesus had $50,000, would He spend it on a pool or would He use it to further the gospel? Sadly, we don't have Christians thinking about life that way. We have Christians that in practice embrace Victoria Osteen's theology while roundly criticizing her on Facebook.
Every church in America is filled with people who steal the Lord's resources (Malachi 3) and spend it on themselves. Only about 6% of Christians tithe, let alone follow the New Testament teaching of Jesus where He says to give it all. 94% of Christians apply Victoria Osteen's theology to their practice of giving- Giving isn't about God, it's about you!
Every church in America is filled with people who chose that church not on its mission or commitment to the Word but because that church met their needs. It had a cool children's area, cool lights, cool sound, cool fog machines, and a good-looking hip preacher who says all the right things in very non-offensive ways. Nothing wrong with any of those things if God's will is being done, but that's not always on the forefront of thought. They are following Victoria Osteen's theology that church isn't about God- it's about you!
What Victoria Osteen has done is brought the ugly sin of self-centeredness to light. She has shown how rampant self-centeredness is in the church. I think all that she did was say what everyone else has been denying all this time. Now that it's out in the open, we see that churches and Christians have a severe self-centeredness problem and we need to repent. We need to repent big time.
The Christian faith is not about me. It's not about you. The Christian faith is about the story of God. It is the story of God's creation, including humanity. It is the story of how humanity screwed it up and sin entered the world. It is the story of God pursuing His people who wanted nothing to do with Him. It is the story of the Son of God coming down from heaven to live among us in a world that He created yet was hostile to Him. It is the story of Him sacrificing Himself so that God's original creation could be restored. It is about the Resurrection of Jesus, who set up the church and called it to be His hands and feet in the world. It is the story of the Great Commission where we are commanded to take the faith all over the world. It is the story of God who literally walks with us, talks with us, and calls us to lead lives of love and surrender.
The Christian faith is summed up in John 3:30- "He must become greater, I must become less." That is the motto of the Christian. Sadly, many Christians have no desire to see God greater or themselves becoming less. Quite the opposite. Prosperity gospel preachers draw these folks in droves, promising the opposite- that you will become greater and, as a result, God will become less.
It is time for the Christian to choose. We have to choose sacrifice over comfort, selflessness over greed, faith over worry, simplicity over materialism, and love over neglect. We must constantly battle selfishness, overcome it, and become selfless. We must sacrifice our plans, goals, dreams, and desires for GOD'S plans, goals, dreams, and desires for us. We must stop viewing worship as "for us" and start viewing worship as "for God." We must let go of all things this world says are important and go after the eternal treasure God offers.
Until this happens, Victoria Osteen will simply be the first honest church person who says what everyone else believes; in practice if not in statement.
Victoria Osteen, wife of megachurch pastor Joel Osteen, has been seen this week in a viral video saying basically that worship (and the Christian faith) isn't about God, it's about you. That's a rough paraphrase, but that's basically it.
I'm trying to figure out what everyone is so upset about.
That seems to be what many American Christians believe- in practice, if not in words.
Before I begin, I want to say that many of the Christians I know are the most dedicated, humble, wonderful, loving people I've ever seen. Their faith consistently amazes me, and their perseverance through difficulty and self-sacrifice is an example to me all the time. I have the privilege of pastoring a church with many people whose faith I admire and whose dedication to their faith is second to none.
That being said, one of the continual thorns in the flesh of American Christianity is the stubborn persistence of self-centeredness. Every church is infected with it. Every Sunday morning churches are filled with people who haven't the slightest desire to see God magnified and themselves diminished, as John the Baptist put it in John 3:30. Every Sunday morning Christian people, who call Jesus Lord and Savior and would wholeheartedly state that their faith is of paramount importance to them, choose to sleep in, attend an unimportant sports match, go to an amusement park, watch TV, or travel- not because they are unbelievers or heathens, but simply because their faith is about them, and that morning they simply didn't feel like attending.
Every church in America is filled with people whose biggest concern in the world isn't accomplishing the Great Commission but whether or not to put a pool or a jacuzzi in the back yard. Nothing wrong with a pool or a jacuzzi, but if Jesus had $50,000, would He spend it on a pool or would He use it to further the gospel? Sadly, we don't have Christians thinking about life that way. We have Christians that in practice embrace Victoria Osteen's theology while roundly criticizing her on Facebook.
Every church in America is filled with people who steal the Lord's resources (Malachi 3) and spend it on themselves. Only about 6% of Christians tithe, let alone follow the New Testament teaching of Jesus where He says to give it all. 94% of Christians apply Victoria Osteen's theology to their practice of giving- Giving isn't about God, it's about you!
Every church in America is filled with people who chose that church not on its mission or commitment to the Word but because that church met their needs. It had a cool children's area, cool lights, cool sound, cool fog machines, and a good-looking hip preacher who says all the right things in very non-offensive ways. Nothing wrong with any of those things if God's will is being done, but that's not always on the forefront of thought. They are following Victoria Osteen's theology that church isn't about God- it's about you!
What Victoria Osteen has done is brought the ugly sin of self-centeredness to light. She has shown how rampant self-centeredness is in the church. I think all that she did was say what everyone else has been denying all this time. Now that it's out in the open, we see that churches and Christians have a severe self-centeredness problem and we need to repent. We need to repent big time.
The Christian faith is not about me. It's not about you. The Christian faith is about the story of God. It is the story of God's creation, including humanity. It is the story of how humanity screwed it up and sin entered the world. It is the story of God pursuing His people who wanted nothing to do with Him. It is the story of the Son of God coming down from heaven to live among us in a world that He created yet was hostile to Him. It is the story of Him sacrificing Himself so that God's original creation could be restored. It is about the Resurrection of Jesus, who set up the church and called it to be His hands and feet in the world. It is the story of the Great Commission where we are commanded to take the faith all over the world. It is the story of God who literally walks with us, talks with us, and calls us to lead lives of love and surrender.
The Christian faith is summed up in John 3:30- "He must become greater, I must become less." That is the motto of the Christian. Sadly, many Christians have no desire to see God greater or themselves becoming less. Quite the opposite. Prosperity gospel preachers draw these folks in droves, promising the opposite- that you will become greater and, as a result, God will become less.
It is time for the Christian to choose. We have to choose sacrifice over comfort, selflessness over greed, faith over worry, simplicity over materialism, and love over neglect. We must constantly battle selfishness, overcome it, and become selfless. We must sacrifice our plans, goals, dreams, and desires for GOD'S plans, goals, dreams, and desires for us. We must stop viewing worship as "for us" and start viewing worship as "for God." We must let go of all things this world says are important and go after the eternal treasure God offers.
Until this happens, Victoria Osteen will simply be the first honest church person who says what everyone else believes; in practice if not in statement.
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