{"id":1686,"date":"2011-11-29T18:57:20","date_gmt":"2011-11-29T23:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/flunkingsainthood\/?p=1686"},"modified":"2011-11-29T18:57:20","modified_gmt":"2011-11-29T23:57:20","slug":"a-joel-osteen-reality-show-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/flunkingsainthood\/2011\/11\/a-joel-osteen-reality-show-seriously.html","title":{"rendered":"A Joel Osteen Reality Show . . . Seriously?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Now Osteen has even more to smile about.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today on Twitter<\/a> a notice flashed by about a Joel Osteen <\/a>reality show, and I thought it was a joke. It’s actually not. Or if it is, it’s not intended to be.<\/p>\n

Entertainment Weekly<\/em> reports <\/a>that Osteen, who pastors a 45,000-member megachurch in Texas, is teaming up with reality television producer Mark Burnett (Survivor<\/a><\/em>, The Apprentice<\/em><\/a>) for a new series about the televangelist’s life.<\/p>\n

Hoo boy howdy.<\/p>\n

In the worst-case scenario, this will be another celebrity navel-gazing exercise where viewers see some of the world’s richest people acting selfishly. (Queue up here for the Kardashians<\/a>, Paris Hilton’s The Simple Life<\/a><\/em>, and anything starring Tori Spelling<\/a>.) And since Osteen is famous for teaching people that God wants them to be rich, my cynical side certainly expects a fair share of fine homes, fast cars, and celebrity guests. But the Houston Chronicle reports<\/a> a rumor that Osteen’s show will have more of a focus on charity:<\/p>\n

TMZ’s tipsters say the Osteen\/Burnett project will feature ordinary people taking time off to join Osteen on mission projects to “start fixing things” around the United States.<\/p>\n

It sounds like the latest in do-gooder reality programming, a genre that includes Extreme Makeover: Home Edition<\/em><\/a>, Undercover Boss<\/em><\/a>, Secret Millionaire<\/em><\/a>, Three Wishes<\/em><\/a>, and whatever my mom is watching on Oprah’s network.<\/p>\n

I’m trying to keep an open mind that this is true, and the show won’t be shallow celebrity worship masquerading as Christianity. But I am failing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today on Twitter a notice flashed by about a Joel Osteen reality show, and I thought it was a joke. It’s actually not. Or if it is, it’s not intended to be. Entertainment Weekly reports that Osteen, who pastors a 45,000-member megachurch in Texas, is teaming up with reality television producer Mark Burnett (Survivor, The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,12,239,8],"tags":[991,994,22,21,985,984,986,989,992,987,993,988,990],"class_list":["post-1686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-cultural-commentary","category-spirituality","category-television","tag-christianity-and-reality-tv","tag-extreme-makeover-home-edition","tag-flunking-sainthood","tag-jana-riess","tag-joel-osteen-and-mark-burnett","tag-joel-osteen-reality-show","tag-keeping-up-with-the-kardashians","tag-paris-hilton","tag-survivor","tag-televangelists","tag-the-apprentice","tag-the-simple-life","tag-tori-spelling"],"yoast_head":"\nA Joel Osteen Reality Show . . . 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