By Samantha Taylor
There are times in life when God puts someone here that has a huge impact on the entire world and that man is Dr. Charles Stanley. After serving in ministry for almost 70 years, on April 18th he peacefully died in his sleep at age 90. I can only imagine when he “woke up” in heaven and was experiencing what he taught about does happen after your spirit leaves this earth!
I had the absolute honor of attending Dr. Charles Stanley’s memorial celebration this weekend in Atlanta, GA. I went because he has been a huge part of my life for the last 25 years and I was very impacted by his ministry. I actually got to meet him a few times, one of them was 15 years ago when we were at the same radio station and this photo sits in my living room!
He was an amazing preacher, teacher, and man of God. He was such an example of a man who dedicated his life to serving God and taught the truth of the Word without a bunch of fluff. You could always trust the messages that he preached. He was the pastor of First Baptist Atlanta for over 51 years, but even more impactful was his reach around the entire world, it is truly astounding.
His messages are being translated into 120 languages sent out all over the world and his television ministry is in 115 million homes a week! To the advantage of technology, it sure seems like he has reached more nations and people around then any preacher has to date and because of technology, will continue to do so.
When I arrived at the church where people were giving their respects, there was a line with people that was about a half mile long. I heard they counted over 10,000 people that had visited that day. Everyone was talking about how much impact this man had on their life and how powerful his messages were.
It was my experience, as well as many others, that when you would listen to his message on the radio or online, it was like the message was the exact thing you needed to hear. It was quite amazing how that worked! I know that I would not have had the same growth in God if I had not listened to this man guiding me through the Word for the last quarter of a century!
Sunday morning I got to hear the new pastor speak, Dr. Anthony George, and it was clearly evident why he was the chosen man to take up the leadership of that church. When it came to the celebration service Sunday night, WOW! I have never been to such an experience; it was absolutely outstanding!
With only a 4 day notice, this amazing church orchestrated such a huge event including having gospel singer Cece Winans as well as other amazing gospel groups. There was so much respect for the impact this man had that multiple people rearranged their schedules to be there to speak and pay their respects including Franklin Graham, Dr. David Jeremiah, and Pastor Robert Morris.
Many tears were shed that included tears of joy for we truly were celebrating the fact that man was in heaven and experiencing the fruit of his life on this earth in ways that we can’t even imagine. In the end they sang a hymn, “I’ll Fly Away” and even had a clip of Dr. Stanley singing that song, it was all so surreal.
Here one moment and gone another, that is how fast it seems sometimes. What was also surreal was I looked upon the stage where he preached to hundreds of millions of people all over the world, then only steps down was where his casket laid the day before.
It really makes you realize that our life is but a vapor. And the life we live certainly impacts others around us but also our eternity, for we will all die one day. It makes you think about questions like, “How do you want to be remembered? Where are you going when you die? What kind of legacy and impact do you want to leave?”
I am so inspired and impressed by the impact this man had from following God and having such a committed relationship to Christ and following His Word. I encourage you to check out the service that was streamed, it should be on their website at www.fba.org and I also encourage you to search on YouTube “Charles Stanley sermons” and listen to them, you will find great encouragement and wisdom.