The Internet is all abuzz about a recent conference at Andy Stanley’s North Point Community Church in Atlanta geared to help parents of LGBTQ+ children navigate through their struggles. Certain conservative Christian leaders, like Southern Baptist Seminary President, Al Mohler, have decried the conference, suggesting that Andy Stanley has parted ways from historic orthodox Christianity. Alternatively, certain progressive Christians have spoken out somewhat in favor of Andy Stanley here, while also indicating that not enough was shown regarding what they see as the moral bankruptcy of continuing to restrict the definition of marriage as being only between one man and one woman for one life.

How does an evangelical Christian respond to all of this?  In defending the Unconditional Conference sponsored by Embracing the Journey, Andy Stanley has got some things right, while also getting some other things wrong.

Megachurch pastor Andy Stanley. Promoter of Biblical truth… or compromiser?

What Andy Stanley Gets Right

First, let us consider what Andy Stanley got right. Aside from the confusion experienced by many young people themselves today questioning their sexual and gender identity, the trauma that many Christian parents of such children face, trying to figure out how best to respond and love their children, can be extremely difficult and bewildering. Aside from a few pockets here and there, a long history of full-blown hatred against LGBTQ+ persons is finally starting to disappear, but there are still problems with the emerging, hopefully more-compassionate, less-combative approaches.

Unfortunately, there seems to be two paths currently taken in certain evangelical circles these days. One path might best be called the “stick your head in the sand” approach. Many such Christians simply want the LGBTQ+ discussion to go away. But that simply will not do. The data is not fully in yet, but some suggest that as many as one out of four young people today, growing up in the age of social media, wrestle with either a sense of sexual attraction to the same sex, or experience a sense of discomfort or anxiety about their own gender identity. Do the math. At least one out of five, but perhaps even one out of four. The sheer numbers are staggering. The LGBTQ+ discussion is not going away anytime soon.

The other path is to at first write into a church’s statement of faith or covenant a commitment for membership to only support traditional marriage, between one man and one woman. While this honorable stand for 2000 years of church teaching is taken, the church then sadly provides very little in terms of helping young people work through these questions of sexual and gender identity, as well as not providing sufficient resources for parents and other family members of such young people to work through their questions and struggles.

In this sense, Andy Stanley was right to break out of both the “stick your head in the sand” approach as well as the purely moral posturing approach, which offers little to no practical help. Andy Stanley was right to sponsor a conference intended to offer pastoral help and assistance for parents who want to know what to do when their son or daughter does not know if they are a “son” or a “daughter,” or if their son or daughter finds themselves attracted to members of the same sex. Parents need a safe space where they can share their stories, and listen and learn from one another, so that they can better know how to support their children.

According to a Sean McDowell video posted below, Alan Shlemon of Stand to Reason attended the conference and reported that some of the sessions were very helpful in creating that kind of safe space, which is so desperately needed today. Thankfully, there are more and more resources available today that can help parents be equipped to better deal with these issues in their parenting. One that I can recommend is the Center for Faith, Sexuality and Gender. I was able to convince just a few of the staff at my church to attend such a training event a few years ago. I wish I could have gotten a few more to attend, but a few is much better than nothing!

Andy Stanley’s most knee-jerk critics should keep these positive points in mind before piling on against Andy.

What Andy Stanley Gets Wrong

On the other hand, there are some other things that Andy Stanley got wrong. I will note one thing in particular. Some of the speakers at the Embrace the Journey conference affirm a traditional, historically orthodox view of marriage and gender identity. That is great. However, not all of the speakers do so.

According to Shlemon, two of the speakers were gay men already participating in what is commonly known today as same-sex marriages. While there was no overt attempt to try to argue against a traditional view of marriage by the speakers, promotional material written by such speakers at the conference was made available to participants, seeking to challenge the traditional view of marriage.

For example, one of the other speakers was David Gushee, a scholar in Christian ethics. I never knew or met Dr. Gushee, but I know of friends who knew him. While I was off-to-college out of town in the 1980’s, David Gushee attended the College of William and Mary in my home town, where he participated in the evangelical Christian community. David Gushee even served as the youth director at a conservative evangelical Baptist church in Williamsburg, where my Boy Scout troop met when I was a kid. After college, David Gushee pursued Christian ministry and scholarship, but he eventually completely changed his mind regarding the biblical definition of marriage, publishing a book chronicling his change of thinking in 2014, which received a lot of media attention.  It boggles my mind how a young college student in my hometown went onto become a nationally-known, influential figure. But there you go.

I actually agree with Dr. Gushee when he supports those same-sex attracted believers who have been mistreated by Christian institutions, when someone holds to a traditional sexual ethic, while still acknowledging their same-sex attraction. Such idiotic treatment of fellow Christians completely baffles me. But Dr. Gushee goes much further than that with his perspective contrary to historic Christian teachings.

