# Charles Stanley's Preaching



## Stephen L Smith (Mar 3, 2014)

I have a number of family members who listen to Charles Stanley. His preaching seems quite moralistic to me, though better than some Arminian preachers I have heard. Do you think Stanley preaches a clear gospel?


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## Bill The Baptist (Mar 3, 2014)

He used to be a lot better, but ever since his wife left him he seems to only want to preach about how God loves us and forgives us and accepts us.


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## Bill The Baptist (Mar 3, 2014)

I also found it a bit tacky that he posed for this photograph with an actor pretending to be Jesus. It is supposed to depict Stanley working on a sermon while Jesus speaks to him, but it comes off as really creepy. Here is a link, but be warned, it contains a gratuitously tacky and egregious second commandment violation. Charles Stanley and Jesus Photographed Preparing for Sermon - Christ.Culture.News (CCN Online)


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## KGP (Mar 3, 2014)

His son Andy is a big name in the evangelical world these days, has anyone heard any of his sermons or teachings?


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## Bill The Baptist (Mar 3, 2014)

KGP said:


> His son Andy is a big name in the evangelical world these days, has anyone heard any of his sermons or teachings?



Honestly I would much rather listen to the elder Stanley's self-affirmation sermons than his son's hip fluff. Andy Stanley is the guru of making the church like a business and modeling it after what your customers want. Unfortunately in his mind, the customers of the church are lost people.


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## Tim (Mar 3, 2014)

Stephen L Smith said:


> I have a number of family members who listen to Charles Stanley. His preaching seems quite moralistic to me, though better than some Arminian preachers I have heard. Do you think Stanley preaches a clear gospel?



Hi Stephen. Are there any good preachers on the radio in your town, in your opinion? I am guessing that you are somewhat glad that your family members are seeking Christian teaching, but you would rather it be someone more theologically sound?


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## Andres (Mar 3, 2014)

i would not recommend either Charles or Andy Stanley's preaching to anyone. With internet access, there are a plethora of quality preachers that would be a better option than the Stanleys.


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## 118min (Mar 3, 2014)

I agree with Andres; Stanley does not strike me as an expositor on any level; His conversational counseling style seems more to "personal stability" with religious language, than knowing the historical-contextual meaning of the passage. As Andres said, there is plenty of pastors who are sound expositors and also gifted in communication skills.


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## Edward (Mar 3, 2014)

I'm not a fan of Stanley, particularly after how he handled the split with his wife, but I've seen worse presentations than First Baptist has on its web site: The Good News - First Baptist Church Atlanta


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## Stephen L Smith (Mar 3, 2014)

Tim said:


> Hi Stephen. Are there any good preachers on the radio in your town, in your opinion? I am guessing that you are somewhat glad that your family members are seeking Christian teaching, but you would rather it be someone more theologically sound?



Hi Tim. Here in NZ there are few options. Stanley on TV is probably the best. My family go to Arminian churches.


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## Pilgrim (Mar 4, 2014)

It seems to me that some of Joel Osteen's pulpit mannerisms (or manner) owe something to Stanley as well. I don't know whether or not that is a conscious emulation of Stanley on Osteen's part.

I've never listened much, but some of Stanley's messages seem better than others. I don't know whether or not In Touch Ministries (his preaching ministry) recycles old messages the way John MacArthur's Grace to You and many other ministries do. (In the latter case, you might have a series from 2009 one week and 1979 the next.) If so, in light of what Bill posted, that could explain it. In the case of TV broadcasts, I would imagine that you'd tend to get more recent messages. 

From a theological standpoint, Stanley's extreme teaching on eternal security (aka "Once Saved, Always Saved") may be his most dangerous teaching, and I'm pretty sure it predates his divorce. If I recall, he teaches that once one has professed salvation, he is "secure" even if he denies the faith afterwards and never subsequently repents. I recall reading that he teaches that the "outer darkness" is not hell. Most non-Calvinist and anti-Calvinist Baptists teach "once saved, always saved" (which is a bastardized form of perseverance) but do not take it to these lengths. 

The only TV ministries in my lifetime that I can recall that were Reformedish were D. James Kennedy and Ben Haden, and the latter probably didn't come across as very Reformed. (I remember him from when I was a kid and later learned that he was a PCA minister.) Given Kennedy's political/cultural focus, especially in later years, I doubt he'd have much appeal outside of the US. Most of the others are charismatic, Word of Faith and so on. Come to think of it Michael Youssef is also on TV, although I don't know that he would be on in NZ. If memory serves, he had a connection with the Sydney Anglicans years ago as well.


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