If anyone has the time, watch this sermon by the non-denominational evangelical pastor Andy Stanley:
youtu.be/CoAEF1YJ2dA. In it, he gives a simplistic view of Church history and then relegates sacramental groups like us Roman Catholics to the old, outdated, selfish “Temple Model” (not really sure where this “Temple Model” is named in scripture, but Stanley pushes the point exhaustingly). He gives churches like his the honorific title of “Jesus Model” because of its ethical simplicity and libertarian sense of “freedom.” For those belonging to any kind of hierarchical, sacramental community, how does this make you feel, and are you worried about Stanley’s message being taken seriously by so many people?
(Andy Stanley has always irked me a little mainly owing to the general ambiguity of his sermons, as well as his tendency to revolutionize everything about Christianity or the Church.)
Just finished listening to his sermon, which appears to be the 3rd part of a 5 part series.
By the way, I didn’t know who Andy Stanley was until now, although I am familiar with his father, Dr Charles Stanley, because his TV show airs on a local TV station on Sunday mornings where I live and I sometimes listen to it as our family gets ready for church. Andy Stanley was raised Baptist but now is apparently a non-denominational pastor who has over 32,000 members in his churches in the Atlanta suburbs (from Wikipedia).
I think he made some good points in his sermon that could be valuable to all Christians. However, I think he took it too far to the point of almost dismissing the need for sacramental communities altogether, which is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as my mother used to say.
Good points he made (my opinion): All Christians need to focus on loving other people (“They will know we are Christians by our love”), as highlighted by Jesus, Apostle Paul, and Apostle Peter in John 13:34-35,Galations 5:6, and I Pet 1:22 respectively.
Examples of ‘Temple Model Thinking’ (a term he coined) that we should avoid:
- Dwelling on wanting to know how close you can actually come to sin without actually sinning. In other words, trying to focus on getting closer to sin rather than closer to God.
- Being more spiritually concerned with missing church than on how you mistreated a co-worker at your job.
Points I disagreed with:
- Seemed to glorify Protestant reformers and minimized the negative effects of the Reformation, like the splintering into countless Christian denominations.
- Seemed to imply (to me) that loving one’s neighbor was the main thing that mattered and that having correct doctrine was not very important.
- Seemed to indicate that those who went to fight in the Crusades did it for political reasons or to get their sins forgiven by the Pope rather than fighting for a just cause.
Summary:
I think it is a good reminder for all Christians to focus on loving the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matt 22:37-39) rather than just focusing on following religious rules in a legalistic way, which can sometimes happen to any Christian, especially those who belong to more liturgical faith communities.
However, there are important ties between the Old and New Testaments and that Jesus came to fulfill the law, not to ignore it. I got the impression Andy Stanley doesn’t see much value in the Old Testament.
In my opinion, those who minimize the importance of correct Christian doctrine and replace it with just a ‘love your neighbor’ approach are creating spiritual confusion for their flock and are doing a disservice to our Lord. I hope Andy Stanley isn’t doing that but that was the impression I got from his sermon.
