Ain’t No Business Like a Mega Church, Hallelujah.

I attended America’s biggest megachurch as an ExMormon and an Atheist. To be frank, I was not prepared for how strange, emotional, theatrical, and suspiciously polished it would feel. Some aspects felt VERY FAMILIAR coming from a Mormon background, but other elements exceeded my expectations (though the bar was on the floor haha). Lakewood Church is held in a former NBA arena, led by millionaire pastor Joel Osteen. The whole experience felt like a mix between a concert, a self-help seminar, a religious infomercial, and The Righteous Gemstones. So let’s talk about megachurches, tax-free religion, emotional manipulation, and why I don’t think Jesus would like this very much.

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A few resources I mention in the video:
*Check out my Spring Break Vlog on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/spring-break-157074276?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link
*CBS ranks Lakewood as America’s largest mega church: https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/30-biggest-american-megachurches-ranked/
*Lakewood Church Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood_Church
*Lakewood Church gets an F for financial rating: https://db.ministrywatch.com/ministry.php?ein=746066273&
*210 mega churches in Texas: https://www.expressnews.com/news/houston-texas/religion/article/houston-megachurches-lakewood-ranked-17583834.php
*Why I am an atheist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqHiUxCf4GM&t=1s
*My example of Mormon voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSsqtUSLYgY&t=18s
*The racist history of the Mormon church: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lhi_UaAMvM&t=1042s
*My reaction to the South Park Scientology episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkhfMxX9f2I
*Joel Osteen answers question about wealth: https://www.tiktok.com/@glopolitics/video/7334861363325455659?_r=1&_t=ZT-95D5xI0fsAI
*Joel Osteen home: https://houston.culturemap.com/news/real-estate/07-04-10-after-move-to-river-oaks-joel-osteen-wants-to-sell-tanglewood-land-for-11-million
*Lakewood Hurricaine controversy coverage: https://www.npr.org/2017/08/30/547219427/megachurch-leader-joel-osteen-under-fire

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