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itive thinking and attaining personal prosperity through Christianity
has attracted both devout followers
and strident critics, who argue he
preaches a watered-down version of
the Bible that overemphasizes material wealth. But his breed of selfempowerment evangelicalism —
“Be a victor, not a victim,” “[God]
wants us to enjoy every single day
of our lives” — has proved so popular, Osteen delivers his song-filled
sermons to traveling Night of Hope
events held monthly in different
HUFFINGTON
06.09.13
cities around the world. He’s also
authored several bestsellers and
reaches 10 million homes a month
via his weekly TV broadcast. He has
a passion for television and doesn’t
seem to have ever met a camera
he didn’t like. “TV is Joel’s heart,”
notes Madding. But seeing new opportunities to expand his following
and spread his brand of inspiration,
Osteen has lately sought to master
a new field: digi-vangelism.
In his telling, social media enables him to “impact more people
in a positive way” — an impact
he no doubt hopes will ultimately
tether believers and non-believers
D.C. resident
Danielle
Logan prays
during
Osteen’s
sermon at
Nationals
Park on April
29, 2012, in
Washington,
D.C.