“Stop saying ‘the Bible says'” sounds shocking till you read the rest of what Andy Stanley said. God used people to write the Bible, and knowing their story gives credibility that some people might miss without a second look because they can too easily be disinterested in or haven’t been convinced about “the Bible.” God chose to give us the Bible through people — human authors guided by the Holy Spirit; people with remarkable stories that make it hard to dismiss what they wrote. Here’s some more of the quote:

“Pausing to take into consideration the humanity of the authors of the New Testament was humbling and extraordinarily inspiring. I urge pastors now to stop saying ‘the Bible says’ and quote the remarkable people who crafted these extraordinary first century documents: ‘James says … Paul says … Peter says … John says …’

‘Wait, James? The brother of Jesus? What would your brother have to do to convince you he was your Lord? James was convinced. That’s convincing.

“Paul? The one-man Jewish wrecking machine? Yes—the great persecutor became a follower of Jesus and spent his life creating churches.

“Peter? The guy who followed, then unfollowed, then followed again? The impulsive coward who steps out onto the streets of Jerusalem proclaiming his friend had risen from the dead.

“John? The guy who lived to be an old man, who looked back over a life filled with terror, persecution and disruption? Who, despite all the difficulty of what he’d seen, introduced a concept to the world that has become an assumption for most people in the West: “God is love.” He was convinced his friend was God in the body. And if Jesus was anything like God, God was in fact love.”

Pick up the Bible today…every day. Read with fresh eyes what these people wrote about Jesus. They were absolutely convinced that Jesus rose from the dead and that changes everything!