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I was watching a video of the legacy
service for Dr. Charles Stanley yesterday. The new pastor, Anthony George, had
stepped to the pulpit and was sharing a few stories about his and Dr. Stanley's
relationship with one another over the course of several decades.
It seems Rev. George had been hired as
the associate pastor during the 1980's. There was a wide range in their ages,
as he was about 40 at the time, and Dr. Stanley had turned 80. Before much time
had elapsed, Anthony realized that he was much more a personal assistant to the
lead pastor than his actual title conveyed.
There were times when the divorced and
evidently lonely Dr. Stanley would ask his associate pastor to come over for
pizza, and they would settle down with a movie like, "Patton." (You
might surmise correctly that this writer was a bit surprised by that particular
choice in movies as "Patton" is replete with some pretty strong
language).
One story stood out from among the
rest for its abject humor. Rev. George was still new on the job when Dr.
Stanley said,
"Anthony, let me introduce you to
my prayer closet."
The good understudy promptly followed
Rev. Stanley to a 10x10 room in a nondescript hallway. Opening the door, the
two men stepped in, and the pastor closed the door, and proceeded to turn out
the overhead light. Blackness permeated their surroundings, and the younger man
wondered what would happen next.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness a
bit, enough light permeated the threshold beneath the door to provide the
assistant a clue, and now he watched closely.
"Dr. Stanley dropped to his
knees. I followed his lead and dropped to my knees. Now, he got down on all
fours. ('Pretty agile for a man of 80,' I thought). And now, now he prostrated
himself on the carpet. I did the same."
Several hundred men, women and
children seemed captivated by his story. I know I was.
"I was new at this 'prayer
closet' thing, and I figured I would just do and say what Dr. Stanley did and
said. Suddenly, my mentor 'let out' with a 'Yes, Lord!' I echoed his words.
'Yes, Lord!'"
By now Rev. George's listeners were
laughing.
"And then silence permeated the
dark prayer room. It seems the good pastor thought of prayer as a conversation
between him and God; as if they both had something to say. And then, just as
suddenly as before Dr. Stanley seemed to muse,
'Hmmm!'
"I promptly responded with,
'Hmmm!'
The laughter grew louder.
"And then only silence for
several minutes 'til the 'Yes, Lord's' and 'Hmmm's' began again. I can tell you
that Dr. Stanley was a prayer warrior, and though my prayer room experience
with him wasn't the most comfortable thing I'd ever done, I was blessed to have
him as my friend and mentor for several decades."
by Bill McDonald, PhD
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