The Curious Case of Andy Stanley

The year was 2006 and I was in my first preaching class in college. I attended Grace University, a small undergraduate Christian school on Omaha, Nebraska. My first class on preaching was taught using a book titled Communicating for a Change: 7 Keys to Irresistible Communication by Andy Stanley. In the book Andy makes a compelling case for the single point message. A method of preaching that takes the congregant from engagement to tension, to encouragement, and then to conviction. My perception of communication changed in that class, and I became convinced, by Andy’s book, and by my professor, that not only was this a respectable way of communicating God’s word but it was the best way, especially in our cultural context. Like many in the mid-2000s I became an Andy Stanley fan. Stanley rose to prominence as a hip new version of his father, Charles Stanley, and his impact in the local church's focus shifting from pure theology to people oriented ministry was palpable. Go to almost any large conservative church between 2005 and 2015 and you would find North Point resources and curriculum likely guided their vision of ministry. When Andy made waves a few years ago with a statement about unhitching from the Old Testament he was charged with Marcionism and called a heretic by many.  I stood by his side during that time, not because I agreed with him, but because I felt he was being misunderstood and his points being taken out of context.  He is a great communicator, and as such, can clarify his controversial opinions in such a manner that he dodges flying bullets. Andy, while not my hero in the faith, was a rather influential figure in my walk and my growth in ministry. In fact, today, I still employ his me-we-God-you-we strategy in communication and preaching. This context is important for discerning what will follow. I do not have an agenda against Stanley and I have enjoyed his ministry at times over the history of my own experiences in ministry, so I take no pleasure in the events that have transpired over the past year and, particularly, the last few weeks. At this point I believe it is safe to say that Andy has crossed the threshold from controversial communicator of God’s word to problematic pastor that is on the verge (if not beyond) of forfeiting his qualifications as an elder and pastor.  I do not say this with glee but with sorrow, and with a heart desperately hoping and praying for a turning back to the Word of God in total and in repentance from leading people astray into this dangerous doctrine of affirmation. Perhaps you have read this far and do not quite know to what I am referring. Andy Stanley’s church, North Point, recently held an event called the Unconditional Conference. This conference was billed as a pastoral conference, as opposed to theological, pointed towards pastors and families in the midst of dealing with LGBTQ+ issues. Right away this should raise red flags, there is no such thing as pastoral care apart from theology. Andy then preached a sermon defending the conference the following Sunday, one in which he tried, like so many times before, to talk his way around the problematic nature of the conference by claiming to simply be pitching a wider tent for the gospel. North Point did not stream this message, but audio was released through various platforms of the 50-minute sermon in which Stanley stated that North Point never “draws lines” but “draws circles” of inclusion within the church. The expected reaction from both sides of the aisle exploded on social media throughout the week. With some calling Andy Stanley apostate, others lauding him for his bravery on changing the narrative around LGBTQ+ issues, and still others trying to find a reasonable defense of Stanley’s actions and words like I was not all too long ago (which is proving more and more difficult). There have been many responses to Stanley’s message and the conference that are helpful. A few are tied to the notes at the bottom of the page. Twitter (or X) was ripe with plenty of reactions as well. For those on the fence or in denial as to whether Andy Stanley is tacitly affirming same-sex relationships and/or transgender ideology, finding tweets from affirming progressives lauding the conference should put an end to all doubt.

In a conference seeking not to change people’s theology, but to teach people to pastor, it is curious that supposedly every single speaker was in the affirming camp, and explicitly so. Many, including myself, find this incredibly concerning, and the fact that the obfuscation of the true position of the church seemed to be the point of the conference was even more concerning. This was either incredibly ignorant of our times or incredibly insidious and underhanded. Andy Stanley has been a lightning rod of controversy among evangelical conservatives for quite some time but this departure from orthodox teaching on how to pastor people through obvious biblically defined sins is a watershed moment. Andy is not deconstructing his faith as Joshua Harris did, he is not leaving the faith and seeking to disprove it as Bart Ehrman did, but instead, he is subversively seeking to change theological consensus on a blatant sin issue under the guise of pastoral consideration. Or at least, his approach allows for this path to be taken with little to no resistance. In his sermon after the conference Stanley states that he still believes that biblical marriage is between one man and one woman, but his actions bely this. Stanley, under the guise of “pastoral care,” goes on to say that people who read the same Bible we do might choose to enter into a monogamous covenantal relationship to experience the same joy of marriage that heterosexual people get to enjoy. This might be true, but in saying this he gives it tacit endorsement as he does not offer any plea to repent or to seek to avoid the error that is so enticing, instead, he seeks for pastors to be more understanding of such decisions.

“But for many, that is not sustainable (life of celibacy). So they choose a same-sex marriage. Not because they’re convinced it’s biblical – they read the same Bible we do – they chose to marry for the same reason many of us do. Love, companionship, and family. And in the end, as was the case for all of us, this is the important thing I want you to hear me say; it’s their decision. Our decision is to decide how we respond to their decision…. And we decided 28 years ago, we draw circles we don’t draw lines, we draw big circles.”

