Quotes from Andy Stanley

As believers, we all have the responsibility to leverage our wealth for kingdom purposes.

One of the primary reasons we don't seek counsel from the wise people around us is that we already know what we are going to hear--and we just don't want to hear it.

prudent people look as far down the road as possible when making decisions.

Preaching is not talking to people about the Bible; it is talking to people about themselves from the Bible.

Where there's no progress, there's no growth. If there's no growth, there's no life. Environments void of change are eventually void of life.

Next generation leaders are those who would rather challenge what needs to change and pay the price than remain silent and die on the inside.

Direction—not intention—determines our destination.

Without courage we will simply accumulate a collection of good ideas and regrets.

You don't sit around looking for reasons to do the right thing; it's the bad decisions that require creative reasoning.

Relationships are built on small, consistent deposits of time. You can't cram for what's most important. If you want to connect with your kids, you've got to be available consistently, not randomly.

Your talent and giftedness as a leader have the potential to take you farther than your character can sustain you. That ought to scare you.

As a leader it is your job to protect the missional integrity of the Jesus gathering to which you have been called. It is your responsibility to see to it that the church under your care continues as a gathering of people in process; a place where the curious,the unconvinced, the sceptical, the used-to-believe and the broken, as well as the committed, informed and sold-out come together around Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Victims don't want to be proactive about changing—they want to be proactive about making sure that the person who hurt them pays. And so we spend our energy telling our sad stories rather than taking responsibility for our behavior. Thus we open the door of our hearts and welcome in the Trojan horse of bitterness. And it stands there, a monument, a constant reminder of a debt someone has yet to pay. Somebody owes us.

If you decide that what God is asking you to do with your life is just too much on you and is just a little too inconvenient, then you will never see the miracles he has for you.

But in the areas that matter most, a burst of energy and activity cannot reverse the consequences that accompany a season of neglect.

God] wants you to go home, look at your bucket of seed, and determine in your heart how much you'd like to sow. He wants you to consider thoughtfully your current circumstances, your life, your potential, and your finances. He wants you to involve your family. He wants you to pray about it. And then He wants you to come up with a plan.

the best strategy for giving is a two-fold approach: a basic plan combined with a willingness to consider spontaneous giving when unique opportunities arise.

Prayer keeps the burden fresh. It keeps our eyes and hearts in an expectant mode.

Just as Jesus predicted, what originates in the secret place won't always remain a secret. ... How do we guard -- or maybe it would be more appropriate to say, guard against -- our hearts? How do we monitor what's going on in that secret place that has the potential to go public at any moment?

You can't give yourself fully to someone else as long as you are mastered by something else.

Why? Why did God provide me with more than I need?

If the source were simply a few behavioral habits, you would have conquered them already.

If you are "seeking first" his kingdom where you are, then where you are is where he has positioned you.

Tim Keller writes, "When the church as a whole is no longer seen as speaking to questions that transcend politics, and when it is no longer united by a common faith that transcends politics, then the world sees strong evidence that Nietzsche, Freud, and Marx were right, that religion is really just a cover for people wanting to get their way in the world."13