For the last few weeks, the internet has been abuzz with criticism of popular Christian singer Lauren Daigle. The criticism mainly stems from a December 7th interview which was broadcast on iHeartRadio. During the course of that interview, Daigle was asked whether or not she thought homosexuality was a sin. Her response was neither affirmative or negative. Daigle stated:
I can’t say one way or the other, I’m not God. When people ask questions like that, I just say, ‘Read the Bible and find out for yourself. And when you find out let me know because I’m learning too.
Since I “found out” the answer to that question long ago through the study of God’s word and the proclamation of my pastor, I took it upon myself to write Daigle a letter explaining to her that homosexuality is, in fact, a sin. In that letter, I openly wondered why her pastor and local church hadn’t already taught her as much. This week, having researched the matter, I wondered no more. As it turns out, Daigle was a long-time servant of North Point Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. Her pastor was Andy Stanley. The AJC reports:
A few years ago, Lauren Daigle was at a Christmas party in Nashville with session musicians Nate Bedingfield and Brandon Coker, guys who played for North Point Ministries in Alpharetta. As they sat around eating chicken fingers, Daigle pressed them for more information about the church, and soon, the 25-year-old Christian singer found herself living in dual residences in Nashville and Atlanta. She sang at church conferences, led worship sessions with high schoolers and became, as she puts it, “an Atlanta junkie.” She lived on the Westside and adored the combination of big-city life and small-town appeal.
Lauren Daigle sang at North Point Church conferences, led worship, and was even a part of a band signed to the church’s music label and still doesn’t understand something as basic as the doctrine of human sexuality. The blame for this lies squarely upon those charged with discipling Lauren Daigle, first and foremost the pastors of the local churches of which she has been a part. She clearly has received no such discipleship from Andy Stanley.
If anything, Andy Stanley and North Point church have used Daigle as a cash cow instead of treating her as a sheep in need of shepherding. Frankly, I can’t say that I was surprised when I heard that Daigle had been under the pastoral leadership of Andy Stanley. Despite his celebrity status as a church-growth guru, Andy Stanley is far from a biblical leader. Sadly, though she may be the most famous one, Lauren Daigle is not the only young woman who has sat through the ear-tickling sermons of Andy Stanley and come away lacking in biblical knowledge. It is not just a matter of theory but a demonstrable fact. Andy Stanley and North Point church hinder the Christian walk of their congregants. If you have family or friends caught up in the North Point movement, I adjure you to call them out of it. If your pastor is consuming Andy Stanley’s church literature, I exhort you to warn him. Church matters. That Lauren Daigle, a professional Christian singer, went on national radio and failed to articulate a Christian position to thousands of listeners who need to hear God’s word proclaimed shows just how bad things can get when people trade in biblical church membership to be a part of an entertaining goat show like North Point Church.
