Which TV pastors to trust?

[tsuanthony]

Is Joel osteen legitimiate? Meaning that his messages are all from the word and not twisting them to meet the world's need? I wathced a few of his sermons and he has great messages :] I just want to make sure that he's not twisting any of the scriptures.

Mark Driscoll - good? bad?


just want your opnions on both of these guys; if you know anyone else that's pretty good lemme know
thanks.

 

[Zalu]

I would stay away from Joel Osteen. While he does speak uplifting messages, that's all they are. From what I've seen, he speaks half-truths or lies completely saying things like because you've given yourself to Christ, your life is going to be absolutely perfect. Basically, he tells people what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear.

As for Mark Driscoll, I just love him lol. He's very forward with his messages and it's not for everyone, but it works for me. Also check out Matt Chandler and John Piper while you're at it.

 

[er72]

Is Joel osteen legitimiate? Meaning that his messages are all from the word and not twisting them to meet the world's need? I wathced a few of his sermons and he has great messages :] I just want to make sure that he's not twisting any of the scriptures.

Mark Driscoll - good? bad?


just want your opnions on both of these guys; if you know anyone else that's pretty good lemme know
thanks.

It depends on your style.

Joel Osteen is great. He's very uplifting. He doesn't lie, he's simply very positive and optimistic. He wants people to have good lives here, not just wait one day for heaven. If that's your approach, you'll like him. He's like a Christian motivation speaker - not a deep theologian.

Mark Driscoll is a Calvinist. As such, I'd stay away from him.

For who you listen to, it's up to you. Some preachers are loud-mouths, others more soft-spoken. Some are very confrontational and aggressive, others soft and more approachable. It depends on your style, what particular type of Christianity you come from and what your spiritual needs are at the moment.

For the most part, I don't really like televangelists, but they're not all bad. Just not my style mostly. Some seem like they're just in it for the money. Others teach completely erroneous things. But everyone has their goods and bads.

 

[lutherangerman]

I'd always take TV preachers with a grain of salt. They are celebrities and as such you can't have your own real life relationship with them. With a normal pastor you can have that and you can get to know him or her for real and can see how he or she behaves and can see his manners and all that. On TV you can't accurately see the person because most likely when lights go out they become different persons. The "show" aspect of TV evangelism may get in the way of authenticity and genuineity.

That said, I have seen some of the videos of Mark Driscoll and they seem sincere and truthful - he makes a big deal about defending orthodox faith and explaining and fighting heresy in the traditional style, which is very helpful to christians who are seeking a solid understanding of their faith.

About Joel Osteen I am conflicted. On the one hand he is seriously into the prosperity gospel which simply isn't genuine christianity. On the other hand people do need hope and being uplifted out of misery and depression, so sometimes I am equally suspicious about people who say christianity is only about suffering and pain and conflict. I like it when preachers are balanced and do not just throw us a bone and say eat it or die. Like, when they speak about something tough that they help us understand it and show us ways how to deal with it so that we won't feel helpless about it.

Piper is good too, although I am not fond of everything he says. He is a Calvinist, although not hyper and exclusive about it, which is nice.

Basically, I think we can't expect THAT MUCH from TV evangelists. They can be useful and they have their place, but you can't have fellowship with them. With a real pastor and other christians you don't just receive teaching from them but you can also fellowship with them and just share in daily life. It's more brother-to-brother. So I would say, enjoy your favourite TV evangelist, but test him and develop knowledge of our faith also from other sources. And don't base your whole christianity on one of such TV people but instead seek a good church home that has a pastor that is available for a talk with you as often as needed.

 

[briareos]

Is Joel osteen legitimiate? Meaning that his messages are all from the word and not twisting them to meet the world's need? I wathced a few of his sermons and he has great messages :] I just want to make sure that he's not twisting any of the scriptures.

Mark Driscoll - good? bad?


just want your opnions on both of these guys; if you know anyone else that's pretty good lemme know
thanks.

Friend,

Do not, Do not Do not... get caught up in this game of labeling ministers as either good or bad, we all fall short of the mark and you will always find things in ministers that you do not agree with completely unless those subjects really breach the terms of christianity then you take the meat and spit out the bones.

Paul said you should strive for unity and bear with one another forgiving each other of their sins. Do not allow yourself into the "hes good, hes bad" game. Why don't you ask the Lord?
Read the bible, pray, stay close to God and see how you feel about it.

 

[ezeric]

As for ANY preacher, it all depends if they teach
'the gospel of GRACE' or 'Any type of legalism (rule keeping)'.

