Andy Stanley? I hope so.
Could this really be a blog response from Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church? Here’s what this person said:
I’m writing to aplogize for the size of North Point Community Church. When six of us gathered to think through the idea of beginning a church we had no idea that it would become so large. For this growth I am truely sorry. I realize that the size is intimidating.
I have read the comments on this site and have decided to make some changes. To begin with I am going to spend time with each and every parisioner so that they can get to know me personally. Like many of you, I wouldn’t want to attend a church where I could not connect personally with the pastor. I’ve shared this with my wife and three kids. They are in complete agreement. So beginning next Sunday I will be at the back door to shake hands.
Secondly, I am going to suggest to our elders that we sell our three campuses, consolidate, and move the church into a much smaller building. Smaller space will mean smaller crowds. And aparently large crowds are unbiblical. I agree, the church should be no larger than 40 to 50 people. Most of whom are believers.
Regarding my shallow, simplistic preaching…for this I am truley sorry. I am doing the best I can. I know deeper is better. I’m just not deep. I’m not really sure what to do about that.
These changes will take some time. Please be patient. If you have any helpful suggestions as to how I can transition North Point Community Church into a church made up of a handful of believers who enjoy deep preaching please let me know.
On a positive note, the 8,000 adults who meet in groups of 8 to 12 in homes throughout our community can continue to meet in spite of the fact that they will no longer be able to worship together.
Thank you for your valuable insights. And please accept my apology.
Andy Stanley
Pastor, North Point Community Church
You can read the original post and all the comments that led to this response here. My guess is it’s not really Andy. I’ve always assumed Andy was a better speller than this. I think it would be pretty cool if it was the real deal. It would be one more reason to love Andy Stanley. (Thanks BloggingChurch.com.)
UPDATE: Adam at Pomomusings.com indicates he’s still getting quite a few hits from my blog from people trying to find the exchange with Andy Stanley. Adam has recently changed sites, so I updated the link above. It’s a great dialogue with Andy. If you haven’t seen this, it’s worth the read.
The return email on the link was cas@northpointe.org… doubtful its andy, but like you, i think it would be cool if it was.
because sarcasm is the way mature believers handle criticism?
I don’t buy it. I can’t imagine Andy Stanley sitting around reading some obscure blog and taking the time to post something like that.
There’s even a follow-up response from “Andy” a little further down. Anonymity: at times, the bane of the existence of the Internet.
Still, interesting discourse of views on megachurches.
That is his actual email address I used to email him an interview and received a reply from his assistant.
I would not be so sure it is not. I have a very interesting Andy Stanley story. I was sitting in a hotel room in Austin during the SXSW conference and got an email from Andy. Andy politely asked me to remove his “conference notes” from my blog. I gave detailed notes almost his exact outline about his talk at C3. Here is what I adjusted it to: http://www.terrystorch.com/2005/01/c3_session_4_an.html
I am banking on this being real! It sounds like the Andy that I know.
cas@northpoint.org
Charles Andy Stanley
It probably was him
Hmm, “interesting,” is all I’ll say!
Yeah, well when I hit the big time (whatever that is) I plan on posting regular feedback on the White Castle web site.
By the way – that’s http://www.whitecastle.com for anyone playing along at home.
After going back and forth, it looks like it really WAS him. He addressed it in his sermon a couple of weeks ago (the second sermon in the Imagine Series) that’s available on northpoint.org
This is so NOT Andy. I’ve listened to nearly all of the sermons on northpoint.org/messages and in one of the messages, he emphasizes over and over, in a “catch phrase,” (as is typical of his style to come up with memorable lines) that their goal is to “provide seats at optimal times”. If that means they need to change their meeting hours or start an extra service, they’ll do it. He noted that they had plans to start a new campus and the result would be people leaving this church (either because the new campus would be closer to their homes or they’d volunteered to go there and help that new campus grow) and thus create “more seats at optimal times” at the older campus. Growing in size is not his goal; but neither is shrinking it. His goal is to grow people up; he’s doing many things right (and in particular, in my opinion, leaning heavily on the cell groups for peoples’ personal growth and connection, something that is less likely to happen in church): just look at how all of the campuses are growing. So, I don’t believe for an instant that Andy would write something like, much less say something like that. He’s much wittier, anyway.
This imposter is trying to portray an Andy with no brain. I believe the real Andy is solely trying to motivate people to lead the lives God intends for them, and if his ministry grows bigger and bigger, then he would just consider it more of a blessing. He says he never puts in more than a 45-hour workweek in order to keep his family life intact. (“Choosing to Cheat” sermon). He can’t help it people tell all of their friends to “come check out this church” or “listen to this guy’s podcast (http://www.northpoint.org/messages)”. Andy would never refer to his own preaching as “shallow and simplistic”. I call his preaching style Biblically based, practical, relevant, thought provoking, down-to-earth, and humorous. Many preachers have me looking at my watch at about the 20-minute mark or wondering how many other ways the same point can get rehashed. With Andy, it’s almost invariably, “He’s done already? Wow.”