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BIOGRAPHY Joel's father, John Osteen , a former Southern Baptist pastor who became Charismatic in the late 1950s, founded Lakewood Church on Mother's Day , 1959 . Osteen's father developed Lakewood into a body of approximately 6,000 members with an active Television ministry, crusades, conferences, Missionary support and food distribution. He died of a heart attack in 1999 . Having produced his father's television program for years, Joel Osteen--despite having preached only one time in his life, the week before John Osteen's death--succeeded him on October 3 , 1999 . Despite concerns regarding Osteen's selection (mainly due to his lack of experience in preaching and concerns about the son of a famous minister being able to "fill the shoes" of the father), Osteen's low-key, positive style resonated with crowds. Adopting the slogan "Discover the Champion in You," Lakewood eventually had to hold six weekly services in its 7,800 seat Sanctuary , before moving to a new facility, the former Compaq Center which can seat over 16,000 at one time, in July 2005. Joel lives in the Houston area with his wife Victoria and two children, Jonathan and Alexandra. CRITICISM AND SUPPORT Critics have decried his lifestyle as "lavish" pointing to the fact that he lives in a house valued at over $2.5 million, located in the same subdivision as former President George H. W. Bush. Osteen advertises his book multiple times during his television ministry broadcasts. Lakewood refused to house evacuees in its new facility, formerly the Compaq Center. Some believe this is due to the financial state of most of the evacuees. The Houston Chronicle reported that on December 19, 2005, the Osteens were told to leave their first-class seats aboard Continental Airlines flight 1602 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The plane was bound for Vail, Colorado. The Washington Post quoted an FBI spokesman as saying that there'd been a "verbal altercation" after aircraft doors had closed in preparation for takeoff. On April 3, 2006, Osteen appeared on ABC's morning show The View with Barbara Walters , and said that only Christians will gain admittance into Heaven . SEE ALSO SOURCE
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