Andy Stanley

It's a rare occasion when I read any book about religion. The title of this one intrigued me and after seeing the author being interviewed on CNN I knew that this was going to be a great book to read.

The publisher's summary:

Is it possible to disagree politically and love unconditionally? The reaction of evangelicals to political and cultural shifts in recent years revealed what they value most. Lurking beneath our Bible-laced rhetoric, faith claims, books, and sermons is a relentless drive show more to WIN!

But the church is not here to win. By every human measure, our Savior lost. On purpose. With a purpose. And we are his body. We are not in it to win anything. We are in it for something else entirely. That something else is what this book is about.

You'll discover:

How to take a stand the right way. You'll learn how to make your case with a posture of humility and understanding, rather than being fueled by the fear of losing something.

How to view politics through the lens of faith. Learn curiously, listen intentionally, and love unconditionally.

How the life of Jesus and his teaching applies to modern-day challenges in a fresh way. The "biblical" stand may not be what we've been taught.
Jesus never asked his followers to agree on everything. But he did call his followers to obey a new command: to love others in the same way he has loved us. Instead of asserting our rights or fighting for power, we need to begin asking ourselves: what does love require of me?

The first thing I noticed about the book is the writing style. Stanley writes casually, in the way he talks. This is not a criticism but an observation. For me, though, there was an adjustment to make. I liked that he writes in the old fashioned way by giving a summary of the book first, then the body of the book and at the end a conclusion. Call me old fashioned but this is how I was taught to write. With all the digital articles I have read lately I get annoyed that the first paragraph is always repeated three or four times.

The message of the book is powerful. Alot of Christians are not going to like it because Stanley goes after every Christian who puts politics above faith. A few of the quotes that I loved include:

"When a local church becomes pre-occupied with saving America at the expense of saving Americans, it has forsaken its mission."

"The church or church leader who publicly aligns with a political party has relinquished their ability to make disciples of half their own nation, much less all nations."

"Saving America is not the mission of the church."

"When I die, I won't go the Washington, DC. Neither will you."

The above quotes give you a bite sized view of the content of the book. It is thought provoking and required reading in my book. However, many Christians will be offended that the way they have conducted their lives is heavily criticized. show less

Deep & Wide should be required reading for any ministry taking a look at itself and wanting to look further than their belly button. Andy is an excellent communicator and deep & wide carries that tradition well. My only dislikes are his generalizations of liberals and those outside his click (Southern Baptist) are lacking and demonstrates not only his bias but also a lot of ignorance, which I'm attributing to lack of exposure so I'm letting it slide. Also, I know more of his story with his show more dad than he shares and have a different version and feel he was less than truthful; however, that's not my story to tell and leave it up to his conscience to wrestle with it. show less

Have you ever wondered how you ended up here? Is your reality a far cry from your dreams? Are you a young adult in the midst of life’s important questions about marriage, career and fulfillment? Andy Stanley offers a refreshing look at ancient wisdom about our chosen roads in “The Principle of the Path”. Using an incredibly powerful analogy – modern-day driving – this little gem reminds its readers over and over that “what captures our attention influences our direction. show more Attention, direction, destination…and as your attention goes, so goes your life.”

Stanley begins his study with an explanation of a principle, which is much different than a law or a rule one follows. Principles operate in the background of our lives, whether we are aware of them or not. They remain true, even if we dispute their existence. And the Principle of the Path impacts our destinations, even if we don’t know about it or choose to leverage it in our lives. “Just as there are physical paths that lead to predictable physical locations, there are other kinds of paths that are equally predictable.”

Through careful scrutiny of the lives of Kings Saul, David, Solomon and Reheboam in the Old Testament the author demonstrates this principle in action. He first asks us to examine our own hearts, where “the problem stems from the fact that we are not on a truth quest”. Indeed, he convincingly argues, most of us are on a “happiness quest”, which more often than not ultimately leads us to unhappiness.

Throughout this book, Stanley asks tough questions that forced me to “pull over” and search my heart’s true desires and God’s call for my life. “Why do I hesitate to give God full access to every part of my life? How does God describe the human heart? How does this truth complicate things for [me]?” Stanley points us to God’s Truth by way of Israel’s great kings: David obediently following God’s path instead of conventional wisdom when he had the opportunity to kill King Saul in a cave; King Solomon’s happiness quest in accumulating seven hundred wives - many of whom worshiped foreign gods; and Rehoboam’s foolish choice to follow his peers’ direction over that of his father’s advisors.

