“I would never do it purposely,” the pastor replied when asked why his latest book contains little to no mentions of Jesus Christ. “Certainly He is my savior. He is in my messages and I always give people an invitation to receive Christ.
“I deal with more practical issues of the Bible. … I don’t like to beat people down. They need to be lifted up.”
The book, which has chapter titles such as “Feed Your Good Habits,” “Rising Higher” and “Keep the Strife Out of Your Life,” does not dwell heavily on unanswered prayer. When he deals with people, Mr. Osteen said he aims at keeping their faith up.
“Faith is all about trusting God when you do not understand,” he said. “I talked with a lady last week whose 16-year-old daughter hung herself. I just told her God has got her in the palm of His hand, to have strength, just believe and don’t get bitter.”
Julia Duin is the Times’ religion editor. She has a master’s degree in religion from Trinity School for Ministry (an Episcopal seminary) and has covered the beat for three decades. Before coming to The Washington Times, she worked for five newspapers, including a stint as a religion writer for the Houston Chronicle and a year as city editor at the ...
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