{"id":339,"date":"2018-10-18T11:15:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T15:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=339"},"modified":"2022-11-02T17:25:37","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T21:25:37","slug":"joel-osteen-avoids-alone-women-arent-wife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2018\/10\/joel-osteen-avoids-alone-women-arent-wife.html","title":{"rendered":"Joel Osteen Avoids Being Alone With Women Who Aren’t His Wife"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"RobertMWorsham\"
RoertMWorsham<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pastor Joel Osteen said he hasn\u2019t been rattled in any sex abuse scandals plaguing the Catholic Church because he\u2019s been committed to the \u201cBilly Graham rule,\u201d which involves men avoiding time alone with women who aren\u2019t their wives, according to a recent interview in the Christian Post.<\/p>\n

Osteen, a bestselling author and pastor of Houston\u2019s 45,000-member Lakewood Church, said he\u2019s \u201calways\u201d followed the rule, adding that \u201cit\u2019s important to be honest before God every day and check the reasons why you are doing what you are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, when I stand before God having a pure heart, I can go out and be my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the key for me on that is to start every day \u2014 I take the first half hour of every day to search my own heart to ask God, \u2018Am I on track and doing this for the right reasons? Am I following what you want me to do?,\u201d he said in the interview.<\/p>\n

The Billy Graham rule, named for the famous late American evangelist, is meant to help Christian men avoid temptation and even the appearance of infidelity. Osteen isn’t the only popular conservative that follows this rule. Vice President Mike Pence has also suggested that he follows a version of the guideline. Osteen’s father, John Osteen, also followed the rule. The elder Osteen founded Lakewood in 1959.<\/p>\n

The rule also been criticized by some women, who claim it treats women as sexual objects and also prevents them from advancing in their careers.<\/p>\n

Rev. Angela Denker, a Lutheran pastor, thinks the Billy Graham rule is an outdated practice that keeps women powerless and silent. It has \u201cnothing to do with Jesus and everything to do with male superiority complex,\u201d she wrote in an article for the Christian website Sojourners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pastor Joel Osteen said he hasn\u2019t been rattled in any sex abuse scandals plaguing the Catholic Church because he\u2019s been committed to the \u201cBilly Graham rule,\u201d which involves men avoiding time alone with women who aren\u2019t their wives, according to a recent interview in the Christian Post. Osteen, a bestselling author and pastor of Houston\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":600,"featured_media":4543,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[218,219,217,215,216],"class_list":["post-339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-news","tag-metoo","tag-billy-graham-rule","tag-evangelical-christian","tag-joel-osteen","tag-televangelist"],"yoast_head":"\nJoel Osteen Avoids Being Alone With Women Who Aren't His Wife<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Texas televangelist Joel Osteen follows the "Billy Graham Rule" in an effort to safeguard his marriage.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2018\/10\/joel-osteen-avoids-alone-women-arent-wife.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joel Osteen Avoids Being Alone With Women Who Aren't His Wife\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Texas televangelist Joel Osteen follows the "Billy Graham Rule" in an effort to safeguard his marriage.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2018\/10\/joel-osteen-avoids-alone-women-arent-wife.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Christ News Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-18T15:15:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-02T21:25:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" 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