Joel Osteen

=== Preaching style ===
Osteen memorizes his planned remarks before he delivers them, and listens back to previous ones on tape.<ref>{{cite news |title = Joel Osteen: By the numbers and other interesting facts |url = http://www.christianpost.com/news/joel-osteen-talks-biggest-preaching-mistake-owning-the-room-94667/ |date = April 25, 2013 |work = Christian Post |last=Menzie |first=Nicola}}</ref> His sermons have been criticized as self-serving and revealing a poor command of Scripture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Christine |last2=Carlin |first2=Nathan |date=February 1, 2010 |title=Joel Osteen as Cultural Selfobject: Meeting the Needs of the Group Self and Its Individual Members in and from the Largest Church in America |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-009-0197-7 |journal=Pastoral Psychology |language=en |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=27–51 |doi=10.1007/s11089-009-0197-7 |s2cid=143635448 |issn=1573-6679}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Butler |first=Anthea |date=August 31, 2017 |title=Opinion {{!}} The Cheap Prosperity Gospel of Trump and Osteen |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/opinion/trump-osteen-harvey-church.html |access-date=January 27, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 21, 2013 |title=The False Promise Of The Prosperity Gospel: Why I Called Out Joel Osteen And Joyce Meyer |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/osteen-meyer-prosperity-gospel_b_3790384 |access-date=January 27, 2023 |website=HuffPost |language=en |last=Henderson |first=Rick}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=R. |first=Geiger, Wayne |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/651017356 |title=Joel Osteen : a critical analysis of sermonic methodology |date=October 10, 2023 |publisher=University of Central Missouri |isbn=978-1-109-60661-4 |oclc=651017356}}</ref> Osteen says he chooses to focus more on the goodness of God and on living an obedient life rather than on sin,<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/joel-osteen |title = Fox News on Osteen |website = FoxNews.com |access-date = September 20, 2014 }}</ref> and that he tries to teach Biblical principles in a simple way, emphasizing the power of love and a positive attitude.<ref name="60 Minutes" /> When asked why he does not focus more on [[sin]], the [[devil]], and [[hell]] in detail, Osteen stated in an interview with [[CBN News]]:

{{blockquote|When I grew up, the devil was a reason why I had a headache or the devil was the reason I got mad today. 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. Some people preach about hell like you're already going there, and to me the Gospel means "Good News." I'd rather say God is a God of mercy. So I think the people already know what they're doing wrong, and I certainly believe in hell. But to me, when I see thousands of people before me, it just doesn't come out of me to say, "You guys are terrible, and you're going to hell." I'd rather say that God is a God of mercy. You've got to live an obedient life, but for every mistake you've made, there's mercy there, and I believe we can do better.<ref name=Interview />}}