Joel Osteen's church theft opens can of worms: Jaws drop as folks do the math

[L.T. Fan]

Any disagreements aside I like LT. Most of the time.

And the same to you fellow.

 

[Texas Ace]

CSB time! When I was a kid I was always fairly sheltered. I wasn't allowed to do much in fact. Mostly because he didn't want us getting into trouble which would get him in trouble. I would constantly ask him why my actions affected him so much and the actions of the other kids didn't put their parents in jeopardy. His response was always the same. "When I chose this path I knew that when I had kids I would be held to a higher standard because of the position I'm in." I never understood that until later in life. It makes more sense to me now. Preachers are held to a higher standard because of the spiritual faith that is placed in them by the members of the church, simply because they are viewed as a spiritual leader. Same thing applies here.

Man, I can totally relate to this post.

I personally did not grow up in an overly religious household, but my wife did. Her father was a Baptist pastor.

She's told me many stories of how ridiculous her parents acted with her and how they would either lie about her and her brother, or they would fail to mention them altogether because they were so worried about what people of the church would think of them. Your post gives me a better understanding of why they did it, but I still think it's ridiculous because of the extremes in which they went to.

My kids are my kids, and if they aren't good enough for you, then you can kiss my ass. Nobody is perfect and your family is going to go through things too. But above all else. as Christians, we're supposed to pray for those who go down the wrong path, not persecute them, so for that reason alone I feel like my wife's parents should never have acted the way they did and still do to this day.

 

[skidadl]

Man, I can totally relate to this post.

I personally did not grow up in an overly religious household, but my wife did. Her father was a Baptist pastor.

She's told me many stories of how ridiculous her parents acted with her and how they would either lie about her and her brother, or they would fail to mention them altogether because they were so worried about what people of the church would think of them. Your post gives me a better understanding of why they did it, but I still think it's ridiculous because of the extremes in which they went to.

My kids are my kids, and if they aren't good enough for you, then you can kiss my ass. Nobody is perfect and your family is going to go through things too. But above all else. as Christians, we're supposed to pray for those who go down the wrong path, not persecute them, so for that reason alone I feel like my wife's parents should never have acted the way they did and still do to this day.

I get a little pissed about this type of thing. This is the epitome of religion vs. a genuine desire to follow Christ.

What is crazy about this is that Christ probably wouldn't be invited to many of these churches because he was the anti-establishment. He blasted the religious tradition and posing that goes on.

Religion ends in emptiness each and every time.

 

[Cotton]

Man, I can totally relate to this post.

I personally did not grow up in an overly religious household, but my wife did. Her father was a Baptist pastor.

She's told me many stories of how ridiculous her parents acted with her and how they would either lie about her and her brother, or they would fail to mention them altogether because they were so worried about what people of the church would think of them. Your post gives me a better understanding of why they did it, but I still think it's ridiculous because of the extremes in which they went to.

My kids are my kids, and if they aren't good enough for you, then you can kiss my ass. Nobody is perfect and your family is going to go through things too. But above all else. as Christians, we're supposed to pray for those who go down the wrong path, not persecute them, so for that reason alone I feel like my wife's parents should never have acted the way they did and still do to this day.

My dad didn't have the option of "kiss my ass". It's an unfortunate part of the gig. I can tell you, he is an amazing man that I didn't appreciate nearly enough when I was younger. I'm just really stoked I came to this realization before I lost him.

 

[Cotton]

Religion ends in emptiness each and every time.

Yep.

 

[skidadl]

My dad didn't have the option of "kiss my ass". It's an unfortunate part of the gig. I can tell you, he is an amazing man that I didn't appreciate nearly enough when I was younger. I'm just really stoked I came to this realization before I lost him.

Props. I haven't had my dad since I was 15.

 

[Texas Ace]

I get a little pissed about this type of thing. This is the epitome of religion vs. a genuine desire to follow Christ.

