North Point Community Church leader Andy Stanley says his ‘elevator pitch’ for why he’s a Christian is because it makes his life better and makes him better at life.
Sadly, this is little more than the prosperity gospel, which denies that becoming a Jesus follower will often result in struggle, hardship, pain, and death. From the mother living in India who will be beaten by her husband and have her children taken away from her for converting, to the young man who will be disowned and murdered in Somalia, any elevator pitch for why one is a Christian must be able to include both the rich man in Seattle to the pauper in Libya.
Not so for Stanley.
The bottom line is simply this my little, you know, jog through my church past. There’s so many more stories. It’s really this. And I didn’t have this language back then. I don’t want to pretend, but the church made me a better person.
Following Jesus, as I say, you know, it made me better at, made me better, and it made me better at life. It made me a better person. So about five years ago, we were doing some wordssmithing of some things around here, and it just dawned on me ‘I should have, like, an elevator pitch for my faith’.
I mean, nobody walks up to me and says, Andy, why are you a Christian? I mean, I wish they would, because, man, I can razzle dazzle you with stuff about the resurrection all day long until you either just give up and become a Christian or walk off, okay?
But I needed, like, the elevator pitch. Like, what’s the short message? Why am I a Jesus follower? And that’s when I came up with this language. Because, honestly, it’s not because of some theological insight.It’s not because one day I’m reading through the whole Bible and ‘boom.’ The reason I’m a Jesus follower is, honestly, because following Jesus has made my life better, and it’s made me better at life. So of course I love the church.
But the church just isn’t good for me, and the church just isn’t good for you, and the church isn’t just good for us, the church is good for the community.”
Contrast this to Tom Buck’s ‘Elevator Pitch’ for why he is a Jesus follower:
“I’m a Jesus follower because I’m a sinner who rebelled against God and was under his just wrath. But God sent his perfect Son, Jesus, to die in my place and to pay the penalty for my sins. God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, raised him to life, and made him both Lord and Savior. I confessed Jesus as my Lord; I believed God raised him from the dead; and he saved me. That is why I follow Jesus!”
Amen.
Bonus Stanley content:
Gay Man with a ‘Husband’ Scheduled to Speak with Andy Stanley At His Church’s Family Conference
ALMOST ALL Speakers at Andy Stanley’s Upcoming ‘Christian’ Conference are LGBTQ+ Affirming!
Celebrating Transgenderism?! North Point Church Staffers Rejoice After Man Comes Out as Woman
Audio: Gay North Point Church Leader Says Andy Stanley Affirmed Him in His Homosexuality
Did a Pastor at Andy Stanley’s Church Just Out Him as Gay-Affirming?! Read the Excerpts
North Point Leader Recommends All-LGBTQ+ Queer Counseling Collective For Struggling Gay Kids
Contemporaneous Text Messages from 2019 Support Gay-Affirming Charges Against Andy Stanley Andy Stanley’s Children Ministry Overrun and Led by Pro-LBGTQ+ Activists
North Point Hosting Conference With Founder of World’s Largest LGBTQ Christian Advocacy Org
Andy Stanley’s Church Hosts and Promotes Pro-LBGTQ+ Ministry
Surprise Surprise, Another North Point Church Leader is Gay-Affirming and Wildly Liberal
