So, unfortunately, where you sit, fear and demonization and disunity is to your advantage.” Division makes it easy to demonize and mischaracterize the other folks. “Politically speaking, fear of the other party is an asset. He highlighted how Republicans characterize their political opponents as “the corrupt Democrats” and Democrats label their opponents “the racist Republicans.” He told the lawmakers, “that’s not true,” while lamenting how such labeling has become advantageous for politicians. Stanley, the son of longtime First Baptist Church Atlanta Pastor Charles Stanley, expressed concerns about the generalizations that have come to define politics in his state. “Unfortunately, in your world, there are advantages to division: you can raise more money when things are divided.” “Disagreement is unavoidable, but division is always a choice,” Stanley added. The 63-year-old church leader described the “messy middle” as “the way forward” and “the way you change the world.” He concluded by thanking God for “sending your Son to stand in the middle between us and our sin and our perfect Heavenly Father.” There is no Roman Empire and the temple hasn’t been in operation since 40 years after Jesus was crucified.” Everybody still wants Jesus to be a part of their thing, right? The temple conspired against him. Everybody wanted Jesus to be a part of their thing. He summarized one portion of the letter as asserting: “When you stand in the middle, you get shot at from both sides.” Stanley recalled that King “talked about standing in the middle” in his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail. and Jesus Christ as leaders from “the middle.” Stanley identified the late civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. But to walk toward the messy middle, we all have to get out of our Republican and Democrat bucket and walk toward the middle and that’s not popular,” he said. “The messy middle is where the problems are solved. He encouraged politicians in the state to “walk toward the middle because the middle is where the problems are solved.” Stanley, the author of several books, lamented the division and polarization that he thought had come to define Georgia politics. Stanley, who leads the multi-site North Point Ministries and North Point Community Church based in Alpharetta, served as the legislative body’s “Chaplain of the Day.” He spoke for over 12 minutes and ended with a prayer for the 180-member legislative body. Megachurch Pastor Andy Stanley gave an invocation before the Georgia House of Representatives Tuesday, urging lawmakers to reject division and polarization and follow the example of Jesus Christ by embracing the “messy middle.” Pastor Andy Stanley speaks during Catalyst Atlanta at the Infinite Energy Arena in Duluth, Georgia, on Oct.
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