Of course we ought to love and care for people stuck in this difficult position. I say as much in my four part series on homosexuality and culture (see parts 1, 2, 3, 4). However, there is a stark difference between compassion and sympathy and turning a blind eye to it because people will be hurt if we tell them the truth of the scriptures. The fact this statement seems to endorse our culture's new definition of marriage signals as much (see: In Defense of Marriage). This, unfortunately is not a new position for Stanley as Dr. Michael Brown can attest.

Unfortunately, Stanley has been intentionally vague on whether or not his position on same-sex activity and marriage has changed. While speaking to author and mega church pastor and counselor Debbie Causey (who is LGBTQ+ affirming) he said this:

“Yes or No, is homosexuality a sin? I’m NOT going to answer that question! … We have to have new language that creates the potential for a sane, realistic dialogue.”

Whether or not homosexuality is a sin

is

an important issue to take a stand on as a pastor and Christian, and not just with this sin but with a myriad of others. This is not about playing cards, dancing, or style of music, this is about blatant sexual sin (1 Cor. 6:18). The interesting part about that dialogue is that Andy was speaking specifically of public conversations and then slipped into the personal conversation in the same answer.  They are not the same (see: 3 types of Conversations). However wrong Andy Stanley may be, and I believe he is in grave error, it would do well to respond reasonably and not emotively.  Upon hearing about this conference and sermon I placed a poll on twitter asking this question:

This is where I think it is important for us to take a step back and honestly evaluate the issue. Is it prudent to call a man like Andy Stanley apostate because of his position (or lack thereof) on same-sex marriage? 67% said yes. But I say no.

It is important for us, as believers, to avoid reactionary declarations when a topic such as this rears its ugly head. Responding poorly only serves to feed the perceptions that Andy (or others) is under unwarranted attack. As far as I can tell he has not changed his position on the Trinity, nor on Jesus’ divinity or death and resurrection.  He is not apostate in that sense, but he is in grave error and must be called to repentance. His inability to call sexual sins what they are for fear of hurting feelings would not couple well with a cursory reading of 1 Corinthians. Pride in sexually sinful proclivities and behavior was enough for an entire church to receive a warning letter from the Apostle Paul and should be enough for Andy Stanley to receive similar admonition. Andy has said that people who criticize him might think differently when their own son or daughter comes out as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Something that gives credence to the thought that his own compromise on the position was influenced by the fact a former Foster child of his came out as a lesbian at the age of 19. At the Unconditional Conference Stanley made the statement that conservative Christianity has one four words and that is it when it comes to homosexuality and that he knows the "clobber passages" but his caricature of the church's response is unhelpful and untrue. There are plenty of voices that hold to a biblical sexual ethic that do not tacitly endorse the lifestyle. People like Sam Allberry,Rosaria Butterfield, Rachel Gilson, Christopher Yuan, and my colleague Brady Cone and many more yet none of these were invited to even provide a conservative voice at the conference. To pretend like we must not address sin in order to love a person is a lie straight from the pit of hell itself. There is a third option between the false dichotomy of militant fundamentalist and tacit affirmation and Andy

should

know this. This is precisely why his conference, his ambiguous position, and his lack of clarity on the topic are so concerning. However, we also must not pretend like Andy hates orthodox Christian belief, nor should we pretend as if Andy himself is living a closeted lifestyle as some have accused.  Instead, we ought to recognize that Andy Stanley is a human seeking to honor God and listen to others and in his desire to love the least of these he has unfortunately missed the mark. Andy Stanley, in my opinion, has been captivated by the lie that we must make the gospel palatable to those struggling with certain ways of life.  He thinks we must water down the law of God to entice people to Christ but in doing so he robs the gospel of its true transformative power.  Again, this is not to say that Andy is not a Christian, nor is it to say that he does not care about the souls of those he is trying to reach, but that he is in grave error and must be corrected. He has decided, as far as I can tell, that truth matters less than care, but the opposite is the case. Truth is necessary for adequate pastoral care. In making this transaction he makes the Bible a liar and his care turns into hate. Unfortunately, in his quest to make the gospel seem more palatable he is inadvertently doing more to hinder people coming to Christ than to help them. In his effort to make the gospel more accessible he unexpectedly does the opposite. This is the strange paradox of progressive theology, whatever it seeks to expand it destroys and limits. Trevin Wax speaks to this paradox in his book

The Thrill of Orthodoxy

. Departures like Stanley’s make the gospel more less freeing, and less accessible precisely because of its lack of clarity and its inability to reflect God’s glory in the messaging. More people will be led astray into their own sin than to repentance because of this and we must call attention to that truth. Unfortunately Andy has lost credibility in ministry and must be called to account, no matter how effective a communicator he is, and, perhaps,

because

of how effective a communicator he is.

Notes

https://protestia.com/2023/10/01/andy-stanley-unpublished-sermon-adresses-his-gay-affirming-conference-we-have-the-audio/https://youtu.be/0x5FUG1kxvI?si=nH2BXwqBpBeCvqU1https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/october-web-only/andy-stanley-unconditional-conference-theology-lgbt.htmlhttps://protestia.com/2023/10/01/andy-stanley-unpublished-sermon-adresses-his-gay-affirming-conference-we-have-the-audio/https://protestia.com/2023/10/06/exclusive-andy-stanley-tells-unconditional-conference-attendees-he-refuses-to-say-homosexuality-is-a-sin/