Disappointed with Andy

One of my favorite preachers these days is a guy named Andy Stanley. Andy is the preacher for Northpoint Church in Atlanta, Georgia. He has an incomparable gift for preaching meaningful, straightforward sermons, that are accessible to non-Christians, and instructive to Christ-followers. I’ve learned a ton from Andy, about how to drill down on one point so everyone can get it, about narrowing the focus of one’s work to the point that it can truly make a measurable difference. Not only his teaching style has affected, but his theology on things like money and margin have had a true impact on how I view the world.

Up until now I felt like Andy could do no wrong. Not every word out of his mouth is gold, but most of it was great. I was really excited to see a series entitled “The Sinai Code,” a study of the 10 commandments. Some critics feel like Andy avoids theology, and I was sure there would be no way to do so here.

I was not disappointed in the series. Andy took the typical Lutheran stance, that all of the ten commandments are outgrowths of the first. The last lesson of the series unpacked the “other people” commandments of murder, adultery, stealing, etc. He said they were all God’s way of saying that he wanted them to respect other people. Andy’s big idea here was that this was unbelievable in ancient cultures, that a nation would not be ruled by a King and a series of classes, but by a law, that led people to treat each other, no matter who they are, with the respect they deserve as human beings.

Then Andy said that this was a unique idea, given by God, buried by man, and resurrected in 1776 by the U.S. constitution. And he didn’t stop there. He praised George Bush for recognizing God as almighty. He explained that the ten commandments ensured healthy families, and that, only countries like America, having a sense of Divine Law, ensured human rights.

Next Time-Why this bothers me.