Posted on 10/05/2016 6:35:12 AM PDT by Gamecock
Pastor Andy Stanley is defending his approach to preaching amid questions from prominent evangelical leaders who contend his methods undermine the Bible's authority and pave the way for unbelief.
In a lengthy article in Outreach magazine on Friday, the pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, responds to his critics and affirms that he believes in biblical inerrancy. What he is doing, he argues, is changing the angle from which he speaks to more effectively engage a post-Christian society, particularly millennials who have left the Church.
Controversy arose in light of Stanley's recent sermon series wherein he argued that because increasing numbers of people in the United States do not lend credence to the Bible, Christians should dispense with the "because the Bible told me so" rationale for believing its truth claims.
Appeals to biblical authority do not translate particularly for millennials who pursue higher education beyond high school, Stanley said.
"The dechurched who grew up in church exit because they find the version of Christianity they've grown up with unconvincing, uninspiring and irrelevant," Stanley said. Moreover, ample evidence exists for the resurrection and the claims Jesus made about Himself even if one does not believe that a worldwide flood took place or Hebrew exodus from Egypt occurred, he said.
But such a tack bothered Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler who wrote last week on his website that defenses of the Christian faith have never been more necessary. And it is impossible to access that faith without the written Word. Stanley, Mohler argued, was "undercutting our only means of knowing Christ and His resurrection from the dead the Bible," and warned that his approach would inexorably lead to "abject disaster" for the Church.
"This is an apologetic disaster and would leave Christians with no authoritative Scripture. Instead, we would be dependent upon historians (among others) to tell us what parts of both testaments we can still believe," Mohler said.
"Those parts will inevitably grow fewer and fewer. This is what must happen when the total trustworthiness, sufficiency, and authority of the Bible is subverted," Mohler continued.
Nothing could be further from the truth, Stanley replied in response to such charges. Mohler and others, he asserted, have misunderstood him.
Although Scripture does not provide guidelines for ministering to a post-Christian world, Stanley notes that at several times in the New Testament readers witness Peter and Paul operating from a different framework and using different language when speaking to Jews or Gentiles.
In Acts 17, for instance, the Apostle Paul addresses the Athenians, and urges them to repent from their idolatry. Yet although he refers to Him, Paul doesn't mention Jesus by name. To some that might seem like an egregious omission, like Paul was leaving out an essential element of the Gospel, when really he knew his audience's frame of reference.
"To say Paul's approach to the Gentiles in Athens differed from his approach to the Jews in Pisidian Antioch would be the understatement of understatements," Stanley said. "But his central message was the same. God has done something in the world on behalf of all humankind."
Stanley insists he is doing a similar thing today.
"So will you consider retooling in order to win some and save some? Are you willing to take a long, hard look at everything you're currently doing through the eyes of the post-Christian? Are you ready to be a student rather than a critic? We don't have time for tribes. We don't have time for the petty disagreements that only those inside our social media circles understand or care about," Stanley said.
"We're losing ground. The most counterproductive thing we can do is criticize and refuse to learn from one another. So come on. If you believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, that's all I need to know. And in light of what's at stake, in light of who is at stake, perhaps that's all you need to know as well," he concluded.
I completely agree.
A lot of organizations, when spreading the gospel, will hand out a copy of John. My belief is that a better way would to be to hand out a copy of Ecclesiastes and John, with a brief rundown of the whole picture in between.
I love the references to the stumbling block, which is salvation through works.
I love the Romans 9:32 take on it: Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone...”
Trust me when I tell you you are not missing anything. His father is Charles Stanley...you may have seen him on Sunday morning tv. He is nothing like his dad
Hate to disappoint you but you are incorrect.
Moreover, many of the “Christian” schools out there don’t do any better and in fact teach far less than what a child needs to learn.
My preference is home schooling.
Be that as it may, this thread does not have anything to do with that....particularly since Andy is a product of all those so called great Christian school
Granted....but the thread was about a pastor ( the lead money changer) at The Church of the MegaMall in Alpharetta.
He is very good at getting bucks
My fingers never left my hands.....
And yes you are absolutely correct. His is the only ‘church’ I ever left feeling like I needed a long hot shower
I’ve been having a “crisis of church” the last few years. I moved from Seattle to south central, rural Kentucky and am SHOCKED at how many people here are STRONG “Christians”, but there are some attributes that confuse me:
1. They always seem miserable.
2. They really don’t know the bible.
3. If you try to discuss the “deeper” meaning/ramifications of scripture and beliefs, they have zero to offer.
4. If you bring up something they disagree with, they go all bigot on you. I use that word specifically because their response fits the definition precisely.