If its all about JESUS (and not pastors, money, budgets, ego, ministries)
then you are leaning towards the true gospel (good news).

If its about church rules, denominations, or the above mentioned.
Or about what YOU can do to get out of your trouble. 5 steps to this, or
12 steps to that - run!

Because its ZERO steps in the kingdom of GRACE, as GOD actually
walks with us, and carries us as we turn to HIM or believe HIM!
Note: I am not talking about 'walking in the SPIRIT', but the focus
isnt on us but JESUS.

HE must increase, I must decrease. John 3:30

-eric

The Exchanged Life

 

[seajoy]

I'm not much for TV preachers but, Time of Grace with Pastor Mark Jeske, is really good.

 

[fm107]

Brother,

I don't watch tv pastors. But what I can say is that the bible tells us to be on guard of any false teachers and to test what they say against what the bible (God's word) says:

1 John 4:1
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

I have heard a couple of Joel Osteen's messages and I conclude that he is merely giving the people what they want to hear. He has very little knowledge of scripture, his understanding of it is poor also. He in my opinion needs to be taught, not teaching.

2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

Whatever happens be on guard against false prophets like the bible says we should be. They are in sheep's clothing scriptures say which means they can be very hard to spot. Compare what they say to the bible - compare it to the truth.


May God bless you, your brother in Christ.

 

[heron]

Basically, I think we can't expect THAT MUCH from TV evangelists. They can be useful and they have their place

Do not... get caught up in this game of labeling ministers as either good or bad, we all fall short of the mark and you will always find things in ministers that you do not agree with completely unless those subjects really breach the terms of christianity then you take the meat and spit out the bones.

When you read literature, you accept that the writer has a different voice, set of morals, and came from different experiences. Try to give yourself a bit of similar distance, so that you are gaining what you choose to gain, but not giving yourself over to their entire body of teachings.

You are responsible before God, for seeking out the truth.

Most TV preachers started out with passionate ideals to spread the gospel. When they televised their sermons, they simply allowed a camera in their church services -- they did not go to Hollywood producers or bring in media publicists. Celebrity happened after people started watching.

Most media preachers believe that God tells them to preach certain messages, and the range of styles/approaches/doctrines gets very diverse. Some will preach end times prophecy, some contemporary prophecy, some hope for provision, some asceticism and self-discipline, raising evangelists, raising intercessors, raising youth to lead, understanding Hebrew, exploring theology... the body is meant to have many different functions.

Listeners need to hear different things, depending on where they are in life. I believe that God gives these different types of messages, even though people think that conflicting messages means one person is wrong and the other is right. God as a "person" has many facets.

There are times I think Osteen sounds formulaic, and then a day will hit where I need encouragement, and he says what it takes to pull myself out. God uses everything. God used Balaam's donkey.

Stay in the Word, and continually decide for yourself. Don't ever stop screening what you take in. Doing that, you will have the freedom to take in many diverse things.

 

[janny108]

It depends on your style.

Joel Osteen is great. He's very uplifting. He doesn't lie, he's simply very positive and optimistic. He wants people to have good lives here, not just wait one day for heaven. If that's your approach, you'll like him. He's like a Christian motivation speaker - not a deep theologian.

Mark Driscoll is a Calvinist. As such, I'd stay away from him.

For who you listen to, it's up to you. Some preachers are loud-mouths, others more soft-spoken. Some are very confrontational and aggressive, others soft and more approachable. It depends on your style, what particular type of Christianity you come from and what your spiritual needs are at the moment.

For the most part, I don't really like televangelists, but they're not all bad. Just not my style mostly. Some seem like they're just in it for the money. Others teach completely erroneous things. But everyone has their goods and bads.

To me Joel Osteen has his place although limited. I read a few of his books and if you have any depression or doubts he can be positive and uplifting. I think he knows that life isn't always good, but he focuses on the positive which I think is a good thing.

 

[janny108]

I like Joyce Meyer but really don't have time to watch her anymore.

 

[paul1149]

I like Joel. I used to listen quite a bit, and got a lot of encouragement from him. His treatment of sin is quite implicit, but that didn't bother me as he was not my only source. After a while, though, his message seemed repetitive and I moved on. I don't listen anymore, but I could probably tune in occasionally and benefit from it. I particularly think his message of love would be very powerful evangelism to regions where God's love is in short supply, such as Muslim nations.

I don't do a lot of listening, but the one I listen to most now is Joseph Prince. He has a lot of spiritual insight into the text, and he generally sticks to the text pretty closely.

