By amrita | February 13, 2014 0 Comments

Net worth-$40 million

 

He is generally referred to as someone sent by God to save humanity. The American Preacher, televangelist, who has helped the spiritual lives of many alive on earth.

 

EARLY LIFE

A blessed son of John Osteen and Dolores Pilgrim born on march 5^th, 1963. He was brought up along with his four siblings by his father who was a former Southern Baptist pastor. His three sisters and a brother,  are also involved  in evangelical work. Osteen studied communication but could not graduate and did not get a degree from a divinity school. In 1982, he returned to Houston and founded Lakewood’s television program, where he produced his father’s televised sermons for 17 years.

 

INITIAL PHASE OF PREACHING

Before 1999 for nearly twenty years Joel has worked as a producer for a church program. He did not have any formal theological education and has preached only once

After the death of his father Joel decided to follow his  footsteps and became a minister of Lakewood church, everyone was surprised. Despite low expectations towards him, Joel proved to be great at this job.

Although initially Osteen tried to preach like his father, he developed his own style within a few months. His sermon preparation involves memorizing his remarks and listening to himself on tape.

 

THE PRESENT PHASE OF PREACHING

Osteen says that he chooses to focus on the goodness of God rather than sin. His main focus is to teach Biblical principles in a simple way, emphasizing the power of love and a positive attitude.

Osteen has generally avoided discussing controversial issues such as gay marriage, abortion, and politics.

When asked, Osteen said that he is opposed to same sex marriage and that he believes homosexuality is a sin according to scripture.

However, he refuses to preach on homosexuality due to his belief that God likes, accepts, and approves of all people. When asked if he thought God approves of homosexuality, Osteen stated that gay people should be accepted, and that sin is human nature and nobody’s perfect.And he  said that it is written people should hate sin and not sinners. He has said that the church has a tendency to become overly focused on single issues (such as homosexuality) to the point of neglecting others.

Osteen stated, why he does not discuss about Devil and Hell as “ We always blamed the Devil. I think today when I say the Enemy, I like to make it broader. Sometimes the Enemy can be our own thoughts. We’ve trained ourselves the wrong way. Or the Enemy can be our own lack of discipline”. He also said that, the Gospel meant ‘Good News’ to him.  He would rather say God is a God of mercy.

His concept was that people know what they are doing wrong, so he doesn’t feel like telling them they have done terrible mistakes and they would go to hell. But he gives them a hope telling god is merciful. Obedience is what is required.

 

FAMILY  

     

Osteen got married to his wife Victoria L. Iloff in 4^th April, 1987. A couple currently has two children, son, Jonathan and a daughter, Alexandra. They live in a huge hose made of stone. 1.86 acres fields that lie around the mansion belong to Osteen family too.

The couple and their children moved to a 17,000-square-foot stone mansion in the Tall Timbers subdivision in River Oaks, several months ago.

The River Oaks home is technically owned by the Covenant Trust, which means the Osteens do not qualify for a homestead exemption on it. They will pay around $260,000 in property taxes on the new home this year.

“The homestead exemption would reduce that amount, but they probably put the ownership in a trust for federal tax purposes that outweighs the benefits of the property tax exemption,” surmised a home appraisal specialist who asked not to be identified.

 

EARNINGS

It was not his preaching that has brought Joel Osteen net worth of $40 million dollars. According to reports, Osteen hasn’t drawn a salary from the church since 2005. His income comes from best-selling books and related products, such as calendars, daybooks and inspirational pamphlets.

 

BOOKS

Osteen’s first book, Your Best Life Now:  7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential, was released in October 2004, and reached the number 1 position on The New

His second book, titled Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day in October 2007, also topped the The  New York Times Best Seller list. Osteen has said that his second book focuses more on relationships and not getting stuck where we are in life.

His latest book is called I Declare: 31 Promises to Speak Over Your Life.

Much of the content of these books is taken from his most successful sermons. The intention behind them is to make people feel better, to look at their lives more positively and to remind them about the love of God.