5. A LOT of people go to church here because it is “what you do” and they are petrified of suffering in a fire for eternity. That even trumps the salvation. Salvation is seen by them not as a wonderful thing to bring them into eternal fellowship with Christ. Rather, it is a “get out of hell free” card. The true gospel message is secondary.
It makes it very hard to attend any church here.
Oh Lordy......you are soon out in the weeds
The pastor of The Church of the Mega Mall was trained in those fine Christiaan schools you speak of
Perhaps you can get your next presidential nominee to decide everyone ought to go to the school of your choice
The pastor of the Church of the Mega Mall was trained in those fine Christian schools you refer to
The pastor of the Church of the Mega Mall was trained in those fine Christian schools you refer to
My daughter went to public schools...all the way through college. Her faith and approach to life are just fine. Her believes are solidly Christian and she is very good at the job she does.
You put yourself out as wise counsel....maybe so maybe not.
Just wondering have you ever attended Andy’s ‘church’?
..but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles..
And both to Americans.
“My preference is home schooling.”
Mine too.
“Moreover, many of the Christian schools out there dont do any better and in fact teach far less than what a child needs to learn.”
That is not my experience. I know Christian teachers who have taught in both environments. The pay in government schools is better but the children are 1 to 2 years behind where they are for the same grade in private schools.
“Andy is a product of all those so called great Christian school”
Sure, but one student is not the same as a population of students. And we do not know anything about how involved Andy’s father was in raising his child(ren). Andy is preaching to millennials who are by and large products of the government school system. And that system converts 80 to 90% of Christians who are enrolled in it to secular humanism.
No. I don’t attend mega-churches, seeker churches, emergent churches, prosperity churches or any other such “Christian” churches.
The pastor of the Church of the Mega Mall was trained in those fine Christian schools you refer to
My daughter went to public schools...all the way through college. Her faith and approach to life are just fine. Her believes are solidly Christian and she is very good at the job she does.
You put yourself out as wise counsel....maybe so maybe not.”
Two people do not make a population. There are about 50 million government school students in this country. Of the ones who are Christians, 80-90% finish government schooling with a secular humanist worldview. So you are saying that your daughter was in the 10-20%. But since she hasn’t been independently surveyed about her worldview, we really aren’t sure, are we?
I am not counseling anyone. The social changes that are taking place in the Western world did not randomly appear in the past few decades. They would not be possible without the corruption of our institutions. Government schooling and the media have been leading the charge. I have simply pointed out that Christians have the opportunity to separate themselves from the trash, but most are not interested in doing so. Some, because they are ignorant of what is happening. Others, because they are foolish.
Years ago there was an attempt to get the SBC leadership to endorse the Exodus mandate. The leadership refused, despite (I believe) most of all of the leadership having their children enrolled outside of the government school system. The government school system is a big employer in most jurisdictions. There is a massive amount of money involved. Turning our backs on this system will require sacrifice and courage. Pastors with large churches could stand to lose a lot of money if they offend significant segments of the membership. They won’t do that, because they value lucre over truth.
“A lot of people, throughout the centuries, have come to an acceptance of Gods Grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus without ever seeing a bible.
Having a bible definitely helps, but it is not a requirement.”
While true, how many more have come to the saving grace of Jesus Christ through the bible?
I can testify to this personally as I found salvation through the reading of His word, the bible.
I’m not saying that “you” are, but Stanley is greatly diminishing the importance of God’s word.
It is paramount to understanding the faith and living a Christian life. It’s importance can not be understated.
Stanley is a FOOL. I dare say, because of his statements about the bible I question his faith. YES I DO.
A real shame as his father Charles Stanley, has been a very influential person in my own growth in the faith.
Romans 1:
19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world Gods invisible qualitieshis eternal power and divine naturehave been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
As someone who has been listening to the bible an hour or two a day for the last couple of years, I concur that the bible is important. VERY important.
I was just trying to cut him some slack. I was hoping he was focusing on the gospel first, and then bringing in the other stuff later.
You don’t read carefully. Christian schools have to be chosen with discernment. Government schools are institutionally required to be pagan.
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