I don't agree at all with those in the thread who feel that Andy has watered down the message of the Word. He does not preach in an expository way, for which he receives some criticism--but I certainly believe he hears from God and faithfully communicates the truth of Scripture.
I was surprised to hear about FLOTUS at NPCC. I don't trust her or her husband. The notion that the kids of our nation need to eat better and exercise more is very true--but I am not interested in the government stepping in to our lives even for this problem.
I believe that Andy sought the guidance and wisdom of the elders at NPCC before he said yes to FLOTUS. Though I don't know if it was the right decision, I will continue to listen to Andy as I see him seek God's will and preach the Word.
I will be very interested to hear your report of the discussion at NPCC today and in the days to come. Our enemy would love to disrupt the work at NPCC (and the other locations--our son at UGA attends Athens Church). We need to pray that does not happen.
Thanks again for your report.
Sesame sticks may have more to say if he attended Sunday. Thanks DMD25. I agree that Andy is unique and in fact would add to that extraoridnary as a teaching pastor and I have found very little in the 10 years with which I disagree, especially related to his message in the service. Decisions like inviting FLOTUS are so difficult, and as I said I appreciate that the church up until now has remained apolitical. To the report: I asked all the people around me (imagine six people adjacent in every direction) whether they heard about and then whether they had attended. Members had heard, one had attended. Non-members (two older adults visiting with their son in his 40’s-roughly my age) hadn’t heard but were impressed, even while stating they hadn’t voted for Obama - they keyed in on the health threat of the message and weren’t politically put off as I and many on this website may be - it was a non-issue from that standpoint. Most thought it was a positive,even when I voiced some concerns we’ve shared here.
When the service started during the announcements, one of the associate pastors (not Andy) did mention it in what was most likely an explanation to address those who had voiced concern. He explained the rationale being that many in the audience were non-church goers and it was a significant outreach opportunity and he highlighted the hour long program with music, and the taped announcement from Brenda Wood (a local NBC anchor (African American) who attends NPCC at the buckhead campus) that described the church and its mission. The host then explained that he an many others on staff met people after the event who didn’t attend church and who hadn’t heard of NPCC but might come back. He asked for a show of hands if people were visiting (as a way to acknowledge them) and several hands (10-15 out of the whole crowd I could see) did go up.
That was about it, as far as discussion of the visit. What occurred to me as a result of this whole event is that the church is trying to reach all people, not just conservatives (that may seem like a no-brainer, but what I mean is they’re not using a political lens, while I am) and if for the purpose of discussion 20 people come to Christ as a result of this event, but the church has inadvertently endorsed FLOTUS (and by extension her husband) so that POTUS and FLOTUS become more popular and manage to gain more of the popular vote as an indirect result, is that a fair trade?
More to the point, does my mission as a Christian or my patriotic concern for the demise of America come first as my duty? That is only a rhetorical question, but the example I created is not completely out of the realm of reality, given the influence of NPCC.
I will conclude by saying the message was awesome! Andy has talked about Galatians chapter 5 many times in the church, and he visited it again in the message, but in the context of the early first century church and how timeless the acts of the sinful nature (human nature) remain. In recounting and explicating the acts of the sinful nature, he went much further than Rick Warren and certainly Joel Olsteen ever do, but in a way that reflected humility and empathy for our fallen condition. It was classic Andy and those who put NP in the same group as Joel Olsteen are not listening often enough (no offense to members of Olsteen’s church, just a different intent of the message). What I have loved and continue to love is that Andy’s message compels us to bring our christian beliefs and behaviors into every day (as he says - how we act on Monday through Saturday) to serve as an example of why the Christian life is exceptional and worthy of following. Andy has always and continues to do that better than any I have ever seen.
While I must ultimately disagree with the invitation to FLOTUS, I do not think it has done irreparable harm to NPCC or its message. Thanks to all, for your concern. And I encourage you to listen to the messages, ether as podcasts, or by downloading them to ipod or mp3. They will speak to you and improve your life. Please visit them at:
www.northpoint.org/messages and click on the big CHURCH album cover to view the current series(that will make sense when you get there), or scroll across the covers to view many of the past messages. If you want a terrific description of how Islam, Judaism, and Christianity merge around Abraham, and separate because they are incomplete of inadequate (including the out-of context reference from and earlier post-er)and would like one of the clearest descriptions of Mohammed I have ever seen, you can view or listen to “The Star, the Cross and the Crescent”. It is four parts and the first two are historical, and the third is a converted Jew’s testimony (great story) and the fourth is a converted Muslim’s story (also great). Thanks all.