Initially, “The Principle of the Path” seemed to smack of “prosperity gospel”, a step-by-step guide to “attain the life and lifestyle [you] have always dreamed of.” I felt oddly uncomfortable as I read the first few chapters in which the author encourages his readers with the promise that the Principle of the Path’s power "is available to anyone who is willing to leverage it.” By the end of the third chapter, I found myself caught myself being overly critical of Stanley’s message about our “destinations”. After all, Jesus calls us to much more than power and success in life.

I am glad, however, that I kept reading. By the fourth chapter, “The Heart of the Matter”, Mr. Stanley takes us through an in-depth look at wisdom, truth, integrity and common sense. The reminders from the Bible to take refuge from danger, to seek out advice from those older and wiser, and to pay attention to things that matter were quite practically helpful. Nonetheless, this author still seemed to miss God’s ultimate desire for each of us – to embody and personify His Love as we journey through life.

After an incredibly difficult year for me personally, this book’s true redemption was Mr. Stanley’s compassion for those inevitable times when all of us receive “information that serves as a stake through the heart of our dreams” – lost chances, a loved one’s death, a friend’s betrayal, and the point in time when we realize “that dream isn’t coming true.” This author doesn’t simply offer a clear and biblical road map for leaning on God to get us where we want to go. In his chapter “Road Closed” he also offers God’s healing balm of love and mercy for those of us faced with a destination not of our own choosing as we continue to trust the One who has led us here.

With a wonderfully probing study guide and relevant stories, Stanley’s work would make a great ten-week Bible study for any individual or small group that wants to understand the discrepancy between our hearts and our choices. Stanley captures the importance of living now – with an eye on the future – while offering hope for a change in direction when we find ourselves drifting from God’s clear guidance. Andy Stanley’s ability to show us God’s wisdom in such practical ways makes this book a must-read for Christians at any point on the “road of life”, whether you are a high school senior just pulling onto life’s entrance ramp or a grandparent whose own destination may be clearly in sight. show less

In Enemies or the Heart, Andy Stanley argues that the problems that bubble up in life (i.e. job loss, divorce, broken relationships) are result of our failure to address the destructive forces in our heart. These forces poison our lives and set us up for crisis. It is failure to deal with the enemies of the heart that cause some people to lose there faith. So what are these enemies of the heart?

Ostensibly, Stanley suggests four attitudes are experienced as deep debts in the heart: Guilt, show more Anger, Greed, Jealousy. Guilt is the belief that "I owe you;" we've done something wrong for which we feel we need to atone for.

Anger on the other hand say, "you owe me." You did something wrong and I hold it against you.

Greed says, "I owe me." I am going to store up what I can for myself.

Jealousy says "God owes me" as we reflect upon the inequity between our life and someone else (who is better than us).

Stanley says every wound we carry can be traced back to one of these four. So what are the remedies for these ailments?

Guilt is overcome by confession. Stanley stresses public confession as necessary to break the cycle of shame guilt puts us in. Anger is overcome as we learn forgiveness. This involves knowing who wronged us, what they did, what they deserve and our choosing to let go of it. Greed is overcome as we stop hoarding and develop the habit of generosity. Jealousy is beaten when we learn to celebrate those around us.

Andy Stanley has written a good book. It is accessible, warm, humorous and insightful. What I didn't like about this book wasn't what it said, but how it was framed. Stanley offers his advice to us so that we could avoid wounding, be whole and have the best life, including best spiritual life we can. Not that this is wrong, but I wonder about the wisdom of commending holy living (a phrase which doesn't appear in his book) for what it does for you. Why should we avoid guilt, anger, greed, jealousy? So that we are happier and healthier? Why should we confess, forgive, give generously and celebrate others? So that we have better lives? Yes but more.

What happens when holiness doesn't make your life better? You confess and people judge you. You forgive and get hurt again. You give generously and are taken advantage of. You celebrate others and they use you. Well, there is something more to a holy life besides what it does for you. Sometimes all you get out of it, is that you know you are pleasing God. Holiness is not always instrumental and shouldn't be treated that way.

But this demurral aside, I thought this book was worth reading and certainly touches on some pretty big issues that every Christian (and non-Christian) needs to wrestle with if they are to grow in their walk with God. show less