Interesting Blog post by Steven Furtick

Andy Stanley Wouldn’t Even Meet With Me

A seminary student told me this one time. He was whining about it.

He had called North Point Community Church and asked Andy’s assistant for a phone appointment.
She told him that wouldn’t be possible, although he was welcome to speak with someone else on staff.

He was mad. He called Andy Stanley inaccessible.

He’s an idiot. I’ll tell you why.

Andy Stanley pastors a freaking huge church. He is the spiritual overseer of over 4 times the amount of people who live in the town I grew up in. That keeps him pretty busy, I’ll bet. Anyone wanna argue with that?

That’s enough reason for him to have to opt out of a phone call from a seminary student in another state.
Andy has every right and reason to be inaccessible.

But you know what? I think Andy Stanley is extremely accessible.
Even though I’ve never met him.

Right now in my office I’m listening to Andy preach a sermon from October 2006. It’s a good one.
I’ll bet he spent at least 15-20 hours preparing it.
I’m listening to it for free online.
I just noticed that you can listen to every sermon he’s preached in the last year and a half for free as well. (Actually, you can watch them too.)

So, let’s think about this together. Is Andy really inaccessible?
If Andy preached 50 sermons in the last 18 months, and they’re all online for free, and he spent 20 hours of prep time per sermon (rough guess), guess what?
He’s giving me access into 1000 hours of his life-for FREE!
That’s a little better than a 30 minute phone appointment, I think.

Would you call that inaccessible?

Let’s go deeper.

North Point made a decision at some point along the way to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into technology and personnel so that media like this could be made available to me, free of charge.
Under Andy’s leadership, they have set up an amazing infrastructure that allows them to crank out thousands of resources to help leaders like me.

Is Andy Stanley inaccessible? Is Rick Warren inaccessible? Is Bill Hybels inaccessible?

If your definition of inaccessible hinges on having time to have coffee with everyone who calls the office, I guess they are.

But if your idea of granting access is finding the best way to make everything that God put inside of you available in the broadest format possible, these are 3 of the most accessible men on the planet. For proof, check out www.pastors.com and www.willowcreek.org. I’d call that access.

The seminary student wasn’t upset that day because Andy was inaccessible. He was upset because his pride got hurt.
He didn’t want to be equipped or resourced.
He wanted to be made to feel important.
That’s small.

He should get a clue, get a life, and go read an Andy Stanley book (which he admitted he had never done. Hmm… )

Andy Stanley, you never have to go to Starbucks with me. Just stay in the zone, keep doing your thing, and I’ll be listening.