Summary
Joel Osteen is no stranger to controversies and has shot to the headlines several times owing to his various actions that have prompted many people to loathe him. However, this time, he has recently appeared all over the news headlines after a shootout incident took place in his Lakewood church premises, leading to the grievous injury of a child.
It all began when a woman walked into Joel Osteen’s megachurch in Texas on Sunday, 11th February 2024, with a rifle in her hand, and started shooting randomly at the others. She was overpowered on the scene by a few off-duty police officers, but her shooting left her 7-year-old son critically injured in the head along with another man injured.
The concerned authorities are investigating this crime incident that took place at the Lakewood Church of Joel Osteen, which is located approximately 6 miles away from downtown Houston, Texas.
Table Of Contents
Who Is Joel Osteen?
Joel Scott Osteen is an American televangelist, pastor, author, and businessman, who is well known for his best-selling books and weekly televised sermon preaching services. Based out of Houston, Texas, Osteen has earned widespread recognition owing to his association with the Word Of Faith movement, and prosperity theology, which is a religious belief harbored by Charismatic Christians.
Born in March 1963 in Houston, Joel Osteen’s father John Osteen was formerly a Southern Baptist clergyman and the founder of Lakewood Church. Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of this church, at present, and also the founder of Lakewood’s TV programs; he was also the producer of his father’s television sermons till January 1999. Joel Osteen’s first sermon preaching session took place in January 1999, the same month when his father died due to a heart attack.
As per Osteen, the weekly televised sermon program of Lakewood Church has a viewership across more than a hundred nations. However, many among the public have often criticized his preaching for being self-serving and poorly aligned with the Scripture. His name was featured on Barbara Walters’ 2006 list of 10 Most Fascinating People, while John McCain, the former presidential candidate mentioned Osteen as his most preferred inspirational author. Joel Osteen and his family also attended the White House Easter Breakfast hosted by then-president Barack Obama, back in 2010.
Joel Osteen is an accomplished author – his debut book, titled “Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential”, which was launched in 2004, became number one in the list of New York Times Best Sellers. Three years later, in 2007, he launched his second book which is titled “Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day”, which also featured as the top best-selling book. Apart from these two, Joel Osteen has authored over 18 other books.
Osteen has held a very diplomatic view about current social and political issues – while he has acknowledged that gay marriage is considered blasphemy in the Scripture, he did not shy away from stating that homosexual individuals are welcome to his church without any judgments. Despite his highly illustrious career as an author and pastor, Osteen’s name has often been embroiled in controversies, including the prosperity gospel, the copyright infringement case of American Dollar, and the inaction of Lakewood Church towards Hurricane Harvey victims.
Rumors About His Plastic Surgery
Apart from the many controversies surrounding Lakewood Church and Joel Osteen, the public has also not spared the televangelist and pastor from allegations of going under the knife to preserve his youthfulness. They have been bombarding these rumors at Osteen, claiming that in his recent photos, he looks way younger than in his earlier images, so he must have done something to look that young even at 60.
According to Netizens, the pastor’s facial skin looks queerly tight and stretchy, without any of the fine lines or sagging skin that naturally occur as we advance in age. They suspect that he might have opted for Botox injections to tighten his skin, which in turn makes it appear pretty stiff, almost expressionless.
Apart from Botox fillers, Joel Osteen has also had upper eyelid surgery, they suspect, since his eyes appear to be more open up. He might also have gone for brow lift surgery since his eyebrows are more prominent now and there is no sign of sagging around his eyes.
However, we must mention here that Joel Osteen has never really denied or agreed with any of these claims made by the public. He expressed his will to look good though, and maintain a pleasing appearance.
Shooting At His Lakewood Church
On 11th February 2024, a 36-year-old lady, named Genesse Ivonne Moreno, with a history of mental illness, entered Osteen’s Lakewood Church accompanied by her 7-year-old son, Samuel Moreno-Carranza. She was carrying a long gun in her hand, with which she opened fire, but she was soon overpowered by law enforcement officers and killed by them. However, her son Samuel was shot in his head and is now reportedly fighting for his life in a Texas hospital.
According to the search warrant issued, the police “shot and killed her in self-defense” when she pointed her rifle at them. However, it is not yet known who shot at Samuel’s head; the police have not shared much details about the tragic incident, but have not ruled out a possible motive behind opening fire.
Another man, Tom George Thomas, injured in the leg during this shootout, was treated at the hospital and later released. The gun used by the shooter was a legally bought AR-15 and had a “Palestine” sticker, she was also carrying a 0.22 caliber gun in her bag which she did not use.
The pastor of Lakewood Church, Joel Osteen has invited people to the special Sunday church service hosted by the ministry, in the aftermath of this horrific and tragic incident. He appealed to the public to join him in a special Sunday mass a week after the incident, to heal from a tragedy that they never imagined they would have to deal with.
About The Author
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