What is crazy about this is that Christ probably wouldn't be invited to many of these churches because he was the anti-establishment. He blasted the religious tradition and posing that goes on.

Religion ends in emptiness each and every time.

Absolutely.

There is a big difference between faith and religion, and I'm not a big fan of the latter.

Because my wife had grown up growing to church, it was her who got us started on going to church on a more consistent basis. I knew I'd always do it, but I was taking my time. My wife was the one pressing the issue and one day I just felt like the time was right.

Anyway, we start discussing what type of church we were looking for and things like that. She grew up Baptist, and I grew up Catholic. What I learned from being a Catholic was just how man invents so many things on his own as part of religion, and I told my wife that we would be neither Catholic nor Baptist, and that we would find a church that preached simply from the bible and didn't throw in their own little rules and laws.

I also emphasized that I wanted us to be the best people we could be and that we'd give our honest to goodness best effort to follow the gospel. Nothing more, nothing less.

I did not want us to be like those religious crazies that ridicule and judge people at every chance they get. The ones that are supposed Christians, but they're the first to judge people and point out their flaws. They're the first to tell you how you're supposed to live your life and how you're not supposed to do this and not do that, but behind closed doors, those dummies are hiding a lot of secrets that are far worse than anything they're judging others over.

As I said before, I don't have it all figured out and I don't pretend to know any better than the next man, but I am proud to say that I am not like those religious jerks I've seen in my lifetime and never will be.

 

[Texas Ace]

My dad didn't have the option of "kiss my ass". It's an unfortunate part of the gig. I can tell you, he is an amazing man that I didn't appreciate nearly enough when I was younger. I'm just really stoked I came to this realization before I lost him.

Oh, I didn't mean to insult your father or anything like that. My opinion was aimed towards my in-laws.

I quoted your post because you mentioned how your father felt like your guys were an extension of him, and being as he was held to a higher standard, he felt like there was a certain responsibility he had to keep you in line. I never thought about it that way when analyzing my in-laws behavior, so to their credit, I'm sure there was a bit of this in their thinking as well.

The problem with them is that they went overboard and they're also hypocrites. But that's another story for another day.

 

[skidadl]

Everybody screws up. Religious folks are no different. They just have the pressure of trying to be awesome all of the time. I know that lots of people see it differently but itas not easy putting on a religious facade. It takes a lot of upkeep and sin hiding. lol

 

[Cotton]

Props. I haven't had my dad since I was 15.

I know, brother. I'm really lucky. Had I not come to this understanding before I lost my pop, I'm not sure how I would rationalize my psyche.

 

[Cotton]

Oh, I didn't mean to insult your father or anything like that. My opinion was aimed towards my in-laws.

I quoted your post because you mentioned how your father felt like your guys were an extension of him, and being as he was held to a higher standard, he felt like there was a certain responsibility he had to keep you in line. I never thought about it that way when analyzing my in-laws behavior, so to their credit, I'm sure there was a bit of this in their thinking as well.

The problem with them is that they went overboard and they're also hypocrites. But that's another story for another day.

I know you didn't mean that as an insult. I was just furthering my statement on how it was to grow up in that environment. Or, more importantly, how it was for my dad trying to raise my dumbass in that environment.

 

[Cotton]

Everybody screws up. Religious folks are no different. They just have the pressure of trying to be awesome all of the time. I know that lots of people see it differently but itas not easy putting on a religious facade. It takes a lot of upkeep and sin hiding. lol

Another CSB moment.

I was in 5th grade, and the church decided they wanted to renovate the church. Part of this renovation was a overhaul of the altar/pulpit area. After it was decided that the entire area be rebuilt, the construction happened. About halfway through the construction it was noticed that the wiring for the organ was actually moved to the other side of the room than where it "always has been". There was a very lengthy and heated discussion about whether the extra money should be spent to fix the issue, and the church literally split over the issue. Half the membership split off and formed their own church, and my dad ended up not being the preacher either because the founding members of the original church didn't like that he didn't back them and fired him. We moved a week later.

