Charles Stanley, US, Pastor November 11. Charles Stanley. Stanley is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta and founder of In Touch Ministries. His popular radio and television broadcast, “In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley,” can literally be heard around the globe in every nation and in more than 50 languages. Twice, he has been president of the Southern Baptist Convention. His mission is “to lead people worldwide into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and to strengthen the local church.” Stanley has written more than 100 books. On this date in 2014, Stanley released his book Every Day in His Presence. Now, Stanley’s television program airs on 204 channels and 7 satellite networks. His radio show is on 458 stations and shortwave radio. His church membership now numbers more than 15,000. In his biography, Stanley writes that he models his efforts after Paul and this passage from the letter to the Ephesians: “Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God’s mighty kindness and love” (Acts 20:24 TLB). If God is for you, who can be against you? Stanley and his family were still adjusting to their move from Florida to Atlanta when the senior pastor of their new church got fed up with the people’s coldness to the Word of God. He threw his microphone to the floor and stomped out of the building, leaving the congregation stunned—and pastorless. By default, Stanley became the acting pastor of the church. Seemed like it was by default, but in reality, it was by God’s design. The seven men on the church’s executive committee invited Stanley to join them for their regular business meetings, and he began attending. In the middle of one meeting, a point of contention arose. Stanley suggested that everyone stop and pray about it. One of the leaders replied, “This is business; leave God out of this.” “Well, they drew the battle line right there,” Stanley said. The more Stanley talked about prayer, the more uncomfortable the executive committee became. “For 18 months, they did their best to get rid of me,” Stanley said. During those agonizing months, Stanley continued to pray over the state of the church, and God reassured him that he had been called to this troubled congregation. “Deep in my spirit I knew the Lord wanted His church back, and that’s why He’d brought me here,” Stanley said. One particular day, a series of personal attacks took a toll on Stanley, and he got discouraged. From slander to outright lies to printed materials about his incompetence, the divisive leaders stopped at nothing to discredit his ministry. But Stanley continued to ask the Lord how he should carry on. The Lord spoke to Stanley, “You want to win this battle; this is the way you win it. Just see everything as coming from me … Trust me, listen to me, and watch me work.” So, Stanley did exactly that, and he prayed for God to somehow remove this venomous group. Sitting at home on a Saturday night, Stanley had no idea what he was going to speak the next morning. He had nothing. “Not even a passage of Scripture to anchor the message to,” he said. On Sunday morning, he still had no message or word from the Lord. When he arrived at church, he jotted down some notes. But as the service time approached, he tossed his notes in the trash and told himself, “No, I’ve trusted God all these years, and I’m not going to start relying on myself now.” As he stood before the church that morning, his Bible fell open to Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” And he preached from this passage for the next forty-five minutes, from the heart, without a manuscript. When he finished, he gave an invitation. “It was like a bomb went off; God sent people sprinting in two distinct directions,” Stanley said. One group rushed to the exits, but they were met by an even larger group of people, who were making their way to the altar. “It was as if God had thrown down the gauntlet, and each person was making his or her allegiance known. I had not said the first word about the battle against me … All I did was pray and preach the Word. And God did the rest,” he said. “The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent” (Exodus 14:14 NASB). Is there a situation in your life that could best be resolved by quietly praying and letting God work? If God is for you, who can be against you? Stanley, Charles. Courageous Faith: My Story From a Life of Obedience. Brentwood TN: Howard Books, 2017, p. 9. Stanley, Charles. “Charles Stanley on the Greatest Lesson He’s Ever Learned.” YouTube. Filmed May 17, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=0KG36LKW5TI. Story read by: Daniel Carpenter Story written by: Shelli Mandeville, https://worthy.life/ .