Andy Stanley Quotations | Page 2

We want time in with our kids not time out.

There is something insincere about a man or woman who repeatedly tells God how much he or she loves Him while refusing to obey Him.

The great challenge is how to marry creativity with discipline so that discipline amplifies creativity without destroying it.

There is a big difference between being a leader and actually leading.

What is this generation of students worth? It's worth everything.

The reason we're here today is because years ago God broke Reggie Joiner's heart over the state of children.

My kids think you are always supposed to be in a small group and lead one.

God uses broken-hearted leaders.

Me and Sandra are thoroughly satisfied customers as parents of kids who came through this Orange model.

We are not all leaders. We are called leaders.

You are where you are because the generation before you paid attention to their broken heart.

Who are you and what breaks your heart?

Loyalty publicly results in leverage privately.

If the Old and New Testament teach us anything, they teach us that nothing is too difficult for God. What he originates, he orchestrates.

Creating breathing room financially may lower your standard of living but raise your quality of life.

If you're a Christian you can't have an "I'm better than" attitude toward anyone because everybody is somebody for whom Jesus died.

I can't make people fall in love with Jesus, but I can arrange dates.

Public loyalty results in private leverage.

You can't influence people you refuse to associate with.

If you want to know what Jesus meant by what Jesus said, pay attention to that Jesus did.

Maintaining peace with God is more important than keeping pace with someone else.

Blessed is the man who gets the opportunity to devote his life to something bigger than himself and who finds himself surrounded by friends who share his passion.

Designing and implementing a strategy for change is a waste of time until you have discovered and embraced the current reality. If you don't know where you really are, it is impossible to get where you need to be.

Christianity teaches that when man sinned, God opted for forgiveness rather than fairness. He opted for grace and mercy rather than justice.

Saying a prayer won't make you a Christian. Placing your faith in Christ as your savior makes you a Christian.

How you live your life on this side of the grave determines what happens next.

Only do what only you can do.

Uncertainty in a leader is always magnified in the heart of the follower.

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

Jesus did not come to strike a balance between grace and truth. He brought the full measure of both.

The followers of Jesus did not die for what they believed - they died for what they claim to have seen.

One of the exciting things about being a believer is watching God unveil His plan for our lives.

If there is a perceived difference between what you expect from others and what you expect from yourself, it will eventually erode your influence.

God's extravagant generosity toward us compels us to be extravagantly generous toward others.

If you're not looking forward to church this morning perhaps it's time to look for a church.

Which of these statements creates more anxiety in you: 'There is no God' or 'There is no money'?

Here's something to think about: If God appeared to you and asked, "Why should I let you into heaven?" how would you answer?

Vision evokes emotion. There is no such thing as an emotionless vision.

God doesn’t want to take your money. He just doesn’t want your money to take you.

Something I've noticed. Church planters don't pray for revival. They pray for opportunity, favor with the unchurched and leaders.

A coach, on the other hand [when compared to counseling], helps us assess the present so that we can operate more effectively in the future.

To be the best next-generation leader you can be, you must enlist the help of others. Self-evaluation is helpful, but evaluation from someone else is essential. You need a leadership coach. Coaching enables a leader to go further faster.

Let me take some pressure off. Your problem is not discipline. Your problem is not organization. Your problem is not that you have yet to stumble upon the perfect schedule. And your problem is not that the folks at home demand too much of your time. The problem is this: there’s not enough time to get everything done that you’re convinced—or others have convinced you—needs to get done.

What could be and should be can’t be until God is ready for it to be.

God, I want what you want more than I want what I want.

Believe what you want But don't dumb down what Jesus said.

If we start to dumb down what has been made clear, where does that stop?

The church should be the safest place on the planet to talk about anything, including same-sex attraction.

It's ok for people to feel bad about the wrong things they've done.

Jesus raised the standard high so we would realize we couldn’t possibly do it without a savior.

What breaks your heart is part of a divine design to bring change!

Every arena of life intersects with what's going on in our hearts. Everything passes through on its way to wherever it's going. Everything.

Greed is supported by an endless cast of what-ifs. Greedy people can never have enough to satisfy the need they feel in light of every conceivable eventuality.

There's a monumental difference in believing in God and believing God.

People are far more interested in what works than what's true.

Environments are the messages before the message.

Try to do for the next generation of church leaders what the previous generation of church leaders has not done for you.

Jesus doesn’t take sides; He takes over.

Serving people we don't see eye to eye with is the essence of Christianity. Jesus died for a world with which he didn't see eye to eye. If a bakery doesn't want to sell its products to a gay couple, it's their business. Literally. But leave Jesus out of it.

You have not been called to change the world, but you have been called to change something.

If you're the only hot dog stand in town, you're hot dogs don't have to be good.

Divine direction begins with unconditional submission.

What you fear most will determine whether you merely save for the future or give for the future.

It's OK to offend people with the Gospel, but, good grief- let's don't offend them with something else.

Will I allow my fear to bind me to mediocrity?

If fear causes you to retreat from your dreams, you will never give the world anything new.

Most of us are married to a model of ministry and we flirt with the Great Commission.

Asking doesn't mean you lack wisdom - it's evidence of wisdom.

When people are convinced you want something FOR them rather than something FROM them, they are less likely to be offended when you challenge them.

Leaders learn to leverage the problems that never go away in a way to create progress for the organization.

The greatest thing you do as a leader may not be what you do as a leader but who watches you do what you do.

Intervention giving is emotional and the results are measurable.

One never accomplishes the will of God by breaking the law of God, violating the principles of God, or ignoring the wisdom of God.

Lord, give me the wisdom to know what's right and the courage to do what's right-even when it's hard.

Why create churches for 50-year-olds and let culture have the students?

Grace is the vehicle God uses on occasion to ensure that we get precisely what we dont deserve.

Strange as it may sound, it is more difficult to maintain a faith walk when we begin to see our dreams come true. When hopes become realities it is easy to shift our faith onto the thing we have dreamed of and off of the One who was the source of our provision.

My hope is not in riches but in him who richly provides.

The church must capture and keep the minds and hearts of students.

Every time I stand to communicate, I want to take one simple truth and lodge it in the heart of the listener. I want them to know that one thing and know what to do with it.

Purpose should determine approach. At the end of the day, it's what we do, not what we purposed to do, that defines our lives and reputations.

If we were able to rewrite the script for the reputation of Christianity, I think we would put the emphasis on developing relationships with non-believers, serving them, loving them, and making them feel accepted, only then would we earn the right to share the gospel.

As your organizational authority increases, your organizational IQ decreases.

Where there is no uncertainty, there is no longer the need for leadership. The greater the uncertainty, the greater the need for leadership. Your capacity as a leader will be determined by how well you learn to deal with uncertainty.

You won't take risk without courage.

You can't lead without taking risk.

What would bring about a revival of epic proportion?

Vision rarely require immediate action. It requires patience.

This is why we give up on things that break our heart because it requires change.

Leaders fix things that are broken.

Authority does not equal competency.

Fixing things requires change and change always creates conflict. But that is why you are a leader.

When you acknowledge your weaknesses to the rest of the team, it is never new information.

I can go further and faster with someone coaching me than I can on my own.

We rob ourselves when we make decisions in the moment with no thought of how those decisions will impact our futures.

You make PEACE with your past by owning your PIECE of the past.

Good excuses rarely collect dust. We use them, and use them, and use them.

Courage is essential to leadership.

Nobody at home should feel like they are competing with somebody at work.

Leadership isn't making all the decisions. It is making sure the right decisions are made.