This has to be filed under “sure signs of the apocalypse” … According to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (registration req’d.), everyone’s favorite feel-good TV preacher Joel Osteen is the hot ticket in the greater Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex:

Osteen, the senior pastor of the 30,000-member interdenominational Lakewood congregation in Houston, will preach at a sold-out worship service Friday at Dallas’ American Airlines Center, which will seat more than 17,000 for the event.

The $10, face-value tickets were sold by Ticketmaster. But multiple ticket resale firms across the nation have priced some tickets on their Web sites for more than $100.

“Joel Osteen is now to the Christian religion what Michael Jordan was to the NBA,” said Gary McBride, general manager of Perfectseats.com, a Houston-based firm that is listing the tickets for the Dallas event for prices ranging from $70 to $120.

Now, I’ve watched Osteen on television, and try as I might, I can’t figure out exactly what attracts people to this guy. I know he’s preaching a very watered-down — nearly heretical — version of Christianity, but it seems so light on actual substance that I’m not sure why anyone would pay $100 to go see him.

At least a guy like Benny Hinn, who is certainly a heretic, is claiming to heal people on stage. I mean, if I’m going to shell out my hard-earned money to go see a TV preacher in person, the least I expect is to have my bad back cured.

I’m still hoping Osteen is merely a flash in the pan and will eventually fade into the background.