Andy Stanley’s Church is not only NOT gathering for in-person services, but Northpoint church is barely gathering at all, with Pastor Stanley encouraging his congregation to “sleep late and skip church” – all “guilt-free.”
Later on, at some point in the day, if they wish, Stanley casually says that people can drop by and watch an online message he has prepared. Lest you think the message is for everyone in the congregation, you would be wrong. Stanley kicks it off with this clarification: “I have some great news for all the women in the audience – this message is for all the men in the audience.”
For those who do at some point decide to drop into the website to “attend” the “church service,” they’ll find there is no worship. No personal prayers. No benediction. No corporate prayers. No scripture readings.
Rather, they will be greeted by a 25-minute message/leadership talk/motivational speech comprised of the following points:
- Men want to be autonomous and believe they can “handle it” to attain success. When they don’t get it, they develop a low-grade anger.
- If you arent happy with your wife, kids, car, career, it’s because you aren’t happy with you. You chose all those. You need to own it.
- An appetite for autonomy is dangerous.
- Tells the story of David and Bathsheba. Says that the servant tried to dissuade David from hooking up with Bathsheba, but “powerful people have a hard time listening to payroll people,” and therefore ignored him. Makes the point that we should be like Uriah and not David.
- David undermined his credibility and legacy and undermined moral authority with children. David got in trouble when he isolated himself from the community of men to whom he was most accessible.
- Resist people who will tell you what you want to hear rather than what you need to hear. Resist isolation and autonomy that comes with success and great achievement. Autonomy is a myth, trap, and unworthy goal, because people were created not for autonomy but for community.
Definitely worth sleeping in over.
