"Don't Give up before the Miracle Happens"

Patty mentioned casually when I first arrived in town that "the" Lakewood Church was located in Houston. That didn't ring any bells; however, when she mentioned that Joel and Victoria Osteen were the pastors - I immediately knew who they were and that I had to have that experience while I was in town. The Osteens bought a former sports arena which holds up to 30,000 people in downtown to hold their church services. When we went this past Sunday I was amazed at how easily traffic flowed to/from the building and later learned that they lease out 3 - 4 parking garages for their services to accomodate the congregation. The facility is spectacular, air conditioning great, and everything was technically flawless - sound, lighting, video, live orchestra, etc. The service begins with 35-45 mins of singing - all out uplifting, energizing, foot stomping music - helping to raise the vibration of the thousands in attendance. The quality of the sound system and the vocalists was simply amazing.

Both Joel and Victoria "preached"; beginning with a verse from the bible and then began "channeling" their message. Although some of the words were not congruent with my personal belief system I did resonant with how positive and encouraging their talks were. Joel, especially, focused on the familiar message of the "dark night of the soul" and how not to give up before the miracle happens. He expressed that when the intensity of the struggle in our lives becomes really intense this is a sign that we are near to giving birth to a new way of life and clearing the space for rebirth. He used the analogy of a woman going thru labor and how difficult the final stages are to birth the baby. This is often true in alot of areas of our life - he extorted us to become "prisoners of hope" rather than discouragement and defeat. It was easy to be impressed with his charisma and sense of genuineness.

The facility also holds many rooms for the plethora of programs Lakewood offers as well as a cafe and bookstore - many were lined up after the service to purchase a personally autographed book by his sister, April Osteen, and his mother, Dodie Osteen. The church was founded by his father, John Osteen, and Joel's vision is as grand and big as the city of Houston itself.