 

[skidadl]

Another CSB moment.

I was in 5th grade, and the church decided they wanted to renovate the church. Part of this renovation was a overhaul of the altar/pulpit area. After it was decided that the entire area be rebuilt, the construction happened. About halfway through the construction it was noticed that the wiring for the organ was actually moved to the other side of the room than where it "always has been". There was a very lengthy and heated discussion about whether the extra money should be spent to fix the issue, and the church literally split over the issue. Half the membership split off and formed their own church, and my dad ended up not being the preacher either because the founding members of the original church didn't like that he didn't back them and fired him. We moved a week later.

Fags.

So Christ-like...

 

[Texas Ace]

Fags.

So Christ-like...

Exactly.

I have another hypocrite Christian story for you and this one is very recent.

My mother-in-law's sister just came from Venezuela and is staying with the in-laws. She has no money and no job and is trying to find a way to make it here because the situation in Venezuela is so bad.

Anyway, the old man is starting to get tired of having her around and told my mother-in-law not to use anymore of his money on the sister. When my mother-in-law asked him if he could maybe help her find some type of work, do you know what he said?

"I can't help her find a job because she isn't a Christian."



Whotta Christian he is, huh?

 

[Cotton]

Fags.

So Christ-like...

The last church he preached at was College Avenue in Levelland. Right before he finally retired from preaching, he had notes shoved under the door to his office that were threatening to say the least. Yes, threatening letters on his well-being. It was just too much for him. After 30 years he finally gave up and decided to be a chaplain with Hospice of Lubbock. He has been a different man since then. Hell, me and the siblings even drink at his house at Thanksgiving now. He found release from that stress.

 

[skidadl]

Exactly.

I have another hypocrite Christian story for you and this one is very recent.

My mother-in-law's sister just came from Venezuela and is staying with the in-laws. She has no money and no job and is trying to find a way to make it here because the situation in Venezuela is so bad.

Anyway, the old man is starting to get tired of having her around and told my mother-in-law not to use anymore of his money on the sister. When my mother-in-law asked him if he could maybe help her find some type of work, do you know what he said?

"I can't help her find a job because she isn't a Christian."



Whotta Christian he is, huh?

sheesh..

 

[Cotton]

Exactly.

I have another hypocrite Christian story for you and this one is very recent.

My mother-in-law's sister just came from Venezuela and is staying with the in-laws. She has no money and no job and is trying to find a way to make it here because the situation in Venezuela is so bad.

Anyway, the old man is starting to get tired of having her around and told my mother-in-law not to use anymore of his money on the sister. When my mother-in-law asked him if he could maybe help her find some type of work, do you know what he said?

"I can't help her find a job because she isn't a Christian."



Whotta Christian he is, huh?

Yep, convenience is the easiest expression of hypocrisy.

 

[skidadl]

The last church he preached at was College Avenue in Levelland. Right before he finally retired from preaching, he had notes shoved under the door to his office that were threatening to say the least. Yes, threatening letters on his well-being. It was just too much for him. After 30 years he finally gave up and decided to be a chaplain with Hospice of Lubbock. He has been a different man since then. Hell, me and the siblings even drink at his house at Thanksgiving now. He found release from that stress.

I'm sorry if I sold weed to any of the good folks at College Avenue in Levelland!



Was that place over behind a convenience store? Cause I have a CSB about that place, a minister's daughter, a revival and the back of a van.

 

[Cotton]

I'm sorry if I sold weed to any of the good folks at College Avenue in Levelland!



Was that place over behind a convenience store? Cause I have a CSB about that place, a minister's daughter, a revival and the back of a van.

Yeah, it was behind Town and Country just off of 114. Well, down the street more than right behind.

 

[skidadl]

yup...

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.5959374,-102.3674828,3a,75y,54.04h,94.84t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sShck7wCGmoWhswcnC-_a6Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1