Andy stanley on gay marriage
Plenty of folks are lamenting Andy Stanley’s decision to host a pro-gay conference this weekend at his North Direct mega-church.
Good. We all should grieve when influential pastors adopt heresy. But this was predictable before it was lamentable.
What else could we expect from a pastor who rebuked a parishioner 11 years ago for being in a relationship with another man, not because it was homosexual, but because the other gentleman was married? (See HERE) Or from one who recently preached a sermon extolling gay churchgoers, gushing “The men and women I know who are gay, their faith and their confidence in God dwarfs mine.”
But Stanley’s drift, obvious for over a decade on this and other key matters (see HERE and HERE for example) indicates problems with us as adv
as him.
One of those problems is our habit of either winking at a leader’s intense error, or reacting to it way too long after the fact. A heretical drift in leadership calls for 911.
“Who You Callin’ A Heretic?”
Stanley’s not alone in that drift. By hosting a pro-gay conference he joins the ranks of other teachers who gained influence then morphed from Gifted to Bad to Deceptive. (Think Rob Bell;Jen Hatmak
Andy Stanley Responds to Criticism of Conference for Parents of LGBTQ Kids
Stanley told his congregation the church is committed to the New Testament sexual ethic and biblical definition of marriage.
“They pray, they beg God to take it away,” Andy Stanley said about same-sex attracted persons in his message on Sunday, according to the Christian Post. “They are literally nervous they are going to Hell, not because of anything they’ve done, but because of who they are.”
Stanley spoke to his congregation about the Unconditional Conference hosted by North Point Church near Atlanta over the weekend “for Christian parents with LGBTQ+ children, ministry leaders, and health care professionals.” The church did not live stream the message as it usually does.
Before the conference, Stanley was criticized for his stance on homosexuality by evangelical leaders, including Southern Baptist Seminary President Albert Mohler, who described the conference’s message as “a departure from historic normative biblical Christianity.”
Stanley responded, saying Mohler’s “version of biblical Christianity is the problem.”
“His version, this version of biblical Christianity, is why people are lea
Andy Stanley’s Circles and Lines: A Response from Robert Gagnon
October 10, 2023
Robert A.J. Gagnon, Ph.D.
Andy Stanley seriously misrepresents the teaching and practice of Jesus on sin, and even his own instruction about egregious sin. Stanley claimed in his Sunday sermon on Oct. 1, right after the so-called “Unconditional Conference,” that Jesus “drew circles so large and included so many people in His circle that it consistently made religious leaders nervous.”
So, Stanley says, “we draw circles; we don’t draw lines—we draw enormous circles,” meaning that his church will now “embrace the journey” that homosexually active or trans person persons who come to their church are on, without rebuke or a call for repentance.
It is not just a doubt of Stanley putting aside the Old Testament witness any longer, nor even of disrespecting the apostolic witness. Stanley is in rebellion against the witness of Jesus himself on sexual ethics.
I. Circles, Lines, and Stanley’s Dilution of Homosexual and Transgender Sin
Two points about “circles” and “lines” are in order. First of all, even circles are circular lines that establish boundaries, and Jesus
Go and sin no more: Andy Stanley doubles down on his departure from Biblical Christianity
Christians should uncover no joy in addressing theological error, but passivity in the face of serious error amounts to complicity. The Apostles warned the Church to be on guard against inaccurate gospels and teachings that contradict the faith “once for all delivered to the saints.” Clearly, that calls for careful discernment and a necessary notice of humility. This stewardship also requires careful consideration of theological weight, Biblical substance, and ethical priority. A disagreement over eschatological timetables is not a first-order theological issue, but a subversion of the gospel is a first-order crisis.
On Sunday, Andy Stanley responded to my previous column about his departure from Biblical Christianity, speaking of my argument and noting, “Lots and lots of people saw it. That’s why we are talking about it today.” He did talk about it, and in both services at North Point Community Church in metro Atlanta. He said a great deal, and he stated up front that he “never subscribed” to the Christianity I represent, so he has not departed from it. Stanley represented my understanding of Bibl