Osteen became the church's senior pastor later that year and has since built its membership from about 4,000 to 52,000. He's done so, he said, by sticking to a core message. "God is good," he said.

Add to that list Joel Osteen, the pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, one of the nation's largest congregations, and the author of ''Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential.'' ...