I Get It

I don’t agree with everything Joel Osteen teaches.

But, to be blunt, I haven’t listened to him in over two years.

A few of my favorite pastors to listen to are Mark Driscoll, Perry Noble, Brent Stephens and Andy Stanley.

Yet again, I don’t always agree with everything they teach. Or write. Or do.

I believe Donald Miller is one of the most engaging and insightful writers ever.

I still don’t agree with everything he writes.

Rob Bell has written two of my favorite books (I still have yet to read his third and fourth books).

And yet I don’t agree with everything he has written.

So, back to Joel. I used to find it easy to make fun of Joel. I mean, he does come across as kind of corny. Even his friends try to do their best Joel impersonations when they’re in Texas. Especially in Houston. And just like many who parody political figures, it’s usually harmless.

However, the other day I was reading a blog authored by someone whom I have a great deal of respect for and it disturbed me a bit. Their post was about Joel Osteen’s latest book, but throughout the entire post, every occurence of the letter (S) was replaced with the dollar symbol ($).

A$ in Joel O$teen i$ the pa$tor of Lakewood Church in Hou$ton, Texa$ and he ha$ ju$t relea$ed a new book entitled It’$ Your Time!

Get it?

Two years ago I would’ve been rolling. But over the last year I’ve really come to understand and embrace scriptures like Mark 3:25 where Jesus said “a house divided cannot stand”. I still find myself at odds with certain teachings and even people (and the evidence is all over this site); but when I am tempted to put it online or talk about it with friends I ask myself, “Will this do more harm than good?”

Any thoughts?

(via religion sucketh)