Several months back, in an announcement about my forthcoming book Salvation with a Smile, I mentioned upcoming blog posts that would provide part of the book's backstory. I'm happy to report that several of those posts are now published, with several more in the queue until October.
At the NYU Press blog From the Square, I posted a portion of the book's Introduction, as well as a brief reflection on how the project started, and most recently a post on researching Salvation with a Smile.
Over at Christian Century's history blog Then & Now, in a piece titled "The Rise of the Smiling Preacher Joel Osteen," I posted about Lakewood's move into the Compaq Center a decade ago. I briefly document how and why Joel Osteen has become Joel Osteen over the last 10 years or so.
Future posts at NYU's blog will cover research topics on Joel Osteen and Lakewood Church, and a final post on an Instructor's Guide I have created for Salvation with a Smile in the classroom.
I hope you find this material useful and interesting. As always, I'm happy to entertain requests for lectures and presentations on the book. Contact me here.
