Quotes from Andy Stanley

People with greed lodged in their heart fear that God either can't or won't take care of them. More to the point, they're afraid that God won't take care of them in the fashion or style in which they want to be cared for. And the gap between what they suspect God might be willing to do and what they want becomes a major source of anxiety. So greedy people shoulder the burden to acquire and maintain everything they need to provide the sense of security they desire.

There is a direct correlation between a person's private devotional life and his or her personal faith. And regardless of how long you've been in ministry, this is something you can't afford to lose sight of. When God speaks to us personally through his Word or answers a specific prayer, our faith is strengthened.

As my wife's mother told her growing up, "If you go to the right places, chances are you will meet the right people.

Actually, there was nothing sudden about his undoing. His fall was inevitable. The end of this story was determined years ago when he chose a path that, from the very beginning, had dishonor, disgrace, and dismissal as the destination. Direction determines destination. Every time.

in the dark. The darkness is the uncertainty that always accompanies change. The mystery of whether or not a new enterprise will pan out. The reservation everyone initially feels when a new idea is introduced. The risk of being wrong. When my children

Fear defies logic. Information only goes so far. Even when armed with all the reasons why we should not be afraid, the fear remains.

You're worse than you thought, but God loves you more than you imagined.

There's a third thing about getting lost. The road I'm on always determines where I end up. Pretty insightful, eh? It really doesn't matter where I intended to be; the path I take determines my ultimate destination. Plans, intentions, spousal expectations . . . none of that counts. I always end up where the road I've chosen takes me. And that, as you know by now, is the theme of this book.

The most important thing in your life is your personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

For this reason it is the dark that provides the leader with his greatest opportunities. It is your response to the dark that determines in large part whether or not you will be called on to lead. For the darkness is what keeps the average person from stepping outside the security of what has always been.

Leaders are not always the first to see an opportunity. They are simply the first to seize an opportunity. It is the person who seizes the opportunity who emerges as the leader. But fear has kept many would-be leaders on the sidelines, while good opportunities paraded by. They didn't lack insight. They lacked courage.

God will always nudge us in the direction of kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.16 When in doubt, max those out.

Es absurdo pensar que nuestras ideas pueden pasar de una generación a otra. Es igualmente absurdo asumir que nosotros vamos a ser capaces de descubrir intuitivamente la necesidad de cambio en nuestras propias organizaciones.

simply a lesson in things not to repeat. Leaders can much more easily live with the prospects of having tried and failed than not having tried at all. Leaders fear missed opportunity more than they fear an unsuccessful enterprise.

We know when we are misemployed. We know when our talents and efforts are being misappropriated. What we don't know is how open our supervisors are to hearing about it. As a result of this assignment we made some significant changes that brought about better alignment for the entire staff. Furthermore, we stumbled upon a new tool by which to uncover what our people were thinking and feeling.

Ministry makes people's faith bigger. If you want to increase someone's confidence in God, put him in a ministry position before he feels fully equipped.

Leaders are not always the first to see the need for change, but they are the first to act. And once they move away from the pack, they are positioned to lead.

You can't lead without taking risk. You won't take risk without courage. Courage is essential to leadership.

Before I draw people's attention to a solution, I want to make sure they are emotionally engaged with the problem. If the text answers a question, I dare not go there until everyone in the audience really wants to know the answer.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.3

No son los aros religiosos por los cuales saltamos, las oraciones que oramos, los pecados que confesamos, o incluso el pan de la Santa Cena que nos comemos, lo que demuestra nuestro amor por el Padre.

This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

Love fills the gaps. Love reduces the friction created by our limited insight, knowledge, and judgment-inhibiting experiences. There is much I don't know. There are things I'll never understand. But my ignorance does not impede my capacity to put others first.

Your heart didn't arrive at its present condition overnight. It won't become healthy overnight either. You can't overcome in an instant the effects of years of blockage caused by guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy. Adopting new habits of the heart is a process, but it's a process that will yield some immediate results.