Osteen and Victoria's Secret: Unusual bedfellows?

Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church, a mega-mega-church in Houston, Texas, has been much maligned by the evangelical mainstream for his rather non-committal views on fundamental Christian doctrines like depravity and atonement. While Osteen candidly admits that his forte is not in biblical theology, he still maintains that his ministry is doing much good for the kingdom and especially the lives of his congregants, viewers, and readers. After some preliminary investigation, I'm inclined to (provisionally) agree.

Actually, I'm beginning to wonder if Osteen's calling might really be in prophecy. You see, way back in 2005 he preached a sermon on why wives should try to look their best for their husbands. An except was aired on Larry King Live during Osteen's 2005 interview:

"Some of you ladies have been wearing the same flannel bathrobe to bed every night that your grandmother gave you 30 years ago. It's got holes in it. It's as ugly as it can be, and you know it doesn't do anything for you, and it certainly doesn't do anything for your husband. One of the best things that you can do for your marriage is to throw that thing away, and go down to Victoria's Secret and get something good that you can wear. You wonder why Victoria and I have a great relationship? It's called Victoria's Secret."

Now, just over two years later (Oct. 16, 2007), Osteen has appeared on Larry King Live once again, this time with his wife—Victoria. While most evangelical commentators and bloggers have focused on his comments regarding soteriology, I find his comments about marriage more interesting.

When King asked Osteen whether it was true that he "exhorted women in the audience to shop at Victoria's Secret to help their marriage" (shouldn't King know the answer to this question by the way—the above quote was aired on his show!), Osteen responded: "...And that was my point, don't go look good and dress up to go to work and dress up to go to event[s] for everybody else. Dress up for your own husband. I mean, look good at home."

While some in the media have criticized Osteen's comments for implying "that women's role in the outside world isn't that important," it is now clear that Osteen was simply being prophetic. He wasn't telling women to literally not try to look their best at work; he was merely preaching out against the latest fashion trend: wearing lingerie in public! You can check out this new fashion trend for yourself in the Oct. 25 New York Times article, "Now It's Nobody's Secret" (careful, male readers).

So I say to Osteen: Preach it, brother! Yes, it might help you to take some distance education courses from Trinity, Asbury, or even Gordon-Conwell, and to brush up on your soteriology and related theological topics, but when it comes to marriage advice, keep up the good work!