Within a couple of months, he began preaching in Paris, Texas and was apparently ordained to the gospel ministry shortly before his 18th birthday by a church affiliated with the During his pastorate of Central Baptist Church, Osteen and his first wife, Emma Jean Shaffer, began to experience marital unrest and subsequently divorced. He is the eldest child of parents – Pastor John Osteen and his second wife, Dolores (Dodie) Pilgrim Osteen. John passed away in 1999.Is the Coronavirus Crisis Increasing America's Drug Overdoses?Fact Check: What Power Does the President Really Have Over State Governors?Festival of Sacrifice: The Past and Present of the Islamic Holiday of Eid al-AdhaHow Worried Should We Be About the Saharan Dust Cloud’s Arrival?Has the Time Come to Abolish the Electoral College?Is the Coronavirus Crisis Increasing America's Drug Overdoses?Fact Check: What Power Does the President Really Have Over State Governors?Festival of Sacrifice: The Past and Present of the Islamic Holiday of Eid al-AdhaHow Worried Should We Be About the Saharan Dust Cloud’s Arrival?What Are Some Details Surrounding John Osteen's Marriage? The late Pastor John Osteen married Dodie Osteen in the mid-1950s, and together they had five children and opened Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. The late Pastor John Osteen married Dodie Osteen in the mid-1950s, and together they had five children and opened Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. John had one additional son, Justin Osteen, with Emma Jean Shaffer, his first wife. His television program, John Osteen, ran for 16 years and was broadcast to millions in the U.S. and nearly 50 countries weekly. “They both teach a twisted form of Christianity that teaches obedience, giving, and faith as a way to get things from God. John Osteen, who dies in 1999, and his son Joel, who succeeded him come from the Word Of Faith or Prosperity Gospel tradition. Lisa Comes and Dr. Paul Osteen, two of their other children, also provide ministry in Lakewood Church.In addition to opening Lakewood Church, John and Dodie Osteen hosted a weekly television program that aired in 100 countries. He is the oldest son of Rev. John and Emma Jean divorced prior to his marriage to Dodie.John founded Lakewood Church with his wife in 1959 on Mother's Day. What they don't know is that he gave up a successful surgical career when their father John died in 1999. John wrote over 45 faith-based books, and Dodie authored "Healed of Cancer," a book about her experience surviving liver cancer after her doctors had given up hope that she could recover. Before long, Osteen again entered pastoral ministry at Hibbard Memorial Baptist Church, Houston, Texas, but left in 1958. Osteen served as LBI's president until its closure in the late-1980s. John Hillery Osteen (August 21, 1921 – January 23, 1999) was an American pastor and founding pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, from its beginnings in 1959 until his death in 1999. Neither is without critics. In his biography, Osteen said he did not begin thinking seriously about God until 1939, after leaving a nightclub he frequented. They were married for more than 44 years, and all of their children grew up to work in ministry in some capacity.John and Dodie Osteen's children are Paul, Lisa, Tamara, April and Joel. Paul has five siblings: Lisa Osteen, Tamara Osteen, Joel Osteen, April Osteen, and half-brother Justin Osteen. John Osteen's Final Televised Sermon: My Destination Is Heaven (1998) All Sermons by Pastor John Osteen John Osteen, who founded Lakewood Church in Houston, TX, of which Justin was the Executive Director from 1983 to 1998. LBI offered a variety of classes including principles of Bible study, healing, conversion, and prayer. Justin Osteen, LLC is recognized as a leading compensation consulting firm specializing in the compensation practices of churches, ministries and non-profit organizations in the USA and Canada. A year later, on In the mid-1980s, Osteen launched the Lakewood Bible Institute (LBI), an "unaccredited school devoted to biblical training from a charismatic perspective." Most people know Paul Osteen as the older brother of Lakewood Church's Pastor Joel Osteen. Justin is born of Pastor John’s first marriage to Emma Jean Shaffer. As he wrestled with her circumstance, his theological beliefs began to shift and he had ecstatic religious experiences, based on what he called "baptism of the Holy Ghost."