Georgia megachurch Pastor Andy Stanley shared the last words his late father, Pastor Charles Stanley, told him prior to passing away this week.
Stanley, who leads North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, recounted what took place between himself and his father in the weeks leading up to his death, The Christian Post reported.
“These final few weeks with my dad have been precious beyond words. At the end of every visit, he asked me to pray for him,” Stanley wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “Which of course I did. On my knees beside the big leather chair he was confined to for the past several months.”
"But as I was leaving his house this past Saturday night, he asked if he could pray for me. As if he knew. Then, as was his habit, he said, 'I couldn't be prouder of you, Andy,’” he continued. “The source of a word determines its weight. Those were wonderfully weighty words. And his final words to me.
“I’ll miss him every day until I see him again,” Stanley concluded.
On Tuesday, Dr. Charles Stanley, a prominent Baptist pastor, author, and founder of InTouch Ministries, passed away at his home at the age of 90. He served two one-year teams as the former president of Southern Baptist Convention during the 1980s. He also led First Baptist Church in Atlanta as senior pastor from 1971 to 2020 until he stepped down and served as pastor emeritus until his death.
"Dr. Stanley lived a faithful life of obedience, dedicated to teaching others how to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Now he is receiving the joy of his soul — seeing his Savior face-to-face," In Touch said in a statement on his passing.
As reported by The Christian Post, Andy and Charles Stanley experienced a falling out when the latter began his ministry work. Both father and son did not reconcile until years later, as highlighted in a 2012 story by CNN.
In 1993, Andy’s mother, Anna Stanley filed for divorce from Charles. The divorce was finalized in 2000.
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Photo credit: charlesstanley.com
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
