The Lakewood StoryMany of our DILLARD GCG people have been involved with the phenomenal work of God at Lakewood Church. Lakewood has grown from 12,000 members to over 35,000 regularly attending, giving members since Pastor Joel Osteen unexpectedly took over for his well-respected father in October of 1999. Below is one of our articles on what has occurred at Lakewood.

The Lakewood Story
By Tim DIllard

On December 19, 2001, a fathers dream and a son’s vision met on the floor of the Houston, Texas city council. Needing 10 of a possible 15 votes from Mayor Lee Brown and the city council, Pastor Joel Osteen and a city council chamber packed with some of the 30,000 plus members of his burgeoning church, reacted with spontaneous applause, cheers and tears as the last councilman to vote added his vote to the Lakewood column, totaling 10 for Lakewood, thereby clearing the way for Lakewood Church to take possession of the Compaq Center in 2003. The Compaq Center, originally known as the Summit, was built in 1975 on a piece of prime Houston real estate in one of the larger central business districts in the state of Texas known as Greenway Plaza. It currently houses the National Basketball Association Houston Rockets.
Lakewood Church was founded in a feed barn in 1959 in Houston, Texas. Founding Pastor, John Osteen, was trained in a Southern Baptist seminary in Arkansas. It was originally called Lakewood Baptist Church until a tornado knocked off the “Baptist” part of the sign in the 60’s and Pastor John decided the new name was more appropriate.
Together, with his wife Dodie, they pastored Lakewood Church from the rustic feed barn of 1959 to one of the largest churches in Texas at John’s death in January of 1999.
During the last 16 years of John’s ministry, son Joel ran the internationally renown television and media ministry. “You do the preaching,” Joel would tell his best friend and father, “and I promise I’ll make you look good.”Preaching was never on Joel’s radar screen. Indeed, the shy, soft-spoken Joel was the least likely to take over for his powerful father. Pastor John had always said, “This church is founded on Jesus Christ and when I go on, the church will be just fine. This isn’t John Osteen’s church, it’s Jesus’ church.” Strong words, especially considering that at the time of his unexpected death, there was absolutely nothing written or said about the secession of leadership in one of the world’s most recognizable churches.
Pastor John had also said numerous times from the pulpit, “One day we’ll have a church that holds 25,000 people. We may even take over the Summit!” People laughed nervously back then. The thought of a church that size was a little unsettling even for the people of Lakewood, who were quite comfortable in the current 8,000 seat sanctuary, cavernous by most American standards.
Who could blame them? Lakewood Church is one of America’s miracles. Located off the beaten path in one of the worst neighborhoods in the country’s fourth largest city, Lakewood defies the real estate developer’s dictum for success, “Location, location, location!” Every Sunday, people drive from 60 miles and more from all directions to participate in the Lakewood services. They pass the blocks and blocks of shanty homes, crack houses and housing projects to park as much as three-quarters of a mile from the church, walk through mud and grass and risk not even sitting in the main sanctuary, relegated to a video overflow room due to the standing room only crowd.
The week before Pastor John would go to be with the Lord, he sat at dinner with Dodie and daughter Lisa. “I think I’ll call Joel and see if he’ll preach for me this Sunday.” This brought a cackle of laughter from the girls. Joel had not, could not, would not ever preach. This was a well-known family fact. Sure enough, when John called, Joel said no and John hung up the phone, taking the good-natured needling from Dodie and Lisa that serves as a family trademark.

Shortly thereafter, the phone rang. Apparently reconsidering the failing condition of his seemingly invincible father’s kidneys, Joel said yes. John didn’t have time to return the ribbing to Dodie and Lisa. He was too busy trying to revive them!
That Sunday, the youngest son of five children came out from behind the camera for the first time and nervously preached a 30 minute message in about 15 minutes. He had done his duty. Finally. No more could anyone wonder if this was the son that would assume the mantel. It was back to the pitch black master control suite and the cool, comfortable solemnitude of digital technology for Joel Osteen.
Father John listened by cell phone from his hospital room where
he was receiving another in a long line of dialysis treatments.
The nurses said he was, “as proud as a peacock.” Little did anyone know that the still firey John would pass away the following Friday. Joel’s first sermon was the last sermon his father would ever hear.
People who don’t really know God or His word will often declare that God works in mysterious ways. After his father’s death, something began to bubble up from deep down inside Joel’s belly. “Preach, preach, preach…” it seemed to be saying. Joel called his mom to let her know that something was happening with this “preaching thing.” He wanted her to confirm the incredulous improbability of the “preaching thing.” Misunderstanding her son’s puzzlement, Dodie confirmed Joel as the next Sunday’s preacher to over 8,000 people at John’s memorial service.
That Sunday, Joel walked from the traditional location to preach. They were the same steps his father had taken three times a week for 40 years. As he stepped onto the platform, the church stood and applauded, somewhat prophetically. Joel, sensitive and shy as usual, and perhaps feeling the weight of tradition bearing down upon his shoulders, broke down and cried. Everyone cried. The power of God was tangible. God had spoken. John was right. He didn’t need a plan for secession. God already had one. It was, after all, Jesus’ church.

