Date: 2012-04-24
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. it gives me a great amount of privilege today to welcome two humble spirits in Pastor Joel Osteen and CoPastor Victoria Osteen. and to recognize their entire family and their delightful children. Alexandra and Jonathan. Two humble spirits. As was reflected in his prayer. Joel Osteen has taught us to embrace Gods grace and mercy. and for those who will listen. to stand in the sunlight of joy as one looks toward the hopefulness of the future. I am delighted that Lakewood started in a feedstock store in the 18th Congressional District. The story is told that there were spiders and a lot of dust. organized by his wonderful father. John Osteen. and his mother. Dodie Osteen. two who loved each other dearly but really loved the Lord. Out of that wonderful union came five children. And out of that wonderment. as John Osteen preached for over 40 years. as the love of his wife. Dodie Osteen. provided a comfort at his side. they built a wonderful church called the Oasis of Love. But John was taken from us suddenly in 1999. A young man by the name of Joel was at school. But. knowing how much he loved his family. he came home. just happening. a month or so ago or a few years before. working with his fathers ministry. and gave a sermon for the first time one week before his father died. Maybe it was the father telling the son that now it is your time. As we look to the future. Pastor Joel Osteen. who has published many books. continues to be a humble spirit. is known to have the largest and most growing church in American history and. as well. continues with a humble spirit. His phrase that "Our God is a good God who desires to bless those who are obedient and faithful to him" is one that were reminded of. He continues to ensure that those who are in need have a sense of inspiration and hope. and he continues to preach this word around the world. He asks for all of us. and he asks for America and the world. to become all that God created you to be. and continues to emphasize that we are better than we think. As he was the product of John and Dodie Osteen. he is now. along with his wife and along with his mother. continuing to shine a light. Were delighted to have him today because we need a light in America. As he reaches those who are seeking light. we ask Pastor Joel Osteen. in his books. in his message. to continue to bless us. He is. in fact. someone who warmly says: America is a great country. but were better when we work together. Thank you. Pastor Osteen. for keeping the dream alive. that of your father and mother. of a church that was started in 1959. Thank you as well for opening the doors of your church to everyone that would come. But more importantly. every background. race. color. or creed is welcome in those pews. now some 16.000. And that was a former basketball stadium. or arena. but yet now people come and worship. Im delighted to host Pastor Joel Osteen and his copastor. his wife. Victoria Osteen. for what they are doing not only for their church and their members. but really what theyre doing for harmony and the spirit of America. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to acknowledge the achievements of a native Houstonian Joel Osteen. his wife of 21 years Victoria Osteen. as well as. Joels parents John and Dodie Osteen. Their Church Lakewood was established in 1959 in my district the 18th Congressional District in Houston. Texas. Joel was born in Houston on March 5. 1965 and has become an internationally known televangelist. theologian. speaker and writer. He was born into a family dedicated to serving their community. In 1959. six years before his birth. Joels parents. John and Dodie Osteen. founded the Lakewood Church in Houston. Texas. Joel bore witness to his parents commitment to the church and the community that they served. Joel has married a woman who shares his level of commitment. His wife Victoria is also his copastor and together they have two children Alexandra and Jonathan. John Osteen was not only a founder but also the Pastor of Lakewood Church and as the years progressed he along with Dodie was able to develop a loyal local following. John was a prolific writer and authored 45 books and his wife. Dodie joined him in his passion for writing. She also published a book which described her battle with metastic cancer of the liver. Dodies survival was a miracle and a blessing for all who heard her story. Joel. who has always been strongly committed to his family. left for university. however. he returned home early and continued to help his family with the church. Joel had found his calling in life. and gave his first sermon one week before his fathers death. That moment set his future destinyhe was called to pastor Lakewood Church. Before that. Joel believed the next step for the church was television and he worked without ceasing behind cameras and as a producer of the churchs broadcasts. Young Joel had a vision and the Osteens. as a family. worked towards that vision to bring their church into the homes of millions of people around the world as a conduit to deliver the word of the Lord. In 1999. Joel reached his 34th birthday and in that year he along with his family had already celebrated many successes. Sadly. they also had to come together that year to mourn the loss of their patriarch. John Osteen. who died of a heart attack. At the time of his fathers death. Joel had to decide what to do next. He had spent his life dedicated to supporting the mission of the Lakewood Church. He could have chosen a different path in life but had remained steadfast in working with the congregation for so long. Instead of leaving the church upon his fathers death. Joel decided to pick up the torch lit by his parents and stepped into his fathers shoes as Pastor of Lakewood Church. The rest is history. Within the space of 9 years. Joel has transformed the Church and left his mark on history. According to reports. Lakewood Church under Joel Osteens leadership has become Americas largest and fastest growing church. The Osteen family has lived their vision. they are indeed being seen in millions of homes around the world. Currently Joes services can be seen in nearly 100 countries. Lakewood Church is nondenominationalthere are no crosses or other visual representations of Jesusinstead. the focus is on the message as delivered by Joel and his copastors. He wants to teach people on the redemption of Jesus Christ. Joel has been preaching to millions of people around the world. He has a strong message of unity and encourages diversity and acceptance. Joel is arguably the most popular preacher in the country. Lakewood Church is the largest congregation in the United States. averaging more than 43.500 in attendance per week. The congregation in Houston meets in a 16.000seat former sports arena. On any given Sunday over 7 million people watch his services. And his ability to embrace technology has allowed even more viewers to witness his services. Currently the church has 48 million podcasts with over 1 million people downloading their podcasts every week. I commend Joel Osteen. his wife Victoria. his family and his Lakewood Church team ministry who have worked together to put forward a message that has engaged the hearts and minds of millions.