The Four Soils

What A Shock! Osteen and Mormons Believe in the Same Jesus

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. - Galatians 1:6-10

It's no secret that Joel Osteen is not a traditional pastor with a traditional style of teaching. In fact, he would readily admit that truth himself I am quite sure. Now, because Joel (sorry, I can't refer to him as pastor for my own personal reasons) has a best selling book and heads up one of the biggest churches in the world, he has become something of a media darling. People love Joel. His accent, his charm. I even admit that he seems like a real nice guy. The only problem with Joel, and it is no small one, is that he is a false teacher, and thankfully in orthodox Christians circles, false teachers are still frowned upon. On December 23, 2007 Joel was on Fox News being interviewed by Chris Wallace.
Now, as I stated above, it's no surprise that Joel was on Fox News. He is widely popular and you can't channel surf without running into him at least a few times a week. The surprise (and I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised) is that Joel Osteen made an incredible claim in his interview with Chris Wallace. Osteen, in a few short words, put a century long problem to rest! According to Osteen Mormons, specifically Mitt Romney, believes in the same Jesus that he does. Here is a portion of the interview:

WALLACE: So in that sense, what do you make of Mike Huckabee, a Southern Baptist pastor who's doing so well and, in effect, using his faith as part of his platform? OSTEEN: Well, you know what? I like Mike Huckabee. I've never met him. My brother's from Little Rock and he knows him and says he's a fine man. And so I like what he stands for. From what I've seen, I don't think he's overdone it. I think he's just — you know, he's a Baptist pastor. That's in him. And I think he's just standing up for what he believes in. WALLACE: And what about Mitt Romney? And I've got to ask you the question, because it is a question whether it should be or not in this campaign, is a Mormon a true Christian? OSTEEN: Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior, and that's what I believe, so, you know, I'm not the one to judge the little details of it. So I believe they are. And so, you know, Mitt Romney seems like a man of character and integrity to me, and I don't think he would — anything would stop me from voting for him if that's what I felt like. WALLACE: So, for instance, when people start talking about Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, and the golden tablets in upstate New York, and God assumes the shape of a man, do you not get hung up in those theological issues? OSTEEN: I probably don't get hung up in them because I haven't really studied them or thought about them. And you know, I just try to let God be the judge of that. I mean, I don't know. I certainly can't say that I agree with everything that I've heard about it, but from what I've heard from Mitt, when he says that Christ is his savior, to me that's a common bond.This quote is so outlandish I don't even know where to start. So, I am going to collect my thoughts and tomorrow return to deconstruct what Joel tried to build through his admitted ignorance on the topic. What I am saying is this, don't make plans for a pilgrimage to Salt Lake City just yet on what Joel believes. See you tomorrow.

Counter Cultural Christians: January 6, 2008

It Started With Saying Hello

It started with saying hello. I was walking up to the condo where my wife and I live and I spotted one of our neighbors walking her dog. This particular neighbor is a 50 - something single gal and as I stepped up from the parking area on to the sidewalk I glanced at her and I smiled and said "hello, how are you tonight?" She responded with honesty and stated that she had been better. Sadly in my mind I am sure I was expecting her to politely respond to my question with a "I am fine, how are you". This of course would have enabled me not to break stride as I headed to the comfort of my home.

Prompted by her response I did stop my stride and I turned around to engage her in conversation. Through our conversation I found out more about my neighbor in 10 minutes than I had found out about her in the year since she had moved in to the condo complex (can you say convicted?). I found out she is lonely. I found out that she is struggling with life. I found out that she is seeking to find a church (WOW! Here I am a pastor and I have my next door neighbor telling me that she is having a hard time finding a church! Yes, go ahead and say convicted).

"The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." - Romans 13:9

As Christians it is very simple for us to get comfortable in our church and social surroundings. Week in and week out we see the same people and ask the same questions, yet how often are we meeting new people and engaging them in conversation? Tonight when I pulled my vehicle into the parking space I had no plans on having an important conversation with one of my neighbors. In fact, I was solely focused on getting home, getting into my sweat pants and sweat shirt and flopping on the couch. However, God had different plans for me. Here is part of an email I received tonight from my neighbor:

Dale,

Your presence in my life at this time is such an answer to prayer. Thank you for caring about me and offering to provide counseling. You and your wife are such nice people. I feel blessed to be given the opportunity of becoming better acquainted with you.

I know I am running the risk at sounding boastful by sharing this with you - however my motivation is not based on pride or feeling the need to boast. My motivation is to encourage you to reach out to your neighbor and engage them. Get to know them. Invite them to discover the same God that you know. It's pretty simple to start...just say hello. Remember that God works through people to bring them to Himself:

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20

By the way, she is going to come and visit our church. Do you have any neighbors that need to hear the same teaching you are hearing week in and week out at CBC? Say hello to them the next time you see them and see what God does.