I recognize that Joel Osteen is a great communicator (even Forbes does), and there are numerous things I appreciate about him and his ministry. Nevertheless, there is a repetitive theme in his ministry that I find troubling. And it is particularly troubling given the millions of people who listen to his sermons and assume that […]
As leaders, we are often told that we need to “lead like Jesus,” we need “to behave like Jesus.” But here is a sobering truth: If you do not have and are not […]
There seems to be a growing number of Joel Osteen “haters” out there. So, I thought I would point out a few things I really like about the guy and his ministry at Lakewood Church.
I cringed as I sat there listening to the preacher. The preacher declared, “The Spirit is a ‘him’, and ‘he’ lives in you.” And on account of this he boldly proclaimed to the congregation, “The Holy Spirit is a ‘he,’ not an ‘it.’ Therefore the Holy Spirit is personal.” The preacher was both right and wrong […]
After nearly forty years of marriage to my sweet bride, it occurs to me that part of our secret is our uniqueness. You might say our secret sauce is the weirdness we bring to the relationship. Those things that once drove me crazy about her (though they still mildly irritate me at times!) are fond […]
At times I have heard Pentecostal Christians triumphantly declare that Pentecostalism now consists of over 600 million people in the world. I assume they have the good intention of encouraging those Pentecostals who are listening. I sometimes worry, though, that they are implying that the large and growing number of Pentecostals in the world implies […]
We packed into our green minivan and drove into the small town at the foot of the mountains. Even though we were camping, we managed to clean off our camp smell and still arrive at the small Pentecostal church a few minutes early. Upon entering their worship space, I got the suspicion that this was […]
I’m not talking about “fire tunnels,” where people walk in between two lines of people who place their hands on them and pray for them. Instead, I’m talking about when John the Baptist says Jesus “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16). What does this mean?
Many Christians have the incorrect (dare I use the H word?) idea that the Holy Spirit only works in Christians. Even worse, some Pentecostals would say you don’t “have the Spirit” unless you have spoken in tongues.
Sometimes I think Pentecostals should just give up on talking about Spirit baptism. Students are either confused or crying in my office because they want to experience it, but haven’t.