Again, according to Shlemon, Dr. Gushee did not openly try to persuade the conference participants to adopt his point of view. But apparently his books were there…. and it only takes a few clicks on the Internet to find out what Dr. Gushee really thinks.

In a Sunday sermon, Andy Stanley offered a response to critics, noting that North Point Community Church still teaches an historic view of marriage as being between one man and one woman, while still defending hosting the Embracing the Journey conference. As he put it, the Embracing the Journey conference was not a theology conference. Rather, it was a pastoral conference.

Here is the problem which Andy Stanley faces. On the one hand, theologically, Andy Stanley appears to be saying that his church still affirms an historic orthodox view of Christian marriage in its teaching. So far, so good. At the same time, the church is hosting a conference where several of the speakers hold a position on marriage which is out of step with the official position of the church. This is confusing.

Was North Point Community Church offering a conference where the speakers were being “platformed” by the church? Or was the conference simply an invitation to “have a conversation?”

I am all for the idea of dialogue. I am all in support of having conversations with people with whom I disagree. Churches should not be afraid to sponsor such conversations. But there is a huge difference between “having a conversation” and actually giving a platform for a speaker, who holds views which are contrary to the teaching of the church. Even if the speaker is not expressing their contrary views at such a speaking event, it really lacks a sense of clarity and transparency as to what the purpose of the event actually is. The outrage over the Embracing the Journey conference, given such lack of clarity and transparency, is not surprising. It might prove to be very difficult for Andy Stanley to recover from this situation.

Where were the elders of North Point Community Church when the decision was made to host the Embracing the Journey conference? Did they know if they were simply sponsoring an event, “having the conversation?” Or did they know that they might be platforming controversial speakers, who have publicly let the world know that they hold theological positions which go against the teaching of the church?

Chances are, even if Andy Stanley and the elders of North Point had effectively communicated beforehand that the conference was a only a conversation with contrary voices, and not a platforming event, Andy Stanley would probably still have his critics. There is not much you can do about that.  However, when churches like North Point fail to follow sound-principles of discernment they only generate a sense of mistrust of their leaders.

The irony of all of this is that Andy Stanley is known for hosting a Leadership podcast. Well, with all due respect, the way the Embracing the Journey conference was handled was not good leadership.

Andy Stanley means well, but this is one specific area where Andy Stanley got things wrong.

Grace and Truth in the LGBTQ+ Conversation

Not all Christian leaders who hold to an historic, orthodox Christian sexual ethic offer the same type of assistance to Christian parents. Voices ranging from Rosaria Butterfield and Christopher Yuan to Gregory Coles and Wesley Hill handle the pastoral issues quite differently, but they all recognize the consistent witness of Scripture regarding the definition of marriage held throughout the centuries. I lean towards approaches advocated by authors like the latter Gregory Coles and Wesley Hill, as the former voices tend to view “same-sex orientation” as some type of modern myth, which is hard to comprehend why they see the issue that way. Nevertheless, regardless of the approach, it is important that churches handle LGBTQ+ concerns with both grace and truth. The controversy at Andy Stanley’s church is not the first time confusion like this has shaken Christians. Nor will it probably be the last. Nevertheless, we can do better.

Andy Stanley is a high-profile Christian leader in evangelicalism, pastoring one of the largest churches in the United States.  He is basically a household name in evangelial Christianity. If local churches can follow the positive trend set by Andy Stanley, to offer better resources to parents wrestling with LGBTQ+ concerns in their family, then this would be a very good demonstration of grace. However, there is a negative side. For if local churches do not sufficiently uphold truth with clarity, then more confusion will inevitably result, with the unintended consequence of making grace less accessible, to where it is needed most.

Discerning the nature of the conference is crucial; that is, was this an invitation to “have a conversation,” or was it a platforming event offering an implicit endorsement of views contrary to North Point’s stated position? Many have already concluded that this was a platforming event, and I can understand why. Many have already written off Andy Stanley as a false teacher.

I do wish more churches would provide conferences and support for parents of LGBTQ+ as North Point has tried to do. But sadly the confusion over the nature of the conference, and even some points raised by Andy towards the end of his sermon, will potentially discourage families who need help the most to avoid churches that are trying ways to stay true to Scripture while simultaneously creating those safe places for sharing deep personal struggles. Church leaders need to communicate clearly when they are platforming a speaker, and by association, the message they stand for, versus hosting a conversational dialogue with those who do not subscribe to the teachings aligned with that church. I have seen this scenario of confusion played out in other contexts that need not be discussed here.

Have a listen to the Sean McDowell and Alan Shlemon discussion, as well as Andy Stanley’s sermon, and decide for yourself what Andy Stanley got right, and got wrong.

For other Veracity blog posts on this topic see: 

• Loving those who wrestle with transgendered experiences. (Review of Preston Sprinkle’s book, Embodied).
• Loving those who wrestle with same-sex attraction (Review of Greg Johnson’s Still Time to Care, plus links to other Veracity articles on the topic)
• More on Andy Stanley in previous years, here, here, here, here, here, here, here.