Andy Stanley, pastor of the Atlanta-area megachurch, North Point Community Church, on Sunday addressed the controversy surrounding a conference last weekend at North Point, billed as the “premier event . . . to support parents and LGBTQ+ children in their churches.” The sermon was not livestreamed, but The Roys Report has obtained audio of both the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services, which we’ve published below.
The sermon was a response to allegations from prominent Southern Baptist seminary president Al Mohler that the conference, featuring gay-affirming speakers, signified Stanley’s departure from biblical Christianity. However, Stanley claimed in the sermon that he “never subscribed to (Mohler’s) version of biblical Christianity,” which Stanley typified as drawing “lines”:
(Mohler’s) version, this version of Biblical Christianity is why people are leaving Christianity unnecessarily. It’s the version is the version that causes people to resist the Christian faith, because they can’t find Jesus in the midst of all the other stuff and all the other theology and all the other complexity that gets glommed on to the message bottom line, that version of Christianity, draws lines. And Jesus drew circles. He drew circles so large and included so many people in his circle, that it consistently made religious leaders nervous.
Stanley affirmed that “biblical marriage is between a man and a woman.” But he also stated that many gay people “are convinced that traditional marriage is not an option for them.” He said some commit “to living a chaste life.” But “for many, that is not sustainable, so they choose same-sex marriage—not because they’re convinced it’s biblical . . . They choose to marry for the same reason many of us do: love, companionship.”
Stanley said the decision of same-sex couples to marry is “their decision. Our decision, as a group of local churches, is how are we going to respond to their decisions.” Stanley said Northpoint has taken the position that it will welcome people “regardless of their starting point, regardless of their past, regardless of their current circumstances, our message is come and see and come sit with me.”
Mohler has not yet responded to Stanley’s sermon. However, Denny Burk, president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, wrote in a post published yesterday that Stanley’s sermon was “subversively anti-Christian.”
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“The message is anti-Christian because it tells unrepentant sinners that they can inherit the kingdom of God—a message that the Bible roundly contradicts,” Burk wrote.
However, Stanley’s message seemed well received by his congregation. One person wrote on Twitter, “I was there. He did great.” Another wrote, “So thankful for @AndyStanley and his courage and faithfulness. He is actively helping people see the goodness of God knowing the criticism he would face. If your God treats people like trash until they repent, you are not following Jesus.”
Full story with more reaction from both sides is coming.
Northpoint Church’s 9 a.m. Service on Oct. 1:
Northpoint Church’s 11 a.m. Service on Oct. 1:
Julie Roys is a veteran investigative reporter and founder of The Roys Report. She also previously hosted a national talk show on the Moody Radio Network, called Up for Debate, and has worked as a TV reporter for a CBS affiliate. Her articles have appeared in numerous periodicals. 
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111 Responses
Debra and Andrew:
Thanks for being warriors for Christ. May God bless you both. I am signing off now.
A circle splits the plane into two areas just like a line. And a half-plane has greater area than the finite area of a circle no matter how large. So this is a ridiculous analogy. You might as well just come out and say you have no boundaries.
Lost me when the author quoted a guy who is the president of something called the “Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood”. Are we actually being serious?
The article was reporting on a sermon that was a response to allegations by Al Mohler. They couldn’t get a response from him so it seems appropriate to quote someone who most likely would represent his thinking.
It’s not just about us accepting gay people, all people are welcome to come to Christ. But it’s about such people accepting Christ and being changed by Him. Saul became Paul, sinners become saints, and disciples willingly lay down their lives for Christ. This is because anyone genuinely in Christ becomes a “new creature” with “all things becoming new.” So it is incorrect for pastor Stanley to suggest we simply accept the confession of those coming up out of the water “still gay” and embrace them as such. Rather, the new disciples needs to learn about the power of the gospel given them in Christ through their new life over that sin in the same way as an alcoholic who still craves alcohol after coming to Christ.