11/28/2023 0 Comments Andy stanley paper walls“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. 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!” Andy watched as First Baptist members filed out of the church and gawked at gay and lesbian marchers streaming by. But organizers of the march changed the schedule. Leaders of the congregation, warned in advance, dismissed church early to avoid contact with the group. One Sunday, a gay pride group planned to march past his father’s church. “I grew up believing that we were the true Christians.” “We were Southern Baptists and everyone else was wrong,” Andy says. His father was twice elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention. “I saw my dad turn the other cheek,” Andy later wrote about that night, “but he never turned tail and ran.”īut another church incident taught him a different lesson.Īndy was raised as a Southern Baptist, a conservative denomination that teaches the Bible is infallible and that women shouldn’t preach. He kept fighting and eventually became senior pastor of First Baptist. Andy says his father didn’t flinch, nor did he retaliate. One night, during a tense church meeting, a man cursed aloud and slugged Charles in the jaw. Charles Stanley, embrace at First Baptist Church Atlanta. The battle inflamed tensions so much that his family received nasty, anonymous letters and deacons warned his father that he would never pastor again.Īndy Stanley and his father, the Rev. When he was in the eighth grade, his father waged a bruising battle to become senior pastor of First Baptist. He tells this story in “ Deep and Wide,” his new book about his father and the evolution of his own ministry: What Andy remembers most about growing up with his father is not his fame, but his resolve. I never heard that talk, ‘You’re the pastor’s son and you need to be an example.’ “ His father never raised him to be a pastor. It’s an impressive sight, but it’s not the type of life Andy envisioned for himself growing up. A mammoth portrait of a smiling Charles Stanley hangs just inside and bears the inscription: “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.” A large American flag stands near its entrance, beside a row of gushing fountains. In Touch Ministries sits like a Greek temple on the crest of a hill overlooking the Atlanta skyline. Tall and lean, he delivers homespun sermons in a rich baritone while holding his black leather Bible aloft for emphasis. He has preached from the pulpit of First Baptist Church Atlanta for 40 years. Millions of people around the globe grew up with the sound of his sermons ringing in their ears. “I instantly knew that God could use him.”Ĭharles knows something about preaching. Neither man has ever fully explained the events that tore them apart 19 years ago – until now.Ĭharles Stanley remembers the first time he heard his son preach. Imagine if Steve Jobs had a son, who created a company that rivaled Apple in size and innovation – and they barely spoke to one another. There’s no father-son preaching duo quite like the Stanleys. “I felt like this was a huge battle, and if Andy had been in a huge battle … you’d have to crawl over me to get to him,” Charles Stanley, now 80, says.” I would have stood by him, no matter what. The experience wounded his father as well. “I understand drive-by shootings,” he told his wife one day. The experience enraged Andy so much it scared him: Charles Stanley, a Southern Baptist megachurch pastor and founder of In Touch Ministries, a global evangelistic organization. He was swept up in a struggle against another famous televangelist – his father, the Rev. … Things get weird.”Īt 54, Andy knows something about weirdness. “Now they have to control, maintain and protect it. As soon as somebody thinks forever, that’s when they close their hand,” he says, slowly clenching his fist. “One day we’re not going to be the coolest church. “I tell my staff everything has a season,” he says, leaning back in an office chair while wearing a flannel shirt, faded jeans and tan hiking boots. Fans watch him on television or flock to his leadership seminars pastors study his DVDs for preaching tips his ministries’ website gets at least a million downloads per month. A lanky man with close-cropped hair and an “aw-shucks” demeanor, he is alone as he steps out of his office to greet a visitor to his ministry’s sprawling office complex in suburban Atlanta.Īt least 33,000 people attend one of Andy’s seven churches each Sunday. Today he has found fame, and infamy, on another stage.Īndy Stanley is the founder of North Point Ministries, one of the largest Christian organizations in the nation. As a teenager, Andy decided he was going to be a rock star after seeing Elton John perform live.
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