{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Charles Frazier Stanley
|image=Charles Stanley of GA.jpg|office=President of the<br> [[Southern Baptist Convention]]
|term_start=June 1984
|term_end=June 1986
|predecessor=James T. Draper, Jr.
|successor=Adrian Rogers
|image=Charles Stanley of GA.jpg
|birth_date=September 25, 1932
|birth_place=Dry Fork, Pittsylvania County<br> [[Virginia]]
|death_date=
|death_place=
|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]|occupation=[[Pastor]]-emeritus of First Baptist Church of Atlanta<br>President of In Touch Ministries<>br>[[Televangelist]], [[theologian]], [[author]], [[photographer]]
|spouse=Anna Margaret Johnson Stanley (married 1955-1992, separated, divorced finalized 2000)
|children=Rebecca "Becky" Stanley Brodersen<br>
==Background==
Stanley was born in Dry Fork (current population 4,200) in Pittsylvania County near Danville in south central [[Virginia]].<ref>Dr Charles Stanley (June-14-2021) Sermons: God's Rewards to the Church (sermons-online.org), accessed August 2, 2021.</ref> His father, also named Charles, died in 1933 nine months after Stanley's birth, and he was reared by a [[Christian]] mother, Rebecca, who later remarried. In his early years, he ran newspaper routes to support himself. At the age of twelve, he became a [[Salvation|born-again]] [[Christian]] a term coined by [[Jesus Christ]] in the Bible but shunned by some [[liberal]] Protestant denominations. He surrendered to the ministry at the age of fourteen.
Stanley obtained his bachelor's degree from the private liberal arts school, the University of Richmond in [[Richmond]], the capital of Virginia. He then obtained a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in [[Fort Worth]], [[Texas]]. The private theologically [[conservative]] Luther Rice College and Seminary awarded Stanley both Master of Theology and Doctor of Ministry. The private institution was founded in 1962 in [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]], [[Florida]], and was relocated in 1991 to Lithonia in DeKalb County in suburban Atlanta.<ref>Charles Stanley Bio, Age, Family, Education, Career, Management, Worth (hustleinboots.com), accessed August 2, 2021.</ref>
Stanley married the former Anna Margaret Johnson (1931-2014), a native of North Carolina, who accompanied her husband in Christian activities in North Carolina, [[Ohio]], and [[Florida]], until he accepted the Atlanta pastorate in 1969. The couple separated in 1994, and their divorce was finalized in 2000. They had two children, Rebecca "Becky" Stanley Brodersen (born 1961) of [[Dallas]], [[Texas, ]] and the Reverend Charles Andrew "Andy" Stanley of the North Point Community Church in Alpharetta in northern Fulton County, Georgia. She was cremated.<ref>Anna Margaret Johnson Stanley (1931-2014) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed August 2, 2021.</ref> According to First Baptist Atlanta's bylaws, Stanley was allowed to continue his pastorate so long as he did not remarry.
==Christian ministry==
<ref>Patricia Holbroook, Dr. Charles F. Stanley leads life of unwavering faith (ajc.com), accessed August 2, 2021.</ref>
His sermons and other programming are available on the ''In Touch'' website. The ministry also publishes ''In Touch'' magazine. Stanley often focuses on finances, parenting, and emotion matters as well as theological Christianity. He stresses the inerrancy Scripture. Over the course of his ministry, Stanley has developed "30 Life Principles" that have guided his Christian life.<ref>30 Life Principles (intouch.org), accessed August 2, 2021.</ref>He credits his grandfather, George Washington Stanley, a [[Pentecostal]] Holiness pastor, with his command, “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.” In his book ''Courageous Faith: My Story from a Life of Obedience,''<ref>Courageous Faith: My Story From a Life of Obedience (HB) (intouchaustralia.org, accessed August 2, 2021.</ref> Stanley writes, “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>charles_stanley_abstract_final.pdf (hughsnews.com), accessed August 2, 2021.</ref>
In addition to his work in Christian ministry, Stanley is an avid photographer, much of his work being mountain scenes. Many of his current photographs come from such distance locations as [[Alaska]] and [[Zanzibar]] and can be accessed on the In Touch website.<ref>Charles Stanley Photography (intouch.org), accessed August 2, 2021.</ref>
In 2017, Anthony George was brought to Atlanta to succeed Stanley into the line of succession at FBC as senior pastor whenever Stanley finally decided to step down at some point in the future.<ref>Sheila Poole, Atlanta megachurch Pastor Charles Stanley announces successor (ajc.com), accessed August 2, 2021.</ref>
Since the death in 2018 of the Southern Baptist evangelist Billy Graham in North Carolina, Stanley is probably the most recognized Christian pastor in the nation.
[[Category:Radio]]
[[Category:Television]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]