Since taking over, something that only God could do has begun at Lakewood. Older brother Paul, a leading surgeon in Little Rock, Arkansas, received the same “belly call” as younger brother Joel. He and wife Jennifer heard God speak to them to return to Lakewood. Without hesitation they sold everything, gave up the tortuous years of medical training and a successful, established practice to come back to Houston and work for little brother Joel. When Dodie asked him what he wanted to do, Dr. Paul replied, “I have a tractor. I can mow the grass if you want.” It wasn’t false humility. I know the man. He meant it. Humility is one of the two defining characteristics of the Osteen family. Unconditional love is the other.
The church had over 12,000 members at John’s death. The church has added two services and now counts some 33,000 people as regular attending, active members. It would be much more than that if the church had a convenient location.
Enter the search for a new building. The current property is big enough, however the smallish, rough roads leading to the church are already transporting twice the maximum load of traffic. A city-wide search for property continually turned up empty. Then the city of Houston announced their intention to lease the 18,000 seat Compaq Center through the traditional RFP process.
Joel felt something. Key members of the staff were assembled. Prayer covered everything. Architects, engineers, attorneys and a team of advisors were assembled. The bid was submitted. There was only one other bid on the property. After all, it was a 25 year-old building with no parking, no air conditioning and a non-compete agreement that would kick in once the NBA’s Houston Rockets moved to the new downtown arena.
Lakewood’s bid was unanimously approved by city council last July. The timing of the vote could not have been more in favor of Lakewood. It was only one month removed from the worst flooding in the history of Texas, the result of some 35 plus inches of rain from tropical storm Allison. Lakewood, you see, had become an island of hope for more than half of the 8,000 Houstonians swept from their homes by the rapidly rising floodwaters.

The entire city turned out to help Lakewood feed, house and shelter the more than 4,000 refugees who knew nowhere else to go. Lakewood’s unprecedented exhibition of unconditional love was featured in national news reports for days. A half dozen television stations broadcast live remotes from Lakewood for over a week. With each broadcast, the people of Houston heard another reason to marvel at the church everyone had heard of but very few knew.
Only one problem, the other bid – the losing bid - had come from Crescent Real Estate, a powerful and huge developer that coincidentally owned all the surrounding property next to the Compaq Center in the Greenway Plaza business district. In Houston city politics, accepting a bid in the RFP process signifies the beginning of serious negotiations and even more serious politics. It does not mean you’ve won.
Dallas-based Crescent hired more than a dozen lobbyists, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in what became an intense, sometimes nasty, full-court press to throw out the bid process and begin anew. As of Tuesday, December 18, Lakewood was one vote short of the super-majority of ten votes required by city charter for approval. Then, seemingly unexplainably, only one day later, Councilman Mark Goldberg reversed his vote, calling it the most difficult vote in his political career. The pressure from Crescent, one of the nation’s largest property management companies, had been relentless.
An elated Joel, with beautiful wife Victoria at his side, simply smiled. For Joel, it represented the usual reaction to good news. For that matter, he gives the same reaction to all news – good or bad.
But the battle will not end here. Crescent has promised to sue the city and Lakewood, claiming the deed restrictions do not specify that the Compaq Center can be used by a church. At first glance, their case appears groundless. In its 25 year history, the Compaq Center has been home to countless church functions, religious services and revivals for everyone from local churches to national ministries such as Binny Hinn and Promisekeepers.

However, stranger things have happened. Only God can predict what can occur when teams of high-paid, lawyer carnivores begin to wrestle over the raw meat of a highly charged case. In the end, the people of Lakewood, lead by their enigmatic and unassuming pastor should find themselves sitting on prime real estate in the middle of a genuine move of God.
After all, if God be for Lakewood, who can be against them? Either way, Joel will continue to preach the message of hope and love that has lead people from around the world to take spontaneous pilgrimages to the church that has been known for years as, “the oasis of love in a troubled world.” And somewhere in Heaven, the father that began it all will smile proudly. “Joel preach? Who would have ever thought it?” Maybe John saw something no one else could see. Or maybe it was just a coincidence. Either way, it doesn’t really matter to the 33,000 people of Lakewood. After all, it’s not their church. It’s Jesus’.