Courage: Go Big Go Bold (6 of 12)
Series: Character: Mirror Image
James Merritt
Esther 4:9-17
Introduction
1. Many of you have heard of the pastor,
Dr. Charles Stanley and for those younger ones who have not, he is the father of Andy Stanley. When he was finishing his second term as president of the southern Baptist convention, I was invited to have lunch with him. I honestly never even dreaming, much less knowing, that I would one day also be president of the convention. He had one of the most turbulent presidencies in the convention's history. It was at the very height of the battle between the conservatives and the liberals over the bible and its authority. Tempers were hot, scalding words were flying and even a secular world was watching as if world war iii was going on. I asked dr. Stanley this question, ''what have you learned being president of the southern Baptist convention in the last two years?''
2. I will never forget his answer. Without even pausing to reflect he said, ''James, I've learned two things: we have a lot of little people in big positions and the average pastor has no guts.'' his answer was a gut-punch to me, because whatever position I am in I don't want to be little and every situation I am in I want to have courage.
3. We are in a series that we are calling ''mirror image,'' in which we are dealing with the most important part of all of us which is our character. Today, we are going to deal with a character trait that I believe is lacking more and more in every part of our society. It is why we refuse to listen to each other, refuse to face and solve our biggest problems, refuse to face up to reality, and refuse to call things the way they are and that is courage. When I speak of courage, the first thing that probably comes to mind is physical courage - the kind of courage that Hollywood loves to talk about and celebrate the power of physical courage and superheroes, with the athlete who pushes through pain to win conte ...
Series: Character: Mirror Image
James Merritt
Esther 4:9-17
Introduction
1. Many of you have heard of the pastor,
Dr. Charles Stanley and for those younger ones who have not, he is the father of Andy Stanley. When he was finishing his second term as president of the southern Baptist convention, I was invited to have lunch with him. I honestly never even dreaming, much less knowing, that I would one day also be president of the convention. He had one of the most turbulent presidencies in the convention's history. It was at the very height of the battle between the conservatives and the liberals over the bible and its authority. Tempers were hot, scalding words were flying and even a secular world was watching as if world war iii was going on. I asked dr. Stanley this question, ''what have you learned being president of the southern Baptist convention in the last two years?''
2. I will never forget his answer. Without even pausing to reflect he said, ''James, I've learned two things: we have a lot of little people in big positions and the average pastor has no guts.'' his answer was a gut-punch to me, because whatever position I am in I don't want to be little and every situation I am in I want to have courage.
3. We are in a series that we are calling ''mirror image,'' in which we are dealing with the most important part of all of us which is our character. Today, we are going to deal with a character trait that I believe is lacking more and more in every part of our society. It is why we refuse to listen to each other, refuse to face and solve our biggest problems, refuse to face up to reality, and refuse to call things the way they are and that is courage. When I speak of courage, the first thing that probably comes to mind is physical courage - the kind of courage that Hollywood loves to talk about and celebrate the power of physical courage and superheroes, with the athlete who pushes through pain to win conte ...
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