Connect with us

Published

on

Share Tweet By Tr Goins-Phillips Editor
October 2, 2023

Andy Stanley, pastor of an Atlanta-based megachurch, spoke out from the pulpit Sunday after he led a controversial, two-day conference geared toward “support[ing] parents and LGBTQ+ children in their churches.”

The North Point Community Church pastor addressed the “Unconditional Conference” during his Sunday message, which was not live-streamed, according to The Roys Report.

Listen to the latest episode of CBNs Quick Start podcast ?

Stanley’s message was purportedly in response to the widespread criticism he and North Point have faced following news he would be hosting the Sept. 28-29 conference, which included LGBTQ-affirming speakers.

Among the critics was Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Mohler argued the event marked Stanley’s departure from a biblical understanding of sexuality, which sees marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman for life.

Mohler stated on a recent episode of his podcast, “The Briefing”:

[A]s a theologian, I just feel a responsibility to say that what this represents is a departure from historic, normative, biblical Christianity. I think both sides understand this is the most basic disagreement we could imagine, so are sex and gender. It’s over ontology and being; it’s over Scripture, the authority of Scripture, and the interpretation of Scripture. It’s over God and the Gospel. It just doesn’t get any more basic than this, but I do recognize the gravity of the words I’m using when I say that what we see here is a departure from historic, normative, biblical Christianity. I say that because I believe that’s exactly what it is, and I believe Christians ought to take note of it.

The Georgia pastor reportedly said he “never subscribed to [Mohler’s] version of biblical Christianity.”

“This version of biblical Christianity is why people are leaving Christianity unnecessarily,” Stanley said. “Its the version that causes people to resist the Christian faith, because they cant 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’s bottom line, that version of Christianity, draws lines.”

“And Jesus drew circles,” the preacher continued. “He drew circles so large and included so many people in His circle, that it consistently made religious leaders nervous.”

Stanley went on to explain he supports the view “biblical marriage is between a man and a woman,” but applied qualifiers to that statement, making his exact stance on the matter somewhat unclear.

He explained some who struggle with same-sex attraction “are convinced that traditional marriage is not an option for them” and, as such, commit “to living a chaste life.” However, the pastor continued, “For many, that is not sustainable, so they choose same-sex marriage not because theyre convinced its biblical. … They choose to marry for the same reason many of us do: love, companionship.”

Stanley added that, once two people make a decision to enter into a same-sex romantic partnership, it is “our decision” to determine “how are we going to respond to their decisions.” North Point, he reportedly explained, has taken the stance that, “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.”

Although Mohler has not yet addressed Stanley’s latest statements from the pulpit, other Christian thought leaders have responded to the pastor’s explanation for his conference.

Andrew Walker, an ethics and public theology professor at SBTS and author of “God and the Transgender Debate,” outlined what he sees as Stanley’s “distinction between doctrine and pastoral practice.”

“What does that mean?” Walker wrote. “It means the doctrine has not officially changed, which is why he can technically affirm a ‘biblical view’ but, for all practical purposes, there is a pastoral accommodation that allows for LGBT-identified persons to disobey Scripture and remain in good standing as a Christian.”

He continued, “What Stanley considers as a failure to live up to an unattainable ideal, Scripture calls sinful. Nowhere in the messages was there any expectation that someone would turn from their same-sex relationship. This is an example of unbounded empathy that listens (which is good) but never invites toward transformation (which is not good).”

Read Walker’s full response below:

I was able to listen to Andy Stanleys messages from today on the topic of same-sex attraction and marriage.

Whats clear from Stanleys teaching is that hes drawing a distinction between doctrine and pastoral practice. What does that mean? It means the doctrine has not— Andrew T. Walker (@andrewtwalk) October 2, 2023

Denny Burk, president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, wrote Sunday that Stanley’s view is “subversively anti-Christian.”

“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,” he explained in the article on the CBMW website.

Stanley has faced criticism for a handful of theological stances in recent years, including his view of the Old Testament, from which he argued Christians should “unhitch” themselves.

In 2018, he conceded at the end of a sermon series that the Old Testament is “divinely inspired” but argued it should not be “the go-to source regarding any behavior in the church.”

“[First century] Church leaders unhitched the church from the worldview, value system, and regulations of the Jewish Scriptures,” he said, preaching on Acts 15. “Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish scriptures, and my friends, we must as well.”

Several Christian leaders criticized Stanley for those remarks.

In fact, during a recent conversation with CBN Digital, author and Atlanta-based Pastor Michael Youssef explained his concerns over Stanley’s statements about the Old Testament. View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tr Goins-Phillips (@tregp)

“Get ‘unhitched’ from the Old Testament?” Youssef said. “This would be like saying, ‘I love this big, beautiful, tall building, but the foundation is not really necessary. Just let’s get rid of it.’ You get rid of the foundation, the building will not stand for very long.”

“If you understand the Bible … it is one book, not two books,” he continued. “Often, I liken it to a house. The Old Testament is that house, with a foundation and the walls, but it’s lacking a roof. The New Testament is the roof and, therefore, together, you have one building a house. … One without the other doesn’t really make a lot of sense and, so, all of our foundational structure in the Old Testament that says constantly, for hundreds of years, ‘Christ is coming, Christ is coming,’ the New Testament say, ‘Hey, He’s here.’ The New Testament fulfills the Old Testament.”

