Joel Osteen and Victoria Osteen have seen a spike in criticism as of late, and one Christian music star felt compelled to come to their defense.
Christian Contemporary singer Carman released a statement on his website, and after hundreds of negative comments criticizing his defense of the Osteens, he released a follow up statement elaborating on why he feels it’s important for the body of Christ to ease up on them.
Joel Osteen’s wife Victoria recently set off a firestorm on social media when she stated at Lakewood Church that we should do good for ourselves not God. Many felt that Victoria’s words were being twisted while others were calling them false profits and even worse on thousands of YouTube comments.
Take a look at Carman’s comments about the Osteens below:
I had no idea there was such intense feelings towards Joel Osteen from the Body of Christ. However I am glad that friends on my site feel comfortable enough to voice an opinion opposite of mine. That’s very encouraging. Personally, because my message is so obvious, I’ve never had to face this kind of blow back from the church. I only met Joel once in the 80’s so I really don’t know him. But I can say that after 4 decades in ministry I’ve met just about every big name preacher and they all have flaws and areas of doctrine that can be easily dissected. You see in my world people write you off totally because of one little thing you say or do that they don’t like. Example: After 38 years of consistent service, after winning over one million souls to Christ, I’ve have 700 people unlike me and say I’ve backslidden, lost my mind, been brainwashed, smokin crack, ect ect.. all over 1 facebook post they don’t agree with. That’s how easy people turn on you. So I see this from a much different perspective than most do. However I do need to put this all to rest and get my focus back to touring and winning the lost so my simple point is this:
I don’t agree with 100% of what anybody says and I’m not a “follower” of anyone other than Jesus. After facing death all last year with cancer, God gave me extra years. Extra time to win souls. Coming back from the edge of the abyss you learn to broaden your scope of how God works and appreciate the different levels he works on….even just to bring one soul to Christ. Seed sowers, like all the levels, are necessary. Remember: “A seed never looks like anything it’s promised to become”. It doesn’t resemble an apple, a peach or a flower. So a seed can be devalued by comparison to full grown fruit. But there is no fruit without the seeds. Typically seed sowers, like seeds, don’t look or sound like full grown Christians either. But it doesn’t mean they’re not a necessary part of the “new life” process. Just like a fetus is a part of a full grown man, a seed sower is necessary in every full grown Christian. If the sower is off on a doctrinal issue, it can be fixed, re-learned, studied or we can pray them through it. My heart is to see no believers on any level devalued as we fight this good fight. Finally, when a man says he is a Christian, says he loves Jesus, believes the bible as Gods word, to say he doesn’t or isn’t, you have to have the ability to judge his heart. And only God can know what’s inside a mans heart. Don’t forget the outside world will only know that we are Christians by the love we have for “each other”. I’m sure someone can at least say amen to that ; )
