Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen said that he has never owned a jet, a yacht, or fleet of cars and that, not only does he not take a salary from the church, but he is actually a “big supporter” of his church.
“People like to make up stuff, but I don’t think I’ve ever sat in a Ferrari,” said Osteen in a conversation with Logan Paul and Mike Majlak on the “IMPAULSIVE” podcast April 8. “And they showed me pictures of me driving Ferraris and fleets of cars, and Joel’s got his yachts and jets and stuff, but I never respond to it…I have no yachts. I have no jets.”
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Osteen was responding to a question from Majlak, who had asked, “I want to address this ‘cause…there’s going to be some controversy here. Where are the Bentleys, the yachts, and the jets?”
“You don’t even have one jet?” Paul asked Osteen.
“I don’t have one jet,” Osteen replied. “I’ve never owned a jet. I’ve never owned a yacht or, you know, a fleet of cars.”
“I don’t take a salary from the church. I’ve been blessed with book sales and media and other things, so I don’t have to take a salary,” he added. “So I can work here for basically no salary…but, you know, people like to think it’s all about money and things like that.”
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Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, one of the largest churches in the United States. He is the son of Lakewood’s founder, John Osteen, and he assumed leadership in 1999. As Lakewood’s senior pastor, Osteen has expanded the church’s global reach through televised sermons and bestselling books focused on faith, positivity, and personal growth.
Osteen is controversial to some because critics argue his preaching emphasizes prosperity, positivity, and personal success in ways that downplay sin, suffering, and core theological doctrines. He has also faced scrutiny over Lakewood Church’s response during natural disasters and his reluctance to take firm public stances on certain social or doctrinal debates.
For example, in a 2005 interview with Larry King, Osteen was reluctant to say that Jewish or Muslim people were “wrong” for not accepting Christ and that they therefore would not go to heaven. Osteen later apologized and said he believes Jesus is the only way to heaven.
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Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen told Logan Paul that he (Osteen) has never owned a jet, a yacht, or fleet of cars and that, not only does he not take a salary from the church, but he is actually a big supporter of his church.Click to Post
