Lakewood Church is famous for its pastor, Joel Osteen. But the Church has recently made news during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The Houston Chronicle hadn’t any stories of the church’s help for the sick or the pastor’s fight against tyrannical mandates that shuttered its doors. The story was instead about its application for PPP loans.
Joel Osteen's megachurch shamed into returning $4.4M in PPP loans https://t.co/eAz6b8KqLm pic.twitter.com/EHZL5g4XtW
— New York Post (@nypost) October 10, 2021
PPP, or Payment Protection Program, is a loan from the government to protect small businesses and help them keep employees on the payroll during the lockdown. Originally, the church defended its decision to apply for the PPP loan for $4.4 million but has since decided to pay back the money to the government.
Father, thank You for the double portion that You have reserved for those who stay committed when it would be easy to walk away. Help me to do the right thing when the wrong thing is happening. I believe that my breakthrough is coming. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. pic.twitter.com/m9C8HspfWc
— Lakewood Church (@lakewoodchurch) October 15, 2021
The original criticism came from Church and State separatists (people who are mistaught or misunderstand the original intent of Church and State separation, you can learn more about that here). Rob Boston, the Senior Advisor for Americans United for Separation of Church and State based in Washington, said:
“Religious freedom is a core promise of our Constitution, and that means that no one should be forced to pay for someone else’s religious beliefs or practices.”
Who is Joel Osteen?
If you haven’t heard of him Joel Osteen is a compelling leader of the prosperity gospel. He is a preacher who has made over $50 million selling people a perversion of the American dream wrapped up with a few scriptures. He guarantees health and wealth as a blessing from God to those who are faithful to Him.
Any time God asks you to do something hard, that’s a sign that something big is in your future. Don’t put off the hard thing. God wouldn’t be asking you to do it if He didn’t have something much better.
— Joel Osteen (@JoelOsteen) October 10, 2021
This is a wonderful message, especially to the consumer-driven hearts of our current society. But unfortunately is this message is biblically untrue. While the Bible teaches that money is a tool, and not inherently evil itself, it does warn about the love of money. The prosperity gospel taught at Lakewood emphasizes the gift and not the Giver. This is allowing its followers to believe that life should be easy and full of material goods, comfort, and wellbeing. The prosperity gospel directly goes against Biblical teaching.
The American gospel message to the sinner: You are so amazing! God would be honored to have you in His family.
The biblical gospel: You are so lost, but by God's amazing grace, if you will repent of your sins & put your trust in the Lord Jesus, you can become His child forever.
— Dr. Michael L. Brown (@DrMichaelLBrown) October 12, 2021
The Bible teaches that life is hard and full of trials(James 1: 2-4). That the answer for prayers of ease and healing may be no (2 Corinthians 1:8-11). Lastly, the Bible teaches that wealth in this life is temporary ( Matthew 6:19-21).
Under the Leadership of Joel Osteen, Lakewood Church has taken in over $43 million in donations a year.
