Joel Osteen's New Reality TV Show With Mark Burnett

I could hardly believe it when I heard it, that is, that Joel Osteen has signed with the most prolific "Reality TV" producer in all off television: Mark Brunett! As you probably know, Brunett is famous for hit shows like Survivor, Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader, Shark Tank, Bully Beatdown, etc. Now he has tapped into the religious mainstream and has teamed-up with Joel and Victoria Osteen to produce a television reality show about his mega Lakewood Church in Texas. The show has no title as of yet, but the concept will fall along the lines of following Osteen and his church members around the world as they "do missions". While I am one who has an interest in reality television, I'm not so sure about this one. Perhaps it is a little too close to home. 

Osteen has taken his "Prosperity Gospel" far enough and this show will inevitably just be an extension of that. The mullet-donning motivational speaker of Lakewood has already fooled enough people and I cannot help but think that this will only continue in that vain. However, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what this is going to look like. Osteen says, "We would take a group of 300-500 people from this auditorium, from our ministry, and go somewhere in the world--probably the U.S. to start--but just to help a place in need.  A place hit by a tornado.  Maybe a run-down neighborhood."  Hearing this, the show will likely mirror Extreme Home Makeover or something similar to it.  The problem I foresee is this:  When Osteen is criticized in the future about his false Gospel, the response will be, "But who cares if his teachings are a bit off, he's doing a lot of good in the world and that's what we should focus on."  This is but one more way of pulling the theological wool over folks' eyes and saying to them that reason and belief don't really matter, rather it is your personal faith and your personal experiences that take precedence.  Quite simply, as I said above, I'm not so sure about this show already.  Then again, I'm one of those who Osteen would call the "Doctrine/Theology Police" so, to him and others, well, it really doesn't matter what I say.

*UPDATE:  Here's a clip I found: