Psst - wanna buy a ticket? at Bene Diction Blogs On

Psst - wanna buy a ticket?

Apparently U2 will be the hottest show coming up in Chicago in May.

The second hottest show will be a guy named Joel Osteen, an author who runs a church out of a former stadium in Texas, along with a weekly tv show. He’ll be appearing in his ‘Worship Tour’ in Chicago May 5 and 6.

I learned of Osteen’s eagerly anticipated arrival from a reader who, in a fit of righteous anger, sent me an e-mail decrying the scalping of tickets for what he thought were the sold-out worship events.

“Have these people no morals? No conscience?” Tony of West Chicago wrote. “They are selling $10 tickets for an event dedicated to God and prayer for a hundred bucks or more!! Truly sinful.”

I’ve long thought “thou shalt not scalp tickets” should have been a part of the Decalogue. That and “thou shalt not jump the queue.”

A little online investigation showed that tickets for Osteen’s “Worship Tour” at the Allstate Arena — with a face value of $10 ($13 if you count Ticketmaster’s sadistic “convenience charge”) — were listed on ticket clearinghouse sites all over the Internet for as much as $190 a pop.

Outrageous, indeed. The mark-up is almost as much, relatively speaking, as those listed for tickets to the U2 shows at the United Center where $49.50 floor seats are going for $400-plus, and plum $165 seats are being offered for $1,400.

But why was a preacher charging for tickets to his worship service in the first place?

I guess Osteen has rock/sport star status and the Arena wants him to charge for tickets because of crowds. The rental of the Arena for the two days costs 750 thousand dollars.

“Joel Osteen is to Christianity what Michael Jordan is to the NBA.”

Oh.

Published 3 years, 5 months ago

7 Responses to “Psst - wanna buy a ticket?”

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1 Jared on Mar 7th, 2005 at 9:37 am

I blogged on this a week or so ago at Thinklings.
What I don’t get is why anyone would pay even ten dollars to see a guy you can watch three times a week on TV for free.

I’m troubled by the selling tickets, as well, although I suppose it’s not that much different than a church conference charging admission to recoup costs.
The difference, I think, is that Osteen is perhaps the most successful (and wealthiest?) minister in the U.S. Why not pay for the venue yourself, provide free admission, and then take up a “love offering”? Then people are giving what they want to give and are able to give instead of giving out of obligation or compulsion.

And I’d be willing to bet that the same folks who’d buy a ticket to see a preacher would be the same folks who’d give a big offering if a plate was passed. He’d probably make more money that way.

Not that that’s what it’s all about for him, but . . .
2 Bene Diction on Mar 7th, 2005 at 2:00 pm

Thanks Jared, I’ll head over and take a look.
3 Jared on Mar 7th, 2005 at 3:20 pm

Oops, if you’re wanting to look at that post, I suppose I could be helpful and just provide the link. Here ’tis:
http://thinklings.org/index.php?p=1892&more=1&c=1

My remarks on Osteen charging admission are sort of an addendum to a post largely about how not-like-that Christian writer/speaker Dallas Willard is.
4 Warren on Mar 7th, 2005 at 6:25 pm

I’m just refreshed that someone apparantly isn’t familiar with Osteen. There’s hope for us all yet.
5 Bene Diction on Mar 7th, 2005 at 7:18 pm

Wouldn’t know him if I tripped over him:^)