Andy Stanley - North Point Community Church

[Laura]

One of my husband's family members invited us to a "Bible study" for married couples. In this "Bible study" they are going through a book called "Staying In Love" by Andy Stanley. I quickly responded by saying I was not interested and that I hope she gets out of it what she is looking for. Perhaps my response was too quick, but I had a feeling nothing edifying would come of it. My first problem with this is when people call a book club a Bible study. After looking up Andy Stanley my second, third, etc. problems with it became evident. He is the head pastor of the typical mega church. The first words on the church website are "Life doesn't come with instructions." Wow. Doesn't the Bible serve as instructions for a Christian? Apparently he thinks he can help you with his 24 years of experience more than God, our Creator and Savior, can help you. I read through the belief section of the website and, not surprisingly, it did not mention repentance in the part about salvation. The website doesn't look like it has anything to do with Christ or God's Word. Finally, I clicked on his latest sermon titled "Winning" and, also of no surprise, it felt like a comedy show mixed with a self-help seminar. It had absolutely nothing to do with Scripture. At 10:29 he begins telling a story about seven words that he wants to define his character and if any of those words are used to describe him at his funeral, he will "have lived my life in such a way that I was the person I always wanted to become." Shouldn't we be more concerned about living our lives according to God and His Word? Shouldn't we want to become the people He wants us to be? I turned it off after that, but I'm sure many of you won't even make it that far! From what I did see, it is the usual anecdotal sermon with a Bible verse thrown in to justify this or that (which oftentimes is even taken out of context). After learning all of this, I feel comfortable with my quick response wanting nothing to do with it. My husband received the same invite, but with his schedule I know he won't be able to attend anyway. Praise the Lord for that!

North Point Community Church
https://northpoint.org

Their Beliefs
https://northpoint.org/church-overview

Andy Stanley's Latest Sermon (as of 1/4/20) - Winning
https://northpoint.org/messages/winning

[Zoologistkid]

Wait, Laura, this guy is a lot more dangerous than you think. I have done some research on him and he has made the most ridiculous claim I ever heard: "we need to unhitch (i.e. remove) the old testament from the new testament so that others can get into the Bible better." He doesn't just mean Creation and Genesis, he means the whole old testament needs to be unhitched from the Bible in its entirety! He has also claimed, "that the only thing that matters is Jesus Christ's death and resurrection". Now, this may sound good on the surface but he really means is that all miracles including creation, the global flood, creating water into wine, walking on water, and even Christ being born from a virgin mother are all not important. Not important as in "You don't have to believe in these to be a Christian". I considered him to be one of the most dangerous heretics because of how influential he is.

[Jeanne]

Wow, Caleb, after reading all that, I'm glad I've never heard of the guy! I will now make it a point to stay away from him too. I know the teachings Chris does are Biblically sound, so I'll just stick with listening to him and ignore the rest.

[Kenneth Winslow]

Starting at 19:36 to the 27:25 point in this street preaching video, in Athens GA, you can see some of the fruit of Andy Stanley's ministry.
The young woman in the white shirt claims that her mother and Andy Stanley are "very, very, very close". She then calls her mother to get Andy Stanley's phone number from her but her mother refuses to give it to her.

https://youtu.be/0w2LG3LB7nE

It was a dicey night in Athens for my friend Adam.

[creationliberty]

Maybe I don't understand; why was it bad to refuse to give out his personal phone number?

[Kenneth Winslow]

Maybe I don't understand; why was it bad to refuse to give out his personal phone number?

My point is to highlight the closeness between this reveling young woman, her mother and Andy Stanley.
I mean, how close do you have to be to the megachurch pastor to have his personal phone number?
Extremely close, I would say.

[creationliberty]

Laura, I don't normally like to say my plans for various reasons, but God willing, after the tithing teaching is done, I plan to do my new teaching on marriage. I've got some preparation to do on that end, and so I'm still polishing everything; hopefully, I'll be mostly ready to go in a few weeks. There are a handful of Christians I know are waiting very patiently for me to finally get around to doing that teaching; it is coming soon.

[Laura]

I apologize for my delayed reply. Our house was hit with the stomach flu.

Caleb, I had no idea his doctrine was so dangerous. I didn't spend much time looking into it; only the little research I did, which was enough to make me want to stay away. Thank you for sharing. It's clear his followers have little discernment and just want a pick-me-up sermon, no different than most churches today.

Christopher, Thank you for sharing your plans. I look forward to reading the revised article. It's been a while since I've read it. Your teachings on feminism and the Christian work ethic have also helped me in regards to a Biblical marriage.