Journalistic questions:

Does anyone have any idea about the finances of Joel Osteen's ministry? If he claims 45,000 members, what constitutes membership? Is it simply regular attendance? Or is it an annual pledge of some amount?

What are his financial statements for his ministry?

Leasing a stadium is relatively expensive for weekly services. So is broadcasting a TV show nationwide. And so is having a staff of several dozens. While he is lawfully allowed to preach whatever he wants, what is made public about his finances revenue, debt, ownership, contracts?

All religious divisiveness aside, religion in America can be a lucrative enterprise for people of any faith. There are numerous 'imams', 'gurus', 'ministers', 'rabbis', 'priests' that live "high on the hog" from religious donations, or their supposed stipends/salaries therefrom.

To judge a man who claims to serve God, one must look first at God's chosen prophets and messengers. If Mr Osteen is following Jesus (as), how does he compare? That is the true measure.

Baptist press reports on the Senate investigation of several TV envangelism ministries.

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One of the common refrains from protesters of govt oversight into the billion dollar TV evangelical industry is a call for separation of church and state. However, since these ministries recieve tax exempt status and state recognition as an autonomous corporation, they are beholden to comply with the state's requests. If they were simply individual peoples collecting donations and holding events, then they would fall under a different category requiring taxation for income. You can't have it both ways.

Yep, if they don't want the oversight, they can always chose NOT to be tax-exempt organizations.