Joel Osteen and Rick Warren to Appear on 'Oprah's Lifeclass'
Joel Osteen and Rick Warren, two of America's most popular megachurch pastors, have been confirmed for a live appearance on "Oprah's Lifeclass" program on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) to be broadcast Friday, Oct. 5.
"Watch new episodes before they air! Log on to Oprah.com or Facebook.com/owntv October 5 at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT to participate in live tapings with Joel Osteen and Rick Warren," an ad for the show announced. While fans of "Oprah's Lifeclass" will be able to watch the tapings live on the Internet when they are streamed on Friday, it is not clear when exactly they will be broadcast on TV.
"Oprah's Lifeclass" episodes allow viewers to interact with guests and ask important questions, and have been some of the more ratings-successful segments on OWN. Osteen is expected to comment on "positive thinking and dreaming big" while Warren will address "winning the hand you're dealt," according to Oprah.com.
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Both Osteen and Warren have enjoyed far-reaching success in their ministries. Osteen leads the 43,000-member Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, is the author of bestseller Everyday a Friday, and his weekly sermons are broadcast to millions of people around the world.
Most recently, while promoting his new book, I Declare: 31 Promises to Speak Over Your Life, Osteen was interviewed by CNN's Soledad O'Brien and pressed on the topic of homosexuality and whether or not it was a sin. Osteen said that being gay was not "God's best," but affirmed that he did not "choose" to be straight, and said that the church should not categorize sin.
Warren, on the other hand, leads Saddleback Church in California, boasting an over 20,000-person weekly attendance, and is the author of The Purpose Driven Life, one of the highest selling Christian books ever written which he will also discuss during "Oprah's Lifeclass."
The California preacher recently returned home from the hospital after being admitted for experiencing pain in his arms and numbness in his fingers. Warren's family declared this week that he was fine and ready to continue working.
"I'm disappointed by this delay since I am super excited about what I have to share at Vision Night," Warren wrote about an event he had to cancel because of his brief hospitalization. "But I learned a long time ago to always go with the flow and trust God when plans get messed up. His timing is always best."
