For some, when I say that I am not a supporter of Joel Osteen’s teaching you probably think, “DUH! He’s a prosperity preacher!” For others you might think “REALLY!? He has such a positive message. Why would you NOT support that?!?!”

About a year ago a friend of mine/member of my church family posted on Twitter that she was currently reading one of Mr. Osteen’s books. I messaged her about it and brought some things to her attention. I thought I would share my message to her with you all. My intention is not to slander Mr. Osteen, but rather to raise what I feel like are some legitimate concerns about his teaching. Below is exactly what I sent to her via text message and screenshots below that. I have deleted her name from the screenshots, but did ask her permission before posting.

Hey girl. Pls don’t think I’m the Twitter police when I share this w/you 🙂 
And pls know that I you are free to read whatever you want, & I respect that..:but I saw your post about Joel Osteen. First of all, props to you! I’m so glad to see you making efforts to feed your soul, few girls your age are doing that w/their time….but to say that I have reservations about Joel would be an understatement To be fair, I was “warned” about Joel & other “prosperity preachers” in ministry training, so I’m definitely hypersensitive to them, but as your pastor and friend I wanted to give you a chance to make a decision on whether or not his (Joel’s) teaching is in line w/biblical Christianity. Here’s a link to a post that brings up some of the same concerns I have http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/09/04/joel-osteen-wife-heretics-thats-america-loves/ and here’s a short YouTube vid about the prosperity gospel and its dangers ESPECIALLY in 3rd world countries as they don’t have the the $$ & resources that we have & are seen as not having enough faith or saying the right “powerful” words. http://youtu.be/G-V_91c5ojU
And one more by Matt Chandler http://youtu.be/w3oFFZQqKdc
Pls let me know if you have questions about this & pls don’t take this as me telling you what you should/shouldn’t read. Just want you to be informed. Much love, Roy

My friend said that what I shared with her was helpful and that she had passed it on to others. That’s my intention, to be helpful.