Andy Stanley - Louder Than Words: The Power of Uncompromised Living

LOUDER THAN WORDS
published by Multnomah Books

2004 by Andy Stanley

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from:
New American Standard Bible
1960, 1977 by the Lockman Foundation

Other Scripture quotations are from:
The Holy Bible, New International Version ( NIV ) 1973, 1984 by International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version ( NKJV ) 1984 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah,
an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,
a division of Random House Inc., New York.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission.

For information:
MULTNOMAH BOOKS
12265 ORACLE BOULEVARD, SUITE 200
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80921

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stanley, Andy
Louder than words / by Andy Stanley.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-56398-9
1. Christian life. 2. CharacterReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.
BV4599.5.C45S73 2004
248.4dc22

2003025209

v3.1

For Sandra,
the finest woman I know.

U ndeniably, character is the foundation of all true leadership. The apostle Paul placed such emphasis on unblemished character that he listed it as the first qualification for Christian leadership: An overseer, then, must be above reproach (1 Timothy 3:2). Out of character great leaders such as Winston Churchill and Billy Graham have been born. And out of a life of character has this book been born.

For quite a while Ive watched Andy Stanley grow as a leader and pastor. In the past couple of years, Ive gotten to know him well. The more I see, the better I like him. And I can say without a doubt that he lives out the solid character principles that he shares in this book.

Louder Than Words will lead you through the process of discovering things about your beliefs and your values. The impact of a personal value system is comprehensive, encompassing everything in our lives from professional achievement to the way we relate to our children and spouses. And it affects that most important of relationshipsthe one we have with God.

Step by step, you will be encouraged to target specific character qualities and to discover your true values. You will learn to evaluate your relationships, occupational goals, and even entertainment in the light of character issues. And you will discover whether your goals are character-oriented or achievement-oriented. You will uncover obstacles to personal character development that you did not realize existed. You will also learn to accept responsibility for your own deficiencies. Most important, Louder Than Words provides you with specific strategies for change, strategies that will help you to develop unwavering character.

This world desperately needs people of vision and personal conviction. It needs mothers and fathers, employees and managers, citizens and officials who will do what is right regardless of the personal cost. It needs people who are willing to become more like Christ and lead by example. Louder Than Words can help you become such a person.

John C. Maxwell

Founder, The INJOY Group

I was thirteen when I learned the meaning of the phrase Actions speak louder than words. My dad was an associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Atlanta when the senior pastor resigned under pressure from the board of deacons. While a search was conducted for a fitting replacement, my father was asked to fill the pulpit. Thats church talk for preach on Sundays.

Well, fill it he did. And not only did he fill the pulpit, he started filling the pews as well. Young families started returning to the church in record numbers. The youth ministry began to grow. Volunteerism was at an all-time high. Everybody was excited about the new energy that radiated from this historic downtown church.

Well, almost everybody.

As is the case in too many churches, there was a group of men and women who had been around longer than everybody else and felt as if the church somehow belonged to them. After all, it was their money that paid for most of the new chapel. And apart from their influence, the city may have never allowed the church to build the gymnasium. These people chaired all the key committees, including the committee on committees that determined who served on the committees. They were the they of First Baptist Atlanta. And they did not appreciate my dads sudden popularity or the influence it gave him with the membership.

To make matters worse, there was a grassroots movement afoot to elect my dad as senior pastor. And why not? He was a phenomenal communicator. He demonstrated great leadership ability. And he had a vision for the church. What more could a congregation ask for? Depends on who you were asking.

The power people thought he was too young (he was forty), too evangelistic (he invited people to come forward at the end of services), and too mystical. By mystical they meant that he preached openly about a personal relationship with God. He also had the nerve to challenge the congregation to pray for Gods will concerning the future of the church. Now that was a real problem. Before that time the power people simply got together and decided the future of the church; the notion of seeking Gods will on the matter was completely foreign to them.

Bottom line, they knew they would not be able to control Dad. So they had but one choice: Get rid of him. At first they asked nicely for him to step down. Then they bribed him. Eventually the bribes turned to threats. Not made-for-primetime, CNN Presentstype threats. They were more subtle than that.

My dads response to all of this marked me for life. The way he saw it, God had brought him to that place. And when God told him to leave, he would load us all up in the Grand Safari station wagon and we would go. There were times when he asked God for permission to leave, but he always received the same answer: Stay where you are. Keep doing what you are doing. Dad was very up-front with the group that wanted him gone. He assured them that if the congregation voted him out, he would leave quietly. That would be his assurance that God had another ministry assignment for him elsewhere.

Well, things continued to heat up. The power brokers started taking members of the congregation to dinner. People started taking sides. Nasty things were said, anonymous letters written and distributed. It was church politics at their worst. Yet in spite of all that, the church continued to grow and prosper.