I finally met Andy Stanley.
So I was strolling down the hall at the conference today, and you’d never guess who walked up. Perry and I were standing there chatting with a few of our friends and Andy Stanley stopped to say hey. Perry took the opportunity to officially introduce me to Andy.
For those of you who may be new to my blog, you may not know that I’ve been kind of stalking Andy for several years.
- He was one of the five people that I had never met that I’d invite to my backyard barbecue.
- I’ve forced my kids to listen to podcasts featuring Andy.
- I’ve mentioned Andy so often that I’ve had people visiting my blog trying to find "Andy Stanley’s blog."
- I was in his conference room earlier this summer, while he was studying in the room next door.
All of that is behind me now, because it finally happened. I met Andy Stanley. And I have the picture to prove it.
Here are a few observations from this chance encounter:
- I thought it was very kind of Andy to stop and say hello. And, even if he was faking it, he made me feel like he was genuinely interested in meeting me.
- It was nice of his assistant to encourage me to get a picture with him.
- I was impressed that Andy wasn’t a "let’s hug while we pose for a picture"-type of guy. Notice in the picture that there is no physical contact between the two of us.
- I have to admit, though, that Andy did hug me. For the record, other than my wife, he’s one of only a handful of people for which that type of greeting is acceptable. And, no, Jason Moorhead, you’re not on that list.
Thanks, Andy, you made my day.
I’m not convinced that it is you he is with, the picture is a little fuzzy….
Hurray Tony! You met Andy! Just this morning I was listening to last weekend’s message at Northpoint and it was inspiring.
Could this occasion be considered a random birthday moment?
He still hasn’t hugged me yet. Feel special.
Los
real men wear pink… it seems.
Did you ask for his autograph? ;)
how jealous am i? are you sure it’s not one of those “andy” cutouts at a Catalyst booth, “hey young man, would you like to get your picture with andy? Only $5 bucks!!”
Awesome….did you use this opportunity to invite him to your backyard barbecue or did you pull a J.C. when I met you at Drive and totally blank out at what you wanted to say or ask.
He hugged you! That just proves that he reads your blog…he knew that you’ve been wanting to meet him, he knows that you are opposed to man hugs, so a face to face at the cost of a man hug…priceless.
Just so you know, one of these days, your wife and I are going to have to attend one of the conferences you and t are at so we can meet and talk about you behind your backs. =)
Glad you enjoyed the conf! I’m looking forward to getting Terry’s thoughts on it when he gets home.
Congrats! So glad you can mark that off your list!
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