Archive for June, 2008
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What’ll ya have, What’ll ya have!
Although spoken perhaps a bit less enthusiastic than it used to be, The Varsity is still known for the catch phrase that it made famous.
I visited The Varsity at its original location on North Avenue near the midtown area of Atlanta, Georgia and while its brochure is correct that it is a fun place to eat — little can be said about the food. It is neither inexpensive or memorable — but the place is a slice of Atlanta and for that reason and that reason alone, it is worth putting on your list of places to visit (although, way down the list).
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While on a recent business trip to Houston, Texas — the taxi driver happened to point out that Lakewood Church was right next door to my hotel. I wasn’t familiar with Lakewood Church, but when my driver mentioned that this was the church pastored by the guy who wrote the book “Becoming a Better You” – I quickly made the connection to Joel Osteen.
On a Wednesday night about 30 minutes before the start of the 7:30pm service, I made my way across the parking lot to Lakewood Church:
3700 Southwest Fwy
Houston, TX 77027
Phone: (713) 635-4154
As I walked into the church, I took a few minutes to browse through the bookstore which is filled with books written by Joel Osteen. Not that Joel has written a lot of books, but it seems that there are more copies of the few books that Joel has written than all the other titles combined. I had to remind myself that you can’t judge a book by its cover and you can’t judge a church by the cover on a book — which seems to promote Joel in that Joel’s picture is prominently displayed on most of his books.
After leaving the bookstore, I headed for the main worship center. I was prepared for the worship center to be large — but not this huge. Easily the largest worship center that I have ever seen and I have visited Saddleback Church in California and a few others. It wasn’t until later that I learned that the church building use to be the site where the Houston Rocketrs played backetball.
The Wednesday night service started promptly at 7:30 pm with worship. Whether or not you attend church reguarly or are just visiting, you’ll find the music fun and exciting. Worship is one of my favorite parts of my relationship with God and I was glad that these songs were new to me because if they had selected a song that I was familiar with, my heart might have exploded with excitment.
After worship and before the message (this night there was a guest speaker), Joe Osteen prayed for those in attendance and offered a few words of encouragement. Although it is hard to tell with just a short visit, Joel did seem to be genuine and someone that you would like to get to know better.
As one reviewer said:
Lakewood is not just a church it is an experience.
I think I would agree with that and add that it is a very good experience and that if it helps you to experience God, then the visit has been worth it.
Roger’s Tip: Get there early and take the time to explore the bookstore as well as the other ministry areas. Also, if you expect to hear Joel speak, you must attend either a Saturday or Sunday service as Wednesday nights almost always have guest speakers.