If you’re wondering why Andy Stanley’s church has an open lesbian on staff as a counselor to other homosexuals, we’re finding out that Stanley’s approval of sexual immorality dates back much longer than we originally thought.

Last week, Andy Stanley, a pastor who is rightly considered by most orthodox, Bible-believing Christians to be a false teacher, has been at the center of a heated controversy over his statements regarding the faith of homosexuals. Stanley’s approach, known as “seeker-sensitive,” places a greater emphasis on attracting non-believers to church, rather than adhering to traditional doctrine, resulting in a dilution of the message of Christianity to appeal to a wider audience. This approach has led to widespread criticism from those who believe that Stanley’s views deviate from the true teachings of Christianity.

In a recently exposed sermon, Stanley stated that homosexuals who “love Jesus” despite God repeatedly telling them “no” have more faith than most Christians, and that we have a “lot to learn” from them. This statement, along with his disregard for traditional teachings and the authority of the Bible, is a clear indication of his apostasy.

That’s what sparked the controversy. But since then, we’ve discovered much more and we now know that Stanley’s defense of homosexuality dates back to when he was serving as a youth pastor at his father, Charles’s church.

In a recently surfaced CNN article titled Two preaching giants and the ‘betrayal’ that tore them apart, the younger Stanley recalls how he felt about his father’s congregation during a gay pride march that took place in the streets in front of their Atlanta church.

CNN reports:

One Sunday, a gay pride group planned to march past his father’s church. Leaders of the congregation, warned in advance, dismissed church early to avoid contact with the group. But organizers of the march changed the schedule. Andy watched as First Baptist members filed out of the church and gawked at gay and lesbian marchers streaming by. Then he noticed a Methodist church across the street whose members held out cups of water for marchers and signs that said, “Everybody welcome! Come worship with us!”

“We’re the church that sings ‘Just as I Am’ after the sermon, and here we are shunning this group of people because of a lifestyle we disagreed with,” he says now.

Andy Stanley’s special affection toward this particularly heinous sin was immediately apparent in the way he defended the Methodist church across the street who desired to sweep these people’s sin under the rug and withhold biblical truth from them.

Today, Stanley’s North Point Church is deeply embedded in the homosexual movement and it has become clear that Stanley has no interest in proclaiming the truth to homosexuals. To Stanley, homosexuality really isn’t an issue and his “church” only serves to water down this sin leading people away from repentance and faith in the one true God who can save them. And lest we forget, Andy Stanley is the inspiration for Florida’s flagship Southern Baptist church, First Baptist Church Orlando.