Charles Stanley

==Influences and theology==
With regard to theology, Stanley was a [[Christian right|conservative]] [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Sandomir |first=Richard |date=2023-04-21 |title=Charles Stanley, Atlanta Pastor Who Preached to the World, Dies at 90 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/21/us/charles-stanley-dead.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare |access-date=2023-05-19 |website= New York Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=Poole/> and his eschatology was [[Dispensationalism|dispensationalist]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=David Roach |date=December 30, 2009 |title=End Times: Scholars Differ on What Bible Says About Subject |website=BPNews.net |publisher=Baptist Press |url=http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id%3D31963 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105064313/http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=31963 |archive-date=January 5, 2012 |access-date=November 17, 2021}}</ref> Over the course of his ministry, Stanley developed "30 Life Principles".<ref>{{cite journal |author=Charles Stanley |date=March 22, 2007 |title=The 30 Life Principles |website=InTouch.org |publisher= |url=http://ww2.intouch.org/atf/cf/%7B865500FE-874B-487B-A95C-C0B327D0A690%7D/30LifePrinciples.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322221406/http://ww2.intouch.org/atf/cf/%7B865500FE-874B-487B-A95C-C0B327D0A690%7D/30LifePrinciples.pdf |archive-date=March 22, 2007 |access-date=November 17, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=30 Life Principles |url=https://www.intouch.org/topics/30-life-principles |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=www.intouch.org}}</ref> He credited his pentecostal grandfather, George Washington Stanley, with inspiring one of his most referenced principles: “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Anugrah |date=2023-04-24 |title=Potential 2024 presidential candidate reflects on Charles Stanley's legacy |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/potential-2024-candidate-reflects-on-charles-stanleys-legacy.html |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=The Christian Post |language=en-US}}</ref> In his book ''Courageous Faith: My Story from a Life of Obedience'', Stanley said: "Granddad told me, 'Charles, if God tells you to run your head through a brick wall, you head for the wall, and when you get there, God will make a hole for it.'"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Silliman |first=Daniel |title=Died: Charles Stanley, In Touch Preacher Who Led with Stubborn Faith |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/april/charles-stanley-died-in-touch-first-baptist-atlanta.html |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=News & Reporting |date=April 18, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

Stanley also addressed his influences and philosophy when he wrote in 2009 that he "began to apply the principles of [[Napoleon Hill|Napoleon Hill's]] [[Think and Grow Rich]] to my endeavors as a pastor, and I discovered they worked! ... For years, I read [it] every year to remind myself that the truth of God is not just for one career field. It is for all manner of work and ministry."<ref>Charles Stanley, 2009, ''How to Reach Your Full Potential for God'', p. 224, Thomas Nelson Publishers, {{ISBN|978-1-4002-0092-4}}</ref>