A Senior Pastor Says Saying "The Bible Says" While Preaching is not Right

The senior pastor of North Point Community Church, Buckhead Church, Browns Bridge Church, Gwinnett Church, Woodstock City Church, and Decatur City Church, Andy Stanley says using words like: “The Bible Told Me So,” “the Bible says," "the Bible teaches", "God’s Word is clear" etc. but rather say, for example, “as Luke says, who researched everything carefully,” or “as Paul says, who hated Christians, but who died spreading the very message he once hated.”

According to North Point Community website, Andy Stanley was quoted  "Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Should we really believe something just because the Bible tells us so?"

So instead of saying, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” it is more helpful, according to Stanley, to say something like the following:

Jesus loves you, this you know for John, who watched him die and had breakfast with him on the beach, tells you so. Jesus loves you, this I know, for Luke, who thoroughly investigated the events, wrote them down meticulously, and interviewed eyewitnesses, made sure it was so. Jesus loves you, this I know, because a Pharisee who hated Christians, who was going to arrest Christians, who was going to singlehandedly stop the Jesus movement, became a Jesus-follower and risked his life traveling all around the Gentile, Mediterranean rim to make sure that you’d know. Jesus loves you, this we know because his original followerswere martyred believing it was so. Jesus loves you this you can know, for the early church defied an empire and the temple because they were convinced it was so.

So Stanley is suggesting that we not quote the Bible as “Bible” but rather refer to its contents by citing its authors along with some historical context that lends credibility to what the author says.

He said, close to half our population (his country maybe) does not view the Bible as authoritative. If you’re trying to reach people with an undergraduate degree or greater, over half your target audience will not be moved by the Bible says, the Bible teaches, God’s Word is clear or anything along those lines.

Over to you, what do you think?