Dr. Charles Stanley Of In Touch Ministries Passed Away 4/18/23 At Age 90

Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries passed away today at the age of 90.

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For more than five decades, the pastor, broadcaster, and author served on the staff of First Baptist Atlanta. He was named Senior Pastor in 1971, becoming the 16th pastor at the historic church that was founded in 1848. The church relocated from downtown Atlanta in 1997 to accommodate its membership of more than 15,000. Dr. Stanley founded In Touch Ministries in 1977. His sermons, podcasts, and devotionals have been seen or heard in more than 115 million homes per week in more than 126 countries around the world.

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I've always enjoyed his services. I never got the feeling it was all about him, nor did his services ever come across as emanating from a mega-church.

RIP

 

I never noticed teleprompters in the church (edit to add: when watching on television.) I am amazed at how he could deliver a one hour sermon and never seem to get lost. Now that I'm not attending church, I watch him (and others) every Sunday.

 

I've heard him on the radio several times, although I've never attended in person.

 

Make a joyful noise, baby.

 

I had to circle back to this. I was watching a rebroadcast of one of his sermons last Sunday and he was talking about renewing the strength of our faith throughout the week. He said to read the first 9 verses of Joshua every morning for a week, where God prepared Joshua to take over the city of Jericho:

1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,

2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

I smile at the parallel between the story of this book and Stanley's suggestion to read it daily for 7 days.

 

One can hope that they will continue to rebroadcast his sermons. The sermons that are currently running are from the 2016-2019 time frame, when he was just a young pup in his mid 80s.