In general, go where you're fed, but walk circumspectly. Each person has a piece of the revelation, and it takes the whole Body to manifest the full knowledge of God.

 

[briareos]

We need to remember that we all have diffrent gifts and graces according to Paul in Romans 12. We don't all do the same things and aren't called to do the same things our thoughts and actions and words toward each other should be loving and nothing less we don't want the Lord to teach us humility or make us aware of our own failures. I would be surprised to see what would happen if we took the time to pray and ask God for guidance before we ever spoke critically of another brother in Christ.

 

[tsuanthony]

@briareos
I wasn't meaning to put any of those pastors down or accuse them of wrong doing, I just wanted to know if they were Pastors that were close with God and preached from the word and not make anything up from their own lips.

are Calvinist bad?

 

[Ttery]

I wouldn't trust any TBN Preacher at all with my relationship with God. You have a better hope of going to God though Jesus, then trusting others to get you there. I feel the only TV preach I know of that can help me grow closer to God is, John Piper. No one else.The preachers on TBN mostly preach the "Prosperity Gospel"

YouTube - ‪'Heresy' by Jovan Mackenzy‬‏

YouTube - ‪Jovan Mackenzy-Run‬‏

This is what I like to hear, and I hope you the same:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTc_FoELt8s&feature=BFa&list=PL2DF4959EDE425C42&index=2

 

[heron]

are Calvinist bad?

That's a matter of opinion. Many Calvinists I know aren't really Calvinists. There's an element of fatalism in their doctrine that can throw off some biblical truths. Generally, you would think they were normal.

You can suspect people making things up when they don't back up their statements. Sometimes "truths" will be thrown out in the air without an explanation because they have been teaching something for years and they assume everyone will agree.

That can -sometimes- lead to errant layering of information -- because we accept this premise, then that is true, because that is true, then the next thing must be true.

So if you ever get that twinge of "where did that come from?" then go look it up. It doesn't mean the person isn't a devoted follower of God -- just that they have gotten careless either in explaining, or holding to scriptures, or keeping their opinions in check.

Some purists -- Charles Stanley, Perry Stone, and I agree that Joseph Prince is persistent in digging for truth. But keep yourself balanced and listen to different ones. If they seem more focused on getting your money than delivering a message, go back to the History Channel.

 

[briareos]

tsuanthony,

I know you didn't. I am only saying to be careful and don't allow yourself to join in the critical dividing game that alot of people play. A lot of people are far too willing to criticize others when they disagree with them and they demonize those people.

If you hang around christianity long enough, and not only that but get in the waters yourself you begin to see that we all have our failures and you see the obligation to love each other and bear with each other and blacklisting certain preachers or people and creating these huge divisions in the Kingdom of God is not loving and it isn't Gods way. I personally think Kingdom Connection with Jentezen Franklin to be a wonderful healthy ministry.

No Calvinism isn't bad, the devil is bad, Calvin may have been wrong about somethings but that doesn't make him evil, you will always need to know your own bible and follow your walk with God.

I don't believe once saved always saved or eternal security, that doesn't mean I think baptists are bad... or evil or that I give my life to blacklisting people who believe that, we are all a part of the Kingdom of God and we need to come together, bear with one another and love each other.

Patience, love, gentleness, kindness, long suffering, not criticism or division.

Peter had problems with the apostle Paul, Peter did not accept him always and Peter was wrong for that... does that mean Peter was not a Godly man? That nothing Peter taught was true? No... it means Peter needed grace too. When you consider yourself the least of the saints like Paul did, you not so quick to criticize other people. I know you aren't doing this, but don't allow yourself to get caught up in that.

 

[Vimi]

I watch them but I don't trust them, I don't know them. That way, if I see a TV pastor in a crisis or in a fallen state, I am not moved. I don't put my confidence in man, I place it all in Christ alone. However, I trust the Lord so I glean from preachers what is fruitful. That's it.

 

[heron]

That painting of the cliff in the first video -- someone on the dream forum had a similar vision.

The second video brought up political agenda. Christians don't usually equate that with heresy, but if you look at the history of the church, the biggest errors came when the believers allowed leaders to sway them politically, using religion as a means to an end.

A preacher might point out oppression or unwise agendas, but they should never tell you who to vote for. That is even one of the US government standards for non-profit status.

 

[NvxiaLee]

Olsteen is a prosperity preacher who with no religious education, and he never pretends for a second to be anything else. In other words, if you want a deistic motivational speaker, he's for you. But, if you want a Christian pastor, move on.