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwires daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

Continue Reading

Sports

Heavy rain helps Elliott to pole for Dover Cup race

Published

on

By

Heavy rain helps Elliott to pole for Dover Cup race

DOVER, Del. — Chase Elliott took advantage of heavy rain at Dover Motor Speedway to earn the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

Elliott and the rest of the field never got to turn a scheduled practice or qualifying lap on Saturday because of rain that pounded the concrete mile track. Dover is scheduled to hold its first July race since the track’s first one in 1969.

Elliott has two wins and 10 top-five finishes in 14 career races at Dover.

Chase Briscoe starts second, followed by Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and William Byron. Shane van Gisbergen, last week’s winner at Sonoma Raceway, Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch complete the top 10.

Logano is set to become the youngest driver in NASCAR history with 600 career starts.

Logano will be 35 years, 1 month, 26 days old when he hits No. 600 on Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway. He will top seven-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty by six months.

The midseason tournament that pays $1 million to the winner pits Ty Dillon vs. John Hunter Nemechek and Reddick vs. Gibbs in the head-to-head challenge at Dover.

The winners face off next week at Indianapolis. Reddick is the betting favorite to win it all, according to Sportsbook.

All four drivers are winless this season.

Continue Reading

Sports

Hamlin on 23XI trial: ‘All will be exposed’

Published

on

By

Hamlin on 23XI trial: 'All will be exposed'

DOVER, Del. — NASCAR race team owner Denny Hamlin remained undeterred in the wake of another setback in court, vowing “all will be exposed” in the scheduled December trial as part of 23XI Racing’s federal antitrust suit against the auto racing series.

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a request from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to continue racing with charters while they battle NASCAR in court, meaning their six cars will race as open entries this weekend at Dover, next week at Indianapolis and perhaps longer than that in a move the teams say would put them at risk of going out of business.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell denied the teams’ bid for a temporary restraining order, saying they will make races over the next couple of weeks and they won’t lose their drivers or sponsors before his decision on a preliminary injunction.

Bell left open the possibility of reconsidering his decision if things change over the next two weeks.

After this weekend, the cars affected may need to qualify on speed if 41 entries are listed – a possibility now that starting spots have opened.

The case has a Dec. 1 trial date, but the two teams are fighting to be recognized as chartered for the current season, which has 16 races left. A charter guarantees one of the 40 spots in the field each week, but also a base amount of money paid out each week.

“If you want answers, you want to understand why all this is happening, come Dec. 1, you’ll get the answers that you’re looking for,” Hamlin said Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway. “All will be exposed.”

23XI, which is co-owned by retired NBA great Michael Jordan, and FRM filed their federal suit against NASCAR last year after they were the only two organizations out of 15 to reject NASCAR’s extension offer on charters.

Jordan and FRM owner Bob Jenkins won an injunction to recognize 23XI and FRM as chartered for the season, but the ruling was overturned on appeal earlier this month, sending the case back to Bell.

Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, co-owns 23XI with Jordan and said they were prepared to send Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst to the track each week as open teams. They sought the restraining order Monday, claiming that through discovery they learned NASCAR planned to immediately begin the process of selling the six charters which would put “plaintiffs in irreparable jeopardy of never getting their charters back and going out of business.”

Hamlin said none of the setbacks have made him second-guess the decision to file the lawsuit.

“Dec. 1 is all that matters. Mark your calendar,” Hamlin said. “I’d love to be doing other things. I’ve got a lot going on. When I get in the car (today), nothing else is going to matter other than that. I always give my team 100%. I always prepare whether I have side jobs, side hustles, more kids, that all matters, but I always give my team all the time that they need to make sure that when I step in, I’m 100% committed.”

Reddick, who has a clause that allows him to become a free agent if the team loses its charter, declined comment Saturday on all questions connected to his future and the lawsuit. Hamlin also declined to comment on Reddick’s future with 23XI Racing.

Reddick, one of four drivers left in NASCAR’s $1 million In-season Challenge, was last year’s regular-season champion and raced for the Cup Series championship in the season finale. But none of the six drivers affected by the court ruling are locked into this year’s playoffs.

Making the field won’t be an issue this weekend at Dover as fewer than the maximum 40 cars are entered. But should 41 cars show up anywhere this season, someone slow will be sent home and that means lost revenue and a lost chance to win points in the standings.

“Nothing changes from my end, obviously, and nothing changes from inside the shop,” Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith said. “There’s not typically even enough cars to worry about transferring in.”

Smith, 24th in the standings and someone who would likely need a win to qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs, said he stood behind Jenkins in his acrimonious legal fight that has loomed over the stock car series for months.

“I leave all that up to them,” Smith said, “but my job is to go get the 38 the best finish I can.”

Continue Reading

Technology

Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigns after viral Coldplay kiss-cam controversy

Published

on

By

Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigns after viral Coldplay kiss-cam controversy

Chris Martin of Coldplay performs at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on October 12, 2021 in London, England.

Simone Joyner | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Astronomer, the technology company that faced backlash after its CEO was allegedly caught in an affair at a Coldplay concert, said the CEO has resigned, the company announced Saturday.

“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted,” the company said in a statement. “The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.”

Byron was shown on a big screen at a Coldplay concert on Wednesday with his arms around the company’s chief people officer, Kristin Cabot. Byron, who is married with children, immediately hid when the couple was shown on screen. Lead singer Chris Martin said, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.” A concert attendee’s video of the affair went viral.

In May, Astronomer announced a $93 million investment round led by Bain Ventures and other investors, including Salesforce Ventures.

Byron’s resignation comes after Astronomer said Friday that it had launched a “formal investigation” into the matter, and the CEO was placed on administrative leave.

“Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI,” the company said in its Saturday statement. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”

Continue Reading

Trending