Country music star John Rich and megachurch pastor Joel Osteen have found themselves at the center of an unexpected and heated dispute, with Rich publicly accusing Osteen of sidestepping a central biblical teaching in his sermons. The clash, which erupted on September 4, 2025, has thrown a spotlight on the broader debate over how religious leaders address uncomfortable or challenging scriptural passages—especially those dealing with the so-called 'end times.'
John Rich, a former Lonestar bassist who later formed the successful country duo Big & Rich, took his concerns public during an appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show. There, Rich, now 51, voiced his frustrations with Osteen, 62, charging that the Houston-based televangelist deliberately avoids preaching from the 24th chapter of the Book of Matthew. This chapter, found in the New Testament, is known for its vivid description of the apocalypse and Jesus's warnings about coming tribulations.
"Joel Osteen is never going to preach that. Joel Osteen is never going to say anything that's going to make anybody uncomfortable ever on any level ever," Rich declared, as quoted by the Daily Mail. He went on to elaborate, "To say that God would never make his people go through something like that is one of the most ignorant, spiritually ignorant things a person could say. That's number one. Number two is in modern churches even today, they still don't want—there's a few but not many. They don't want to preach that."
The 24th chapter of Matthew begins with the disciples asking Jesus, "What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus responds with warnings about a future marked by famines, earthquakes, and the rise of false Messiahs, emphasizing that his return will be sudden and unexpected. For many Christians, these passages are both sobering and foundational, yet, as Rich points out, not all churches address them head-on.
Rich's critique of Osteen didn't stop at the pulpit. He contrasted Osteen's approach with that of legendary evangelist Billy Graham, who was known for his direct sermons and altar calls urging people to commit their lives to Jesus. "He's never gonna say anything that would prick the heart or conscience of his congregation and then offer an altar call like Billy Graham did when he speaks the truth about what Jesus said. And what happens if you decide to go the other way, and lays out what hell is, and lays out what heaven is, and lays out what this is, and then offers an altar call in those stadiums of people that will come out to see Billy Graham? Thousands of people coming down there to pray and give their life to Jesus. You're not going to see Joel Osteen do that and there's a bunch of other preachers like that," Rich argued.
The country singer's comments come against the backdrop of Osteen's immense popularity. Based in Houston, Texas, Osteen leads one of the largest churches in America, with his weekly televised services reaching millions nationwide. Osteen is widely associated with prosperity theology, sometimes called the "gospel of success," which asserts that faith and positive thinking can lead to material wealth and physical well-being. Critics, like Rich, argue that this focus on comfort and positivity can come at the expense of more difficult biblical teachings.
Rich, never one to shy away from controversy, also took aim at American churches more broadly. He accused some preachers of claiming that "God would never make his people go through something" akin to the apocalyptic trials described in Matthew 24. To counter this view, Rich pointed to the plight of persecuted Christians in other parts of the world. "Why don’t you go tell that to the underground Christians in communist China right now who are being killed by the thousands? Why don’t you go tell that to the Christians in Syria right now who are being chopped up into pieces in the streets? Do you think fat, lazy American Christians are better than them? No. They are superior to us. They are willing to worship God and be a Christian when it means they could die for doing it. And we don’t have that problem in the United States," Rich said, as reported by the Daily Mail.
For those unfamiliar with his background, John Rich first made his mark as the bassist for Lonestar in the 1990s before launching a solo career with BNA Records in 1998. In 2003, he teamed up with Big Kenny to form Big & Rich, a duo that has released multiple albums and become a staple of modern country music. But Rich is also known for his outspoken views on faith and politics, frequently weighing in on hot-button issues.
Just last year, Rich made headlines for supporting a group of UNC Chapel Hill fraternity brothers who became internet sensations after defending the American flag during a heated pro-Palestine campus protest in May 2024. Dramatic footage showed the Pi Kappa Phi brothers preventing the flag from touching the ground while singing the national anthem, even as they were pelted with water bottles. The incident, which saw the stars and stripes temporarily replaced by a Palestinian flag, galvanized supporters across the country, who raised more than $500,000 for the students to celebrate their patriotism.
Rich didn't just offer words of support—he put on a show. He hosted a massive party dubbed 'Flagstock,' performing alongside Aaron Lewis, John Ondrasik, and Lee Greenwood for an audience of about 2,000 students. The fraternity brothers and Rich were later invited to the Republican National Convention in July 2024, where they met as Donald Trump was officially nominated as the Republican Party's 2024 presidential candidate.
As for Joel Osteen, his influence in American Christianity remains formidable. With a congregation numbering in the tens of thousands and a television audience in the millions, Osteen's message of hope and positivity has resonated with many. Yet, as the feud with Rich illustrates, his avoidance of certain biblical themes continues to draw criticism from those who believe that the full scope of scripture—including its more challenging passages—should be addressed from the pulpit.
The dustup between Rich and Osteen is more than just a personal spat; it taps into ongoing debates within American Christianity about the role of comfort, challenge, and scriptural fidelity in modern preaching. Should pastors prioritize messages that uplift and encourage, or should they also confront the more difficult aspects of faith, even at the risk of making congregants uncomfortable? As this feud shows, the answer is far from settled, and the conversation is likely to continue both inside and outside the church walls.
With both men standing firm in their convictions, the spotlight remains fixed on how religious leaders balance truth and comfort—and on the broader questions of what it means to practice faith in an era of both prosperity and persecution.
